CeeDee Lamb looks to explode vs. the Eagles, Tyler Lockett hopes to remain scorching in Minnesota and Terry McLaurin eyes a hot streak against Buffalo.
Other positions: Quarterback | Running Back | Tight End/Kickers/Defense
Week 3 Receivers
WR Notes: Tyreek Hill has a rough recent history against the Chargers. You just write that sort of thing off when it is someone like Tyreek Hill. … Washington’s pass defense enters Week 3 surprisingly allowing the seventh most receiver fantasy points after dates with the Chargers and Giants. It will be a slump-shaker for Stefon Diggs unless the Football Team’s front seven finally gets going against Josh Allen. … The time is right for a CeeDee Lamb eruption spot. Michael Gallup is out, Amari Cooper (ribs) is ailing, the Eagles are tough against the run and vulnerable on the back end. Lamb is already second in the league with 24 targets… Is it just me, or has DeAndre Hopkins’ lower-body explosion been trending the wrong direction since the middle of last season? It’s probably just in my head, though I am keeping my eyes peeled. Regardless, there will still be more than enough compiling for weekly top-eight WR1 status. … Cooper Kupp is the WR1 by total half PPR points. He is both finding the soft spots and having them schemed open by an ever-more dangerous Rams offense. … Justin Jefferson is 13th in targets (19) and 12th in air yards. Only a matter of time.
At least so far, the Vikings’ defense is scarcely improved on 2020. That is … poor news with DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett coming to town. Metcalf’s start has been slowed by Lockett scoring a 119-yard touchdown every other play, but that’s all it is, a slow start. As for Lockett, this is the healthiest he has looked in some time. He has notched 60-plus yard TDs in back-to-back games after previously not doing so since 2017. … The Chiefs’ defense has bigger problems on the ground than through the air, but they have not been exemplary anywhere. It is almost impossible to envision a quiet Keenan Allen performance. … We are entering concerning hours for Calvin Ridley. It’s not so much that Julio Jones is gone. It’s that no one else is there in the receiver corps. You are free to roll all your corners Ridley’s way. A heavy dose of James Bradberry could be on the docket, but that is a physical matchup Ridley should win. If Ridley has another quiet day against this struggling Giants defense, 2021 reassessments could be in order. … With Robby Anderson seemingly returning to his ancestral field-stretching role, D.J. Moore continues to stack Stefon Diggs points in his favor. We could be looking at the birth of an every-week WR1, though yet another potential non-competitive game flow looms as a Week 3 concern.
A.J. Brown is off to a sluggish start after a host of maintenance days for his knee. Thankfully, his leg doesn’t appear to be the reason for his modest 7/92/1 line. The Titans’ passing attack didn’t show up for Week 1 and was funneled through Julio Jones for Week 2. The Colts don’t have an AJB stopper, or a Julio one for that matter. If there is a concern, it’s that the Titans dominate time of possession against the Jacob Eason-quarterbacked Colts. … Antonio Brown is on the COVID-19 list, leaving Chris Godwin and Mike Evans to face the Rams. Evans is far more likely than Godwin to draw Jalen Ramsey’s shadow, though the Rams can be unpredictable. With AB sidelined, I will bet on Godwin’s middle-of-the-field dominance. … Taylor Heinicke smartly locked onto Terry McLaurin against the Giants. The Bills are a step up on the G-Men in terms of both quarterback and receiver matchups. McLaurin’s Week 3 will be more about the targets than big-play potential. … Adam Thielen did not get the regression memo, and it might not be coming with Tyler Conklin running as the Vikes’ No. 1 tight end. These red zone targets have nowhere else to go.
I hope the Packers don’t plan on giving YAC maestro Deebo Samuel as much space as they afforded the Saints and Lions. Former 0-16 Lions DC Joe Barry needs to make an adjustment. As for Samuel, any potential Brandon Aiyuk targets threat seems miles away from fruition. … Amari Cooper (ribs) is tentatively on track to play against the Eagles on Monday. He doesn’t have a glorious record when operating at less than 100 percent. … It’s been a tough road to hoe for Allen Robinson so far in 2021. We hope the switch to Justin Fields changes that. Myles Garrett’s front seven isn’t the recommended place to make your NFL debut, but the Browns have not looked fully organized through two contests. … Mike Williams’ early-season targets bonanza is one of the year’s most interesting storylines. He could be in the right place at the right time for top-20 value. … Sterling Shepard is clearly Daniel Jones’ preferred No. 1 receiver over Kenny Golladay. Shepard makes it easy vs. man coverage over the middle of the field, while Golladay makes it hard for someone like Jones on the outside. I see little reason to expect a reversal of fortunes any time soon. Shepard’s durability issues could be the only thing standing in his way. … Consider the rust shaken off for Courtland Sutton. Despite Neil Young’s protestations, it will remain sleeping vs. the pathetic Jets.
Hot-starting Marquise Brown gets a Lions “defense” surrendering a league worst 10.8 yards per attempt. Consider the dots connected. … Diontae Johnson (knee) seems 75-25 to suit up. If he’s out there, Ben Roethlisberger supplies the targets come wind, rain or snow. … Marvin Jones is the Jaguars’ No. 1 receiver in the early going. Laviska Shenault hasn’t appeared ready for the “Percy Harvin role,” struggling to make things happen on his own. D.J. Chark, meanwhile, has been an air yards hero but actual yards zero. … Rondale Moore may have as many fantasy points as routes run, but it feels hard to overreact to his hot start. He is the YAC element this offense was so badly missing in 2020. There will be down weeks with this volatile skill-set and targets situation. It is simply worth betting on the upside in this shootout-machine offense. … Will Fuller arrives one week later than expected to screw up the Dolphins’ targets delineation. It is also not a moment too soon for an offense in crisis. It is nevertheless too risky to bet on Fuller as a WR4 with the arch-conservative Jacoby Brissett filling in for Tua Tagovailoa. … Henry Ruggs got interesting just in time to face the Dolphins’ elite secondary. Consider the breakout on hold.