Sunday’s kickoff is just around the corner with injuries galore to work around when building our Week 3 fantasy lineups. Today, I’ll offer my opinion on several of their replacements as I give you 10 bold predictions for the week. A bold prediction is something the general public would give less than a 10% shot of happening, but I put it at 25% or higher. Last week, I was only able to connect on two, with Sammy Watkins and Dede Westbrook both finishing inside the top 20 wide receivers. I’ll need a big week to drive my season-long winning percentage up to 30%, so here goes nothing. Thank you for taking the time to read and I hope you enjoy! Shoot me your bold predictions on twitter and I’ll let you know what I think!
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#10 Jamaal Williams will be a top 20 RB
Yes, it is true that Aaron Jones is now back, but the Packers have listed Jones third on the depth chart with Jamaal still listed at starter. It makes sense considering Williams is among the best pass blocking running backs in football and they’ve got to do anything they can to protect Aaron Rodgers‘ knee. It shouldn’t have been a surprise that Williams struggled against two elite defenses to open the season. You can safely expect a bounceback against a mediocre Washington defense.
Final Prediction: 13 carries, 74 yards, 1 TD, 2 receptions, 6 yards
#9 Latavius Murray will end up a top 12 RB this week
This was already shaping up to be a big weekend for Murray before the news broke that Dalvin Cook was ruled out for the contest. The Vikings are expected to destroy Buffalo and with that kind of positive game script, Murray should get upwards of 20 touches versus perhaps the worst run defense in all of football. He was superb after Cook was injured last season while splitting the backfield with Jerick McKinnon. Now that he is all alone, Murray could have a monster week.
Final Prediction: 19 carries, 117 yards, 2 TDs, 3 receptions, 11 yards
#8 Patrick Mahomes won’t be a top 5 fantasy QB this week
The fact that this is even considered bold is still absurd to me. Yes, it is possible that Mahomes is suddenly the greatest quarterback the world has ever seen, or more likely, this is Trevor Siemian all over again. Oh you remember, don’t you? This time last year, Siemian was the #1 fantasy quarterback before disappearing to the backup job in Minnesota. Now granted, Mahomes is more talented so he isn’t going to lose his job, but even in a matchup against the 49ers, I can’t predict a guy with 55 pass attempts on the year and who was drafted as a QB 2 finishing top 5, let alone QB1 overall each and every week.
Final Prediction: 304 yards, 1 TDs, 1 INT, 6 rushes, 36 rushing yards
#7 As a result, Tyreek Hill won’t be a top 15 WR this week
Much like the most previous bold prediction, this one should surprise no one, but I can assure you most jaws will drop in outrage. Can we all cool our jets for a moment and remember that Hill was only a top 24 wide receiver in 53% of his games last year? Sure, he looks improved and this offense may be better than last year, but this is a boom or bust type of player and he is bound to have plenty of weeks where he doesn’t produce like a WR1. I’ll take the over on a 25% chance of that taking place in Week 3.
Final Prediction: 4 receptions, 66 yards
#6 Phillip Lindsay will end up a top 20 RB this week
Royce Freeman is still in town and Linday’s opponent is the Ravens, but I’m not especially worried about either. First, Lindsay is starting to run away with this job in Denver, and while Freeman will still get goal-line touches, Lindsay is likely to lead the team in touches once again. Baltimore, meanwhile, is far removed from their days of having a dominant run defense. Rather, they were in the middle of the pack last year and may be without C.J. Mosley this week.
Final Prediction: 14 carries, 60 yards, 4 receptions, 46 yards, 1 TD
#5 Dante Pettis will be a top 36 WR this week
As of now, Marquise Goodwin is a game-time decision, but even if he does play, the 49ers used Pettis in more plays last week than Pierre Garcon so it seems likely that Pettis will get 50+ snaps once again. Seeing that the over/under in this game is 57, Jimmy Garoppolo‘s #2, or perhaps even #1 receiver, should get enough work to provide WR3 numbers at the very least.
Final Prediction: 6 receptions, 85 yards
#4 Corey Clement will finish as a top 12 RB this week
This one is up in the air because Clement is questionable with a quad injury for Sunday’s game, but assuming he plays, he should have a huge role in Philly’s offense since Jay Ajayi and Darren Sproles have both already been ruled out. It only further helps that their opponent is the lackluster Indianapolis Colts’ defense. With 15+ carries, you could expect most running backs in football to produce big numbers in this matchup, but when it is a talented back like Clement behind a terrific offensive line, it may translate to an RB1.
Final Prediction: 16 carries, 102 yards, 1 TD, 1 reception, 10 yards
#3 Ben Roethlisberger won’t be a top 12 QB this week
Just last week Big Ben finished as the QB1 with 452 passing yards, 4 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. The game film told a different story. He struggled every bit as much as in Week 1, tossing 21 incompletions but finding wide open receivers against an abysmal Chiefs’ secondary. Tampa isn’t exactly the best defense in the world, but it shouldn’t be a cakewalk to 39 fantasy points or anything close to it. Keep in mind, too, that Big Ben has struggled on the road for half a decade now. His Week 1 fantasy performance of 9 points may be closer to reality in Week 3.
Final Prediction: 241 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs
#2 Nor will his WR, JuJu Smith-Schuster finish top 20 at his position this week
With Antonio Brown ahead of him, James Conner and Jesse James each having roles, Juju is going to have a difficult time sustaining WR1 production week in and week out. More likely, he returns to being a still strong WR2 in fantasy most weeks, and while this matchup against Tampa is better than average, we know that Big Ben has been awful on the road for quite some time. Finishing with over 100 yards will be much more difficult this week seeing that Roethlisberger is unlikely to throw 60 passes again.
Final Prediction: 5 receptions, 52 yards
#1 Arizona will be a top 12 D/ST this week
The Cardinals offense has looked so terrible over the first two weeks that people seem to have forgotten that they’ve got plenty of talent on the defensive side of the ball. Frankly, even if that weren’t the case, you may be able to forecast a sub-par defense finishing in the top-12 against Mitch Trubisky’s Bears. It isn’t as though he is lacking ability, but this season he has made countless head-scratching decisions. Assuming the Cardinals can put pressure on him in their first home game, we can expect much of the same from Mitch.
Final Prediction: 17 points allowed, 3 interceptions, 1 FR, 2 sacks
**Bonus Super Duper Bold Prediction**
Mark Andrews will finish as a top 12 TE this week
If this were Hayden Hurst, no one would hesitate to lump him with the TE1s this week because the matchup versus Denver is just that good. The Broncos have surrendered double-digit touchdowns to the tight end position last year and have started off on the wrong foot once again this season. Andrews may not be quite as polished as Hurst, but he certainly has the skill set to succeed in the red zone this weekend.
Final Prediction: 3 receptions, 48 yards, 1 TD
Thanks for reading and happy football season!
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