One-Hit Wonders or Here to Stay? Analyzing Week 3 Breakout Players: Jauan Jennings, Aaron Rodgers, Dallas Goedert, Devin Singletary and More

Week 3 of the NFL regular season has come and gone. Fantasy football owners are onto week 4, but as we turn the page, I wanted to go over some players who have stood out or underperformed in week 3 or so far this season and then identify if these players can can either keep things going or turn things around.

We’ll cover the standouts from week 3 and this season in this article and dive into the panic meter later. Here’s the story from this series from last week.

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Wide Receivers

Jauan Jennings and Diontae Johnson are two week 3 standouts who I want to highlight this week.

Jennings took advantage of several San Francisco teammates who were out. Jennings caught 11 of the 12 passes thrown his way in week 3. He turned his catches into 175 yards and three touchdowns.

It was the biggest fantasy performance of the season (in PPR leagues) so far this season, and one that will be nearly impossible to replicate going forward. Jennings will be a big-time waiver wire target because of the big showing. 

Fantasy owners are wary of adding Jennings because they know at some point the Niners’ offense will get healthy and push Jennings out of the picture. The problem is that we don’t know when that will happen.

Because of the uncertainty surrounding the health of so many Niners, I like the idea of adding Jennings this week and playing him until Deebo Samuel Sr. and George Kittle are both back in the lineup. I too believe Jennings’ value will drop off when everyone is healthy, but I’d take advantage of Jennings’ expanded role until that point.

Johnson finally got going in week 3, with 122 yards and a touchdown on eight grabs and 14 targets. The move from Bryce Young to Andy Dalton definitely was a positive for Johnson.

I don’t anticipate Johnson replicating those numbers in every start Dalton makes, but as the clear No. 1 receiver, there’s no reason Johnson couldn’t be a weekly starter in all fantasy formats. Against below-average or worse defenses, I’m all for starting Johnson when Dalton is the starter.

I don’t think Dalton will start the rest of the season, so that makes things tricky when it comes to Johnson. I’d prefer to sell high on Johnson, and that hopefully would come after another good showing in week 4. 

Quarterbacks

Sam Darnold and Aaron Rodgers are the two quarterbacks I’m going to highlight this week.

Darnold threw four more touchdowns in week 3 and now has eight through three weeks. He’s got only 657 passing yards so far, but the touchdown total and only two interceptions make for a good fantasy QB.

I keep writing about how I’m expecting a falloff from Darnold, but it hasn’t come yet. Things get a lot tougher the next two weeks, as the Packers and Jets are tough matchups for fantasy quarterbacks. Maybe the next two weeks will bring Darnold back down to earth, but there’s also some favorable matchups (Lions, Rams, Colts, Jaguars) after that. 

Darnold has played well enough through three weeks to definitely be part of start/sit decisions among a big group of fantasy QBs. He’s looked good against good and bad defenses, but I’d still leave his start decision up to his matchup that coming week.

Rodgers has had a couple good fantasy showings in a row and also enters that QB start/sit conversation. He’s completed 67.4% of his passes for 624 yards, five touchdowns and just one pick so far.

The only problem is that Rodgers has a brutal next four games - Broncos, Vikings, Bills and Steelers. Those are all above-average defenses when it comes to slowing opposing fantasy quarterbacks.

Rodgers won’t be on the right side of the start/sit line because of those matchups, but another good showing in week 4 would ease the mind of more fantasy owners, many of whom are probably willing to play Rodgers after his back-to-back good fantasy outings.

Tight Ends

Dallas Goedert and Cole Kmet are the two tight ends I want to discuss this week.

Goedert went off for 170 yards on 10 receptions and 11 targets in week 3. He had 69 yards on seven catches and nine targets in the first two games combined.

While I don’t see Goedert being able to replicate those numbers all season, I do see him as a weekly starter for the time being. A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith are dealing with injuries, and with no other really proven wideouts on the roster, Goedert should be the go-to target for quarterback Jalen Hurts. 

The matchups don’t matter as much for Goedert if Brown and Smith are out. He needs to be starting in week 4 when the Eagles face the Buccaneers. Tampa Bay’s defense is a bottom-10 defense in slowing opposing fantasy TEs so far this season.

Kmet had 97 yards and a touchdown on 10 receptions and 11 targets in week 1. He had just 31 yards on five catches and six targets in the first two weeks combined.

The Bears’ offense is also dealing with some injuries, which opened the door for Kmet to step up. There’s more options in Chicago than there is in Philly though, so I’m not as high on Kmet moving forward. 

Kmet has a super favorable schedule coming up though, so I’d definitely add him and start him until his fantasy numbers fade. He’s got bottom-10 defenses over the next five weeks.

Running Backs

Aaron Jones and Devin Singletary are the two running backs I’d like to discuss this week.

Jones went for 102 rushing yards on 19 attempts in week 3, while also adding 46 receiving yards and a score on five catches and six targets. He had 126 rushing yards and a score on 23 attempts and 51 receiving yards on seven catches and eight targets through two weeks.

Many fantasy owners thought the Vikings’ backfield was trending toward a committee between Jones and Ty Chandler, but Jones got 17 more touches and played 16 more snaps this week.

Jones all of a sudden looks like a good weekly starter, but I wouldn’t be too quick to say that. If he continues to dominate the touches and snaps for another week, then I’d be more of a believer.

He’s got an average matchup in week 3 against the Packers before rough matchups against the Jets and Lions, so Jones could be a sell high trade candidate for me if he delivers another big showing in week 4.

Singletary has performed better than I expected so far this season, and is coming off his best showing in week 3. He had 65 rushing yards and a score on 16 carries, while adding 43 yards on four receptions and targets. He had 95 total yards and a score on 17 touches in week 2 and 52 total yards on 14 touches in week 1.

The Giants’ offense has played much better the past two weeks, and in week 3, it came against what’s looked to be a pretty good Browns’ defense. While Singletary might not wow you with big fantasy numbers, he’s a very solid option, with a pretty safe floor too.

I see his fantasy success continuing regardless of the defensive matchup he’s facing. The best part about Singletary as a fantasy option is that he’s dominating the snaps and touches in the Giants’ backfield, so you don’t have to worry about anyone else, for now at least.

Singletary is a pretty affordable trade target if you’ve lost some RBs to injury, or simply haven’t gotten good play out of the position.