Fantasy football analyst Ray Garvin shares his thoughts on Week 3’s most noteworthy action.
Eagles finally wake up on offense
For one half, it looked like all the Week 1 and Week 2 concerns about the Eagles were coming true. Jalen Hurts was shaky, completing just 4 of 8 passes for 17 yards while getting sacked twice. Saquon Barkley had 7 carries for 13 yards. A.J. Brown saw one target, no receptions, no yards. DeVonta Smith had 2 grabs for 16 yards. Had it not been for a rushing score from Hurts, the first half would’ve been a disaster. The Rams controlled the game going into the break.
Advertisement
Then everything flipped.
The Eagles finally remembered they have one of the best wide receiver duos in football. In the second half, Brown posted 6 catches for 109 yards and a touchdown on 9 targets. Smith wasn’t far behind with 6 catches for 44 yards and his own score on seven looks. Hurts threw three touchdown passes after halftime, giving us the explosive version of this offense we’ve been waiting on.
The run game is still an issue with Lane Johnson banged up, but Philadelphia looked like a championship-caliber unit in the passing attack. The Eagles improved to 3-0 with a 33-26 win, and fantasy managers finally got the A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith performances they drafted for.
Advertisement
Instant reaction: I feel a lot better rolling both Eagles wideouts into lineups for Week 4.
The Travis Hunter panic meter is officially on
My concern with Travis Hunter has never been about his talent; it’s been about his role in Jacksonville. The Jaguars drafted him to play both sides of the ball, and that’s exactly what they’re doing. Against Houston, he logged 80 snaps — 37 on offense, 43 on defense.
That’s the problem. When you’re splitting duty between cornerback and wide receiver at the NFL level, something has to give, and right now, it’s fantasy production. Hunter finished with two targets on 40 Trevor Lawrence pass attempts. He caught 1 ball for 21 yards, and while he looked smooth on that play, the opportunity just isn’t there. Dyami Brown’s injury should’ve opened more work, but it didn’t. Meanwhile, Parker Washington saw 11 targets and led the team.
Advertisement
On defense, Hunter struggled trying to cover Nico Collins, giving up multiple big plays. Again, this isn’t about Hunter’s long-term outlook — he’s an incredible talent, who could be special. But through three games, he’s playing about 60% of the offensive snaps and is nowhere near a reliable fantasy starter.
Instant reaction: I’m parking Hunter on the bench in every league. In shallow formats, Parker Washington or even a waiver flier is a better roster hold right now.
Quinshon Judkins is that dude
You have to love what you saw from Cleveland rookie Quinshon Judkins. The Browns ran the ball 19 times and he handled 18 of them, turning them into 102 yards and 3 touchdowns against a tough Green Bay front. He added one catch for 1 yard on two targets, but the bigger story is what didn’t happen. Dylan Sampson got one carry, Jerome Ford was limited to passing-down work while Judkins was the hammer. He ripped off a 38-yard run, picked up four first downs and forced his way to 6.5 yards after contact per attempt. That’s bell-cow work.
Advertisement
With Joe Flacco looking washed — two sacks, another interception, 3.9 yards per attempt — this offense needs Judkins. And unlike Ashton Jeanty’s rotation in Vegas, Omarion Hampton’s (former) split in L.A. or RJ Harvey’s committee in Denver, Judkins looks like the real deal workhorse.
Instant reaction: Judkins is locked and loaded as a weekly starter moving forward.
Emeka Egbuka’s time is now
The door has officially opened for Emeka Egbuka. Chris Godwin is working his way back but isn’t expected to be a real fantasy factor right away, and Mike Evans just left with yet another hamstring injury that ruled him out of the game. At his age and with his history, this is the exact injury you don’t want to see for Big Mike. That leaves Baker Mayfield throwing to a group headlined by Egbuka, Sterling Shepard and Tez Johnson.
Advertisement
Egbuka stepped into the spotlight and delivered. He caught 6 of 8 targets for 85 yards, posting a 34.8% targets-per-route-run rate and 3.7 yards per route — a mark that currently ranks top 12 on the week among qualified wideouts. He commanded volume, he produced efficiently and he looked every bit like the player we wanted to see break out.
Instant reaction: Lock him in. With Evans sidelined and Godwin still ramping up, Egbuka is a bona fide starting wide receiver for Week 4 and beyond.
Jordan Mason is a top-10 lock
Jordan Mason got the start with Aaron Jones sidelined and he absolutely smashed. Mason turned 16 carries into over 20 half-PPR points, playing 60% of the snaps and handling 55% of the backfield touches. He ran with vision, power and patience, looking every bit like the RB1 in this offense.
Advertisement
The Vikings had this game wrapped by halftime with a 34-3 lead over the Bengals, so there was never a need to lean on the pass with Carson Wentz at quarterback. Mason was the engine, and he proved he can deliver even when the game script doesn’t demand much balance.
Instant reaction: Mason is a locked and loaded top-10 running back moving forward.
The Patriots offense is stuck in the mud
Drake Maye keeps putting up fantasy numbers, but this New England offense is flat-out painful right now. Maye finished 28 of 37 for 268 yards and two touchdowns, but he was also sacked 5 times and threw a pick. He’s producing for fantasy managers, but the players around him are not.
Advertisement
Hunter Henry was the lone bright spot, commanding 11 targets and turning them into 8 catches, 90 yards and both scores. After that, it got ugly fast. DeMario Douglas saw five targets but caught just two for seven yards. Kayshon Boutte had two catches for 28 yards, Stefon Diggs went 3-23, and Mack Hollins added 4-27. Nobody outside of Henry looked like a trustworthy fantasy option.
The backfield was even worse. The Patriots ran it 29 times for 119 yards but coughed up three fumbles — two from Rhamondre Stevenson and one from Antonio Gibson. That opened the door for TreVeyon Henderson, but he only managed 28 yards on 11 carries.
Instant reaction: Right now, this offense is all Henry and Maye, and until someone steps up as a consistent playmaker, there’s zero confidence in starting any Patriot skill player not named Hunter Henry.
The Colts offense is for real
I don’t know if folks thought it was a joke, thought it was unsustainable or just didn’t want to believe, but this Colts offense is absolutely for real. Jonathan Taylor is the engine and he’s firmly on RB1 watch every single week. In Week 3, Taylor dropped 31 half-PPR points while handling 17 carries for 102 yards and three touchdowns, plus three catches for 16 more yards. That’s pure bell-cow usage and he continues to deliver.
Advertisement
Daniel Jones didn’t go nuclear but he was efficient again. He went 18 of 25 for 228 yards and a touchdown while adding 27 yards on the ground. Most importantly, he’s still turnover-free on the season. Michael Pittman Jr. had a strong day with six catches for 73 yards and a score, Alec Pierce chipped in 4-67 and Tyler Warren had 3-38.
The Colts rolled Tennessee 41-20, forced a pick six, and never let the Titans breathe. Jones wasn’t sacked, Taylor did all the heavy lifting and this offense looks like one of the most dependable units in the league.
Instant reaction: Against the Rams, Raiders and Cardinals in the coming weeks, I’m starting everyone — Jones, Pittman, Warren and of course, Taylor.
Chargers are 3-0, but WR usage is a problem for Ladd
The Chargers are 3-0 for the first time in 23 years, and this offense keeps humming. Justin Herbert dropped back 47 times, completing 28 passes for 300 yards with a touchdown and an interception. It wasn’t his sharpest day, but the story here is the pass catcher usage — and it’s messy.
Advertisement
Five players saw seven or more targets: Keenan Allen (11), Quentin Johnston (10), Omarion Hampton (7), Oronde Gadsden II (7) and Ladd McConkey (7). Johnston led the team with 89 yards on six grabs, Allen had 65 yards and the lone receiving score, Hampton chipped in 6-59 through the air to go with 19 carries for 70 yards and a rushing touchdown and Gadsden had 5-46. McConkey, though, got squeezed again. He caught four for 41, but he’s not being fed targets — which is the problem, because we drafted him to get ’em all.
Instant reaction: Omarion Hampton is a locked-in starter if he’s going to get 20-plus touches with this kind of receiving work, especially with Najee Harris expected to be out for the season with an Achilles injury. Johnston looks like he’s breaking out, Allen is still going to be a big part of the passing attack and Gadsden emerged in Week 3. But for McConkey? Three weeks in and he’s getting lost in the shuffle.
Caleb Williams gets right in Week 3
If there was ever a get-right spot for Caleb Williams, it was against this Dallas defense — and the second-year QB handled business. Williams went 19 of 28 for 298 yards and four touchdowns, adding 12 yards on the ground. He wasn’t sacked, didn’t throw a pick and going into Sunday night he sits as QB1 on the week with nearly 30 fantasy points. Ben Johnson had him in rhythm all game and Williams executed.
Advertisement
The passing attack clicked with four different players finding the end zone: DJ Moore, Luther Burden III, Cole Kmet and Rome Odunze. Odunze once again led the team in targets (7), catching three for 63 yards, while Moore posted 4-21 and a score. The run game sputtered — 29 attempts for just 87 yards at 3.0 a carry — but against Dallas, it didn’t matter.
Dallas, meanwhile, couldn’t do anything after losing CeeDee Lamb early. Jake Ferguson racked up 13 catches for 82 yards, George Pickens scored but also had a costly drop that led to a Dak Prescott interception, and Dak finished with 2 picks before getting pulled for Joe Milton III, who immediately tossed one of his own.
Instant reaction: Start everyone against Dallas. For Chicago, it’s stock up on Williams, with another reminder that Odunze is the WR1 in this offense.
Read the full article here