Week 2 gave us another huge J.J. Nelson game while several of the top running backs were again major disappointments. I’ve built my Week 3 rankings and will continue to update them up until opening kickoff on Sunday. There are, of course, some stand-out rankings that probably make you scratch your head, so I’ll explain five of them below. If you have more questions, don’t hesitate to let me know on Twitter.

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Andy Dalton (QB #12): CIN @ GB

I’ve watched the games. I’ve heard ESPN talking about how Dalton might lose his job (which is absurd, by the way). Dalton has not been very god with 0 TDs and just 394 yards in 2 games with 4 INTs. Give the man a break! He has played Baltimore, then Houston 4 days later. Moving from 2 of the top 5 defenses to a bottom 3 defense after 10 days off will make all the difference in the world. Of course his offensive line needs work, but we are talking about someone going up against a terrible secondary who has always been a top 12 QB when he is healthy. Ranking him QB #12 may be too conservative.

Joe Mixon (RB #21): CIN @ GB

Gio Bernard may be leading this three-man backfield in snaps, but Mixon has seen the most carries and has been the only impressive player of the bunch. With a new offensive coordinator in house this week, you can expect him to give the ball to the clear-cut most talented player in the backfield. Green Bay’s run defense was solid last year, but Mike Daniels is dealing with a bad hammy and Mixon can catch passes out of the backfield too. He has big-play potential and if he gets the volume, as I believe he will, there is major upside, which makes him well worth the risk.

Samaje Perine (RB #22): WAS vs OAK

Like Mixon, Perine is in a crowded running back situation. Rob Kelley actually looked good for once last week and Chris Thompson went bonkers. Kelley avoided serious injury, but it appears he will be limited at best this week, and while Thompson has big play potential, he is still better suited for a 3rd down role and should only get a handful of carries. I expect it to be Perine’s backfield this week after he compiled 21 carries last week. Oakland has surrendered 4.8 yards per carry so far this season too, so he has serious potential this week and should get the goal-line work too.

Sammy Watkins (WR #23): LAR @ SF

The whole world has quickly given up on someone who has better fantasy numbers over his last 16 healthy games than Antonio Brown. Watkins was shadowed by Josh Norman last week, one of the best cover-corners in the NFL. Despite beggining to learn a new playbook just a month ago, he has caught every single target and could be in for a huge week against a 49ers secondary that is missing Eric Reid. Don’t give up on him yet. Two weeks is a tiny sample size, and is entirely unreliable when one of them featured perhaps the toughest opponent in the league.

Austin Seferian-Jenkins (TE #13): NYJ vs MIA

We haven’t seen it happen quite yet. This is like the Christine Michael hype from last season that ended up paying off for the first half of the season. ASJ is a freak athlete who has had off-the-field issues clog up his potential. Apparently, those demons are behind him and he is in the best shape of his life. Miami gets crushed by tight ends, and is 6th worst in the league against the pass this season with 8.5 yards per attempt. ASJ should step right in as the starter and has the potential to lead this team in targets as they throw plenty in negative game scripts.

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