Fantasy Football Weekly: Jones, Luck, Top Leaderboards
By Chris Medeiros
Sports Editor
It was another exciting weekend for fantasy players in the Week 3 slate of NFL games. Similar to most weeks in the fantasy world, there were plenty of surprises and disappoints alike.
The Comment will provide our readers with a weekly breakdown of the past week’s fantasy performances, from the average, to the worst, to the best and the rest. We will also provide a perspective look on the upcoming week’s games.
To keep things simple, all of the data and analysis in this section will be based on ESPN’s standard league scoring. The official scoring rules can be found on http://games.espn.go.com/frontpage.
Top Scoring Lineup For Week 3
QB: Andrew Luck- 31 pts
RB: Marshawn Lynch- 24 pts
RB: Rashad Jennings- 23 pts
WR: Julio Jones- 28 pts
WR: Jeremy Maclin-21 pts
WR: Antonio Brown-21 pts
TE: Martellus Bennett-17 pts
D/ST: Falcons- 28 pts
K: Adam Vinatieri- 16 pts
Trending, High Powered Offenses:
By taking a look at some of the top performances from last week, it is clear that players who are involved in high powered offenses got a ton of opportunities and were able to capitalize by scoring touchdowns. Three of the top offenses that will most likely produce solid fantasy production moving further in the season are as follows.
The Atlanta Falcons – The Atlanta Falcons absolutely embarrassed an unprepared Buccaneers team on Thursday night, winning by a final score of 56-14. Anchored by the current #1 fantasy receiver in football, Julio Jones, and the #3 fantasy quarterback of the season, Matt Ryan, the Falcons are almost a guarantee to put points on the board. Owners should try to get their hands on some of the secondary options on the squad, such as WR’s Harry Douglas and Roddy White, or RB’s Steven Jackson and Devonta Freeman.
The Philadelphia Eagles – A fantasy pinball machine, the Eagles fast-paced offense installed by 2nd year head coach Chip Kelly (averaging about 22 seconds in between snaps) will provide many smiles on fantasy owners’ faces. Jeremy Maclin made an appearance as a top-scoring fantasy WR this week, and he will continue to be a reliable every-week starter moving forward. QB Nick Foles, RB Lesean Mccoy (who suffered an injury but is recovering well), RB Darren Sproles, TE Zack Ertz (may be inconsistent at times but has a ton of upside), and of course WR Jeremy Maclin are all strong starters. WR Jordan Matthews broke out with an exciting 2-touchdown performance this week and has more upside than struggling teammate WR Riley Cooper moving forward.
The Chicago Bears – There was a lot hype coming into the season about the potential of the Bears offense, and the scary thing is, it has not lived up to its full potential just yet. That being said, it is still pumping out some big numbers and will only improve as QB Jay Cutler continues to build chemistry with his receivers and play-calling. TE Martellus Bennett has been a pleasant surprise for fantasy owners up to this point, currently ranked 2nd among all TE’s. This offense will produce weekly elite-scoring from WR’s Brandon Marshall, Alshon Jeffrey and TE Bennett. RB Matt Forte is usually a reliable fantasy option, however with the increase in deep-passing in this offense, he may lack production compared to years past.
Looking Ahead:
Heading into week 4, matchups against soft defenses will play a large role in player’s fantasy success. Now that the cobwebs are beginning to be shaken off by several offenses, there will be many consistent players emerging that are starting to catch a groove. Here are some of my favorite players, some big names and some not so obvious, for week 4.
QB: Philip Rivers vs Jacksonville (Jax), Matthew Stafford vs Jets (who will have a huge rebound from last week’s 4pt performance), Kirk Cousins vs New York Giants (NYG), Andrew Luck vs Tennessee (Ten), Drew Brees vs Dallas (Dal).
RB: DeMarco Murray vs New Orleans (NO) (continue to ride the hot-hand on this one, he’s been on fire), Le’Veon Bell vs Tampa Bay (TB) (horrible TB defense), Donald Brown vs Jax, Lamar Miller vs Oakland.
WR: Julian Edelman @ Kansas City (KC) (who remains the only real target for Brady), Antonio Brown vs TB, Michael Crabtree vs Philidelphia (Philly), Victor Cruz vs Washington (Wash) (always plays big in division rivalries), Steve Smith Sr. vs Carolina (Car) (will score at least one big one vs old team)
TE: Jimmy Graham @ Dal, Antonio Gates vs Jax, Niles Paul vs NYG, Owen Daniels vs Car, Vernon Davis vs Philly.
Def: San Diego Chargers vs Jax (whoever plays the Jaguars each week), Detroit Lions vs Jets, Houston Texans vs Buffalo, Oakland Raiders vs Miami
K: Justin Tucker Baltimore, Nick Novak San Diego, Matt Bryant Atlanta, Mason Crosby Green Bay, Shayne Graham NO.
Reader’s Fantasy Challenge
Each week all of our readers will be encouraged to send out their “perfect” lineup for the upcoming week. Whichever contestant puts together the highest scoring lineup, they will be featured in the next issue of The Comment’s fantasy section.
The Rules for the contest are simple. Put together a line-up of players who you think will score the most points for the given fantasy week. You must select: 1QB, 2RB, 3WR, 1TE, 1 Defense/Special Teams, 1 Kicker. You are allowed to pick from all available NFL players.
Next, just e-mail your lineup to cmedeiros@student.bridgew.edu before the start of Thursday night’s game.
Good luck and choose wisely!
Chris Medeiros is the Sports Editor for The Comment. Email him at cmedeiros@student.bridgew.edu.
