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The Game Plan: Week 3 Edition (2021 Fantasy Football)


Washington Football Team vs Buffalo Bills

Date/Time: Sunday September 26, 1:00pm ET
BettingPros Consensus Spread: Bills -8.5
BettingPros Consensus Over/Under: 46 points
Implied Vegas point totals
: Bills 27.25, Washington 18.75

Washington Football Team

POS NAME COMP/ATT PASS YDS TDs INTs RUSH YDS TDs FPTS
QB Taylor Heinicke 25/38 230 1.65 0.8 18 0.25 17
POS NAME CARRIES RUSH YDS TDs RECS REC YDS TDs FPTS
RB Antonio Gibson 15 71 0.7 4 26 0.25 17.29
RB J.D. McKissic 3 10 0.1 3 25 0.1 6.07
POS NAME CARRIES RUSH YDS TDs RECS REC YDS TDs FPTS
WR Terry McLaurin 0 0 0 7 82 0.5 14.89
WR Adam Humphries 0 0 0 3 21 0.15 4.66
WR Dyami Brown 0 0 0 2 19 0.15 3.75
POS NAME CARRIES RUSH YDS TDs RECS REC YDS TDs FPTS
TE Logan Thomas 0 0 0 4 40 0.4 8.62

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Buffalo Bills

POS NAME COMP/ATT PASS YDS TDs INTs RUSH YDS TDs FPTS
QB Josh Allen 26/41 266 2.55 0.65 25 0.8 27
POS NAME CARRIES RUSH YDS TDs RECS REC YDS TDs FPTS
RB Devin Singletary 11 52 0.1 2 11 0.2 8.96
RB Zack Moss 6 23 0.35 1 10 0 6.18
POS NAME CARRIES RUSH YDS TDs RECS REC YDS TDs FPTS
WR Stefon Diggs 0 0 0 7 62 0.7 13.71
WR Emmanuel Sanders 0 0 0 5 61 0.5 11.5
WR Cole Beasley 0 0 0 5 44 0.35 9.19
POS NAME CARRIES RUSH YDS TDs RECS REC YDS TDs FPTS
TE Dawson Knox 0 0 0 2 21 0.35 5.31

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Quarterback

Washington: Taylor Heinicke had to step in for Ryan Fitzpatrick this past week and he performed much better than everyone expected him to against a solid Giants defense. Heinicke had a 99.5 Passer Rating, he 81.8% Adjusted Completion Rate, and he threw for over 330 yards. He’s proving that he’s one of the more valuable backup QBs in the league and he should be able to do enough to keep Washington competitive while Fitzpatrick is rehabbing. He’s going to have value as a streaming option in future matchups this season, but Buffalo’s not a matchup to target this year. Their secondary is rolling so far this season and they should be able to keep this passing game in check. Heinicke should only be viewed as a low-end QB2 option in Superflex leagues, but he’s worth keeping an eye on down the road for when a plus matchup comes along.

Buffalo: Fantasy managers that drafted Josh Allen as a top-3 option have to be panicking a little bit after two weeks. Especially in contrast to what Mahomes and Murray are currently doing, Allen’s numbers aren’t looking great to start the year. He has a subpar 56% completion rate and a lowly 5.3 Yards Per Attempt to go with an average of 1.5 passing touchdowns per game. While Allen wasn’t needed much last week in Buffalo’s win against Miami, fantasy managers are beginning to grow impatient and are waiting for the QB1 in all of fantasy football last season to show up. Unfortunately, Allen gets a very tough matchup here in week three against Washington that should generate pressure on him all game long. The good news is that Buffalo just watched Daniel Jones run all over this defense on Thursday Night Football, so we could see a heavy dose of Allen out on the move in this one to help spark the offense. We should be at least concerned moving forward, but we shouldn’t panic on Allen just yet and move him outside of our top-5 QB rankings.

Running Backs

Washington: While Antonio Gibson watched from the sideline as McKissic scored a rushing touchdown last week in the two-minute drill right before the half, he now has 38 total touches through the first two weeks. The usage of McKissic is concerning, but there’s the potential that Ron Rivera was relying on him because of Gibson missing time in practice early on last week combined with the fact that they played on Thursday. Regardless, there’s no reason to panic on Gibson. He’s averaging 4.8 YPC on the season and he’s still getting the majority of the touches. Better days are ahead for the second-year player. He can be viewed as a low-end RB1/high-end RB2 this week. Buyer beware on JD McKissic this week, folks! After seeing just two total opportunities on 20 snaps in week one, McKissic saw 10 total opportunities on 31 snaps in week two. He’s worth continuing to roster moving forward, but his usage is too volatile at this point to comfortably rely on him as anything more than a low-end FLEX play that gets a slight bump up in Full PPR formats.

Buffalo: Devin Singletary‘s been solid for fantasy purposes through the first two weeks, but he’s doing it on the back of insane efficiency. Singletary is only averaging 12 carries per game so far this season, but his 6.4 YPC is inflating his fantasy value currently. He had a significant breakaway run in week two that resulted in a touchdown, but otherwise, Singletary’s been living and dying on unsustainable efficiency. He now faces off against a defense that is only allowing 11.9 fantasy points per game to opposing RBs and there might not be much room to roam in this one. Singletary should be viewed as a mid-range RB3. Zack Moss found the end zone twice in week two as he returned to the lineup, but the Bills had a significant lead and were just looking to drain the clock. While he made a couple of impressive plays, this is still a backfield that I want to avoid when both options are fully healthy. Allen’s going to be the goal-line option when the games are closer and Singletary appears to have taken over the lead-back role in this offense. Moss falls outside my top-36 RBs in week three.

Wide Receivers

Washington: Do you remember that slight moment where we were concerned about Terry McLaurin after the Fitzpatrick injury? Yeah, me neither. Man, McLaurin’s an incredible WR! He has now played with a rotating carousel at QB throughout his short NFL career and he’s utterly dominated regardless of who’s throwing him the ball. McLaurin is now averaging an 83.3% catch rate on the season, a 100% Contested Catch Rate on his five contested targets, and a 101.2 Passer Rating when targeted. Moving forward, we should have zero concerns about him based on who is throwing him the football. However, we should allow matchups to determine where exactly he slots in for WR rankings. He might not have ridiculous upside this week against a stout Buffalo secondary, but we wondered the same thing about the matchup last week with New York. Fire up McLaurin as a low-end WR1/high-end WR2 in week three. Adam Humphries was involved in the offense last week and was subsequently a fine FLEX option in Full PPR formats, but we can’t bet on that type of volume again here. At this point, we know who Humphries is and he’s not worth considering outside of deeper formats. Dyami Brown is showing flashes of his potential here and there, but he’s not worth looking at for fantasy football just yet. There’s the potential that we’re talking about him entering the FLEX conversation at the tail-end of the year, but not just yet.

Buffalo: Stefon Diggs was heavily targeted in week one, but he didn’t make as significant of an impact for fantasy football as he normally does. However, we saw that change in week two against the Dolphins. While the game was still close, Diggs was able to break away from coverage in the end zone and give Allen a reliable target on a scramble play for a touchdown. He’s now seen a 26.6% target share through two weeks and there’s very little reason to doubt him as a top-5 WR option again this week. Diggs should draw coverage from Benjamin St-Juste in this matchup, who has a very low 44.5 PFF Grade and has allowed 1.86 Yards Per Route Covered. The rookie CB is going to have his hands full guarding arguably the best route-runner in the NFL and Diggs should put together another solid performance here. Cole Beasley continues to fill a very valuable role for the Bills offense, but it’s not translating to reliable fantasy production just yet. With the offense taking a step back from what we saw on the field last season, Beasley’s role isn’t providing as much fantasy value as what we anticipated. He’s now averaging 6-48-0 through the first two weeks of the season and that’s just enough to put him in the low-end FLEX conversation for Full PPR formats. He has a tough matchup this week against Kendall Fuller, so it’s probably best to just leave Beasley on your bench for this one. Emmanuel Sanders wasn’t needed much last week as the Bills went on to smash the Dolphins, but he’s still showing that he’s a key piece of this offense through two games. He has a respectable 17.7% target share and he’s averaging 41.5 Receiving Routes Run per contest. There’s a path for Sanders to return FLEX value this week against Washington, but there are most likely higher upside options you can pivot to for your lineup. Sanders provides a safe floor, but he’ll need to find the end zone to most likely crack the top-36 WRs. Gabriel Davis was working his way back from an injury last week and was only on the field for 21 total snaps as opposed to 43 the week prior. There’s the potential that he’s more involved this week, but it’s not a risk worth taking with how many other receiving options the Bills have on offense. Davis is a low-end FLEX option for me that is a complete swing-for-the-fences play.

Tight Ends

Washington: Logan Thomas remains heavily involved in this offense through two weeks. He’s now run 70 Receiving Routes – 68.3% of which are out of the slot – and he has a Passer Rating of 131.3 when targeted. He’s an incredibly talented player that is being sent out as a receiver for the majority of the snaps, which is exactly what fantasy managers want to see from their TE. The Bills have been a stingy defense through two weeks, but Thomas is too involved in this offense to bump outside of the top-12 at the position. He can be viewed as a low-end TE1 again this week.

Buffalo: Dawson Knox was able to find the end zone last week, but he’s only seen an 8.9% target share now through two weeks. His usage is too unpredictable to rely on for fantasy purposes and there are probably better options you can pivot to for your TE spot.

FantasyProjection Buster: I’m still confident that Josh Allen is going to bounce back, but this is starting to get concerning. There’s a very real possibility that Allen doesn’t reach my lofty expectations.

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Indianapolis Colts vs Tennessee Titans

Date/Time: Sunday September 26, 1:00pm ET
BettingPros Consensus Spread: Titans -5.5
BettingPros Consensus Over/Under: 44 points
Implied Vegas point totals
: Titans 26.75, Colts 21.25

Indianapolis Colts

POS NAME COMP/ATT PASS YDS TDs INTs RUSH YDS TDs FPTS
QB Carson Wentz 22/33 211 1.85 1.5 14 0.2 15
POS NAME CARRIES RUSH YDS TDs RECS REC YDS TDs FPTS
RB Jonathan Taylor 16 61 0.75 4 28 0.25 16.7
RB Nyheim Hines 7 28 0.25 5 33 0.3 11.81
POS NAME CARRIES RUSH YDS TDs RECS REC YDS TDs FPTS
WR Michael Pittman Jr. 0 0 0 5 50 0.45 9.9
WR Zach Pascal 0 0 0 3 26 0.3 5.87
WR Parris Campbell 0 0 0 2 19 0.15 3.56
POS NAME CARRIES RUSH YDS TDs RECS REC YDS TDs FPTS
TE Jack Doyle 0 0 0 2 22 0.3 5.18

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Tennessee Titans

POS NAME COMP/ATT PASS YDS TDs INTs RUSH YDS TDs FPTS
QB Ryan Tannehill 24/36 269 2.3 0.7 11 0.5 23
POS NAME CARRIES RUSH YDS TDs RECS REC YDS TDs FPTS
RB Derrick Henry 22 100 0.9 3 23 0.25 20.74
RB Jeremy McNichols 3 13 0.1 2 12 0.1 4.7
POS NAME CARRIES RUSH YDS TDs RECS REC YDS TDs FPTS
WR Julio Jones 0 0 0 6 88 0.75 16.11
WR A.J. Brown 0 0 0 6 74 0.75 14.66
WR Chester Rogers 0 0 0 2 30 0.2 5.3
POS NAME CARRIES RUSH YDS TDs RECS REC YDS TDs FPTS
TE Anthony Firkser 0 0 0 3 21 0.25 5.13

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Quarterback

Indianapolis: At the time of writing, it appears as though Carson Wentz still has a chance of playing in this upcoming matchup. Even if Wentz does play, he’s not going to be 100% himself and we shouldn’t be viewing him as a trustworthy start even in Superflex leagues. The matchup indicates that you should start Wentz, but the greater context tells you to bench him if you can.

Tennessee: After finishing week one as the QB24, Ryan Tannehill came right back and finished in the exact same spot in week two. While he led the Titans to a thrilling victory in Seattle over the Seahawks, we have yet to see the top-tier performances for fantasy that we had come to know from Tannehill in this Tennessee offense. The good news for Tannehill and the Titans passing game is that we saw the Play Action percentage increase from 11.6% in week one to 31.1% in week two. Todd Downing adjusted the offense to better fit Tannehill’s skillset and we did see the production increase. However, we’re now approaching the territory where we need to see Tannehill start to produce for fantasy football, otherwise, we’re going to need to begin looking at moving on to other options that are producing. As of right now, Tannehill shouldn’t be viewed as anything more than a mid-range QB2.

Running Backs

Indianapolis: After week one, I was concerned about Jonathan Taylor‘s rushing output, but his seven targets helped me feel better about his fantasy potential in this Wentz-led offense. However, now week two is in the books, and Taylor still only averaged 3.4 YPC and yet had only one target on the day. This is a bit concerning for Taylor’s fantasy stock moving forward because he’s not producing on the ground the way that he did last season. Through two weeks, Taylor has exactly zero Breakaway Yards. His longest run so far this season is only 13 yards. And now looking ahead to week three, there’s the possibility that Wentz doesn’t play in this matchup and that could mean Jacob Eason takes over as the starter. If that’s the case, it’s hard to see how the offense accomplishes much in week three and Taylor could struggle yet again. The good news is that he is still averaging 16 carries per game, so we know that he’s at least a safe option and he’s not going to completely disappear. However, we have to downgrade him in our minds and rankings until we see his efficiency start to creep back up. He can be viewed as a low-end RB1/high-end RB2 for week three. Nyheim Hines was a valuable fantasy asset in week one, but he didn’t belong anywhere near starting lineups with the opportunity he had in week two. Hines only saw three total opportunities in week two against the Rams and that’s simply never going to be enough. We know now that this is Hines’ floor, which makes him a very risky FLEX play this week in Full PPR formats. We could see his target share increase again, but it might not be worth the gamble.

Tennessee: Welcome back, Derrick Henry! After being stonewalled in week one, Henry came back with a vengeance in week two and posted the second-highest fantasy point total of his career. The only game that Henry scored more fantasy points in was against Jacksonville in 2018 where he had 17 carries for 238 yards and four touchdowns. Henry was spectacular in week two and he appears to be back to dominating on the ground, but there’s an interesting wrinkle moving forward. Henry saw the highest target total of his NFL career with six targets and he reeled in all of them for 55 total receiving yards. With a narrow receiving tree in Tennessee, there’s a path for Henry to continue to be involved as a receiver moving forward. If that does happen, Henry has overall RB1 upside each and every week. It’s a tougher matchup against the Indianapolis Colts defensive front, but Henry’s a no-brainer top-5 option this week.

Wide Receivers

Indianapolis: Michael Pittman Jr. had the breakout game I’ve been waiting to see out of him in week two against a very tough opponent in the Los Angeles Rams. Pittman saw 11 targets and reeled in eight of them for 106 yards. While this would normally be a huge vote of confidence moving forward – especially in this matchup against Tennessee – we now have a QB situation to worry about in Indianapolis. Wentz locked onto Pittman in week two and he could be in line for another monstrous performance against the Titans this week, who are allowing the most fantasy points per game to opposing WRs. However, we don’t know if Wentz is going to suit up for this game after he injured both of his ankles last Sunday. Even if he does play, he’s most likely not going to be 100%, which puts a damper on Pittman’s value. If Eason is called upon to step in, we know that the offense isn’t going to be as powerful and it could sputter. If Wentz plays, Pittman should be viewed as a low-end WR3 with tremendous upside. If Eason plays, Pittman should still be viewed as a FLEX play simply because of the matchup and his talent.

Tennessee: Julio Jones and Tannehill got on the same page quickly after week one and it resulted in a big performance from Julio against the Seahawks. He averaged 21.3 Yards Per Reception last week on his six catches and he significantly outproduced Brown in the same offense. Moving forward, Jones should be viewed as a high-end WR2 with upside each and every week. Against the Colts defense that is allowing the 3rd most fantasy points to opposing WRs this season, Jones is a must-start option. AJ Brown fell short of expectations in week two against the Seattle Seahawks, but there’s no reason for fantasy managers to panic. Brown has now seen a 22.7% target share through the first two weeks and he has a favorable matchup in week two against the Colts defense that’s ranked 29th in Pass DVOA. The target volume is still there for Brown and we should start to see things click for him in this offense sooner than later. He can be viewed as a low-end WR1/high-end WR2 this week.

Tight Ends

Indianapolis: Jack Doyle came through for fantasy managers last week with a solid outing, but he might not be worth looking at in this matchup with the QB uncertainty. At the time of writing, it’s unclear whether Eason or Wentz is going to be starting for the Colts in this divisional game. If Wentz starts, Doyle can be a safe mid-range TE2. However, if Eason starts, it’s probably best to avoid Doyle for fantasy purposes.

Tennessee: None of the Titans TEs should be considered for fantasy football this week.

FantasyProjection Buster: This entire Colts offense could look very different than what I’ve projected it. There’s been no consistency with the target shares so far this season, which makes it near impossible to predict.

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New Orleans Saints vs New England Patriots

Date/Time: Sunday September 26, 1:00pm ET
BettingPros Consensus Spread: Patriots -3
BettingPros Consensus Over/Under: 43 points
Implied Vegas point totals
: Patriots 23, Saints 20

New Orleans Saints

POS NAME COMP/ATT PASS YDS TDs INTs RUSH YDS TDs FPTS
QB Jameis Winston 18/27 149 1.8 0.5 14 0.25 15
POS NAME CARRIES RUSH YDS TDs RECS REC YDS TDs FPTS
RB Alvin Kamara 12 41 0.55 5 31 0.3 14.88
RB Tony Jones Jr. 8 37 0.25 2 15 0.1 8.33
POS NAME CARRIES RUSH YDS TDs RECS REC YDS TDs FPTS
WR Deonte Harris 0 0 0 2 30 0.25 5.47
WR Marquez Callaway 0 0 0 2 13 0.4 4.51
WR Chris Hogan 0 0 0 2 21 0 2.92
POS NAME CARRIES RUSH YDS TDs RECS REC YDS TDs FPTS
TE Adam Trautman 0 0 0 2 14 0.3 4.29

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New England Patriots

POS NAME COMP/ATT PASS YDS TDs INTs RUSH YDS TDs FPTS
QB Mac Jones 24/35 228 2.2 0.75 4 0 17
POS NAME CARRIES RUSH YDS TDs RECS REC YDS TDs FPTS
RB Damien Harris 17 71 0.75 1 12 0.1 14.04
RB James White 4 13 0 4 32 0.25 8.28
POS NAME CARRIES RUSH YDS TDs RECS REC YDS TDs FPTS
WR Nelson Agholor 0 0 0 4 47 0.5 9.64
WR Jakobi Meyers 0 0 0 5 44 0.45 9.49
WR Kendrick Bourne 0 0 0 2 14 0.1 2.76
POS NAME CARRIES RUSH YDS TDs RECS REC YDS TDs FPTS
TE Jonnu Smith 0 0 0 5 40 0.45 9.25

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Quarterback

New Orleans: Do you remember that brief moment in time where we collectively believed Sean Payton had fixed Jameis Winston? That was a good week. Man, Winston looked like his former self on Sunday as he posted an abysmal 26.9 Passer Rating and turned the ball over twice. His decision-making was all over the place and he couldn’t find a rhythm as the Saints struggled to do anything on offense. Now, Winston gets to take on the Patriots defense that just made Zach Wilson look like a backup JV quarterback. Winston’s a low-end QB2 at best this week and it’s probably best to avoid him altogether if you can.

New England: Mac Jones has executed his job well over the first two weeks of the season and he’s proving that he’s an accurate QB that can take care of the football. With that being said, that’s not leading to a ton of valuable fantasy football production. He has an ADOT of just 5.7 through the first two weeks and he’s only thrown one passing touchdown. Until we see him start to open things up in the offense – which isn’t necessarily his style – we probably shouldn’t be talking about him as a top-24 option for fantasy lineups.

Running Backs

New Orleans: What’s our collective level of concern with Alvin Kamara? After spending a top-5 pick on Kamara in drafts, fantasy managers have to be panicking a bit with what we saw from the star RB in week two. Kamara had eight total attempts on the ground and only managed five yards. The “saving grace” was that Kamara also managed to reel in four receptions for 25 yards that at least didn’t leave managers with a zero from their RB1 spot, but it wasn’t good. The overall state of the offense is a major question mark heading into week three and there’s a lot to be concerned about. However, we shouldn’t be completely off of Kamara based on what we saw on the field in week two. He’s still one of the most talented players in all of football and Sean Payton will go back and watch the film this week and attempt to take the ball out of Winston’s hands as much as he possibly can. This could lead to another massive workload for Kamara as we saw in week one and he’s worth buying low right now if you can find a manager in your league who’s frustrated with the week two performance. Fire up Kamara as a mid-range/low-end RB1 in this matchup against the Patriots. Tony Jones Jr. has some incredible value as an insurance RB for Kamara and he should have some FLEX appeal in some matchups, but there’s no way we can consider him for our starting lineups after what we saw from this Saints offense in week two. He remains simply a bench stash for the time being.

New England: Aside from the fumble in week one, Damien Harris has been a revelation for fantasy managers. He’s now third in the NFL in Missed Tackles Forced with 12, he’s averaging 3.46 Yards After Contact/Attempt, and he’s averaging over 4 YPC on 39 rush attempts. He’s a phenomenal talent at the RB position and he’s proving that he belongs in the conversation with some of the best runners in the game. However, despite those great metrics, Harris is still a risky investment for fantasy managers due to the offense that he plays in and the lack of pass-catching upside. The Patriots have always been known for rotating through their RBs and we could see that happen again here with Rhamondre Stevenson waiting in the shadows for his opportunity. For the time being though, Harris is a rock-solid RB2 for your fantasy lineups. He comes with a very high floor and we know that the talent is there. He can be viewed as a mid-range RB2 for week three. James White has taken back his role in this offense as a pass-catching back and he’s producing with the opportunity. With a QB that has a tendency to keep things near the line of scrimmage, White is thriving with Jones at QB and it’s translating to fantasy success. White is the RB12 in all of fantasy football through two weeks in Full PPR formats. There’s very little reason to doubt him as a reliable low-end RB2/high-end RB3 in this format and he’s not far behind that in Half PPR scoring. In a fantasy football RB landscape that desperately needs reliable commodities, White should be talked about more than he is currently.

Wide Receivers

New Orleans: At this point, Marquez Callaway has failed to live up to the hype of what we saw in the second pre-season game for the Saints. He only has 22 receiving yards on the season so far and has failed to make much of an impact on the football field. He can be dropped in your traditional leagues now. Otherwise, none of the other Saints’ WRs should be considered for fantasy football this week.

New England: Jakobi Meyers has certainly cemented himself as one of the top target leaders in this Patriots offense with a 22.4% team target share so far, but it’s not translating to as much fantasy success as we’d all like to see. With Jones’ tendency to keep things near the line of scrimmage, Meyers isn’t able to contribute as much for fantasy lineups as he could potentially somewhere else. Through two weeks, Meyers is averaging five receptions, 41 yards, and zero touchdowns. That’s fine for low-end FLEX value, but we might need to adjust our expectations for Meyers based on the offense he’s in and how it’s currently structured. Against New Orleans, we could see Jones struggle in this matchup, which means that Meyers might not see the type of yardage needed to push him up into the top-36. He can be viewed as a high-floor FLEX option. Nelson Agholor has proven that he can be a reliable target for a QB – as evidenced by his 146.8 Passer Rating when targeted this season – but with the current state of the offense, there’s very little upside for someone with Agholor’s skillset. Agholor thrives on deep passes and being able to open up the offense with his vertical speed, but Jones is consistently keeping things close to the vest and is simply looking to keep the offense on schedule. If this is the case, Agholor’s going to have very little value for fantasy lineups moving forward. He might have a big play here or there, but his consistency is going to be very hard to predict.

Tight Ends

New Orleans: After leading the team in targets in week one, Trautman was nowhere to be seen on Sunday and he failed to register a single target. For those who did pick him up off of the waiver wire after week one, he should be sent right back to it. It’s not worth buying into this offense right now in its current state.

New England: Through two weeks, Jonnu Smith has a 14.9% team target share, which is encouraging to see for fantasy managers. And while Jonnu is reeling in 90% of those targets, it’s not leading to much reliable fantasy production. Without Jones opening up the offense, Smith is going to have to live and die by his YAC ability off of a very low ADOT and that’s a risky game to play for fantasy managers. We know that Smith has the talent to be a dynamic receiving threat after the catch, but he shouldn’t have to rely solely on that to provide fantasy value. With very little receiving touchdown upside, Smith needs to be downgraded in our Rest-of-Season Rankings and just be viewed as a safe option each and every week. He can be viewed as a mid-range TE2 this week. Hunter Henry has just seen a lowly 10.4% target share through his first two games in a Patriots uniform and it’s hard to contribute consistently to fantasy football lineups with that small of an opportunity. With Jonnu being the clear TE1 in this offense, there’s very little leftover for Henry from a fantasy perspective. He’s filling a valuable role for the offense in New England, but we can’t view him as a reliable fantasy option until we see Jones begin throwing more touchdowns. Henry shouldn’t be in your starting lineups this weekend.

FantasyProjection Buster: Anytime Winston is in at QB, there’s no telling what the offense is going to look like, unfortunately.

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Atlanta Falcons vs New York Giants

Date/Time: Sunday September 26, 1:00pm ET
BettingPros Consensus Spread: Giants -3
BettingPros Consensus Over/Under: 48.5 points
Implied Vegas point totals
: Giants 25.75, Falcons 22.75

Atlanta Falcons

POS NAME COMP/ATT PASS YDS TDs INTs RUSH YDS TDs FPTS
QB Matt Ryan 26/40 237 2.15 1.2 5 0.15 17
POS NAME CARRIES RUSH YDS TDs RECS REC YDS TDs FPTS
RB Mike Davis 11 38 0.4 4 22 0.2 11.39
RB Wayne Gallman Jr. 0 0 0.1 0 0 0.1 1.2
POS NAME CARRIES RUSH YDS TDs RECS REC YDS TDs FPTS
WR Calvin Ridley 0 0 0 6 62 0.75 13.86
WR Cordarrelle Patterson 7 32 0.35 5 38 0.3 13.29
WR Russell Gage 0 0 0 2 23 0.1 4.08
POS NAME CARRIES RUSH YDS TDs RECS REC YDS TDs FPTS
TE Kyle Pitts 0 0 0 5 51 0.4 9.95

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New York Giants

POS NAME COMP/ATT PASS YDS TDs INTs RUSH YDS TDs FPTS
QB Daniel Jones 20/31 223 2.45 0.7 49 0.25 24
POS NAME CARRIES RUSH YDS TDs RECS REC YDS TDs FPTS
RB Saquon Barkley 14 49 0.85 2 12 0.25 13.68
RB Devontae Booker 3 10 0.1 1 4 0.1 3.05
POS NAME CARRIES RUSH YDS TDs RECS REC YDS TDs FPTS
WR Sterling Shepard 0 0 0 5 67 0.45 12.02
WR Kenny Golladay 0 0 0 3 46 0.65 10.05
WR Darius Slayton 0 0 0 2 35 0.35 6.66
POS NAME CARRIES RUSH YDS TDs RECS REC YDS TDs FPTS
TE Evan Engram 0 0 0 2 26 0.3 5.66

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Quarterback

Atlanta: I’m going to be honest, I was very impressed with how Matt Ryan responded in week two after a disappointing outing for the offense in week one. In a tough matchup against the Bucs defense, Ryan completed 76% of his passes for 300 yards and two touchdowns. With that being said, he did also throw three interceptions and fail to crack the top-24 at the QB position. With a very narrow receiving tree in Atlanta – plus his limited mobility – Ryan’s unlikely to ever enter into the top-15 conversation for fantasy this season. There are too many younger and more athletic QB options that have a much higher ceiling than Ryan in this Falcons offense. Against the Giants, Ryan should be viewed as a low-end QB2.

New York: I’ve been very critical of Daniel Jones previously from a fantasy football perspective and have consistently ranked him outside of my top-24 QBs on the week any time he has an even remotely challenging matchup. However, if he continues to see this type of rushing volume, he’s going to move up my rankings. Jones has now logged 17 rush attempts through two games and has two rushing TDs on the season (and probably should have been credited with a third). Additionally, he’s been extremely effective while running the football and logged 61 Breakaway Yards in week two against Washington. While there are still reasons to be skeptical of him as a passer, he’s going to be on the redraft radar if he continues to be productive as a runner. Against Atlanta – who has been absolutely torched by opposing QBs so far this season – Jones can be viewed as a mid-range QB2.

Running Backs

Atlanta: Mike Davis has now seen 37 opportunities (rush attempts + targets) through two weeks, but it hasn’t exactly amounted to much for fantasy football. He’s just the RB31 on the season up to this point and is behind multiple other players who aren’t seeing anywhere close to the type of volume that he has in this Falcons offense. We need to adjust our expectations for Davis this season and simply view him as a safe option for fantasy lineups that presents very little upside. He won’t hurt your team due to the number of touches he’ll have each week, but he’s not necessarily going to help your lineup either. He’s worth considering as a low-end RB2 in this matchup against the Giants though as New York is allowing an average of 22.3 fantasy points to opposing RBs this season.

New York: Here’s the good news: Saquon Barkley has logged 26 total touches through the first two weeks after working his way back from injury. The bad news? He’s been borderline irrelevant for fantasy purposes. In week two, Barkley had a long run of 41 yards. If you take away that rush attempt, Barkley would’ve gone 12-16-0 on the ground. He’s an incredibly volatile fantasy asset right now that’s hurting lineups more than he’s helping them. We know the talent level that he has, but this offensive line is consistently allowing pressure and preventing Barkley from getting going and he simply doesn’t look to be operating at 100%. Until we see Barkley back to his full self – and seeing north of 20+ touches – we can’t view him as more than a low-end RB2.

Wide Receivers

Atlanta: Calvin Ridley started to see the necessary targets again this past week in a tougher matchup and he came through for fantasy managers. Ridley saw a 20.8% target share against the Buccaneers and put together a 7-70-1 stat line off of that opportunity. Looking ahead to week three, Ridley has a tougher matchup in front of him with Adoree’ Jackson and/or James Bradberry, who both are making life difficult on opposing WRs this season, but he’s going to see enough volume to cancel it out. He can be viewed as a reliable high-end WR2 this week. Cordarrelle Patterson has apparently finally found a place in the NFL that will feature him as a part of the offense. In recent history, “CP” has been used as a gadget player or someone to simply come in from time to time and provide a spark for the offense, but he’s being utilized as an integral part of the Falcons system. While it’s interesting to see – and it certainly worked for fantasy purposes in week two – we’ve seen Patterson be heavily targeted in games previously only to essentially disappear not soon afterward. Patterson is worth picking up off of your waiver wire if you can get him for cheap, but I wouldn’t suggest starting him this upcoming week unless you are truly in a pinch at WR/RB. His versatility on fantasy football platforms is certainly appealing, but we need to wait another week before we can confidently say that it’s different this time around.

New York: Maybe it’s the fact that he’s still working his way back from a hamstring injury, but it hasn’t been all sunshine-and-roses for Kenny Golladay in New York. He’s made some splash plays in contested situations throughout his first two games as a Giant, but he has a mere 50% catch rate, he’s averaging only .6 Yards After Catch per Reception, and he has only a 74.1 Passer Rating when targeted. Jones has been more effective on the ground than he has been as a passer through two weeks and Golladay’s partly to blame for it. With that being said, Golladay now gets to take on the Atlanta Falcons secondary that has seen the Philadelphia Eagles and Tampa Bay Buccaneers light them up through the first two weeks. We can’t trust Golladay as anything more than a boom-or-bust WR3, but the upside is certainly there this week. Raise your hand if you saw Sterling Shepard being more productive and a better fantasy asset than Golladay in New York? Alright, give yourself a pat on the back, you deserve it. Shepard’s been superb through two weeks. He’s averaging 9.5 targets, eight catches, and 103.5 yards per game through the first two matchups. He’s also found the end zone once through that time span, which is putting Shepard consistently in the low-end WR3 conversation. Against the Falcons, who just saw Mike Evans and Chris Godwin gash them repeatedly in week two, Shepard’s in line for another stellar outing. He can be viewed as a mid-range WR3 option that brings an incredibly high floor.

Tight Ends

Atlanta: Kyle Pitts certainly remains heavily involved in this offense in Atlanta, but it’s not exactly translating to the type of production that fantasy managers were hoping for when they drafted him in the 5th round of drafts. With that being said, he’s not crushing your lineup the way that some other fantasy TEs are and he’s providing a safe floor week in and week out. In regards to week three, the Giants are allowing the 4th most fantasy points to opposing TEs this season and Pitts could be in line for one of the performances people were expecting when they spent that premium pick on him. He can be viewed as a mid-range TE1 this week.

New York: Evan Engram appears to be trending towards suiting up this week at the time of writing, but it’s unclear at what health percentage he’ll be operating at and what his target share in this offense will be. I’d prefer to wait a week to see what Engram looks like on the field before I roll him into my starting lineup.

FantasyProjection Buster: Golladay has enormous potential this week, but there’s also an incredibly low floor if Jones can’t come through as a passer in this matchup.

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