(The Fantasy 5 is a quick-hit wrap-up of some of the biggest news topics of the day for fantasy football players, giving you advice you need to set your lineup or pick your DFS roster.)
If the rest of Week 3 can proceed like the first game of the week did, the problems that have faced the fantasy football game over the first two weeks of the season might be resolved. The Thursday night game of Week 2 featured 22 total points and one total touchdown. Week 3’s Thursday effort equaled that touchdown total inside of 12 seconds of action, en route to 10 total touchdowns and 80 points — between the Rams and 49ers, of all teams.
There’s of course no guarantee the rest of Week 3 continues in that vein, but for one night at least, we got the fireworks we’ve been hoping for.
Here’s a look at the some of the key pieces of fantasy news to know heading into the weekend games.
1. Sam Bradford is out for a second week
The 2017 season started out so well for Bradford. He had the prime-time audience all to himself on Monday of Week 1, and he threw for 346 yards and 3 touchdowns. Sure, it was against the tissue paper that is the Saints defense, but still, things were finally coming together for the one-time No. 1 overall pick.
Nothing’s worked out since, though. Bradford missed Week 2 with a knee injury, and news officially came down Friday that he’ll miss Week 3 as well. He’s reportedly heading to see Dr. James Andrews — who has worked on his knee at least twice before — for a second opinion, but it’s sounding increasingly like Bradford might not see the field again for a while.
In Bradford’s absence last week, and again in Week 3 against Tampa Bay, Case Keenum will helm the ship for the Vikings, which isn’t good for the team or its fantasy prospects. Keenum managed only 167 passing yards and no touchdowns against Pittsburgh last week. His presence limits the fantasy upside of wide receivers Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen and tight end Kyle Rudolph.
For now, Bradford is free to be dropped in leagues that aren’t crazy deep — his upside isn’t so great that you need to burn a roster spot on him. For deeper leagues, it might be wise to consider stashing Teddy Bridgewater, who is reportedly coming along well in his rehab and could be activated once he’s eligible to come off the PUP list after Week 6.
2. Saints’ pass “defense” barely warrants the name
The New Orleans Saints’ bright spot in its secondary through two weeks has been rookie cornerback Marshon Lattimore, who has garnered a PFF grade of 82.4 so far — no other cornerback on the team has graded higher than 46.1. That bright spot dims in Week 3, as Lattimore will miss the team’s game against the Carolina Panthers with a concussion.
Carolina QB Cam Newton is officially listed as questionable for Sunday’s game, but there’s no real reason to think he’ll miss the game. Even with TE Greg Olsen on injured reserve, this game should be a good get-right for Newton, who is only 21st in fantasy scoring among quarterbacks, tied with played-only-one-game Sam Bradford. Meanwhile, Kelvin Benjamin, without a touchdown through two games, is just about a must-start this week.
3. Packers receivers at different stages in health
The Green Bay Packers will host the Cincinnati Bengals Sunday with question marks in their receiving corps. Davante Adams is the only one of the big three Green Bay receivers with a clean bill of health, while Jordy Nelson is questionable with a quad injury, and Randall Cobb is doubtful because of his chest.
At this point, Cobb can’t be in any fantasy lineups, while Adams is a veritable must-start. Nelson, meanwhile, is the interesting case. It’s hard to bench an active Jordy Nelson, who had 14 touchdowns in 16 games in 2016 and scored in Week 1 before being limited to seven snaps in Week 2. That said, the Packers are heavy favorites against the Bengals Sunday, and if the team jumps out to a big lead, don’t expect Nelson to get pushed much. You’ll want to get production out of him in a half or so of play.
Nelson is a stay-away in DFS this week, and he’s miles away from his normal must-start status in season-long leagues.
4. Derrick Henry getting the workload of an RB1?
With DeMarco Murray questionable for the Titans’ game Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks, second-year back Henry could get a bell-cow-style workload in Week 3. It’s good news for fantasy owners who stashed Henry, even if he’s facing a tough road against the Seahawks defense.
Still, if Murray is out Sunday, or it’s confirmed that he’ll have a super-light workload, it’s hard not to fire up Henry as a low-end RB2 with upside. It might not be a long-term solution — Murray isn’t going anywhere — but for now at least, fantasy owners who held onto Henry could be rewarded.
5. Good luck at the tight end position
A brief, noncomprehensive look at tight ends who are on injured reserve or the injury report for Week 3: Rob Gronkowski, Jordan Reed, Greg Olsen, Jimmy Graham, Tyler Eifert, Maxx Williams, Will Tye, Jermaine Gresham, Jesse James.
Basically, if you drafted Travis Kelce or Delanie Walker this year, mazel tov. If you drafted any other tight end, you’ve either been frustrated, or you stumbled into a Jason Witten or Coby Fleener type who wasn’t really meant to be a starter quite yet. With Olsen and Eifert out this week, and Reed and Graham hampered if they do suit up, the tight end position could end up being a bit of a fantasy wasteland again throughout 2017, at least until the relevant names get healthy.
The immediate reaction to the struggles might be to double down on the position and use a waiver claim on a backup to make sure you have someone available, but that likely isn’t the right move. With the second and third tiers at the position being largely an indecipherable mush, better to roll with whatever healthy tight end you can find and take a replacement off the wire if and when it comes to it.
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