The disparity is already prevalent through three weeks. The scenario poised last week came to fruition as we now have two 3-0 teams and two 0-3 teams. Without putting bad juju on anyone, I will poise another scenario, albeit very unlikely. It isn't until week 9 when both current undefeated teams play each other, the same week in which both 0-3 teams also play each other. I can't imagine two teams going undefeated nor winless through eight weeks but that would be a couple of epic matchups we would get to experience.
Inside Story: Take a quick second to think back to our fantasy draft. You just closed your laptop having drafted the future of your 2022 fantasy season. Maybe you left feeling good because you feel you snagged some value picks, or so-so because you had a plan going in but a couple of wildcard picks threw you for a loop. Maybe you drank so much you can't even remember the draft - speaking to you Ryan. Let's review some of these rounds and how some picks are faring over the first three weeks.
Round 1: We knew a run of RBs was going to go off the board first, but I'm not sure anyone expected that all seven of the first-round RBs drafted to be outside of the top 25 W/R/T scoring after three weeks. Two of the first three WR's taken, Diggs and Kupp, are number 1 and 2 in scoring, respectively, while Adams is 15th overall as the second WR drafted. While I expect this to level out as the season moves on, you could argue that WRs may be the safer option near the top of the draft as their production is more consistent and predictable.
Round 3-5: We officially enter the RB dead zone for the next couple of rounds here. Guys like Etienne, Dobbins, Pierce, Montgomery, Jacobs, Gibson, Pollard and Hall got drafted. Essentially, these players were drafted to be your RB2, yet a majority have been a liability to play. Teams went on a run of QB's late in the third and into the fourth, paying off as the first four drafted are the top four in points scored. Lamar, Allen and Hurts stand above the rest, averaging at least 5pts more than every other QB. Lamar is king right now as the highest-scoring player in fantasy but 10pts more than any QB outside the top three.
I've also found that rounds 4-6 are a dead-zone for has-been receivers who used-to-be-good-but-now-rely-on-their-name-to-be-relevant. It's a fucking trap. Allen Robinson, Adam Thielen, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Robert Woods, Brandin Cooks. Yeah I know, a couple of these guys still have a chance to produce but were they really worth the pick? Eh.
Round 6: Everyone auto-drafted so it's irrelevant.
Rounds 7-9: The money maker rounds. While most had keepers in round 7 and some in round eight, everyone else is finding value of their own. Look, I'm not gonna act like there aren't some big piles of shit in these rounds, but if you sift through the shit, you find gold. CEH, Patterson, Hunt, London, Kirk. I mean fuck, Miles Sanders and Damien Harris are outscoring Dalvin Cook. These are the guys you rely on to get you through the bye weeks and if you have good depth it will generate wins late in the season.
Rounds 10-15: The deep dive into future keepers starts here. Some young guys like Olave, Wilson, and Dotson are already starting to produce. Meanwhile, you have future RB1's just sitting there still. James RB1SZN and Khalil Herbert when Montgomery gets benched.
Take a look back at your draft and you'll inevitably feel dumb about a decision or two. Hindsight is always 20/20.
Anyways, let's get this shit going.
WEEK 3 PAYOUT WINNER - Run Forrest Run
Jared, Cordarrelle Patterson 153 Total Yards
Patterson picks up right where he left off in 2021 as Atlanta's do-everything RB. The Falcons realized their mistake at the end of last year when they slowed down his role and it equated to losses. While they're 1-2 this year, they've been competitive in every game and they can thank Patterson for that as he's averaging over 6 yards a carry on 49 attempts through three games. The guy is a tank yet still has breakaway speed. He is what we constitute as a league-winner.
START OF THE WEEK
Nathan, Russell Gage - 24.70pts
We had some close matchups this week but looking through those, no player really stood out at a true start of the week. While putting Nathan up here does annoy me, I have to respect the play. Keenan Allen ended up being inactive for this week and Nathan quickly picked up Gage, probably while he was poolside at a Vegas resort 16 beers, 30mg of Adderall and 4 Colombian pow-pow lines deep. Oregon cops, man - absolute pigs. Gage played the role of WR1 this week as Evans, Godwin and Julio were all out for this game. Unfortunately, when those three are healthy, Gage gets buried in the depth chart. The good news is, I'm not sure if those three will ever be healthy at the same time again.
BLUNDER OF THE WEEK
Ryan, Darrell Henderson Jr. - 1.70pts
Hurts to kill a guy with the last name Henderson but here we are. Ryan is one of those "set it and forget about it" type of fantasy players. As long as he has a healthy lineup, why make any changes? He's currently off to an 0-3 start and this week lost because of leaving in Henderson who has seen his role diminish each week. Cam Akers is once again healthy, for the moment, and has regained control of the backfield, leaving Henderson with a few crumbs and even less fantasy points. As Ryan likes to put it, he has too much talent on his roster but he apparently left all that talent on the bench this week because playing Lamb, Zeke or Williams instead of Henderson would have fetched him his first win of the season. One guy he won't have to worry about having too much talent will be Henderson and I imagine we see a shakeup in his next matchup. Maybe he should give him one more chance though, he does play me this upcoming week after all.
Honorable Mention: Ryan, Russell Wilson
You ever start making dinner only to realize you forgot a certain ingredient that is actually pretty important to the meal, so you substitute it with something "similar" only for it to taste like shit when it's done? Russ be cookin' every week but unfortunately, he keeps forgetting that one important ingredient, like knowing how to throw a football. That boy better be praying better days are ahead, while the Broncos are 2-1, it may be the ugliest 2-1 've ever seen. Thankfully, he secured a sponsorship with Subway and they created the "dangerwich" which is supposed to be spicy. What makes it so spicy might you ask? Banana Peppers baby. Fire. Hopefully, Ciara hits that Door Dash every night because I know Russ ain't the home cook. Anyways, this dude is now face timing random people promoting his shit, I got a call earlier tonight actually.
GAME-CHANGING PLAY OF THE WEEK
Spencer, Jalen Hurts to Dallas Goedert
Jalen Hurts has led his team to a 3-0 start for the first time since 2016 with the addition of AJ Brown as his new favorite toy. Hurts had his coming out party this week against an awful Commanders team throwing for three touchdowns which is only the third time he's done that in his career. One of those happened to be a designed screen pass where Goedert threads between two downfield blockers, avoids a diving safety and then beats a DB to the endzone. It may not be the most exciting play of the week, this play gave spencer 14.22pts as he rosters the Hurts/Goedert stack, helping him get a narrow win over Justin last week.
WEEK 3 POWER RANKINGS
1) LBJ = Goat: Leads the league in points scored and has not had Keenan Allen for two weeks.
2) Mac & Chase: Found gems at RB with SQB, Robinson and Patterson.
3) Pay Me: Lamar & Chubb carrying the team and he now gets Kittle back.
4) Me & My Homies: Back-to-back wins after a loss in week 1, Henry finally showing up.
5) upHill Battle: He will be facing an uphill battle with his RB depth. Not good.
6) Just Do It: Akers needs to step up as his other RBs are a concern right now.
7) Chark with Fricken' Lazard Beams: Could easily be 1-2 and now loses Swift for some games.
8) Goodell 2.0: Another first-round pick bust through three weeks. Down bad.
9) Mile High Magic: Russ cookin' dogshit but has Jamaal Williams in Swift's absence.
10) Romo's Revenge: Hasn't broken 110pts. JayTay and Pitts have to get the ball more.
MATCH-UP FOR WEEK 4
Probst (2-1) vs Worzie (2-1)
After a close North matchup with Spencer and Justin, two South teams will look to take firm control of second place in the division. We get Lamar vs Mahomes, Davante vs Sun God and Chubb vs King Henry. Right now, I'll give the edge to Probst as Lamar is playing like an MVP and Chubb has a nice matchup against Atlanta's defense.
After going 4-1 in my first week, I faced some adversity only getting 2 of the 5 matchups correct. This brings me to 6-4 on the season. Looking to bounce back, I will predict I go 5-0 this week.
Commish vs. Ryan: Commish Wins
Spencer vs. Nathan: Nathan Wins
Probst vs. Worzie: Probst Wins
Justin vs. Jared: Jared Wins
Nick vs. Jere: Nick Wins
WEEK 4 WEEKLY PAYOUT
Sweet 16 - Team with any starting TE that finished closest to 16 total points (over or under)
One of my favorite weekly payouts, even though I haven't had a TE come close to 16pts. I guess Andrews or Kelce ends up taking this assuming they don't go nuts this week. No Price is Right rules, closest to over and under.
Good luck to everyone in week 4. Except you Ryan, the road to 0-4 starts now.
