There was a mix of good, bad and ugly in Week 3. In other words, it was a standard week in the NFL, providing more data to dive into. Let’s look at some of the most noteworthy surprises and disappointments in Week 3 through a forward-thinking lens.

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Fantasy Football Week 3 Surprises

The Panthers Are No Longer a Fantasy Wasteland

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

Like last year, Dalton peppered his No. 1 wide receiver. Diontae Johnson had 14 targets, eight receptions, 122 receiving yards and one touchdown. Adam Thielen had five targets, three receptions, 40 receiving yards and a touchdown. Sadly, he hurt his hamstring on the diving touchdown grab. Dalton isn’t shy about feeding targets to his wide receivers, and Johnson is immediately a top-24 weekly wide receiver with Dalton.

Xavier Legette is worth putting on the watch list. Chuba Hubbard is also a low-end RB2 until Jonathon Brooks returns from the Non-Football Injury (NFI) list. He’s eligible to return after next week. So, Hubbard’s value could take a hit as soon as Week 5. Nevertheless, Hubbard had 26 opportunities (21 rush 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 Aren’t Slowing Down

Minnesota is 3-0, and Sam Darnold is playing efficient football. He’s completed 53 of 78 pass attempts for 657 yards, eight touchdowns and two interceptions. The Vikings blew out the Giants in Week 1 and the Texans in Week 3. Unsurprisingly, Darnold’s season-high 268 passing yards were in a competitive game against the 49ers in Week 2. Minnesota’s offense will also benefit when Jordan Addison and T.J. Hockenson are healthy.

Darnold is in the steamer/fringe QB1 mix. Justin Jefferson is a stud and doesn’t require any analysis. However, Aaron Jones should be shouted out. He had 19 of Minnesota’s backfield’s 26 rush attempts for 102 rushing yards in Week 3. According to Pro Football Focus (PFF), Jones ran 14 routes versus 13 for Ty Chandler, and the former had six targets, five receptions, 46 receiving yards and one touchdown reception. Jones has exceeded 60 scrimmage yards in all three games this season, besting 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 the Fantasy Football Concerns

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

Sadly, C.J. Stroud hasn’t cleared 270 passing yards and threw multiple touchdowns only once. Houston’s targets were funneled through Stefon Diggs (12), Nico Collins (10) and Tank Dell (six) yet again in Week 3. Diggs wasn’t efficient with his hefty workload, reeling in 10 receptions for 94 yards. Collins had four receptions for 86 yards and is an unstoppable force. Dell had five receptions for 62 scoreless yards. There will be better days for Houston’s offense, but the start of 2024 is uninspiring for everyone other than Collins. It’s an outstanding opportunity to sell Diggs and buy Dell.

The Cowboys have lost back-to-back games at home 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 one rushing touchdown against the Ravens, but he benefited immensely from a garbage-time fourth quarter that became intriguing after the Cowboys recovered an onside kick. Dallas’s running game is non-existent, and the pass-catching options behind CeeDee Lamb and Jake Ferguson are untrustworthy. The most significant issue for Dallas’s fantasy options is their pitiful run defense. The Cowboys can’t stop the run, and their possessions could be limited if teams play keep away and milk the clock.

Chicago’s Running Game

The D’Andre Swift life cycle might have already reached its conclusion. The Lions and Eagles had enough of his inefficiency, and Swift had 13 rush 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 two weeks, and Swift was a dumpster fire.

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

A three-way committee kills Swift’s fantasy value. Johnson is a viable speculative waiver claim, with the hope Swift is phased out of the committee. Finally, Swift is a better fit for the free-agent pool than a fantasy starting lineup.

Miscellaneous Note

Is It Time to Fire Up the Jameis Coaster?

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

The Cleveland Browns’ offensive success rate in Week 1-3 is the lowest its ever been in any season for the franchise since 2000.

Deshaun Watson is leading an **all-time-franchise bad** offense for the CLEVELAND BROWNS.

– Austin Gayle (@austingayle_) September 23, 2024

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

– Seth Walder (@SethWalder) September 23, 2024

Will Cleveland take a page from Carolina’s playbook and bench their incompetent starter? Maybe.

Amari Cooper had 12 targets, seven receptions, 86 receiving yards and two touchdowns against the Giants. He had only seven receptions for 43 scoreless yards in the first two weeks. The fantasy manager with Cooper on their roster might look to sell him high. Yet, I’d suggest it’s an ideal time to buy high in anticipation of a quarterback change 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 he was ruled out for Week 3. So, he could miss another game in Week 4, but gamers with a need at tight end and bench flexibility should kick the tires on Njoku’s availability.

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