If you’re reading this, I can only assume you’re a Swiftie and you want to see how many Taylor Swift lyrical puns I can plug into my NFL recap article. Well, I’m telling you right now you need to calm down because It’s karma that I didn’t Google anything about Taylor Swift for this article.
All I did was look at my underperforming fantasy teams, shake it off, identified my anti-hero, and realized I now have bad blood with players like Joshua Kelley.
And now, something y’all know all too well, the weekly recap!
10 Studs
- The Dolphins: THEY SCORED 70 POINTS
- Keenan Allen: 18 rec., 215 yds, 1 *passing* TD
- Davante Adams: 13 rec., 172 yds, 2 TDs
- Adam Thielen: 11 rec., 145 yds, 1 TD
- Ken Walker: 156 total yds, 2 TDs
- Tank Dell: 145 yds., 1 TD
- Zack Moss: 145 total yds, 1 TD
- Lamar Jackson: 202 passing yds, 101 rushing yds, 2 TDs
- Sam LaPorta: 8 rec., 84 yds, 1 TD
- The Browns Trio of Watson/Cooper/Ford: The Browns offense clicked!
Is 10 touchdowns a lot? I think 10 touchdowns is a lot of touchdowns but let me confirm. They were 3 points shy of the all-time NFL record for points in a game and scored the most points in a game since 1966. I guess 10 touchdowns is pretty good.
We wrote about Raheem Mostert (MustStart) last week, and he didn’t disappoint -- 142 total yards and four touchdowns will make you look like a genius. But he was overshadowed by rookie running mate De’Von Achane, who racked up 203 on the ground and another 30 through the air on his way to his own four touchdowns.
The offense can handle both players and that’s obvious, so feel free to throw some trades out there. Oh, by the way, Tua Tagovailoa passed for 309 and four touchdowns with Tyreek Hill adding in 157 yards and a touchdown. They didn’t even have Jaylen Waddle! Invest in this offense and feel good about it going forward.
Keenan Allen made our recap last week and he kept rolling. Maybe he was mad we called him old? 18 grabs on 20 targets and he even chipped in a trick play passing touchdown to Mike Williams.
The offense was looking like it finally figured it out under new OC Kellen Moore, but now Williams looks like he’s lost for the season. Justin Herbert and Allen should continue to feast, but if you need another option in the offense, maybe look to add Quentin Johnston or Joshua Palmer.
Davante Adams is the NFL equipment to the Ol’ Reliable SpongeBob meme. Jimmy G went to him early and often Sunday night and it was the performance we’re used to from one of the NFL’s best. We should see it all season for a Vegas team that isn’t replicating Josh Jacobs’ success last year in the ground game and a leaky defense.
Here’s a non-fantasy tip if you’re a gambler: some books offer “player to catch a pass on this drive” props during primetime games. Some offered Adams at plus money. Some of them got lit up. Adams plays his old team Green Bay in week 5 on Monday Night Football. Keep an eye on it.
I wrote off Adam Thielen. He disappointed for the Viking last year and went to a rebuilding Carolina Panthers team. He basically pulled an Undertaker gif in real life this weekend with 11 grabs for 145 yards and a touchdown. Will it continue? I think it would be smart to keep the same formula when Bryce Young returns from injury, but in the meantime, his connection with Andy Dalton is clear.
Seattle turned to Kenneth Walker III when they needed him. He got the carries around the goal line and scored 2 touchdowns. It’s a good sign for those worried about Zach Charbonnet grabbing work from him especially where it counts. Charbonnet carried it nine times to K9’s 18, but it looks like Walker will be the guy the Seahawks (and fantasy owners) turn to when they need it most.
- Vegas Lines: In Ron You Should Trust
- On the Waiver Wire? Hard to Believe
- There Were Studs, There Were Duds
Nico Collins walked last week so Tank Dell could run. Or Collins ran last week so Dell could also run, but faster? I haven’t worked out the exact details yet but there’s something there, just like there’s something there for a surprising Texans passing attack. It’ll be tough to decide who will be the alpha between Collins and Dell each week, but both will have their chances. That also means C.J. Stroud might be worth a look in your DFS lineups or, at the very least, he’ll be an enticing option in some of your season long matchups.
Zack Moss? Zack Moss. That’s two weeks in a row where he’s looked good for the Colts -- 122 yards on the ground and a receiving touchdown has me intrigued. Mostly because it looks like he can chip in no matter who is at quarterback.
Lamar Jackson has been a stud, that’s not news. But the Ravens are so banged up they need him to be the MVP. It’s probably not the strategy they hoped for, but hero ball Lamar isn’t the worst strategy in the world. It might be tough to find passing touchdowns some weeks, but his legs will keep Baltimore, and fantasy owners, in the game weekly.
Sam LaPorta is putting together a historic season so far -- 18 catches through three games, the most ever for a rookie tight end. Detroit believes in him as their second option in the offense. LaPorta is a weekly plug and play TE1.
The Browns didn’t get many people excited through two weeks. A Week 1 slugfest in the rain followed by a devastating injury to Nick Chubb had me questioning what team would come out of Cleveland.
Deshaun Watson had to step up sans Chubb, and he did this week, throwing for 289 yards and two touchdowns while clicking with Amari Cooper (116 and 1 touchdown). It had me thinking about the Texans Deshaun from a few years ago.
The caution is Jerome Ford, who turned in only 18 yards on the ground and 33 through the air. The two touchdowns he had looked good, but I’m not sold on him being the replacement for Chubb.
The Duds
It's dud time, and Broncos country, let’s ride! Losing by 50 to the Dolphins is bad, and I’m sorry if you had the Broncos defense for some reason. I will say Russell Wilson hasn’t looked bad the past two weeks with over 300 yards each game while his defense was getting torched. The rushing offense has also been a dud. Sean Payton’s Mile High Era isn’t going as planned so far.
The Jets running back situation is a nightmare. The Jets are pretty much a nightmare. The Aaron Rodgers injury situation is dragging the team down with an anchor by the name of Zach Wilson. I’m not confident in any Jet in my lineup.
Daniel Jones caps things off. A 5-point fantasy game, a 35-point fantasy game, a 5-point fantasy game. That’s the Daniel Jones experience, or more so the Giants experience. Yes, two of those games were against formidable defenses in Dallas and San Francisco, but even the rushing wasn’t there.
Which Jones are you going to get weekly? Who knows! Will it be fun? It won’t! The Seahawks are next so hope for the best.