Sometimes when your opponents zig, you need to zag. With Week 2 history, Doug Moore presents his Week 3 fantasy football bold predictions that will separate you from the competition.
Now that we are in the third week of the NFL regular season, we are starting to see breakout players, overhyped players, and, the ever present calamity, injuries occur. Let’s take a look at the bold predictions for the third week of the season in fantasy football.
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Marcus Mariota Goes Wild against the Raiders
Marcus Mariota finishes with 300-yards passing and three total touchdowns.
After starting the first two games of the season with at least 230 passing yards and two passing touchdowns, Tennessee’s Mariota will be in for a good week against the Raiders. Oakland has given up 819 yards passing and seven passing touchdowns to opposing quarterbacks in the first two weeks of the season. Mariota is starting to establish his favorite targets with Tajae Sharpe, Delanie Walker and even Andre Johnson as well. He has a terrific matchup and this has the makings of being a high-scoring game considering Oakland’s improved offense and Tennessee’s Exotic Smashmouth offense.
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Andy Dalton‘s Unique Streak Ends
Andy Dalton ends his 366-yard, one touchdown streak at two against Denver.
Through the first two weeks of the season, Dalton has thrown for exactly 366 yards and one touchdown. This week, he faces the stingy Denver defense. He has been relying heavily on A.J. Green and Giovani Bernard, but may find himself with a bigger challenge against the Broncos. It’s not to say he can’t have a decent game, but he won’t be able to find the same sort of success this weekend against the reigning Super Bowl champions.
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Rashad Jennings Breaks Out
Rashad Jennings finds pay dirt in Week 3 against division rival Washington.
In his first two games this season, Jennings has finished with 31 rushing attempts for 102 yards. The volume is there (average of 15.5 carries per game), but the production is lacking. This week though, Jennings gets to face the division rival Washington. They have given up 245 rushing yards and four touchdowns to opposing running backs. While Jennings may be dealing with a hand/wrist injury, he is expected to play this weekend. In this matchup, he has a prime opportunity to find the end zone for the first time this season.
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Melvin Gordon Puts up 100
Melvin Gordon goes for 100 yards and two touchdowns against the Colts.
After finishing all of last season with no rushing touchdowns, Gordon now has three in his first two games. He finished off his Week 2 performance with more than 100 yards rushing. Now, with Branden Oliver and Danny Woodhead both out for the season, Gordon could be in line for a huge role for the rest of the season. Against the Colts, who have given up 236 yards and three touchdowns on the ground so far, Gordon could have an even better game. Don’t be surprised if the Chargers run up the score early and then rely on Gordon the rest of the way.
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Eddie Lacy Fizzles
Eddie Lacy finishes with less than 50 yards from scrimmage.
In his first two games, he has finished with 26 rushing attempts for 111 yards. While that is a decent 4.27 yards per carry, he has not looked anything like his 2014 self. In Week 3, he faces the Lions, who have only given up 190 yards rushing and no rushing touchdowns so far. While he doesn’t have the worst matchup this week, he saw his carries go from 14 to 12 and yards from 61 to 50 his first two games. In what could be a potential shootout involving a lot of passing, Lacy may not be utilized as much.
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Tajae Sharpe Sizzles
Tajae Sharpe tops 100 yards receiving against the Raiders.
The second Titans player on this list, Sharpe has slowly emerged from a day three pick in the NFL Draft to the No. 1 wide receiver for the team. While he only has 109 receiving yards so far on 11 receptions, he has seen 18 targets over the first two weeks. And going up against the Raiders, who have given up 564 yards and five touchdowns to wide receivers in two games, he will, like Mariota, have the chance to have a career day against a very porous Oakland defense.
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More Struggles for Allen Robinson Ahead
Allen Robinson continues his struggles against a somehow challenging Ravens secondary.
Despite seeing 20 targets in the first two games, Jacksonville’s Robinson has only managed nine receptions for 126 yards and no touchdowns. It is very alarming for someone who finished last season with 80 receptions for 1,400 yards and 14 touchdowns. But he will find more struggles in Week 3as he faces the Ravens, who have somehow only given up 227 yards and two touchdowns to opposing wide receivers through the first two weeks. It’s not to say he will struggle all season, but don’t expect him to bounce back this week.
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Maclin Continues the Jets‘ Passing Defenses Woes
Revis what? Jeremy Maclin is the latest wide receiver to dominate the Jets.
In his two games so far in 2016, Kansas City’s Maclin has seen 22 targets for 11 receptions and 131 yards and a touchdown. While he isn’t necessarily putting up top 10 numbers for a wide receiver, he has had a solid start to the season. In Week 3, Maclin and the Chiefs face the Jets, who have given up 533 receiving yards and three touchdowns to opposing wide receivers this season. Considering he is the only viable wide receiver for the Chiefs, Maclin could have a very good game against a once scary New York Jets defense.
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Eric Ebron Continues his Comeback
Eric Ebron goes for 75 yards and a touchdown against Green Bay.
At one point during training camp, it seemed Detroit’s Ebron may have suffered a season-ending injury. But now that he is playing after recovering, he has a solid start to the season. He has 12 targets, nine receptions, 99 yards and a touchdown so far and gets the Packers in Week 3. Green Bay has given up 143 yards and two touchdowns to tight ends so far this season. As explained above with Lacy, this has the makings of a high-scoring affair between the two teams. Ebron could definitely benefit from this.
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Fleener Still Overhyped
The most overhyped player in 2016 struggles again. Yep, that’s Coby Fleener.
What does $36 million over five years buy you? An overhyped tight end who people assume will be fantasy football relevant. Yeah, we’re talking about New Orleans’ Fleener. While he has seen 12 targets in the first two games, he has come up with only three receptions for 35 yards. With Brandin Cooks and Willie Snead having fantastic starts, Fleener isn’t needed nearly as much as fantasy owners had hoped for. While he is going up against the Falcons, who have given up three touchdowns to opposing tight ends so far, Fleener once again won’t do much. Simply put, this is a trap game for Fleener.
Follow Doug on Twitter @DMooreNFL. Check out Doug’s articles on 2016’s most underdrafted fantasy players and bounce back candidates for the year.
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