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11 Important Fantasy Football Takeaways From Week 3, Including A Tight End You Should Snap Up Now

by Pat Mayo | 12:28 pm, September 24th, 2012

Each week, Pat Mayo of RotoExperts.com will be bringing you 11 immediate reactions from the weekend that was in Fantasy. Whether it’s an injury with widespread repercussions, a waiver commodity you need to jump on early, or an emerging trend you need to know about, Mayo’s got you covered.

This week, Pat tells you about a unique plug-and-play option at quarterback, and why you should snap up an emerging red zone beast at tight end.

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1.1. Celebrate Antonio Brown Owners

Some weeks nothing breaks your way. Whether it’s Alex Henery booting two field goals against you while his team trails by 24 or your opponent starting Tashard Choice in a Hail Mary effort to poach a touchdown only to see him take on a full work load after C.J. Spiller was forced out of the game - It’s terrible being on the losing end of these plays. But they do make the feeling that much more satisfying when luck turns your way. I’m looking at you Antonio Brown owners. Brown was having a middling game in Oakland until a hitch where, after making a defender miss, made a b-line towards the endzone, but had the ball knocked out of his hands just before crossing the goaline. Then the game of follow the bouncing ball commenced. Eventually, it popped out the backend of the pile back into Brown’s waiting arms for a touchdown. I hope you won your weeks because of it.

2.2. Lackluster, but Encouraging Performance #1: Adrian Peterson

Adrian Peterson wasn’t much help to your team in week 3, but there were some very positive signs that he’ll be Fantasy relevant moving forward. Peterson followed up his blah game in Indy with another average-ish outing against the 49ers. The difference is that San Francisco is exponentially more difficult to run on than the Colts. And with the Vikings leading most of the game, they knew Peterson was going to get his hands on the ball. While certainly not looking like his unstoppable former self, Peterson grinded out 86 yards on 25 carries and added another 21 through the air. The 27 touches were a season high and should reassure his owners that his knee is basically back to full strength. It may still take a few weeks for elite, consistent production, but he’s well on his way. Expect a giant second half.

3.3. One Word: Plastics

After two weeks of indoor contests on cushy field turf, St. Louis labored outdoors against the Bears. Sam Bradford had a Seinfeld moment with the offense, looking more out of rhythm than Elaine on a dance floor. But instead of little kicks, little tosses took their place. Bradford averaged just 4.3 yards per attempt (YPA), completing a measly 51 percent of his passes. Domed-in this season he’s markedly better – 72%/8.5 YPA. Sure it’s a small sample size, and Chicago’s defensive line did its part - putting the former first overall pick on his back six times - but still, there’s a significant gap in performance. Fortunately, four of the Rams next five games are home on that comforting plastic grass. Making this a good week to scoop up Bradford or Brandon Gibson in deeper formats.

4.4. Tony Gonzalez is unstoppable

Like objects at rest, Tony Gonzalez cannot be stopped. I’m not accusing anyone of anything, but if the league suspended Gonzalez tomorrow for PEDs I wouldn’t be profoundly shocked. That’s probably – make that definitely – unfair, but 36-year-olds aren’t supposed to be this productive, or ripped. Maybe it can be attributed to his All-Pro Diet, in which he reveals tips on how to live like a champion. Spolier: eating oatmeal is the key. Regardless of what his real secrets may be, his on-field efforts are something Fantasy players can get used to. Gonzalez has openly laughed in the faces of anyone that burned their first or second pick on Rob Gronkowski and Jimmy Graham. Through three weeks, Tony G has 21 receptions for 214 yards, scoring in each game. With Roddy White and Julio Jones too much for most defenses to handle on their own, teams simply don’t have the personnel to disrupt Gonzalez over the middle and in the redzone.

5.5. Leshoure Love

When Mikel Leshoure was named the starter for Detroit’s match up with the Titans I didn’t think much of it. Here’s a guy the Lions drafted in the second round last year, only to watch him tear his Achilles in training camp and miss the entire 2011 season. He was a go for 2012 until channeling his inner-Ricky Williams getting his weed on, resulting in a two-game suspension. So it seemed like Leshoure getting to the nod to start in the backfield over Kevin Smith was a nice gesture by the organization. Let him know they’re committed to him. Turns out, that commitment is a lot stronger than I thought. Leshoure looked explosive, gashing through Tennessee’s defense, ending the game with 134 yards and a TD. Kevin Smith? Zero. Nothing. Nil. He must have been hurt right? Nope. The only thing that’s broken is Smith career. Leshoure has clearly entrenched himself as the primary back in Detroit, and that’s a situation that could yield massive dividends.

6.6. Rudolph the Redzone Reindeer

Kyle Rudolph was owned in about one-eighth of leagues entering Sunday. That number is going to balloon when the waiver period passes after his two-touchdown effort against the 49ers. He’s definitely not a top-end option for the position, but the Vikings big man is going to churn out some quality weeks during the season. Right now he’s primarily Christian Ponder’s most trusted redzone target. As the season progresses, and Ponder and the offense improve, Rudolph has an opportunity to crack the Top 10 of the position. Grab him now, while you have the chance.

7.7. Brandon Lloyd Turns Away the Advances of Banality

Some things just aren’t exciting. Scrolling through my Twitter feed during the Sunday night game I came across this gem: “Watching the Emmys!” I don’t think ingesting television’s ode to itself for three hours really qualifies for exclamation point level excitement. I mean in the Emmy’s world, Jon Cryer is the king of comedy for his daring work on Two and a Half Men. Hardly seems like the kind of event that is ‘!’ worthy. It certainly wouldn’t be enough for Brandon Lloyd to muster up any enthusiasm towards it. Lloyd is unimpressed by anything ordinary, and that’s never more evident than on the field. Lloyd only makes difficult catches. QBs have discovered that throwing him the ball in an easy spot is a fruitless effort. Unless the pass is required to be caught straddling the sideline, between two defenders, while facing the wrong way, with one hand, Lloyd loses interest pretty quickly. The good news is that Tom Brady throws enough in his direction that enough will be slightly less than perfect. Lloyd has a team-high 33 targets through three games and looks to be living up to the preseason hype.

8.8. Dandy Andy

Fantasy players struggle with back up quarterbacks. Most gamers simply draft a top end option and, since they’ll only need another pivot once all year, don’t put much thought into their reserve. Just because you plug Aaron Rodgers into your starting lineup each week, doesn’t mean you should overlook burgeoning talent on the waiver wire. If you don’t want to it for depth purposes, think of it as great way to add a future trade chip - and Andy Dalton can be a valuable asset. He’s a match up play at best, but his top end performances have produced some enormous results. He has six TDs in his last two games and gets Jacksonville, Miami and Cleveland the next three weeks. He’ll likely be a Top 10 option in everyone of those match ups.

9.9. Remember: Always start MJD against the Colts

In his last six meetings with Indianapolis prior to Sunday, Maurice Jones-Drew had averaged 127 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown per contest. After another dominating performance this week, MJD now averages 136 yards a game and a TD. Just a reminder for when Jags host the Colts on four days rest in Week 10.

10.10. Lackluster, but Encouraging Performance #2: Ryan Mathews

Ryan Mathews finally returned from his broken clavicle and impressed in limited work. Who knows how much of the burden the Chargers would have asked him to handle had it been a competitive game - But it wasn’t. So Mathews basically got to treat this like a preseason game. He smoothly scampered through the holes on his 10 carries and flashed the PPR talent that, deservingly, pushed him up draft boards prior to the injury. Mathews grabbed five passes for 32 yards and acted as the primary short-yardage check down target for an under siege Philip Rivers. And that was basically all in three quarters. When Michael Turner put Atlanta ahead by 24 with eights minutes remaining, Mathews’ day was finished. But his role had been clarified. San Diego is going to ride him into the ground while he’s healthy, and you should too.

11.11. Charles on the Charge

If Jamaal Charles still worries you after his 22 carry, 233-yard domination of the Saints, do your dealing as quickly as possible. While I worship at the alter of JC, many Charles owners are still put off by his first two outings which saw him deal with inconsistent touches and a dash of injury. Week three was the ideal confluence of circumstance. He was healthy, motivated by a dismal start and facing what is probably the league’s worst run defense. It won’t get any better than this. He’s going to be a terrific option for the rest of the year, but not everyone is the believer that I am. If you’re genuinely worried, make a deal as soon as possible and get the maximum return. Just don’t play it both ways. Don’t be the guy that says, “I was going to sell-high on x player” when things don’t play out your way – no one likes that guy.

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