It was a mediocre return for the Week 2 sleeper page. Daniel Jones was the QB6 (thanks, Commanders) and at least Wan’Dale Robinson and Alexander Mattison both scored touchdowns despite doing next to nothing else.
Let’s take a look at what’s available in week 3.
Minshew has been one of the dazzlers of the young season, leading the NFL with a 77.5% completion percentage. This comes on the heels of a poor summer where he completed just 48.5% of his attempts, largely against backup defenses and vanilla schemes. WR Davante Adams and TE Brock Bowers figure to be two of the ADP steals of the 2024 fantasy season.
Now the Raiders welcome the Panthers, a plus matchup. Benched quarterback Bryce Young is the biggest scapegoat in Carolina and rightfully so, but Carolina’s defense hasn’t stopped much (24th in defensive DVOA, 26th against the pass). Make room for The Mustache.
Washington’s pass defense is the league’s worst sieve since the start of the 2023 season. We listed Jones as QB6 last week and Baker Mayfield was QB2 in the season opener. Cincinnati clearly had a bad game in its opening-week loss to New England, but the Bengals outscored Kansas City last week and likely deserved a win. Cincinnati could kick down the door on Monday against Washington. Joe Burrow is poised for his best game of the year, with the Bengals holding an implied team grade of 27.3.
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Obviously, those angles lead you to Ja’Marr Chase first, and Tee Higgins (hamstring) also has a chance to return. But Iosivas is coming off a two-touchdown game and Gesicki was all over the field against the Chiefs (7-91-0, team-high nine targets). Cincinnati’s secondary options should be considered when the matchup is this juicy.
You’ll recognize McCloud on Sunday night; he’s always on the field. He participated in every offensive snap against Philadelphia, catching 3 of 5 targets for 42 yards. The Chiefs lost Andrei Iosivas a few times in Week 2; perhaps this is the second straight week that an unknown receiver makes a dent in this secondary.
Jennings could easily get lost in all of San Francisco’s star power, but he’ll figure to have a bigger role in Week 3 with Deebo Samuel (calf) expected to sit. Jennings has been an efficiency winner in limited opportunities, catching 7-of-9 targets for 14.4 yards per catch and 11.2 yards per target. The Rams have struggled to make many stops through two games, ranking 29th in defensive DVOA and 27th against the pass. The 49ers have an implied team total of 25.8 points, fourth-best all week.
I’ve been pro-Hubbard this year, and it hasn’t been to much joy, with Bryce Young running the Carolina offense off the road. But Hubbard’s Week 2 performance wasn’t all that bad. He had 64 yards on his 10 rushing attempts, caught four short passes and had an RB26 rating in half-point PPR formats. Hubbard certainly outscored backup Miles Sanders.
The hope going forward is that the veteran Andy Dalton can get this offense into the competent zone. That’s the corner Diontae Johnson executives are clinging to, and it’s also a potential reason to bring in Hubbard in Week 3. I still believe head coach Dave Canales was a smart addition, and Dalton’s pro skills should give this offense a boost.
Washington OC Kliff Kingsbury has always had a soft spot for the veteran Ertz, and that affection has carried over into the 2024 season. Ertz finished TE8 last week with a 4-62-0 mark, and he ran a route on 32 of 38 dropbacks. Young, rising forward Ben Sinnott hasn’t cracked the lineup much; he saw just 12 snaps and ran just four routes (drawing zero targets) last Sunday. This is still the Ertz show until further notice.
