What an eventful Sunday!
We know not to overreact to the small sample size that is just one week, but it’d be silly to not react at all.
Let’s run through a quick recap of the good and the bad from each game of the main slate of today’s games.
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Bengals @ Falcons
The Good
This week’s top wide receiver waiver pickup, Tyler Boyd, continued to impress, seeing a whopping 15 targets and hauling in 11 of them for exactly 100 yards. He’s in the WR2/3 mix every week going forward.
Giovani Bernard has filled in better than anyone could’ve reasonably expected for Joe Mixon, finding the end zone two more times. He’ll continue to be a borderline RB1 as long as Mixon is sidelined.
Matt Ryan is back playing close to his 2016 MVP level and is an automatic start every week with how bad the injury-depleted Falcons defense is.
Calvin Ridley keeps catching touchdowns and Julio Jones continues to be a no brainer high-end WR1 every week. A.J. Green isn’t far behind him.
The Bad
Tevin Coleman was extremely disappointing, racking up only 77 scrimmage yards in a game his team put up 36 points. Devonta Freeman should be back next week which would relegate Coleman back to his previous role.
Tyler Eifert just can’t catch a break. If you’re fortunate enough to not have seen the video of his ankle injury, I advise you not to seek it out.
The once promising Falcons defense could be the worst in the league after all the injuries they’re dealing with. They’re a plus matchup for every position.
Buccaneers @ Bears
The Good
All the off-season hype for the Bears showed up here. Trubisky’s six touchdowns are the obvious notables, but his 53 rushing yards were a nice bonus. He’ll have plenty of ups and downs and still can’t really be trusted yet.
Speaking of off-season hype, Tarik Cohen showed why so many people were hoping he could be a poor man’s Tyreek Hill for Matt Nagy. He had an absolutely monster game and is a nice flex in PPR formats.
DeSean Jackson just won’t stop producing. Over the past few years he’s a guy I almost never want on teams but he’s firmly in the every-week WR3 mix.
The kind of good
Ronald Jones was finally active and led the Buccaneer’s backfield in touches. He didn’t do much with them but this wasn’t exactly an ideal spot for him to succeed. He had an atrocious preseason but with how bad Peyton Barber has been I’m excited to see what Jones can do.
The Bad
The Ryan Fitzpatrick ride was fun while it lasted but it looks like that ship has sailed.
Jordan Howard got massively out touched, out produced, and was largely invisible until late in the game. This could be a messy situation going forward for those of us who invested a third-round pick in Howard.
Allen Robinson only saw four targets. His touchdown masked what a truly awful day it was for him.
Lions @ Cowboys
The Good
Golden Tate had a monster day and showed why he’s one of the most rock-solid WR2 options available. He’s been underrated for years.
Ezekiel Elliott finally exploded and rewarded owners for taking him with a top-four pick. His usage in the passing game the last two weeks is extremely encouraging.
The Bad
The Cowboys wide receivers are an absolute joke and are severely capping Dak Prescott‘s upside.
Kerryon Johnson only carried the ball nine times, just two more than LeGarrette Blount. A lot of people were hoping to see him run away with the job after his game last week but it doesn’t appear to have happened. The plus side is he continued to look good.
Bills @ Packers
The Good
Aaron Jones was a favorite of most analysts and he showed why. He’s clearly the best running back in that backfield.
Davante Adams and Geronimo Allison saw 14 and 11 targets respectively. Jimmy Graham (six) was the only other pass catcher to see more than three. With Randall Cobb out, the usage tree is very narrow which is great for our fantasy purposes.
The Bad
The Bills have absolutely zero redeeming qualities.
Aaron Rodgers is still clearly hurt. His fantasy value takes a hit until he gets healthy.
Jamaal Williams and Aaron Jones saw the same amount of carries (11) while Ty Montgomery added five more himself. This is a crowded backfield until Mike McCarthy realizes to just feed Jones.
Eagles @ Titans
The Good
Carson Wentz looks to be as good as ever after starting the season recovering from his ACL tear.
Zach Ertz is a target hog and remains an elite option at a position that is becoming increasingly hard to find production out of.
Corey Davis was the subject of roughly 7,000 “buy low” articles the past week and he showed why, popping off for 161 yards and a touchdown on 15 targets. It’s safe to say that buy low window has closed.
The Bad
Nelson Agholor keeps getting targets and does absolutely nothing with them. What a complete waste.
The Titans backfield is a clear avoid until further notice.
Jonnu Smith was a buzzy sleeper after Delanie Walker got hurt and has been a complete disaster.
Texans @ Colts
The Good
After Jacoby Brissett was put in to throw a Hail Mary at the end of last week’s game there were a ton of concerns about Andrew Luck‘s shoulder. That should be put to rest. His performance today was magnificent.
Deshaun Watson‘s TD rate predictably has come down, but he’s doing everything else right. Many people cited his rushing that will contribute to his floor and, so far, the knee doesn’t look to be hindering that.
DeAndre Hopkins continued his dominance. He shows no signs of slowing down.
The Bad
The Colts rushing attack is terrible.
T.Y. Hilton left with a hamstring injury and likely will miss Thursday’s game versus the Patriots.
Lamar Miller continues to be a plodder. It’s disappointing to get a measly 4.9 points out of him in a game the Texans scored 37.
Dolphins @ Patriots
The Good
Sony Michel lived up to the hype. 25 carries in this offense will propel him into the high-end RB2 range.
James White didn’t need the carries to make his mark. He was an absolute beast out of the backfield.
Tom Brady very clearly isn’t done, despite the panicking done all week after their loss to the Lions in Week 3.
The Bad
What’s wrong with Rob Gronkowski? Three straight duds.
The Patriots receivers can’t do anything. They badly need Josh Gordon to get more involved and look to return Julian Edelman in Week 5.
The Dolphins backfield is a mess. Kenyan Drake inexcusably only saw three carries.
Jets @ Jaguars
The Good
Somehow Blake Bortles continues to be useful for fantasy purposes.
Dede Westbrook‘s game and skill set is sure to make him a hot waiver wire add.
Donte Moncrief makes my best ball rosters very, very happy.
Quincy Enunwa‘s volume keeps him in the WR3 mix.
The Bad
Leonard Fournette reinjured his hamstring. He just can’t stay on the football field.
Keelan Cole only saw three targets. The buzzy wide out has now disappointed in three of four games.
Sam Darnold looks like a rookie QB and caps the upside of the entire offense.
The Jets backfield is a mess. A clear avoid situation.
Seahawks @ Cardinals
The Good
Mike Davis will be a top waiver add this week after exploding for 101 yards and two touchdowns.
David Johnson‘s usage. The Cardinals need him to have the ball in his hands to have a chance to win, and 25 touches is definitely what fantasy owners want to see.
Doug Baldwin made it through the game healthy and saw a team-high seven targets. He should be good to go in the WR2 discussion next weke.
The Bad
After stumping for Rashaad Penny all offseason he is officially droppable.
Larry Fitzgerald can’t get anything going with the poor QB play out of both Cardinals signal callers.
Saints @ Giants
The Good
Alvin Kamara cannot be stopped, and I cannot stop thinking about how stupid I am for trading him in a keeper league.
Sterling Shepard was a chalk DFS play this week and delivered.
Saquon Barkley‘s involvement in the passing game gives him a high floor every week.
The Bad
Odell Beckham Jr. hasn’t gone off like we’ve hoped.
Michael Thomas and his four targets isn’t what we wanted to see this week, but he’ll be fine going forward.
Drew Brees was a league killer this week. Getting single-digit points out of your QB in a game with a O/U of 52 is a nightmare.
49ers @ Chargers
The Good
Jimmy Garoppolo‘s injury didn’t hurt George Kittle as much as I was fearing. Kittle caught an 82-yard touchdown and led the team in targets.
Melvin Gordon is firmly a top three running back option in our fantasy game. His 10 targets tied for the team lead.
Keenan Allen looked healthy and suffered no setbacks.
The Bad
I was expecting C.J. Beathard to be a checkdown machine and Matt Breida to be the primary benefactor of that. The three targets were not what I was expecting at all.
Mike Williams clearly can’t be trusted.
Garoppolo’s injury does kill Marquise Goodwin‘s value.
Browns @ Raiders
The Good
Carlos Hyde‘s job is completely safe. 22 carries led the backfield by far.
Marshawn Lynch is ageless.
Amari Cooper can be so, so good when he wants to be, and the same could be said for Jared Cook.
The Bad
Martavis Bryant dropped one of the easiest touchdowns you’ll see.
Baker Mayfield has to take better care of the ball.
Jarvis Landry was insanely inefficient. 10 targets, four catches, and only 34 yards. The touchdown is a nice mask, though.
The Browns defense was exposed for the frauds that they are.
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Be sure to check back in over the next few days for a more in-depth look at all the waiver options and injury notes that came from today’s games.
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Ryan Melosi is a correspondent at FantasyPros. For more from Ryan, check out his archive and follow him @RTMelos.
