Week 3 was a mix of the good, the bad, and the ugly. In other words, it was a normal week in the NFL that provided more data to dive into. Let’s look at some of the most notable surprises and disappointments in Week 3 from a forward-looking perspective.

Surprises in the third week of Fantasy Football

The Panthers are no longer a fantasy desert

Carolina’s decision to bench Bryce Young for Andy Dalton paid immediate dividends. The Red Rifle completed 26 of 37 passes for 319 yards, three touchdowns, zero interceptions and only two sacks. In Dalton’s start for the Panthers last year, he completed 34 of 58 passes for 361 yards, two touchdowns, zero interceptions and three sacks. So the Panthers have shined with Dalton as the starter.

Like last year, Dalton pressed his No. 1 wide receiver. Diontae Johnson had 14 targets, eight receptions, 122 receiving yards and a touchdown. Adam Thielen had five targets, three receptions, 40 receiving yards and a touchdown. Unfortunately, he injured his hamstring on the pike touchdown catch. Dalton isn’t shy when it comes to throwing targets to his wide receivers, and Johnson immediately joins Dalton as one of the top 24 wide receivers of the week.

Xavier Legette should be on the watch list. Chuba Hubbard is also a low-end RB2 until Jonathon Brooks returns from the Non-Football Injury (NFI) list. He is eligible to return after next week, so Hubbard’s value could take a hit as early as Week 5. Still, Hubbard had 26 opportunities (21 rushing attempts and five targets), 114 rushing yards, five receptions, 55 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown in Week 3. Hubbard is an acceptable RB2/Flex at home against the Bengals in Week 4.

The Vikings don’t let up

Minnesota is 3-0 and Sam Darnold is playing efficient football. He has completed 53 of 78 passing attempts for 657 yards, eight touchdowns and two interceptions. The Vikings beat the Giants in Week 1 and the Texans in Week 3. Not surprisingly, Darnold posted his season-high 268 passing yards in a hard-fought game against the 49ers in Week 2. Minnesota’s offense will also benefit from having Jordan Addison and TJ Hockenson healthy.

Darnold belongs to the group of mediocre and so-so QB1 players. Justin Jefferson is a star and needs no analysis. Aaron Jones, however, deserves special mention. He had 19 of Minnesota’s backfield’s 26 rushing attempts in Week 3 and gained 102 rushing yards. According to Pro Football Focus (PFF), Jones ran 14 routes compared to 13 for Ty Chandler, and the former had six targets, five pass catches, 46 receiving yards, and one touchdown reception. Jones has averaged over 60 scrimmage yards in all three games this season, surpassing 100 twice, and scoring a touchdown in Week 1 and Week 3. He’s an RB1 and Chandler is a high-end handcuff.

Fantasy Football Week 2 Disappointments

Everything is bigger in Texas, including concerns about fantasy football

The Vikings trounced the Texans and the Cowboys lost to the Ravens, but Dallas’ margin of defeat was misleading, as they scored a touchdown after recovering an onside kick. The Texans have scored 29, 19 and seven points in three weeks.

Unfortunately, CJ Stroud failed to reach 270 passing yards and only threw multiple touchdowns once. Houston’s passing was again handled by Stefon Diggs (12), Nico Collins (10) and Tank Dell (6) in Week 3. Diggs was inefficient with his heavy workload, catching 10 passes for 94 yards. Collins had four passes for 86 yards and is an unstoppable force. Dell had five passes for 62 scoreless yards. There will be better days for Houston’s offense, but the start to 2024 is not exactly inspiring for anyone except Collins. It’s a prime opportunity to trade Diggs and buy Dell.

The Cowboys have lost two straight home games after beating the Browns 33-17 in Week 1. Dak Prescott had a season-high 379 passing yards, two passing touchdowns, two rush attempts, seven rushing yards and a rushing touchdown against the Ravens, but he benefited tremendously from a garbage time quarter that became exciting after the Cowboys recovered an onside kick. Dallas’ run game is nonexistent and the pass catchers behind CeeDee Lamb and Jake Ferguson are untrustworthy. The biggest problem for Dallas’ fantasy options is their woeful run defense. The Cowboys can’t stop the run and their possessions could be limited if teams play keep away and run out the clock.

Chicago’s running game

D’Andre Swift’s life cycle may already be over. The Lions and Eagles have had enough of his inefficiency, and Swift had 13 rushing attempts for 20 scoreless yards against the Colts in Week 3. Indianapolis had allowed the most rushing yards in the NFL to running backs through the first two weeks, and Swift was a disaster.

Does he take all the blame? No. Roschon Johnson averaged 3.8 yards per carry and Khalil Herbert averaged 2.3 yards per carry against the Colts. Still, according to PFF, Swift had 48 snaps, 28 routes, 13 runs and three targets compared to 33, 22, eight and five for Johnson and nine, two, four and zero for Herbert.

A three-man committee destroys Swift’s fantasy value. Johnson is a viable speculative waiver claim, with the hope that Swift is left off the committee. After all, Swift fits better in the free agent pool than in a fantasy starting lineup.

Other information

Is it time to start the Jameis Coaster?

The Giants sacked Deshaun Watson eight times on Sunday. Watson is completely worn out.

The Cleveland Browns’ offensive success rate in Weeks 1 through 3 is the lowest in a single season for the franchise since 2000.

Deshaun Watson leads the **worst offense of all time for a franchise** for the CLEVELAND BROWNS.

– Austin Gayle (@austingayle_) 23 September 2024

Deshaun Watson has a QBR of 23.2 this season, better than only one other qualifier – Bryce Young.

– Seth Walder (@SethWalder) 23 September 2024

Will Cleveland take a leaf out of Carolina’s book and bench its incompetent starter? Maybe.

Amari Cooper had 12 passing yards, seven pass catches, 86 yards gaining, and two touchdowns against the Giants. In the first two weeks, he had just seven pass catches for 43 yards with no scores. The fantasy manager who has Cooper on his roster could try to sell him high. However, I would suggest that it is an ideal time to buy high with a quarterback change coming up for the Browns.

David Njoku’s value would also increase with Jameis Winston as Cleveland’s starting quarterback. Njoku didn’t practice all week before being ruled out for Week 3, so he could miss another game in Week 4, but players with tight end needs and bench flexibility should keep a close eye on Njoku’s availability.

Josh Shepardson is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Josh, check out his Archive and follow him @BChad50.