RADIO
Despite a quirky few weeks to open the NFL season, Week 3 brought a glimmer of hope for a lot of players that are slowly but surely starting to showcase their value. Remember that even though the time to start cutting ties with some of your underperforming draft picks might be drawing close, there is still more than enough time to hold off before making any knee-jerk transactions.
We'll check back in on some of the more concerning players from last week, as well as introduce another round of players that have been giving fantasy owners headaches throughout the opening stretch of the season.
This article will be based largely on player performance (or lack thereof) sans additional circumstances such as injuries or missed games due to trades or suspensions that would obviously cause their production to suffer. Instead, this segment will focus on healthy players that are underperforming, with the rule of thumb being that no player will appear on this list more than three times throughout the season.
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Heed the Warning Signs
Cam Newton (QB , CAR) – High Concern
Despite adding his first rushing touchdown of the season to the final stat line, Cam Newton‘s struggles to start the season are still very much alive. Any time a New Orleans Saints’ defense picks you off three times and holds you to under 200 yards, there are deeper issues that need to be addressed. Everyone knew Newton would be a little rusty coming off of shoulder surgery, and not practicing much both before and during the season so far hasn’t helped. Through three weeks, Newton has registered two sub-175 yard games, two touchdowns and four interceptions. Newton just doesn’t appear to be himself, and he hasn’t even been able to retain his form from a year ago, let alone his MVP season.
To make his situation even murkier he has lost his two top receivers in back to back weeks, with Greg Olsen being placed on IR with a designation to return and Kelvin Benjamin sustaining a knee sprain in the Week 3 loss. This will likely give a boost to the other skill players on the team such as Christian McCaffrey and maybe even Devin Funchess, but it doesn’t do Newton any favors. He will need as many playmakers surrounding him as possible to turn in an even halfway decent performance. Newton is now six months removed from his surgery, and many fantasy owners were banking on him being further along than he is but he still just isn’t ready. If he is able to get back on track and knock the rest of the rust off in the next few weeks he can win you many a week, but the wait for this to happen might come at too great a cost. For now, there are better options on the wire at this point in the season, and Newton is best left on the bench for a while.
C.J. Anderson (RB, DEN) Medium – Low Concern
It has been an up and down three weeks for C.J. Anderson’s fantasy production. He had a touchdown called back in Week 1, and as a result just barely missed out on a double digit game. He was then the RB1 for Week 2, and scored both on the ground and through the air. Then in Week 3 the Broncos found themselves playing from behind, and he saw Jamaal Charles outgain him and get in the end zone on the same amount of touches.
Charles has performed well on limited touches, and it seems that not having to carry a full load suits him perfectly. On top of Charles’ resurgence, Devontae Booker could also be in the mix as soon as this week, and this could very quickly end up being a three-headed RBBC that owners ultimately want no part of. Anderson is a solid back, and if his volume was guaranteed he would be a relatively safe weekly play. The problem is his volume in the coming weeks will be anything but that, and if he sees too many more even splits in touches he won’t be able to offer your fantasy team much consistency. It isn’t likely that Anderson will lose the starting spot outright, and he does present a different type of grit on offense that neither of the other two backs brings. Unfortunately, everybody’s upside in this backfield will be limited if Charles continues to look good and Booker is able to recapture some of his early season success from last year and push for more carries as well.
Eric Decker (WR, TEN) - Medium Concern
The Tennessee Titans have scored over 30 points in back-to-back games, yet Eric Decker has been on the outside looking in and hasn’t been able to find the end zone through three matchups. With rookie Corey Davis inactive against the Seattle Seahawks Decker had his most productive game of the season, which was still only 49 yards on four catches. This chips were already somewhat stacked against Decker’s fantasy success before he showed up in Nashville. The team has a lot of talented mouths to feed, and with two starting caliber running backs splitting time in the backfield, we already knew the volume wouldn’t be anywhere near what it once was. He also missed the vast majority of training camp this year, so his chemistry with Marcus Mariota is yet to be established in earnest. Despite these factors though, many owners were hoping that at a bare minimum he would be able to retain his red zone prowess.
The unfortunate reality though is that Decker hasn’t shown anything that has stood out, and he has only seen three red zone targets through three games, all of which came in Week 1. Even though he has given owners absolutely nothing so far this season, Decker’s slow start is still only moderately concerning. Davis’ status is still uncertain, and Decker will remain one of the team’s best red zone receiving threats. If he and Mariota can’t form a connection very soon though, the time to be move on could be fast approaching.
Martellus Bennett (TE, GB) – Medium Concern
Despite drawing 21 targets over the first three weeks, Martellus Bennett has only amassed 102 yards without any touchdowns, and has been a major head-scratcher to this point. Even with the Green Bay Packers’ leading receiver through two weeks, Randall Cobb, not able to go against the Cincinnati Bengals last Sunday, Bennett was still unhelpfully quiet with a 12-yard effort. He was even outdone by the Packers’ other free agent addition at tight end this offseason, Rams castoff Lance Kendricks.
It feels like Bennett is on the verge of a huge game every week, but that has yet to materialize. Between some bad drops and additional blocking assignments to aid the Packers’ injured offensive line, Bennett hasn’t given fantasy owners any help. It isn’t likely that he gets outscored by Kendricks often, and Bennett is still a heavily targeted player that is a part of a top-10 offense. His weekly production will be inconsistent throughout the season though, and while he almost certainly will have huge weeks, which weeks those actually are anybody’s guess. Bennett is a far cry from the week-in week-out threat many owners thought they might have had, and could wind up being no more than a boom/bust play for the majority of the season.
Updates From Last Week
Eli Manning (QB, NYG) - Lower Warning Level Than Last Week
After passing for just 459 yards in the first two games combined, Eli Manning showed signs of life in Week 3 and threw for 366 yards in what was easily his best game of the season. Without the help of anything that even resembles a run game at this point, more tough times still lie ahead for Manning and his fantasy owners. He still isn’t a very trustworthy play, as he still threw two picks and his accuracy continues to leave much to be desired. Nonetheless, it is encouraging to see him get in-sync with Odell Beckham Jr., while leading his team on three touchdown drives in the fourth quarter.
Isaiah Crowell (RB, CLE) - Higher Warning Level Than Last Week
As expected, Isaiah Crowell was again a victim of negative game script, and the Cleveland Browns abandoned the run in the second half while playing catchup for the third straight game. This will continue to be the story for Crowell, and unless he can get in the end zone early in games or the Browns have a blatantly favorable matchup, he will be a dicey week-to-week play at best.
Brandon Marshall (WR, NYG) – Same Warning Level as Last Week
Although Brandon Marshall’s final stat line was still rather pedestrian, just seeing him catch more than one pass in a game is a step in the right direction for weary owners. Marshall still has a long way to go before becoming a player that owners feel confident enough to start though. With the Giants’ offense seemingly ready to turn the corner with a healthier Beckham Jr. back in the fold, owners are hoping that Marshall is working his way towards becoming a safe floor weekly flex play at the least.
Jimmy Graham (TE, SEA) – Lower Warning Level as Last Week
After being labeled a game-time decision for last Sunday’s contest, Jimmy Graham was active and had his best game of the season. He still hasn’t found the end zone, but he was able to haul in seven catches for 72 yards against the Titans. It is also encouraging that he was targeted 11 times, as the Seahawks played from behind the majority of the second half. In a year where volatility at the tight end position has been all too commonplace, Graham could shape up as one of the safer weekly plays as long as he remains on the field.
