Little did we know when the Los Angeles Rams and the San Francisco 49ers met on Thursday, we would have one of the wildest weeks of football in recent memory. There were a lot of points. There were a lot of protests. There were even protests of points. We had it all.
While we didn’t get much clarity in the standings, a few squeaky wheels got the grease. A.J. Green saw a season-high in targets, receptions, yards and he got his first touchdown of the year. The milk boxes that had T.Y. Hilton’s picture can stop circulation now as well. Hilton erupted for 153 yards and a touchdown against the Cleveland Browns.
Then there was Stefon Diggs. Injuries decimated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ defense prior to the game. Diggs then decimated what was left of it to the tune of eight catches for 173 yards and two touchdowns.
A lot of points were scored this week. Those teams that failed to get the memo provided some huge dud performances. In some cases, like the Baltimore Ravens defense, you might have been better off without starting a defense.
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Studs
Russell Wilson (QB – SEA)
Fire back up the Macklemore commercial. Wilson was a bad man against the Tennessee Titans. The Seahawks may have lost the game, but Wilson provided fantasy owners with the stat sheet they’ve been craving the first two weeks.
Wilson threw for 373 yards and four touchdowns. He also added 26 yards rushing. Prior to their Week 3 game, there was talk about how ineffective the Seahawks have been. Whether it was the home/road splits, playing surface, or offensive line issues, excuses were present. Neither factor slowed the stagnant Seahawks offense from scoring a season-high 27 points. As for their defense…
Brandin Cooks (WR – NE)
Much like the aforementioned Wilson, the sky is not falling. Cooks put up some gaudy numbers on Sunday against the Houston Texans. Five catches for 131 yards, two touchdowns, and a two-point conversion capped a fantastic performance by the Patriots number one receiver.
Of course, his performance might have gone slightly unnoticed due to teammate Chris Hogan having a huge game as well. The important thing to take from yesterday’s victory is that good players coached by good coaches are going to eventually do good things.
This might have been the first time all season that Cooks has performed close to his ADP, but it’s likely not the last top-five WR performance of his season. The Patriots running attack is nonexistent. Early-season patience is hopefully about to pay off in a big way for Cooks’ owners.
New York Giants Receivers
Over the past week, the only Giants-related topic worth discussing was the play of left tackle Ereck Flowers. Following a dramatic Week 3 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, the Giants receivers deserve to be talked about some as well.
Odell Beckham caught two touchdowns against the Eagles. Teammate Sterling Shepard seemingly caught a touchdown on three different occasions but was only credited with one. Brandon Marshall caught eight passes for 66 yards. This was the way it was supposed to be. Of course, the Eagles were mere steps away from starting the hot dog vendor in the secondary.
Duds
Travis Kelce (TE – KC)
One catch for one yard. When the offseason news broke that the Chiefs had traded Jeremy Maclin, Kelce’s ADP in fantasy leagues saw an immediate spike. After three weeks of football, Marcedes Lewis had more fantasy points Sunday than Kelce has scored all season.
In recent years, it has been a popular strategy to fade early tight ends. Aside from last week’s performance against the Philadelphia Eagles, Kelce is strongly reinforcing that strategy. Particularly given the ADP discrepancy between the Eagles tight end, Zach Ertz, and Kelce.
Of course, buying low on struggling superstars is a good strategy if you can pull it off. Remember, we have completed three games. In most fantasy leagues, that’s only a quarter of the regular season. Capitalize on impatience.
Theo Riddick (RB – DET)
The box score of the Detroit Lions and Atlanta Falcons has a lot of crooked numbers. Riddick, on the other hand, didn’t have a lot of them. The narrative stumping Riddick disappointed many fantasy owners expecting big things from another pass-catching running back.
Riddick didn’t get a single rushing attempt in a 30-26 contest. Perhaps more importantly, he only caught four passes for 38 yards. The Lions trailed for a 33-minute stretch. It’s ultimately looking like Riddick is just a handcuff to Ameer Abdullah, but neither looks to have a high ceiling due to the other’s presence.
Michael Crabtree and Amari Cooper (WR – OAK)
The Vegas point spread was 53.5 points for Sunday night’s game. The Raiders evidently didn’t get the memo that they too would have to contribute points to the total. Instead, the Raiders skill players produced next to nothing this week.
Cordarrelle Patterson led the Raiders receivers with a robust 2.2 points in PPR leagues. In a game where Derek Carr was pressured heavily, the Raiders couldn’t do much on offense. The Raiders finished with 128 yards of offense on the night.
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Matt Giraldi is a correspondent at FantasyPros. To read more from Matt, check out his archive or follow him @Mgiraldi.
