An Interesting Start To The Fantasy Season

 

 

Week three of the 2019 fantasy football season has come and gone and for those playing against Mike Evans this week……I’m sorry.

I’ve definitely been intrigued so far this season in terms of fantasy performances because with the exception of those Derrick Henry, Devonta Freeman, and Damien Williams truthers out there most preseason predictions of players in terms of fantasy output has kind of been on point with a few exceptions here and there: Julio’s catching TDs again, Patrick Mahomes is still worthy of being QB1, Dalvin Cook in a Kubiak styled offense would be a match made in heaven, Le’Veon Bell would be doing a lot more in terms of receiving with the Jets, ect.

I won’t get into all of the preseason predictions here, BUT suffice it to say I will be talking about them in our end of season write up.

BUT enough about that.

Let’s get down to business.

Here’s a list of headlines to take away from this weekend’s slate of action:

• Mike Evans was 1st among wide receivers in fantasy point production with 41 fpts
• Russell Wilson led ALL players with 41.3 fpts
• Cooper Kupp established himself as the #1 receiving option in LA with his 11 receptions for 102 yards and 2 TDs (IMO)
• Greg Olsen continued turning back the clock in the desert with his 6 reception, 75 yard, 2TD, & 22.5 fpt performance
• Jordan Poyer brought out the hitting stick against Cincy with his 12 total tackle and 21.3 fpt effort
• Calais Campbell claimed ownership of the Titans backfield with his 3 sack, 7 total tackle performance on Thursday Night Football
• Shaquil Barrett continued his path of destruction against opponents with his 4 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 6 solo tackles, and 2 stuff butt-whooping on Sunday

That all being said there were plenty of other headlines and OBSERVATIONS that are critical to be aware of from week 3, and these OBSERVATIONS could go a long way to helping you win your upcoming weekly matchups this season.

**DISCLAIMER**

As always when discussing fantasy point production we’re referring to 0.5 PPR scoring. IDP scoring will be discussed using our own IDP scoring rubric available later on in the article. 

**ALL DONE**

Without further adieu here are my 4-EYED OBSERVATIONS from Week 3!

Quarterback: Danny “Dimes” went off in his debut for New York

The maligned #6 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, Daniel Jones, for this week at least proved all the naysayers wrong on Sunday posting the second-most impressive fantasy point producing box score among quarterbacks:

• 2nd in fantasy points with 34.2 pts
• 1st in rushing TDs with 2 among QBs (4 Total TDs on the day)
• 5th in passing yards with 336
• 12th in pass attempts with 36
• 3rd in aggressiveness percentage (% of passes thrown into tight coverage) with 27.8

Look, it was an impressive start and FINISH to that game on Sunday. That being said for the next 6-8 weeks he’s going to be without Saquon Barkley…aka the threat of a running game…and defenses are bound to emphasize stopping the passing attack of the Giants. Of course, Jones’ scrambling ability is something defenders can’t always account for, and on Sunday D.J. let it be known that he won’t be afraid to take the ball into his own hands and make plays.

Am I saying start him as your QB going forward? No.

What I am saying is, like with any other mobile quarterback with trusted receiving options on his team, stash him on your bench and wait and see what happens.

Running Back: Todd Gurley is just a flex going forward and you know it

Look I think I’ve harped about Todd Gurley enough this offseason, but what the heck….why not voice my concern with him some more. Gurley on the day posted the following stat line:

• RB17 in attempts with 14
• RB20 in yards after contact
• RB41 in yards per attempt
• ZERO explosive runs (runs longer than 1o yards)
• RB46 in fantasy points scored with 4.3

As the headline states, “TGIII is just a flex going forward and you know it”.

That’s where I stand based on his performance since that Sunday Night Football game in Chicago last season up until this past week. A couple more weeks of performances like this he’ll drop off my must start list altogether.

Wide Receiver: D.J. Chark smells blood in the endzone

D.J. Chark has kind of been insane from a fantasy standpoint thus far given the quarterback situation on the Jaguars:

• WR7 in fantasy points per game with 17.7
• 4th in receiving TDs with 3
• 8th in catch % among all WRs and TEs with 83.3%
• Leads the team in yards per reception with 18.5
• 7th in the NFL in receiving yards among WRs with 277

PFF has him as the 7th best graded wide receiver in the league through three weeks. He should be rostered and started in all formats going forward as your WR2/Flex as he has been the receiving option of choice of quarterback Gardner Minshew II this season.

Tight End: Darren Waller is driving the Carr in Oakland

• A team-leading 14 targets; 1st in the NFL among TEs; 3rd among all WRs and TEs
• 5th in fantasy points scored this week with 20.6
• 1st in receiving yards with 134

Clearly, Waller is the number one receiving option in Oakland and is turning into the steal of drafts at the tight end position for 2019.

If you have him on your team clap your hands, *CLAP CLAP*.

 

IDP-Defensive Back: Lambeau Field has turned into a Savage Land

Darnell Savage, Jr (out of The University of Maryland….Go TERPS!) has been on a roll the past two weeks among defensive backs in Green Bay. During that period:

• 1st in solo tackles
• 1st in forced fumbles
• 2nd in tackles for a loss
• 2nd in passes defensed

I’m not saying he’s Landon Collins. I’m not even saying he’s the best defensive back on that team, BUT his consistent production from a fantasy standpoint of 12.9 fppg (which is the average number of fantasy points in most balanced IDP scoring leagues) during this recent period makes him one of those players who will be an attractive bye-week fill in when that time comes.

IDP-Defensive Lineman: The other Josh Allen had himself a game in week 3!

Josh Allen, the rookie first-round defensive lineman selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars, put together quite the performance on Thursday Night Football:

• 2nd among DLs in the league in sacks with 2
• 4th in sack yards with 10.5
• 3rd in QB hits with 3
• 3rd in tackles for a loss with 2

With all-pro Calais Campbell drawing attention on the other end of the defensive line, the #7 overall pick out of Kentucky is slowly being worked into the rotation which means he’ll have plenty of opportunities to excel as far as IDP is concerned. You’re not adding him to your starting roster just yet, BUT you are keeping tabs on him either on your waiver-wire or on your bench. He was also 7th in fantasy scoring in week 3 with 15.3 fpts btw.

IDP-Linebacker: Darius Who?!…. Just kidding, but still, Anthony Walker was legit on Sunday

With Darius Leonard out of commission due to being in the concussion protocol, Anthony Walker picked up the slack in week 3 posting:

• 14 total tackles (11 solo/3 assisted)-1st in NFL among LBs

As long as Leonard is out of action look for Walker to become the #TackleMachine for this defensive unit. He is a must-add and start going forward.

That wraps up my 4-EYED OBSERVATIONS from WEEK 3!

Be sure to read our 4-EYED PREVIEW for WEEK 4 on Wednesday, our 4-EYED ASSESSMENT on Thursday, and our HEROES & VILLAINS series on Friday!

ALSO, our week 4 preview podcast will be dropping this Friday morning as well!

Make sure to follow us Twitter, Facebook, & Instagram as well as reach out to us to get your personalized fantasy football questions answered!

Thanks for visiting Fantasy In Frames!

*Stats provided by FantasyData.com and ProFootballFocus.com