Week 3 wrap: Kareem Hunt Fantasy Football's top asset
Chiefs vs. Chargers: Kareem Hunt totaled 183 yards on 18 touches on the road in a not great matchup. Hunt has been (and will continue to be) the biggest difference maker in fantasy football in 2017. He’s on pace to finish with 2,869 yards from scrimmage and 32 touchdowns. And he passes the eye test to say the least (while also ranking #2 in evaded tackles). If I had the No. 1 pick in a draft today, Hunt would be my choice….Philip Rivers got 5.9 YPA with a 0:3 TD:INT ratio and a 37.2 Passer Rating at home against a defense missing Eric Berry…Meanwhile, Alex Smith is on pace to finish with a 37:0 TD:INT ratio this season.
Ravens vs. Jaguars: Joe Flacco got 1.6 YPA with two picks during one of the worst passing performances you’ll ever see. He’s now gone nine straight games with an interception…Buck Allen saw fewer carries than Alex Collins in what looks like a full-blown RBBC, while Blake Bortles threw four touchdowns without a turnover against a Baltimore defense that entered allowing a 35.0 Passer Rating…Marqise Lee has seen 19 targets the last two weeks, so go try to buy him low if possible.
Broncos vs. Bills: Trevor Siemian sure looked different on the road and Jamaal Charles had more carries than C.J. Anderson…Mike Tolbert nearly had twice as many rushing yards as LeSean McCoy…Demaryius Thomas has seen 25 targets this year but is still searching for his first touchdown.
Steelers vs. Bears: Martavis Bryant dropped a would-be 75-yard TD on the first play of the game…Jordan Howard turned out to be the best contrarian play in DFS, as he was looking at a tough matchup (Chicago was 7-point dogs), was banged up and looking at a committee situation with the emergence of Tarik Cohen, yet he came through with 164 yards and two touchdowns during the upset…Howard’s five targets were the most by anyone on the Bears…Le’Veon Bell, meanwhile, has yet to rush for 90 yards in a game this season, although he finally hit paydirt….The Bears didn’t have a wide receiver reach 10 yards, yet they won this game in overtime, despite this.
Falcons vs. Lions: A shootout many hoped, but there were as many interceptions (three) as touchdown passes, and Matthew Stafford got 5.9 YPA…Julio Jones is up to 26 targets on the seasons without a TD…I’m still trying to figure out how this game ended.
Colts vs. Browns: I was all in on Rashard Higgins. He finished with two catches for 10 yards…I also loved Jack Doyle in DFS this week…Frank Gore had 25 carries for 57 yards at home against the Browns…The Browns were favored for the first time since 2015 and they showed why it’s been so long…Jacoby Brissett got 10.8 YPA and ran for two touchdowns and made TY Hilton owners happy...Isaiah Crowell is a huge fantasy bust and belongs on your bench if he can’t produce in this situation…DeShone Kizer suffered from a bunch of drops, although this grab by Jordan Leslie was pretty great.
Buccaneers vs. Vikings: The only game not on “game mix,” I remain in disbelief Case Keenum got 11.2 YPA with a 3:0 TD:INT ratio. And what happened to Jacquizz Rodgers?…Stefon Diggs is good…Dalvin Cook is an absolute workhorse who needs to be treated as a borderline top-five fantasy RB right now…Keenum is now 3-0 against Jameis Winston and 7-18 against everyone else.
Texans vs. Patriots: Tom Brady threw five touchdowns without a pick and the 13.5-point favorite Patriots won by two points…New England has allowed 9.2 YPA with an 8:2 TD:INT ratio this season (and a 112.9 Passer Rating that’s the second highest in the NFL)…I would’ve predicted more than one target to James White…Here’s Jadeveon Clowney doing work.
Dolphins vs. Jets: The Dolphins didn’t score a point against an abominable Jets defense until the last play of the game…Jay Ajayi got 16 yards on 11 carries, while Jarvis Landry, Kenny Stills and Julius Thomas turned 26 targets into 115 yards…After catching two touchdowns last week, Jermaine Kearse saw three targets Sunday.
Giants vs. Eagles: I was all over the Eagles defense in DFS this week and felt good when they were pitching a shutout after three quarters, but the Giants scored 24 points in the fourth. That’s more points than they scored in their previous eight games (they were held under 20 in every game during that span)….Where did that come from Sterling Shepard?…Janoris Jenkins being active killed Alshon Jeffery owners…That 61-yard field goal by rookie Jake Elliott was easily the longest in Lincoln Field’s history…ODB is officially back.
Saints vs. Panthers: I loved the Panthers ATS. So to be clear, don’t ever listen to me…If you throw three interceptions without a TD at home against New Orleans, it’s worrisome. Cam Newton clearly isn’t 100% and now Kelvin Benjamin is hurt too…With no Greg Olsen or Benjamin in the best matchup ever, Devin Funchess turned 10 targets into 58 yards without a score. Gross…Adrian Peterson is up to 23 carries for 77 yards on the year…Carolina punted down 21 points with 4:21 left against the worst defense in football. Riverboat Con.
Seahawks vs. Titans: Russell Wilson and Marcus Mariota combined for a 6:0 TD:INT ratio while taking just one sack in what was expected to be a defensive battle…DeMarco Murray not only played but ran for 115 yards and a score on just 14 carries (8.2 YPC), so his obituary should be held off for now…The team I picked to make the Super Bowl is 1-2.
Bengals vs. Packers: So even in a two strikes Survivor league, I was nearly out in Week 3 thanks to the Packers, who needed a touchdown with fewer than 20 seconds left to tie a game at home as near double-digit favorites versus a winless Bengals team…Joe Mixon’s volume is encouraging moving forward, as he saw 21 touches…Ty Montgomery somehow turned eight catches into 15 yards.
Raiders vs. Washington: Kirk Cousins went nuts, yet Terrelle Pryor had two catches for 19 yards. He’s an early candidate for biggest bust…I’m beginning to think Jordan Reed is injury prone…Chris Thompson is on pace to finish with 1,232 receiving yards (and 21 total touchdowns)…In a plus matchup with a high O/U, Michael Crabtree and Amari Cooper turned a combined eight targets into 13 yards.
