Monday night’s NFC East showdown between the Eagles and Cowboys was full of fantasy football stars. Some of them excelled (Ezekiel Elliott) and some disappointed (Amari Cooper). I hope you got whatever performances you needed from your players or your opponents’ players to secure a win. If not, I’m here to assist you with roster adjustments to help you bounce back with a win this week.
Navigating the Waiver Wire
More injuries befell star players like Christian McCaffrey and A.J. Brown this past weekend. Jennifer Piacenti has waiver wire recommendations for how much FAAB you should spend to acquire their backups and what other available options you should add to improve your roster this week.
Droppables
Waiver advice isn’t complete without laying out the players who it’s time to bail on in favor of making those roster upgrades and a few players on the fringe of being cut.
Trevor Lawrence: Jacksonville’s rookie quarterback is tied for the league led in interceptions with Jets rookie Zach Wilson. That’s not great company for Lawrence to keep considering the expectations many had for him coming into the NFL and the skill position players he has around him. There have certainly been flashes from the No. 1 overall pick, which is more than you can say for some of the first-year signal callers, but the turnovers aren’t enough to make up for the lack of passing yards (25th) and poor completion percentage (33rd). And the rushing floor that Lawrence displayed at Clemson has been nonexistent. It’s safe to part with him in redraft leagues.
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Nelson Agholor: New England’s marquee free agent wide receiver signing has failed to click with rookie quarterback Mac Jones, who’s having his own struggles. Agholor has caught 10 of 18 passes from Jones and has not yet hauled in a deep ball from his QB, which was his specialty a year ago with the Raiders. Jakobi Meyers has asserted himself as the No. 1 option in this so-far dismal Patriots offense and tight end Hunter Henry has been more involved in recent weeks. Right now, a secondary or even tertiary option in New England’s passing game is not worth a roster spot given how deep the receiver position is.
On the bubble: Buccaneers running back Ronald Jones II has 52 rushing yards in three games. He’s not at all involved in the passing game and his longest play of the season went for 10 yards. Though his lack of production is not entirely on him, considering Tampa Bay has run the ball the fewest number of times in the NFL, he’s not even the team’s leading rusher — Leonard Fournette is. Elijah Moore was a potential sleeper pick before the season began and his quarterback, Zach Wilson, began turning the ball over at an alarming rate. Wilson has nearly as many interceptions (seven) as Moore has receptions (eight). New York’s offense is dismal and Moore, so far, is the third option behind Corey Davis and Braxton Berrios.
Reading
Frankie Taddeo went 2-for-3 on his Monday Night Football bets, picking Dallas -3 to cover and Ezekiel Elliott as any anytime touchdown scorer. Richard Johnson’s composite college football model picked two of the more surprising underdog covers of the weekend: West Virginia (+16) against Oklahoma and Georgia State (+27) versus Auburn.
Fantasy Football Volume Report: Nick Chubb was on the wrong side of the efficiency metric this week. See who else made the cut and how sustainable each performance is in this week’s Targets, Touches, Volume and Regression Index.
The ManningCast Rules: Eli and Peyton Manning have been hilarious, insightful and capable of pulling top-tier guests like LeBron James and Nick Saban. Eli is also still adjusting to being on live TV.
SI Sportsbook: Head on over to SI Sportsbook for $7,500 in risk free bets.
Standout Stats From the Weekend
The Good
Ja’Marr Chase continued his touchdown streak to begin the season in Sunday’s win over the Steelers. The rookie found the end zone twice in Week 3 and his four touchdowns are good for second in the league. So much for not being able to catch the NFL ball.
Mike Williams is the WR2 in PPR formats. In the past, the Chargers receiver has been known for his up and down performances from week to week, but he’s strung together three strong weeks to start the season. He’s fifth in the NFL in catches, sixth in yards and tied for second in receiving touchdowns coming off a two-touchdown outing against the Chiefs.
The Bad
Up until this week, Mac Jones had looked to be the best rookie quarterback. Or at least, he hadn’t messed up yet. Jones joined the three-interception club against the Saints in the worst game of his young career.
DeAndre Hopkins is trending in the wrong direction after a three-catch, 21-yard performance against the Jaguars. It wasn’t like the Cardinals were lacking on offense — Christian Kirk and A.J. Green both went over 100 yards. Hopkins is down to the WR22 after a lackluster game.
The Weird
Trey Sermon fantasy managers were frustrated to see Kyle Juszczyk’s usage against the Packers on Sunday night. The fullback carried the ball five times, caught all four of his targets and added a touchdown. In a game where Sermon was labeled the starter, his leash looked very short and a poor outing was salvaged by a goal-line score.
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The Washington Football Team defense ran into the buzzsaw that is the Bills offense on Sunday. Washington allowed 43 points and finished with negative eight fantasy points. The unit is now dead last in defensive scoring after being one of the higher drafted defenses.
What to expect this week at SI Fantasy and Betting
Michael Fabiano will have his weekly Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em on Wednesday. You can also expect player projections from Shawn Childs and line movements from Frankie Taddeo.
Good luck with your waivers. I’ll be back in your inbox Thursday morning ahead of the matchup that everyone is talking about: Bengals vs. Jaguars!