Week #3 of the NFL season has come and gone, and as always, there were some fantasy surprises—both for the good and the bad. Here, we will help you to make sense of a few of the bigger surprises to us. The hope is that this knowledge can help you to be better prepared for next week and the rest of the football season as you prep your daily fantasy football rosters.
Busts of the Week
Odell Beckham, Jr., WR, New York Giants
Honestly, this was Beckham’s best week from a fantasy point of view so far this season. But he still underperformed based upon what he’s capable of. It seems that QB Eli Manning still isn’t relying on Beckham to the level that he used to, and this is hurting both the Giants, who lost a game that they shouldn’t have, and it’s hurting Beckham’s fantasy worth. This will change, especially as he gets healthier and proves what he’s capable of. We thought for sure that this would happen this week, but apparently not. He had 7 receptions for 121 yards, but no touchdowns.
Marcus Mariota, QB, Tennessee Titans
Mariota was hyped to do well this weekend against the subpar Oakland Raiders, and a lot of Titans fans were surprised. He threw for 214 yards and had 22 yards in rushing, which isn’t awful, but there were no touchdowns, and he threw 2 interceptions. He also had two fumbles for losses, which drove down his fantasy value severely. Depending on the league you were in, that impact would have been worse than in others, but there’s no way that these things helped him or his team. It’s unclear of whether or not this was a one-time fluke or something fundamentally wrong with Mariota’s play. Either way, we’d be really cautious moving forward with him this season.
Matt Forte, RB, New York Jets
Forte should have had a strong game here, but his fantasy value was hurt a lot thanks to the fact that the Chiefs tore apart New York. He had 65 rushing yards, 2 receptions, and a loss of 1 yard on those 2 receptions. There were no touchdowns. Forte is capable of better, but this was a rough game for the whole Jets team.
Diamonds of the Week
Mike Evans, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Evans had a strong game against the L.A. Rams. He had 10 receptions for 132 yards, including a touchdown. He was a mid to top tier wide receiver in most leagues this weekend, and he performed at the top level, giving him great value in almost every league. He wasn’t the top performing wide out this weekend, and likely won’t be in most situations, but he was a great value pick and if he doesn’t go up too much in price in your league, could have some great potential further into the season.
New England Patriots Defense
If you play in a league that allows you to incorporate Thursday night games, you wouldn’t have done any better than the Pats’ defense. They gave up 0 points, shutting out the Houston Texans. The Patriots defense had 2 sacks against Texans QB Brock Osweiler and 1 interception. This was an exceptional outing for the Pats’ D, but it did show what they are capable of and they are currently ranked near the top of the NFL rankings when it comes to points allowed per game at just 15.0.
Kansas City Chiefs Defense
Speaking of awesome defenses, the Chiefs had a phenomenal outing against the New York Jets. They gave up 3 points, but they had a surprising 6 interceptions, a fumble recovered for a touchdown, and a recovery for a touchdown. They may have given up more points than the Patriots, but they had a far more impressive game otherwise.
David Johnson, RB, Arizona Cardinals
Johnson had 2 rushing touchdowns against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. He rushed for 83 yards, but he also had 3 receptions for 28 yards. These extra plays didn’t help his fantasy value a lot, but they edged him up from an above average performance to a great one. Johnson has shown us now that he’s a versatile player and capable of a lot more than most fantasy experts gave him credit for. We like him and plan on using him more and more this season.
