Week 3 is nearing its completion, although Packer fans have their Monday nights all figured out with a Monday Night Football showdown looming tomorrow night at Lambeau Field against the Kansas City Chiefs. Here are five players I would consider adding and five players I would consider dropping this coming week in the wide world of fantasy football.
Five Players to Add:
QB Tyrod Taylor, Buffalo Bills
I can guarantee that many people out there need a quarterback. It seems that in years past, elite quarterbacks have stayed relatively healthy. But, this year, it has been quite the opposite. Week 3 resulted in a knee injury to Ben Roethlisberger, who is expected to miss at least four weeks. Roethlisberger is now added to an injured quarterback list that already includes Drew Brees, Tony Romo, and Jay Cutler among others. Taylor is a player that you need to pick up if you have one of the aforementioned quarterbacks or you banked on a mid-tier quarterback to deliver (i.e. Sam Bradford). Every week, Taylor has the potential to pick up points in the rushing game, along with his strong passing offense. While he only rushed for 12 yards this week, he threw for 277 yards and three touchdowns in a lopsided win against the Dolphins.
RB Bilal Powell, New York Jets
Powell received the start for the Jets in Week 3 because Chris Ivory was sidelined with a groin injury. Powell was able to accumulate good numbers in Week 3 in the Jets passing game, as they were forced to play catch-up for all of the second half after trailing 24-0 at the half. While he only rushed for 31 yards on the day, he was able to catch seven passes for 44 yards. Groin injuries can be lingering and Ivory has a history of injury issues, so I would not be surprised to see Ivory limited during the next several weeks. Therefore, a pick-up of Powell may prove to be very worthwhile for the coming weeks.
RB Karlos Williams, Buffalo Bills
LeSean McCoy’s tenure in Buffalo has had a rocky start, which included a hamstring injury during Week 3 that cut his game short. While McCoy will certainly be the starting running back for the Bills moving forward, Williams caught the eye of many across the NFL this week, rushing for 110 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries against a pretty solid Miami defense. Williams was the fifth round selection for the Bills in this past year’s draft. While he may not receive more than 15 carries per game moving forward, assuming McCoy is moderately healthy, he has the potential to break off for big runs.
WR Marvin Jones, Cincinnati Bengals
Jones has re-solidified himself as the Bengals #2 wide receiver for the time being, and has recorded touchdowns each of the last two weeks. Quarterback Andy Dalton was a fan of the deep ball in Week 3, and A.J. Green was the benefactor. In years past, Jones has been a “boom or bust” type fantasy player. But, he has seen an increase this season in targets, being targeted three times in Week 1, five times in Week 2, and eight times in Week 3. If Jones continues to receive eight targets every game, I expect him to put up some big time fantasy numbers. He’s got touchdown potential each and every week.
WR Rishard Matthews, Miami Dolphins
Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill was supposed to primarily rely on receivers Jarvis Landry and DeVante Parker this season, but it’s been Matthews that has led the Dolphins in receiving yards each of the past two weeks. He received ten targets in Week 3, making six catches for 113 yards, accounting for all of Miami’s 14 points on two touchdowns. While Landry, Parker, and tight end Jordan Cameron will all continue getting targets by Tannehill, I expect Matthews to still be a big part of the Dolphins offense moving forward, especially if they plan on competing in the fierce AFC East division this season.
Five Players to Drop:
QB Colin Kaepernick, San Francisco 49ers
Kaepernick’s fantasy value has definitely been declining over the last couple of seasons, but his lack of prominent receivers, a struggling, young defense, and a new coaching staff has really thrown him off rhythm. Kaepernick is one of the most mobile quarterbacks in the league, so he’s always guaranteed to pick up points on the ground, but his passing game has really struggled this season. He threw the ball well in Week 2, but most of his points came with the 49ers already trailing by a lot of points. In Week 3, he only threw for 67 yards, completing 9 of 19 passing attempts and throwing four interceptions. Two of his four interceptions were returned for touchdowns.
RB Rashad Jennings, New York Giants
Jennings is part of a crowded backfield in New York, which also includes Shane Vereen and Andre Williams. Jennings is still the starting running back on paper, but his fantasy numbers are significantly affected every week. Williams typically receives the goal line opportunities so it is difficult for Jennings to accumulate touchdowns. Vereen is very valuable as a receiver, so he’s picking up most of the backfield screen pass opportunities and late game snaps. Therefore, Jennings is primarily being used as a first and second down back, and isn’t receiving many carries with a high potential of significant yardage. Nevertheless, Jennings did block a punt against the Redskins on special teams in the Week 3 Giants victory!
RB C.J. Spiller, New Orleans Saints
Spiller is still recovering from a knee injury that caused him to miss Week 1, but over the past two weeks, he has not received many snaps on offense. In Week 2, he only rushed for seven yards and caught only one pass for 19 yards. He did not fare much better in Week 3, rushing for only four yards and catching two passes for 22 yards. It appears as if Mark Ingram has solidified his role as the starting running back for the Saints, and it also looks as if Khiry Robinson has emerged as the favorite to back him up over Spiller, meaning that Spiller’s fantasy value over the season comes with a lot of question marks.
WR Andre Johnson, Indianapolis Colts
After receiving 10 targets in Week 1, Johnson received seen targets in Week 2 and only one target in Week 3. He did not record a catch in Week 3, and on the season, has only caught seven passes for 51 yards. With Andrew Luck struggling, the Colts may look to get Johnson more involved in the offense, but he’s still behind many receivers on Luck’s personal depth chart. I expect T.Y. Hilton, Donte Moncrief, Phillip Dorsett, and Coby Fleener to see increased workloads in the weeks to come, which questions Johnson’s true value for this fantasy season. He’s also getting up there in age too—he’s 34 years old.
WR Markus Wheaton, Pittsburgh Steelers
When it was announced that receiver Martavis Bryant would be suspended for the first four games of the season, many believed Wheaton would step up and solidify himself as the #2 receiver in a powerful Steelers offense. But, over these first three weeks of the season, Wheaton has been fairly unimpressive in the Steelers passing game, which should now take a further hit with the absence of Roethlisberger over the next several weeks. With the absence of Roethlisberger and the impending return of Bryant from suspension, I expect Wheaton’s production to take an even more significant drop. He has not recorded a touchdown all season long, either. In Week 3, he only recorded two catches for a meager 16 yards. He has only received 14 targets over the first three weeks of the season.
Image: Buffalo Bills