It may seem like the third Sunday of the NFL season was all about the exciting, fourth-quarter, blocked field goal attempts, but there was so much more that happened. We saw a barely rostered player leading all fantasy scorers with three touchdowns, the desperate re-emergence of the dormant Philadelphia Eagles' passing offense, the Kansas City Chiefs won a game, the Green Bay Packers lost a game and, as always (of course) there was a significant, season-ending injury to a longtime relevant running back.
Each Monday, before the current NFL week ends, we will identify players available in at least 50% of ESPN standard leagues worthy of your attention, from standard formats to deeper options. The NFL is a weekly league, and player valuation and roles seldom remain stagnant. It does not matter how you acquire players for your fantasy rosters, just that you get them.
Quarterback
Geno Smith, Las Vegas Raiders (rostered in 10% of ESPN leagues): Through Sunday's games, Smith was the third-highest QB scorer for the week (behind only Caleb Williams and Jalen Hurts), tossing three TD passes as his team was getting shredded by the Washington Commanders. OK, so garbage time football matters, too. Smith rebounded after throwing three interceptions in Week 2. The Raiders continue to have trouble running the football -- and defending -- so there may be more games that Smith must throw often because his team trails. That works in fantasy!
Sam Darnold, Seattle Seahawks (7.8%): Darnold took advantage of a solid home matchup with the New Orleans Saints to complete 10-of-11 passes for 169 yards and two touchdowns ... in the first half alone. It was 38-6 at the half, so Darnold didn't need to throw much more, ending up with only 16.72 points. He had been inconsistent over the team's first two games, and fantasy managers haven't been convinced that last season's version (when Darnold finished as the No. 9 QB scorer) is coming back. Perhaps not, but Darnold's next two opponents (Arizona Cardinals, Tampa Bay Buccaneers) make him worth adding if you are missing Jayden Daniels or Justin Fields.
Deep-league options/streamers/random thoughts
Backup passers Marcus Mariota, Mac Jones, Tyrod Taylor and Carson Wentz all started for their teams in Week 3. Mariota fared the best for fantasy, scoring 20.28 points, thanks in part to a rushing touchdown. For now, there is no telling if any of these fellows will need to start in Week 4, so it is dangerous to add them in ESPN standard formats. Week 4 not only is the finale for September, it is also the final week before byes begin in Week 5 (Falcons, Bears, Packers, Steelers). If your quarterback is off in Week 5, it's wise to prepare this week. Matthew Stafford, Tua Tagovailoa, Aaron Rodgers and Trevor Lawrence remain readily available.
Atlanta Falcons starter (for now) Michael Penix Jr. scored 3.78 points in the stunning shutout loss to the Carolina Panthers and veteran Kirk Cousins replaced him in the fourth quarter. It would be quite stunning if the Falcons removed a healthy Penix as the starter anytime soon, but those in deeper formats may want to stash the proven Cousins, just in case increased playing time suddenly appears, either for the Falcons or for another franchise via trade. Cousins struggled last season, his first after recovery from a torn Achilles, but he was productive as recently as 2022.
Running back
Trey Benson, Arizona Cardinals (54.8%): OK, so we are cheating a bit with the 50% rule, but reliable James Conner (ankle), a top-50 option in ESPN ADP who will not be achieving 1,000 rushing yards for the third consecutive season, is out for the season. Benson takes over starting duties. He didn't exactly shine in relief Sunday, turning his 13 touches into just 51 yards and 8.1 PPR points, but the 2024 third-round pick will get a big opportunity moving forward. He should inherit Conner's typical RB2/flex designation.
Ollie Gordon II, Miami Dolphins (23.3%): One of the most-dropped players after Week 2 burned his former investors by opening the scoring in the Week 3 Thursday night affair with a short touchdown. Uh-oh! Gordon ended up with nine touches (all runs) and 9.8 PPR points. Starter De'Von Achane earned 19 touches, scoring 16.1 PPR points. Achane investors were warned about the bigger Gordon potentially stealing short touchdowns, but he may be more than that, too. Remember, this offense supported two relevant running backs (Achane, Raheem Mostert) in 2023. It can do so again.
Deep-league options/streamers/random thoughts
Fantasy managers love Commanders rookie Jacory Croskey-Merritt (84.3%), but even with Austin Ekeler (Achilles) out for the season, the backfield sharing continues. Croskey-Merritt earned only nine touches on Sunday, though he scored on a late, 1-yard TD run to salvage his fantasy afternoon with 10.1 PPR points. Jeremy McNichols (3.1%) and Chris Rodriguez Jr. (1.6%) were clearly involved. McNichols, a journeyman with his sixth franchise and in his second season in Washington, broke off a 60-yard touchdown in the easy win over the Raiders, his 13.8 PPR points coming on four touches. Rodriguez led with 11 touches, but he did little with them. Perhaps next week it will truly be the Croskey-Merritt show, but it could just as easily be a three-headed monster. Add Rodriguez over McNichols. He may see more early-down work.
Panthers backup Rico Dowdle (5.5%) earned his touches and scored his touchdown later in his team's blowout win over the Falcons, with the result not in doubt. Starter Chuba Hubbard earned 19 touches, scoring only 9.6 PPR points. This is Hubbard's backfield, and Dowdle is next in line. We've written in recent weeks about Pittsburgh Steelers newbie Kenneth Gainwell (27.1%), Jacksonville Jaguars rookie Bhayshul Tuten (48.1%) and New York Jets sophomore Braelon Allen (28.9%) -- other, better backups pushing for more chances. Nobody wants to see a major injury similar to what happened to Arizona's Conner, but stuff does happen.
Wide receiver
Elic Ayomanor, Tennessee Titans (21.1%): We discussed this Stanford rookie in this space last week, and he was among the most-added players of the week. The Titans remain quite the work in progress with raw QB Cam Ward, but Ayomanor has TD receptions in consecutive games, while veteran Calvin Ridley continues to sputter along. Ridley, an eighth-round pick in ESPN ADP, has eight receptions in three games. Don't drop Ridley (still), but Ayomanor continues to impress.
Tre Tucker, Raiders (2.0%): Tucker was the beneficiary of Geno Smith's late-game work, hauling in eight catches for 145 yards and all three touchdowns (two coming in the final quarter). The 40.9 PPR points easily represented a career best. Tucker caught five passes over the first two weeks. We shouldn't assume he steals many targets from top Raiders options TE Brock Bowers and WR Jakobi Meyers, but there is also little indication this offense seems intent in getting rookies Dont'e Thornton Jr. or Jack Bech more involved. Tucker isn't exactly old. He's 24, in his third season, and he caught 47 passes last season. Still, he may not score 40.9 points over the next month, either.
Deep-league options/streamers/random thoughts
Someone must catch the throws from Patrick Mahomes -- we say this every week -- and against the New York Giants on Sunday night, it was former Patriot Tyquan Thornton (18.1 PPR points). This saga may alter weekly, especially when Xavier Worthy (shoulder) and eventually Rashee Rice (suspension) return, but Thornton is intriguing for Week 4 against the Baltimore Ravens.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba is easily the top option for the Seahawks, but rookie Tory Horton (1.1%) seems worthy of an uptick in volume. Horton has touchdowns in consecutive weeks (three in all, thanks to a punt return score), though little volume. Stay tuned.
Chicago Bears rookie Luther Burden III (9.3%) scored 19.8 PPR points against the Dallas Cowboys, mainly due to his first-quarter, 65-yard TD reception. However, he saw only two other targets, so adding him feels premature. Rome Odunze and DJ Moore remain the top fellows for the emerging Caleb Williams.
Buccaneers veteran Mike Evans left Sunday's game due to a hamstring injury, and he may miss time. Chris Godwin Jr. is a possibility to make his 2025 debut in Week 4, but rookie Emeka Egbuka may share targets with 32-year-old Sterling Shepard (0.9%). You know Baker Mayfield will be throwing.
Tight end
Hunter Henry, New England Patriots (48.9%): Henry was among the most-dropped tight ends entering Week 3, as managers looked toward Juwan Johnson, Zach Ertz and Jake Ferguson. Henry may have as much upside as any of those fellows, after registering 66 receptions for 674 yards a season ago. We recall Henry scoring nine touchdowns during his first season with the Patriots in 2021. Could that occur again? Henry scored twice on Sunday, providing a position-leading 29.0 PPR points.
Deep-league options/streamers/random thoughts
Jacksonville Jaguars starter Brenton Strange (21.3%) was a popular preseason sleeper who fantasy investors tired of entering Week 3, but he scored 12.1 PPR points against the Houston Texans, snaring six of seven targets for 61 yards. It seems unlikely that Strange is on his way to achieving what former TE Evan Engram did for the 2023 Jaguars (catching 114 passes), but perhaps Strange can contribute for the deeper leagues.
Many fantasy managers expected Tennessee Titans starter Chig Okonkwo (15.1%) to break out in prior seasons, so perhaps they don't believe his 11.6 PPR points from Sunday means much. Rookie QB Ward has been erratic so far, but he probably won't be all season.
Defense
Indianapolis Colts (48.4%): Most fantasy investors chose Green Bay for Week 3, which made sense, and the Packers scored 9.0 points against the Cleveland Browns (and they lost!). The Colts scored 16.0 points against the Titans, the unit's second top-5 fantasy performance in three weeks. The Colts play at the Los Angeles Rams in Week 4, which is not a favorable matchup, but it feels well past the time to secure the Colts for the entirety of the full season.
Washington Commanders (13.4%): This is not a D/ST we would typically recommend, but the team faces the Falcons this week, and said Falcons failed to score versus the lowly Panthers in Week 3.
Los Angeles Chargers (12.4%): Similarly, the Chargers D/ST remains readily available because it was not expected to be great this season. The Chargers have already reached double-digit fantasy points once so far, thanks to getting to face the beleaguered Raiders, and may duplicate the feat in Week 4 against a similarly sputtering Giants crew.
