If you read nothing else from this article, at least get through these first three paragraphs.
Do not…I repeat…DO NOT drop Justin Fields. I will not pump up the guy as Dan Marino as a passer, but I am here to remind you of the following information from 2022. You decide what to do with the data.
2022 Weeks 1-5: Fields was QB24 in PPG and was dropped in many, MANY leagues.
2022 Week 6-18: Fields was QB3 in PPG and won many, MANY leagues with his running.
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As a Packers fan, I am contractually obligated to dislike the Bears. I do, but I am also a fantasy football realist. If you roster Fields, you must hold him and deal with the pain. If you do not roster him and some clown panics by dropping Fields, you need to scoop him up and stash until the rushing comes to the forefront of that abysmal offense.
Now, onto the regularly scheduled programming. Week 3 is officially in the books, and we had an injury scare with Justin Jefferson that turned out to be cramps. That noise you just heard was the collective sigh of relief from the majority of PPR 1.01 drafters. It appears as if JJ is good to go, and you will have him atop your Week 4 roster per usual.
With the good news regarding Jefferson, the injury bug stepped to the forefront again in Week 3, albeit to a lesser degree than previous weeks. Our rosters were without Saquon Barkley, Austin Ekeler, Bryce Young (deep/SuperFlex leagues), Diontae Johnson, Aaron Jones, and Christian Watson (who has not played this season). Couple those inactive players with the season-ending injury to Mike Williams, and it looks like we have some waiver wire names to discuss. Let’s get to it.
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WAIVERS:
QB: Who had CJ Stroud, HOU, pegged as the QB12 after Week 3? I certainly did not. The rookie play-caller is available in 80% of Yahoo! leagues and is a wonderful add as we move toward bye weeks and as we see QBs go down with an injury (Carr, Richardson) or underperform (Fields, D. Jones). Stroud has found a way to successfully throw the football with virtually no running game and minus three starting offensive linemen. With two solid WRs in Nico Collins and Tank Dell, the Texans appear comfortable throwing the ball to win, and I am here for it, especially as a Nico truther. Play the hot hand while not breaking the bank for Stroud. I recommend waiting for waivers to run in your league and then adding Stroud for free; no FAAB, no loss of waiver priority.
Honorable Mention/Cheaper Options:
Baker Mayfield, TB: Keep laughing, and I will continue to place Baker here until he passes the 50% rostered number. Dude has almost 635+ passing yards and 4 TDs versus only 1 INT through three weeks for the Bucs. (22% rostered)
Both Brock Purdy, SF and Jordan Love, GB, are rostered close to 70%, meaning now is probably the last time you can add either on the cheap. Both are throwing the ball for TD (11 combined) without turning the ball over (1 total INT)
Keep an eye on the Derek Carr shoulder injury because we all know how much fun Jameis Winston can be for fantasy football. (0% rostered)
RB: I know you saw the Miami box score by now, so I do not need to recap what Devon Achane did on Sunday. What I can do is ask you to pump the breaks, considering that performance is highly unlikely to repeat itself. Currently, there is a two-headed RB situation with Raheem Mostert (or Must Start, depending on how you pronounce it), and it could quickly turn into the dreaded RBBC once Jeff Wilson Jr. is back in the mix. My recommendation for your shares of Achane is to sell high, especially if you need help at WR/TE. There will never be a better time to sell Achane (or Mostert) than right now. Look for the Chubb/Ekeler/Barkley/D. Henry/J. Jacobs/Najee owner and strike up a deal. There is no doubt in my mind those managers are in double-secret probation panic mode (name the movie in the comments!). Achane is currently available in almost 60% of Yahoo! leagues. I would not break the bank for him. Let someone else pay now and give up the opportunity to make competitive waiver moves later in the season. If you subscribed to Zero RB, your team is probably very competitive, so stay the course. If your RB room is decimated, then you have no choice but to make a run at the rookie RB. My opinion is to pass unless you have no other viable RB options.
Honorable Mention/Cheaper Options:
Tyjae Spears, TEN: King Henry does not look right and is currently being outsnapped by Spears. It is time to pay attention and stash him on your bench, especially if you roster Henry. (24% rostered)
Roschon Johnson, CHI: As a Packers fan, I love writing that the Bears are an absolute mess. With that, my favorite RB on that team is still Johnson. Grab and stash. (48% rostered)
WR: Joshua Palmer, LAC, stepped in after Mike Williams went down with what appears to be a season-ending knee injury. In fact, Palmer played every snap with Keenan Allen after Williams’ departure significantly more than rookie Quentin Johnston. With an ineffective rush game, this will be your one opportunity to land a solid WR2 in a predominantly passing offense. I would look to drop 15-25% of my FAAB to acquire Palmer. Remember 2022 when Palmer stepped in and averaged close to 15 PPR PPG? Well, the same dude is about to do the same thing. Grab Palmer now!
Honorable Mention/Cheaper Options:
Tank Dell, HOU: Out-targeted Nico Collins in Week 3 and appears to have a significant connection with Stroud (32% rostered)
DJ Chark/Adam Thielen, CAR: Just go look at the numbers from Week 3 with Chark back and the ageless Thielen pulling in copious targets. (10%, 47% rostered respectively)
Jayden Reed, GB: He may not have scored, but the route-to-target numbers cannot be denied. Add to that the fact we have no idea if/when Watson will see the field with his Keenan Allen-like hamstrings. (21% rostered)
TE: The position is a mess right now. If you waited to draft the position, like I did, then you get what you see through three weeks…TRASH! Continue to stream, and I wish you the best of luck. I streamed Taysom Hill in Week 3 in my two most important leagues. What a mistake that was. Luke Musgrave looked good in Week 3 and had eight targets, which is more than I can say for most streamer TE options. Since I must give you some names here, I lean toward Musgrave and Hayden Hurst (stats have declined each of the three weeks so far). If you play in a standard, non-PPR league, you should pay attention to Donald Parham, who is clearly the LAC gameplan inside the red zone.
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-Mitch-
