Week 2 was not kind to many. Some lost their matchups, while many lost their starting quarterback. I will address that and a whole lot more in my Week 3 PPR Rankings write up! Make sure to check back as there are a bunch of injuries that will change the rankings as we get closer to Sunday!
- Drew Brees exited with a thumb injury and will be out 4-6 weeks. It was worse news for Ben Roethlisberger, who left due to an elbow injury and will need season-ending surgery. Teddy Bridgewater will man the Saints while Mason Rudolph will lead the Steelers. If you lost those two I would rank the waiver wire QBs: Josh Allen, Jimmy Garoppolo, Andy Dalton, Jacoby Brissett, Mason Rudolph, Daniel Jones, Gardner Minshew, Teddy Bridgewater, Luke Falk, Kyle Allen.
- Michael Thomas was still the Saints top target with Bridgewater. He had 11 targets, while Jared Cook had five, Alvin Kamara nad Taysom Hill had three apiece.
- JuJu Smith-Schuster saw five targets with Mason Rudolph, leading the team. Vance McDonald had four, Diontae Johnson had three while James Conner had two. However, James Washington is looking like he could make some noise here. Not only did Donte Moncrief have a bad drop and basically get benched (31 percent snaps), but Washington and Rudolph played together at Oklahoma State, where Washington put up 74-1,549-13 in his senior season.
- The Jets are also with a new QB this week, with Luke Falk getting sprung into action. His top target was Le’Veon Bell with eight, while Robby Anderson had six, Jamison Crowder had five and Ty Montgomery had three.
- Larry Fitzgerald is looking like a beast so far this season. He’s averaging 12 targets per game, the third-most in the NFL and is sixth in air yards (268).
- There is still a chance that Cam Newton suits up this week, but it isn’t looking great. If he misses, Kyle Allen will get the start. We have a small one-start sample size to check out by Allen and his top targets in 2018 were: Ian Thomas (6), DJ Moore (6), Curtis Samuel (5), Jarius Wright (5) and Christian McCaffrey (3). He averaged 8.7 air yards per attempt in 2018. To put that into perspective, Newton has averaged 8.4 air yards per attempt this season (7.1 in 2018).
- Sticking with that game, the Cardinals have allowed the most fantasy PPG to TEs this season (31.2). He is a strong play this week regardless of the QB, as long as he is healthy.
- This is a big week for Devonta Freeman. Fantasy owners are definitely worried about the Falcons runner, and for good reason. He hasn’t looked good and is getting outplayed by Ito Smith. But, he has faced the Vikings and Eagles, two tough run defenses. This week he gets the Colts who have allowed the second-most PPR PPG to running backs (33.3). It is a big prove it week for Freeman, but if you still believe in him, now would be the time to buy.
- Deebo Samuel is a very strong play this week. He leads 49ers in snaps (62%), targets (10), receptions (8) and receiving yards (104) this season. He also has a favorable matchup, going against the Steelers who have been victimized by the slot more than anyone. The Steelers are allowing 41.45 PPR PPG this season, no other team is within 15 PPG of that.
- This is a big week for Jameis Winston and the Bucs passing attack. Outside of Chris Godwin, they have all disappointed. This week they face a Giants defense that has allowed the third-most fantasy PPG to QBs (27.8). If Winston, Mike Evans and specifically O.J. Howard, who HC Bruce Arians sys will get more balls (not hard since he had zero targets last week), can’t get going this week, then it becomes time to worry.
Week 3 PPR, Half-PPR, and Standard Rankings
Are you digging on Michael’s Week 3 PPR Rankings? For more help on your Week 2 decisions also check out Joel Bartilotta’s Fantasy Football Waiver Wire and Scott Engel’s Week 2 FAAB Guide.
Michael Florio is the winner of the 2018 FSWA Baseball Article of the Year and was a finalist for the 2017 Fantasy Football Writer of the Year. He has hosted video/radio shows, written for a number of print and web publications including the AP, NY Daily News and much more!
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