Fantasy Football Buy-Lows? Unlucky Star Players (Week 3)

September 24, 2026

John's fantasy football buy-lows, breakouts, trade candidates to target for Week 3 in 2026. These unlucky players are underperforming early for fantasy football.

Indeed, we often see even some of the best players in the NFL have entire seasons in which they don't produce well. For example, Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson had an abysmal 2025 season, at least by his standards.

Trying to trade for him that year wouldn't have resulted in you winning your fantasy football leagues. Far from it, in fact. After his team's Week 6 bye, he had just one game with 15 or more PPR fantasy points, which didn't even seem possible for a player of his caliber.

But sometimes, we see great players struggle early in the season due to suffering injuries or injuries to their supporting cast. Even a new coaching scheme can take a while to develop. So, let's break down five star players you should buy low on before it's too late!

Drake London, WR, Atlanta Falcons

London has gotten off to a terrible start to the season, at least production-wise. It's not really his fault, though. Both of the Falcons' top-2 quarterbacks, Michael Penix Jr. (knee) and Tua Tagovailoa (back), have missed the first two games of the season due to injuries.

In their place, third-string quarterback Cooper Rush has been the starter. Atlanta subsequently got crushed in both those games, losing by a blowout score in Week 2 and failing to produce much on offense. London has been the beneficiary, if you want to call it that, of some seriously inept quarterback play.

Devin Lloyd picks it!

The @Panthers defense gets it done again

📺: FOX/FOX One pic.twitter.com/g52wHUkQWZ

— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) September 20, 2026

London's highlight play of the season was his chase-down and tackle of Carolina Panthers linebacker Devin Lloyd on an interception in Week 2. The Falcons lost that game 34-3, with the team producing a total of under 150 passing yards in each game. It's nearly impossible for a receiver to succeed in that environment.

Last season, an injury stopped London's massive breakout. He looked poised to finish as a top-5 wideout in fantasy football, with performances of 25.0, 31.8, 38.8, and 24.4 PPR fantasy points until he injured his knee and missed four games. When he returned, Penix had already picked up a season-ending injury of his own.

Never been more ready for a 9-5 on a Sunday. pic.twitter.com/piAzziqX66

— garrett (@gxrrettgsn) August 9, 2026

London's potential with Penix is absolutely massive, and should be treated as such. The buy-low window probably won't last much longer, as Penix was declared the starting quarterback for Week 3. He may not be fully healthy yet, but their connection flourished last season and should continue to do so later this year.

The news of Penix's comeback obviously makes it harder to pick up No. 5 cheaply, but you should at least try.

Malik Nabers, WR, New York Giants

Nabers (shoulder) had just one catch for one yard on four targets in Week 2 before dislocating his shoulder and being pulled from the game. He has yet to reach double-digit PPR fantasy points this season and has a new injury concern. In addition, Giants Jaxson Dart is set to miss the remainder of the 2026 season.

Due to these factors, there may be Nabers managers in some of your leagues who are willing to cut bait with him already. His outlook looks pretty glum, depending on who you ask. But it's easy to forget just how good he is, and when he can return to full health, he could smash in fantasy leagues.

Malik Nabers takes it 31 yards to the house!

📺: #INDvsNYG on FOX
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/dNnvHpxsFL

— NFL (@NFL) December 29, 2024

Nabers is a fantastic talent, with major yards-after-catch ability, elite acceleration, strong hands, and excellent contested-catch prowess. Unfortunately, his career has been more defined by the Giants' ineptitude on offense with quarterback Daniel Jones. Injuries have played a huge factor as well.

It's hard to imagine he does nothing much at all this season. He's capable of scoring 30 or more PPR fantasy points in one contest, as he proved against the Indianapolis Colts late in his rookie season. His shoulder injury wasn't major, and he should be fully healthy soon. He remains the clear WR1 in the New York offense, giving him a weekly high floor and an elite ceiling.

Cam Skattebo, RB, New York Giants

The New York Giants offense collapsed against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 2 after dominating the Dallas Cowboys in Week 1. Running back Cam Skattebo scored just 9.5 PPR fantasy points by rushing 12 times for 36 yards and catching all four of his targets for 19 yards. He also fumbled the ball, though it was recovered by the Giants.

He's still recovering from a gruesome ankle injury he suffered last season. It happened in Week 8, so it hasn't been a year yet. It's reasonable to expect him to not be 100 percent, but to get close to that mark health-wise later in the season.

Cam Skattebo with the moves 😮‍💨@NYGvsLAR on ESPN
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/JsOpYbQQhB

— NFL (@NFL) September 22, 2026

The team can benefit from feeding him a lot of targets because he's elusive and very difficult to tackle in the open field, especially with Dart (knee) out for the season. He has the build of a prototypical power back, but he also has a knack for making defenders whiff without using his power on every move.

He was set up for a dominant rookie run before the injury ruined his inaugural season. Consecutive games with 24.1, 13.0, 14.1, 31.0, and 18.4 PPR fantasy points had him firmly in the RB1 conversation. Maybe it won't be until midseason that he breaks out again, but it feels like it's coming.

And Skattebo managers might be afraid the Giants offense will struggle for the rest of the season, making the price quite attainable.

Ashton Jeanty, RB, Las Vegas Raiders

Jeanty hasn't quite looked like his normal self as a rusher yet. That should be no surprise, as he suffered a high-ankle sprain in the offseason that was originally feared to be a devastating knee injury. He turned out to be "fine," though his rushing efficiency has been very poor to start the season.

He's averaged just over 3.4 yards per carry through two games, and has yet to log a rushing touchdown. Most of his value has come from his receiving upside, as he's snagged 10 of 13 targets for 60 yards and two touchdowns through two games. If he gets those rushing numbers up as he recovers and the new offense gels, he could be a monster down the stretch.

This is a great job processing by DJ Glaze & JPJ, and a nice cut back by Ashton Jeanty for 8 yards. pic.twitter.com/BnthJH0KIg

— Sanjit T. (@Sanjit__T) September 21, 2026

Jeanty has put some good plays on tape, but overall looks slightly sluggish. High-ankle sprains often take a few months to fully recover from, so we can excuse his low efficiency on the injury. New Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak has set him up well to succeed, though -- he's one of the best offensive minds in the NFL.

He led the Seattle Seahawks to a Super Bowl win last season, and we've already seen the Raiders offense look much improved. Quarterback Kirk Cousins has thrown six touchdowns through two games, and Las Vegas cruised to wins in its first two contests.

A good running back on a good offense is the most consistent high-upside player you can find in fantasy football, depending on who you ask. Jeanty is a very nice buy-low after his mediocre Week 2 performance.

Javonte Williams, RB, Dallas Cowboys 

Dallas Cowboys left guard Tyler Smith (thumb) is set to miss at least two more games due to a thumb surgery he had in the offseason. That has left the Cowboys without their clear best run-blocker -- Smith is a three-time Pro Bowler and a one-time second-team All-Pro. The results have been obvious on film and in the stat sheet.

After a huge season last year in which Cowboys running back Javonte Williams rushed for 1,201 yards and averaged nearly 4.8 yards per carry, he's sitting at under 3.0 YPC this year. He's had very little room to run, often getting hit at the line of scrimmage even against the poor New York Giants and Washington Commanders run defenses.

The Cowboys offensive line has been getting brutalized in the run game. It has failed to open up holes for Williams to run through, and it has resulted in him having to fight for every yard past the line of scrimmage.

Smith was clearly the main driving force behind Dallas's run game last season. Williams will face the Baltimore Ravens and Houston Texans defenses next, and could have even more trouble picking up yards. He's a great buy-low candidate this week and over the next two.

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