Week 3 is an interesting point of the fantasy football campaign; we have received just enough of a sample size to begin forming new opinions on players and matchups, but we aren’t deep enough into the season to completely abandon last year’s evaluations. “Is Carson Wentz actually breaking out, or did he luck out from Eric Berry’s absence last week?” or “is Carolina’s D a must-avoid again, or did they simply benefit from facing the Bills and 49ers?” are questions that run through my — and many fantasy owners’ minds as we set our weekly lineups. The beauty of FanDuel is that you can build your lineup around players you feel strongly about that given week, avoiding the aforementioned tough decisions that sometimes come with yearly leagues. So let’s take a look at some players that I am personally targeting in this week’s RotoWire & FanDuel Football Championship.
San Francisco 49ers vs. Los Angeles Rams
Open: 42 O/U, LAR -2.5
Press Time: 40 O/U, LAR -3
Carlos Hyde has looked great in both of his first two games despite facing perhaps the two toughest draws in the league, the Panthers and Seahawks. Now he faces a Rams defense that surrendered 304 yards (4.8 YPC) and three touchdowns on the ground through two games. It sure seems like he ought to be able to get something going in this one.
In this ‘Future’ Barometer, the goal is to break down a handful of players each week who likely don’t offer fantasy utility in the meantime, but otherwise might have the prospect profile of a player who could make an impact if an opportunity presented itself. The hope is that doing so will give you a head start in your evaluations if any of these guys pop up into the mainstream later on.
But again: these are long shots. They’re probably off the radar in even the deepest of re-draft leagues for the time being.
Presented in no particular order of importance…
With all but the Monday nighter left on the docket, Week 2 produced a lot of compelling stories for fans and media to gab about: Tom Brady not being quite ready for the glue factory, Kareem Hunt’s continued excellence, the Seahawks’ abysmal offensive line, etc.
It also, definitely and conclusively, exposed the last of the excuses for Colin Kaepernick not being in a uniform right now as the sham that it is.
I have a few close contests pending heading into the Monday Night game, but Week 2 is already a million times better than Week 1 for me. For starters, my Survivor pick, the Seahawks, cruised to an easy win after going behind 9-6 with 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter. Seriously, the Seahawks offensive line is the worst in NFL history, and this would be even more obvious if they didn’t have Russell Wilson as their QB. I’m 10-5 ATS, though really 13-2 per my new criterion for grading myself. (I should have taken the 49ers and Falcons.)
