Brissett and the Cardinals offense had difficulty navigating penalties and finishing drives in the first half, playing catch-up for much of the second half. The offense wore down the 49ers’ banged-up defensive line over time, with Brissett tossing a pair of touchdowns and sneaking in another from the one-yard line to bring the Cardinals close in the fourth quarter. Though he couldn’t complete the comeback, Brissett’s fantasy production with 52 passing attempts is a good sign for Cardinals pass-catchers moving forward. However, they won’t be in as much of a pass-happy game script against the Giants in Week 4; Brissett is a fantasy QB2 for next week.
Well that’s not going to cut it. As ESPN’s Mike Clay points out, rookie first-rounder Concepcion is up to 20 targets over three appearances but has just 80 yards to show for it. He is not being put in position to make explosive plays, and he is very much not doing so. With a yards per catch more befitting of a sluggish running back (6.6), Concepcion is best left outside the WR4 ranks ahead of a tough Week 4 date with the Steelers.
Jefferson picked up the ankle injury in the second quarter. He limped to the locker room shortly before halftime and was officially ruled out midway through the third quarter. Hopefully for the Vikings it’s not a long-term issue for the centerpiece of their offense. Jordan Addison would be the de facto No. 1 wideout if Jefferson misses time with the ankle injury. He caught a long touchdown from Kyler Murray against Tampa shortly after Jefferson left the game.
With the Panthers working overtime to keep Deshaun Watson underneath and the washed quarterback happily obliging, Fannin doubled his season receptions total while scoring his first two touchdowns. Score No. 1 was a fourth down crosser where Fannin got free at the back end of the end zone. No. 2 was a scramble drill where the quarterback bought time and again found Fannin in the painted area. Although the yardage total remained modest, it was nice to see Fannin prove pop-up efforts will still be possible for him in this underpowered offense. With Watson seemingly growing more short-area focused by the day, Fannin’s target counts might start ticking back upward. He’s a credible TE1 for Week 4 against the Steelers.
Devin Singletary was inactive this week and Tyrone Tracy only touched the ball once, leaving nearly all of the backup running back touches to Harris. He gashed the Titans for 5.2 yards per carry but wasn’t involved in the receiving game, limiting his fantasy value. Harris is the clear backup to Cam Skattebo, but he won’t see enough touches to be worth a FLEX spot when the Giants take on the Cardinals next week.
Parker Washington and Jakobi Meyers dominated looks from Trevor Lawrence on a low-volume day for the Jacksonville offense. Strange played his usual role as a check down option for Lawrence, rumbling for yards after the catch on two of his three grabs. Strange, with seven catches on the year, could be a streaming play in Week 4 against the Bengals if the game turns into a shootout.
By far McMillan’s quietest outing of the young season came with Jalen Coker departing midway through with a quad injury. No. 3 Xavier Legette didn’t even suit up as he battled a knee issue. That allowed the Browns’ defense to key in on T-Mac, and key they did. Fill-in No. 2 Brycen Tremayne took advantage with four receptions for a team-leading 83 yards. Heinous stuff for McMillan managers, but he has an immediate Week 4 bounce-back spot in the defense-less Lions.
The Giants rotated between punts and field goals in almost perfect succession throughout this contest. They leaned on their ground game with 33 carries compared to 22 pass attempts, so there wasn’t all that much for Winston to do. He took care of the ball with zero turnovers but had just one completion of more than 13 yards, a scramble drill toss to Cam Skattebo for 30. He will have to throw more often and more aggressively versus the Cardinals next week, but the Giants clearly don’t want him playing his normal, gunslinger brand of football. He will barely crack the QB2 ranks for Week 4.
Etienne entered the game with a hamstring injury and appears to have aggravated it on an explosive run. The Saints’ starting running back broke off a 16-yard gain in the third quarter, setting up a Saints passing touchdown on the following play. Etienne could be seen grabbing at his left hamstring at the end of the run. He had mostly been limited to modest single-digit gains before that, rushing 13 times for 57 yards and catching 2-of-2 targets for 13 yards on the day. He seems highly unlikely to return.
Andrews returned to the field midway through the quarter. He saw three targets before leaving the game in the first half, but it seems unlikely he will see many more targets at this point. The Ravens have attempted just 11 passes through nearly three full quarters of play.
26-year-old journeyman Tremayne entered this afternoon with 158 career yards receiving. Today’s pop-up effort was made possible by Xavier Legette being sidelined with a knee injury and Jalen Coker leaving early with a quad issue. Credit to Tremayne for stepping up, but he won’t be worth a 12-team league waivers look even if Coker ends up missing time.
The good news is that Nabers didn’t appear bothered by his shoulder injury and led the Giants with a 27 percent target share. The bad news is everything else. With Jameis Winston under center, the Giants took the air out of the ball and ran 33 times compared to just 22 pass attempts. Winston also stuck mostly to check-down duties, taking any chance of a big play for Nabers off the table. The Giants should be forced to throw more next week, but this isn’t going to be an exciting offense without Jaxson Dart under center. Nabers is likely stuck in the WR2 ranks fir Week 4 versus the Cardinals.
With a questionable Xavier Legette sidelined with a knee injury and Jalen Coker departing early with a quad issue, Metchie was forced into three-receiver sets alongside Tetairoa McMillan and “Brycen Tremayne.” His touchdown was an eight-yarder late where he found the soft spot in the end zone. The Panthers are undoubtedly happy Metchie stepped up, but with Legette likely to return for Week 4, Metchie isn’t worth a waivers look even if Coker is forced to miss time.
With Xavier Legette (knee) sidelined and Jalen Coker (quad) joining him, Panthers tight ends Waller, Tommy Tremble and Mitchell Evans combined for 11/128. It was Waller’s most prolific receiving day of the season even though he didn’t find the end zone. Waller is undoubtedly providing valuable real-life reps for the Cats, but with 10 total receptions through three contests, he is looking like too much of a role player to rise above TE2 streamer status heading into Week 4 against the Lions.
Williams left in the third quarter, taking the cart to the 49ers locker room. The veteran left tackle was officially diagnosed with a stinger and is questionable to return. Vederian Lowe is in at left tackle with Williams out.
With Jonathon Brooks joining Trevor Etienne on injured reserve, Dillon was indeed the Panthers’ No. 2 back behind Chuba Hubbard. Good for him, though Pro Football Focus charted him with zero first half snaps. Were Hubbard to ever go down with injury, Dillion would form some sort of committee with a practice squad elevation or free agent addition.
Metcalf has yet to crack 40 yards in a game this season, but he did manage to find the end zone for a six-yard touchdown late in the third quarter. The big plays have not been there for Metcalf thus far, who has a long catch of 16 yards. Metcalf will be on the WR3/WR4 radar for next week’s game against the Browns.
Johnson was not targeted in the passing game. His six carries were nothing to sneeze at on an afternoon where the Chiefs were limited to 49 total plays, but that was compared to 20 Kenneth Walker touches. Johnson will have some pop-up standalone value behind workhorse Walker, but he is primarily a contingency option heading into the meat of the fantasy campaign.
Every total was a new season high for Washington, including the carries. It briefly appeared Washington might be the Dolphins’ emergency lead back, as De’Von Achane was knocked out with a knee injury and Ollie Gordon was cramping. With Achane seemingly set for a long absence, Washington could indeed be in line for more rushing usage. That makes him a slightly more viable WR4, but rookies Chris Bell and Caleb Douglas still offer more overall upside heading into Week 4 against the Vikings. That’s, of course, if Douglas returns from his ankle injury.
Mims will be inactive for the second consecutive week while Humphrey’s presence is not required with the four receivers ahead of his on the depth chart active. Defensive lineman Sai’Vion Jones will have to wait to at least Week 4 to return.
Likely’s yardage total came back to Earth last week with just 33 despite seeing 10 targets. It fell further today, as did the target total. On the plus side, he finished second on the team in receiving opportunities and finished with a 23 percent target share. Likely remains the team’s de facto No. 2 receiver behind Malik Nabers. That simply wasn’t worth much in terms of fantasy points today. He remains a solid TE1 bet for Week 4 against the Cardinals.
After going without a target last week, Gesicki made the most of his three targets in this one. His most notable reception came in the fourth quarter on a fourth-and-two when he broke free across the middle of the field for a wide-open 25-yard touchdown to put the Bengals up 27-24. Gesicki has now scored in two of his first three games this season, but is averaging just 3.3 targets per game. Fantasy managers should be rushing to add him to their lineups for next week’s game against the Jaguars.