Whether your fantasy football roster was a beneficiary or a victim of the Miami Dolphins’ 70-point outburst on Sunday, Week 3 was quite a wild ride. With plenty of big names having big games (Christian McCaffrey, Keenan Allen), there were just as many who produced duds (Darren Waller, Justin Fields).
This week’s fantasy football panic meter means a little more than the previous few installments, mostly because there are now three weeks of work to cite and the following players are still struggling. While there is still plenty of time for these names to right the ship, they certainly could start to give you some pause when you build out your lineups for Week 4.
No Need to Panic
CeeDee Lamb produced his lowest receiving yardage total (53) and tied for the fewest receptions (4) of his 2023 season in Dallas’ Week 3 loss to the Cardinals. But to his credit, most of the offense for the Cowboys was off during Sunday’s upset loss.
While Lamb didn’t look all that good against Arizona, he was tied for the team lead in targets (7) alongside Michael Gallup and Jake Ferguson. The WR1 role for Lamb isn’t going away anytime soon for Lamb, and even though Prescott has been a bit off to start the season, Lamb is a matchup-proof receiver that you should have no concerns about for your fantasy football roster in 2023.
It might be a bit of a surprise to see Josh Jacobs in the ‘No Need to Panic’ section of this week’s panic meter article, but there is one aspect of his season that supports that – his volume, which is king in fantasy football.
Hitting a season-high in snap percentage (82 percent), Jacobs still wasn’t able to do much (20 touches, 80 total yards). Going up against the Broncos, Bills, and Steelers to start the season was not easy for Jacobs, but a Week 4 matchup against the Chargers should give him a better showing.
Hold onto Jacobs moving forward, as you should be able to get close to reaping the benefits of drafting him early.
Javonte Williams
It was expected that Javonte Williams would be brought back slowly after his miraculously-fast recovery from an ACL tear. And while he has had a scoreless three-game stretch to open the season, there are reasons that rosters should be excited.
Samaje Perine was thought to be brought in this offseason to take on a large part of the passing game from Williams and hold a solid role until Williams was fully healthy. Instead, Williams has garnered double-digit carries in every game, and only trails Perine by one reception.
A Week 4 matchup with the Bears is exactly what the doctor ordered for Williams, so hang tight.
Some Panic
It was a case of the primetime dropsies for Tee Higgins in Week 3, as the former Clemson wideout only hauled in two of his eight targets. Having failed to catch a single pass in Week 1, Higgins followed up his Week 2, two-touchdown performance with a dud similar to his first week.
The health of both Joe Burrow and the offensive line ties directly into how well HIggins performs, and so far, there are plenty of yellow lights surrounding both those items. Ja’Marr Chase finally looked like himself against the Rams, relegating Higgins to a secondary role.
Higgins is still going to be in your lineups moving forward, but expectations may be tempered until he produces on a consistent basis.
Ezekiel Elliott stole the headlines in New England’s low-scoring Week 3 win over the Jets, but Rhamondre Stevenson still earned the most work from the backfield. What is concerning is that Elliott’s snap share and touch percentage saw its highest totals of the season against the Jets.
It is obvious that Stevenson is the better back of the two by a healthy margin, but in a game when both teams struggle offensively (which could happen a bunch for New England), Stevenson could receive a ton of competition from Elliott, so be careful.
Full Panic
Antonio Gibson
Neither Antonio Gibson or Brian Robinson enjoyed any sort of success in Washington’s Week 3 loss to the Bills, marking the third consecutive disappointing week for Gibson to start the 2023 season. While he shouldn’t have ever been counted on for a big role on your fantasy football team, the panic meter is full-blown red at this point.
Robinson clearly has full command of the rushing work out of Eric Bieniemy’s backfield, and the receiving work has not been consistent enough to keep Gibson relevant. Even Robinson, who is not known for his receiving work, has been successful catching passes from Sam Howell, which has cut into a large portion of what Gibson is successful at.
The Commanders’ offense needs to figure a few things out, and one of those things is how to properly utilize Gibson. If things continue, then Gibson is in danger of falling out of fantasy relevancy completely, and you should feel comfortable with releasing Gibson if a better option is out there.
All Chicago Bears offensive players
This may be a cop-out answer for the final slot on our Week 3 panic meter list, but it’s quite clear – the Chicago Bears really don’t have any consistent options for you to roster on your fantasy football team. Plain and simple.
Justin Fields looks like a shell of himself, D’Onta Foreman has been relegated to earning DNP – Coach’s Decisions, Khalil Herbert is not the top back anymore (hello Roschon Johnson), and the likes of DJ Moore, Chase Claypool, Darnell Mooney, and Cole Kmet have all become non-existant.
Stay very, very, very far away from any piece of the Bears offense for your fantasy football team, and this goes for Fields as well. Even in a negative game script that provides the Bears with plenty of passing opportunities, there is no fantasy relevancy to be found on this roster.
Johnson is truly the only option you should have on your fantasy football roster at this point, as he has looked the part of a rookie RB who is quickly ascending into the starting role. But buyer beware – as long as Chicago continues to play from behind, Johnson will need to earn his keep in the passing game, capping his rushing workload.
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