Week 3 Fantasy Football Takeaways: Jauan Jennings Stars, Dolphins Struggle, DeVonta Smith among Injured, and More

Week 3 of the NFL regular season is nearly in the books. Before we discuss the two Monday night contests, let’s first take a look at some interesting things that happened between Thursday's and Sunday’s games.

We’ll cover surprise performances (both good and bad), injuries and more!

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Surprisingly Good Showings

There’s been a decent amount of injuries in the NFL this season, opening some opportunities for backups to shine.

San Francisco’s Jauan Jennings took advantage of several teammates being out and went for 175 receiving yards and three touchdowns on 11 receptions and 12 targets. Despite all that, the 49ers lost to the Rams, who are even more decimated by injuries.

Jennings had 101 receiving yards on seven catches and nine targets in the first two weeks combined, and while he was expected to factor in more with several teammates out, nobody was expecting that final line. He had just seven receiving scores in his first three seasons combined coming into the game.

Jennings should be a hot waiver wire pickup as a result, and while the big game might help him remain a part of the offense all season, he’s highly unlikely to produce enough to be a fantasy starter in standard leagues when the Niners are at full health. Still, with so many injured San Fran players now, Jennings should be a highly sought after player for week 4.

Carolina finally won a game, and the offense looked good in a 36-22 victory over Las Vegas. The QB switch from Bryce Young to Andy Dalton paid off in a big way, as Dalton was 26-of-37 for 319 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. 

The big day for Dalton makes things look pretty bleak for Young, and probably means the veteran is going to start at least in week 4. Don’t expect this kind of performance from Dalton again, but he could be at least an average fantasy performer and option for fantasy owners in deeper leagues and two-QB setups. It also gives some of the team’s offensive playmakers (Chuba Hubbard, Diontae Johnson) decent starting value again.

Minnesota moves to 3-0 after blasting Houston 34-7. Sam Darnold was great again, completed 17 of his 28 passes for 181 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions.

The passing yardage was unimpressive, but the four scores made Darnold’s fantasy day great. He’s been one of the better fantasy QBs so far. Every time we expect him to fall back to earth, he just turns in a better performance. 

While I don’t envision him being one of the best fantasy QBs by the end of the season, Darnold at least has become a good starting fantasy QB on a week-to-week basis. Ride the wave until his performance falls off.

Giants’ Daniel Jones threw for 236 yards, two scores and no picks on 24-of-34 passing in the team’s 21-15 win over the Browns. It was the second straight week he had two passing TDs and no picks. 

After a rough week 1, Jones has actually been pretty good the past two weeks. After that performance against a pretty solid defense, Jones should now be part of waiver wire/streaming and start/sit articles. It’s hard to trust him fully looking at his past, but he’s definitely in the conversation now.

Pittsburgh’s Calvin Austin erupted for 95 yards and a touchdown on four grabs and five targets. He had just 13 yards on two catches and three targets coming into the week. Austin’s big game helped the Steelers top the Chargers and move to 3-0.

While Pittsburgh keeps winning, it’s really been the defense leading the way. The offense hasn’t been super consistent, but a big performance like this needs some attention.

George Pickens is the top receiver in Pittsburgh, but with no clear No. 2 guy, Austin could definitely be that guy. He’s another waiver wire option this week, but probably more of a player that should be added and stashed, instead of started right away.

Poor Fantasy Outings

Derek Carr and the New Orleans offense came crashing back to earth in week 3. Carr was 14-of-25 for 142 yards, one touchdown and one pick in the team’s 15-12 loss to Philadelphia.

Carr had a case for early season MVP until that showing. It wasn’t terrible, but it was a big step back from what we saw in the first two weeks. Carr should go back to being on the start/sit line, but probably on the wrong side of things most weeks.

Chargers’ J.K. Dobbins only had 44 rushing yards on 15 carries against the Steelers. 

Dobbins had been over 130 yards and scored in each of the first two weeks, but struggled to get going on Sunday. He dominated the backfield touches, but the poor showing means it will be hard to trust him as a starter in standard leagues. He’ll be on the start/sit line and determining whether to play him or not will come down to matchups.

Several Dolphins struggled in the first game since the Tua Tagovailoa concussion. Backup Skylar Thompson got hurt in the game, and he and Tim Boyle threw for just 140 yards on 32 passing attempts.

De'Von Achane rushed for 30 yards on 11 carries, but added 28 receiving yards on three grabs to post a respectable fantasy total in PPR leagues. Tyreek Hill had just 40 yards on three receptions and five targets, while Jaylen Waddle had 26 yards on four catches and five targets.

This is exactly how I envisioned things going without Tagovailoa being around to lead the offense. Expect the Dolphins to make a quarterback move before the season slips away from them. Until another QB or Tagovailoa are there, it’s going to be really hard to have much confidence in any of the team’s offensive skill players.

The Buccaneers took a surprise loss to the Broncos in week 3, and several players struggled. Baker Mayfield was 25-of-33, but for just 163 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Mike Evans only had 17 yards on two catches and three targets. 

The Bucs had been a nice surprise through two weeks, but now people are wondering if they were a fluke. There’s a mix of good and bad matchups for them coming up, so I’d expect Mayfield to be on the start/sit line again several times. Evans should probably still be started, but if he struggles again next week, then things might get a little more tricky.

Baltimore beat Dallas 28-25, but not because of tight end Mark Andrews. He was held without a catch and had just one target.

It was Andrews’ second really poor fantasy showing, and probably is enough to take him out of the “must start” category - if he was even in that category after having 63 yards on six grabs and seven targets through two weeks.

This poor performance wasn’t accompanied by a monster outing from Isaiah Likely, so at least that’s working for Andrews. He’s likely going to have some mixed showings across the rest of the season, which probably means the start decision for him will be based on his matchup.

Notable Injuries

Chargers’ Justin Herbert left Sunday’s game with an ankle injury. He’s been dealing with injuries all season, and his status will be one to monitor as the week progresses.

Eagles’ DeVonta Smith suffered a concussion, so his status for week 4 is up in the air.

Cardinals’ Trey McBride also is being evaluated for a concussion.

Lions’ Sam LaPorta suffered an ankle injury, so his status moving forward needs to be watched.