Heading into Week 3, we see which week was more indicative of each team – Week 1 or Week 2? The NFL won’t find consistency for the first month, and even then, injuries will undo progress and throw our fantasy teams into a waiver wire hunt, knowing that little is left in the bargain bin.
There have been many significant injuries, and they seem so numerous, but this happens every year, especially since the preseason doesn’t push players as much. No big fantasy players were lost this summer, unlike in the past. But it all shakes up fantasy teams and has ravaged the running backs after just two weeks.
Let’s look at six interesting players or situations for fantasy opportunities.
- RB Kendre Miller (NO) – The Saints 3.08 pick was the fourth overall running back selected in April. He missed the first two games with a hamstring injury and missed time in the offseason with a knee injury. But he’ll debut this week in Green Bay, and just in time – Jamaal Williams injured his hamstring and is expected to be out potentially for a few weeks. That leaves just practice squadder Tony Jones and Miller to run the backfield. The ex-TCU back is described as a “violent” runner and could be a better complement to Alvin Kamara than Williams, who only averages 2.7 yards per carry. If Miller looks good on Sunday, the Week 4 backfield may look very different with Kamara back.
- TE Cade Otton (TB) – The Bucs 4.01 pick last year is showing up in the new offensive scheme this year. Otton only had eight catches for 60 yards after two games, but this interesting part was that so far, both weeks had him as the third most targeted player behind only Mike Evans and Chris Godwin both times. He caught six passes last week, which tied him with Evans for the team lead.
- QB C.J. Stroud (HOU) – You have to be impressed with what the 1.02 pick in the draft has done in just two weeks. He opened the year with 242 yards in Baltimore and then just threw for 384 yards and two scores versus the Colts. That’s 626 yards versus 299 by 1.01 pick Bryce Young. The Texans have a young, talented set of receivers between Nico Collins, Tank Dell, and John Metchie. Robert Woods is there for possession catches. He’s worth a roster stash. Consider that by the end of the season, he’ll have established the offense and gotten experience. Week 15 and 17 are the two match-ups with the Titans secondary.
- RB Cam Akers (MIN) – The Vikings offensive line was expected to be better this year, but Alexander Mattison hasn’t exactly been “the guy,” with only 19 carries for 62 yards over two games. Will Akers be any better? Second-year back Ty Chandler was the No. 2 but only had ten carries for 20 yards. While some may think “he couldn’t be any worse,” all the Vikings paid was a conditional sixth-round pick for him and a seventh-round pick. Just short of, “Here, take him.” He’ll take a few weeks to get into whatever groove he finds, but the bigger beneficiary is the Vikings passing game which is still going to need to pass just as often.
- RB Brian Robinson (WAS) – Fortunately, the Commanders rusher made it through the summer without any more carjacking incidents, and maybe his shot-up leg is better this year. He’ll face the Bills this week for another test, but OC Eric Bieniemy’s new offense loves him. And doesn’t like Antonio Gibson. Robinson is fourth in the NFL with 37 carries after two games. Gibson has just five runs and four catches as an afterthought. Two weeks in, and results are very matchup-sensitive, but another 18-carry game versus the Bills and Robinson suddenly belongs in the upper tier of backs.
- Carolina wide receivers – The new offensive scheme has been operated by a rookie quarterback in his initial two starts. But Bryce Young is out this week, and Andy Dalton will step in as the starter. The notable part is that the experienced Dalton should give an idea of what the passing distribution should look like. Young threw better last week but has yet to top 153 passing yards. Adam Thielen, DJ Chark, and Jonathan Mingo get a better quarterback and face the Seahawks who were torched by Matthew Stafford (334 yards) and Jared Goff (323 yards, 3 TDs). We can know much more about how this offense should look when Young gets more comfortable later in the year.
About last night
New York Giants 12, San Francisco 49ers 30
Not much of a surprise. The Giants faced one of the top defenses in the NFL, so expectations were low. Saquon Barkley was held out, and finally they admitted that he has a high-ankle sprain, so won’t bounce back without some rest. Matt Breida (4-17, TD) and Gary Brightwell (4-5) handled the minimal rushing needs of a team that trailed from the second quarter. Daniel Jones only threw for 137 yards and no score, with one interception. This venue was the worst they’ll play in this year, especially now that the Cowboys lost CB Trevon Diggs.
Wan’Dale Robinson (4-21) had his first start of the season and produced the same mediocre stats as the rest of the receivers. Darren Waller prompted new confidence in Week 2 when he posted six catches for 76 yards versus the Cardinals. On Thursday night, he returned to only three catches for 20 yards. Daniel Jones (321 yards, 2 TDs) also had a big second half against the Cardinals that temporarily propped up his expectations. Still, he was back to the same level of mediocrity that he had in the season opener versus the Cowboys.
The 49ers were without Brandon Aiyuk but it hardly mattered. Brock Purdy passed for 310 yards and two touchdowns and relied on Deebo Samuel (6-129, TD) and George Kittle (7-90). Christian McCaffrey ran for 85 yards and a score on 18 carries and caught five passes for 34 yards. The beatdown was bad enough that they didn’t overuse him and allowed the other backs to run 15 more times. It was a thorough win, and the only disappointment was that the 49ers defense only recorded two sacks and one turnover.