Fantasy Football Outlook: Deshaun Watson, Sam LaPorta, Adam Trautman, James Cook

Every week we’ll bring you The Primer, a deep dive into every fantasy-relevant player from every NFL game of the week. You can find the full weekly Primer here. Below we dive into a few notable players ahead of this weekend’s games.

Fantasy Football Outlook

Deshaun Watson: I warned everyone this offseason that 2022 Watson could be quite similar this season. The former magic he possessed on an NFL field looks to be gone. Watson has the 12th-lowest passing grade, third-lowest yards per attempt, and second-lowest adjusted completion rate. He is 19th in fantasy points per dropback. That said, this is the matchup for Watson to turn his fortunes around. If it can happen in 2023, it should start in Week 3 against a burnable Titans’ pass defense. Tennessee has permitted the fourth-highest yards per attempt, eighth-highest passer rating, and the 12th-most fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks. Week 3 Positional Value: QB2 with QB1 upside this week

Sam LaPorta: Around here, we stan Sammy Ballgame. Don’t look now, rookie tight-end haters. LaPorta is the TE6 in fantasy points per game. He’s sixth in receiving grade, third in YPRR, and 11th in YAC per reception. Last week, his route run per team dropback rate ranked seventh (78.4%). Last year, Atlanta allowed the seventh-most receiving yards and the fourth-most fantasy points to tight ends. This season, they have surrendered the 11th-most fantasy points to the position. Week 3 Positional Value: Locked-in TE1

Adam Trautman: Trautman enters the streaming category this week. His 9.1% target share, 0.71 YPRR, and 60.8% route run per team dropback don’t scream upside, but the matchup is sexy. Last season, Miami allowed the eighth-most receiving yards and third-most fantasy points to tight ends. This season, it’s been much of the same as the Dolphins have surrendered the fifth-most receiving yards and the second-most fantasy points to tight ends. Week 3 Positional Value: Top-shelf TE streaming option

James Cook: Cook has been the Bills’ workhorse with 59% of the snaps each week, averaging 18.5 touches and 111 total yards as the RB12 in fantasy. Cook is the RB12 in fantasy despite scoring zero touchdowns. Let that sink in. Yes, I know the Bills have had five running attempts inside the five-yard line, and zero have gone Cook’s direction. The fact is that he will not continue to score zero touchdowns this season. When he does start breaking some big plays into the end zone we’re talking about a possible top-six fantasy back. Cook has the tenth-lowest stuff rate, the 11th-highest missed tackles forced per attempt, and the 11th-highest yards after contact per attempt. Washington has been another mixed-bag run defense. They have the sixth-lowest stuff rate and the second-highest rate of runs of five or more yards allowed, but they also have the fifth-lowest missed tackles allowed per attempt and the 11th-lowest yards per carry allowed to gap runs (Cook 86% gap). Don’t expect Cook to get much going through the air, as Washington allowed the 11th-lowest yards per reception to backs last season. Week 3 Positional Value: RB1