Fantasy Football Player Notes

Saquon Barkley's managers were on a rollercoaster last week. After leaving the game early with a "stinger", Barkley ended up returning for the rest of the game in the second half. In his absence, Tank Bigsby was admirable, carrying the rock 13 times for 33 yards and a score. Barkley ended up only playing 16% of snaps, collecting 20 yards in total. It has not been the start that Barkley's Managers had been hoping for this season. It will be important to monitor the injury reports this week to ensure he is ready to go for Monday Night Football. If he is, they face the Bears, who may be without Caleb Williams. Either way, this Bears defense is a great "get right" matchup for an Eagles offense that has not been firing on all cylinders. If Barkley is fully healthy, expect a nice fantasy week that will hopefully set him up for the rest of the season.

As much as it was a very impressive final drive by Jalen Hurts and DeVonta Smith to win the game, they nearly lost to the Titans. Despite being 2-0, the Eagles offense needs some help. Specifically, their offensive line needs to help this running game. Thankfully, Jalen Hurts has been an impressive passer and hyper targeted Smith last week. Targeting him 13 times last week, Smith finished with 10 receptions for 117 yards and a score. This week, they face the Bears who may or may not have Caleb Williams. We all hope Williams is out there for what could be an electric Monday Night Football offensive battle. The Bears are coming off a loss that was heavily influenced by rainy weather. As a result, their defensive stats are generous against the pass. Don't forget we saw Bryce Young and company torch this secondary in Week 1. Fire up Smith in an electric matchup to finish off Week 3.

After two games, Dontayvion Wicks is the WR18 in fantasy points per game. He has a 16.1% target share, 2.72 YPRR, two red zone targets, four deep targets, and a 23.1% first-read share. Last week, his route share dropped to 64.3% from 81.8% the previous week. Am I freaking out? No, but it's something to monitor. Wicks is a nice flex play again this week. Chicago has allowed the most yards per target and the third-most fantasy points per opportunity to perimeter wide receivers.

Makai Lemon remains a bench stash only. Through two games, he has only an 8.1% target share, 0.15 YPRR, zero red-zone deep targets, and a 10.3% first-read share. Maybe with Dallas Goedert out, Lemon will see a boost in usage, but with how little he has been involved to this point, there's no way I can feel good enough about recommending flexing him into a fantasy lineup.