Soppe’s Fantasy WR Start-Sit Week 4 Players Include Puka Nacua, Rashee Rice, Tyreek Hill, and Others

Fantasy football managers face critical decisions every week, analyzing player performances, injury reports, and matchup data to optimize their lineups. The ability to spot undervalued talent, make strategic trades, and identify breakout players often separates championship contenders from also-rans.

As the season progresses, successful fantasy football owners must constantly evaluate their roster construction, balancing immediate needs with long-term potential. Whether it’s deciding between a proven veteran coming off a poor game or a promising rookie with favorable matchups, these weekly lineup decisions can make or break an entire season.

A.J. Brown | PHI

A.J. Brown reminded us all of what he is capable of last weekend against the Rams, turning his 10 targets into 109 yards and a touchdown, where he just appeared to be unguardable.

That’s who he is, and that’s why we get so angry when he sees nine targets for 35 yards through the first two weeks.

That’s the yin and yang, though. The Eagles weren’t playing their desired script, and that was what fueled the big game from their WR1. If they, the Super Bowl champions who have won 19 of their past 20 games, dictate tempo, Brown’s stock is volatile in our game.

I tend to shy away from players like this. NFL teams don’t care about fantasy, but when their desires for a particular player align with ours, I usually invest. In a perfect world, I think the Eagles want an 80/20 rush/pass split, and that naturally would put all of their pass catchers in a tough spot.

But you can’t sell now. You can’t sell a fringe WR1 after one big week. The Bucs could push the Eagles this week, and that could result in consecutive big games for Brown.

Then you pounce.

After this week, Philadelphia could very well control four straight games entering their Week 9 bye. If there is going to be a window to sell, it starts Sunday afternoon on the heels of two big games and vibes riding high after the slow start.

I wouldn’t force such a trade; we are still talking about a physically imposing player capable of taking over any game at a moment’s notice, but I’m planting the seed.

Adam Thielen | MIN

It was a heart-warming story late this summer when Adam Thielen came home to Minnesota for what figures to be his swan song (he turned 35 years old in August).

Sadly, we are being reminded that “heart-warming” and “fantasy fulfilling” are not the same thing. Thielen has managed to turn his six targets this season into just 26 yards and is coming off his second catchless game of the season.

The veteran never had much upside in this offense, and he could be played off the field outright with Jordan Addison returning from suspension this week.

Hopefully, Thielen hasn’t been eating up a spot on your roster, but if he’s been lingering, you shouldn’t think twice about making a move. Any move, really.

Amon-Ra St. Brown | DET

The list of receivers I’d rather have than Amon-Ra St. Brown for the remainder of the season is short.

Heck, it might be a name or two more than a list.

Detroit’s star receiver again looked the part of a game-breaker on Monday night, exposing single coverage in the red zone for a score, this coming a week after a hat trick against the Bears.

He now has more receiving yards in his first 69 professional games than Calvin Johnson did, and I don’t mention that name in Lion receiver conversations lightly.

It’s a different type of dominance, but he takes over the game all the same, and with Jameson Williams seemingly being pigeon-holed into the deep role, St. Brown is going to continue to run wild in the middle of the field as a driving force for one of the most efficient offenses in the sport.

Brandon Aiyuk | SF

The 49ers are hoping for a mid-October return for Brandon Aiyuk, a former first-round pick who had ranked 11th in the NFL with 2,357 yards from the start of 2022 to the end of 2023.

By getting some clarity on the health front in the first half of August, we were at least able to enter drafts with some sort of plan. Aiyuk is hanging out on your IR slot for the time being, meaning that he is not costing you a roster spot and thus isn’t taking much win equity off of your plate early on.

In a perfect world, his injury recovery would have taken us past the San Francisco bye week, but it doesn’t (Week 14 bye). That said, a fully functional Aiyuk coming down the stretch for an offense that needs an alpha WR in a favorable stretch (Titans, Colts, and Bears in Weeks 15-17) could be the piece that swings your fantasy postseason.

This injury was priced into Aiyuk’s cost at your draft, so there’s no point in trying to trade for him now. But what if his manager starts slow? What if panic mode sets in before we have a definitive return date?

I’m making a mental note of who has Aiyuk rostered and tracking their status, preparing to pounce should the losses pile up. We are nearing the point in the process where a low-ball offer could be mutually beneficial, so keep your head on a swivel!

Brian Thomas Jr. | JAX

I wish I had an answer for you, I really do.

The 46-yard catch late helped Brian Thomas save himself from the worst game of his season, but another game with a sub-35% catch rate and no real scoring chances through the pass game isn’t exactly what the fantasy doctor ordered.

The rushing touchdown in Week 1 has accounted for 27.2% of his fantasy points this season, an absolutely bizarre note for a player who looked like the next big thing after his standout rookie campaign.

We are long done with Stefon Diggs and DeAndre Hopkins as lineup locks, or even rosterable players in most situations, but they both have top-40 weekly finishes this season, a claim that BTJ cannot make.

Whether this is a Trevor Lawrence thing, a Liam Coen thing, a Thomas thing, or some combination of the three, this is clearly a broken situation that needs to prove itself to us before we keep burning a starting lineup spot on it.

I would have never thought that Quentin Johnston over Thomas in Week 4 would be an easy call or that an underwhelming Matthew Golden over Thomas would be a serious question at this point, but that’s where we are.

I have Thomas ranked as WR37, and I’d be thrilled to be wrong. But at this point, I’ll be late to the come-up instead of being in front of it.

Calvin Ridley | TEN

Young quarterbacks come with growing pains, and it really is that simple.

Cam Ward’s two touchdown passes have both gone to Elic Ayomanor, and if Calvin Ridley isn’t going to get the future dangerous looks that this offense offers, he’s on the roster bubble in most leagues.

I’m still holding, mainly because I think that there’s a world in which Ward develops on the fly and Ridley’s stock increases with time. He does have a 25-yard grab in back-to-back games, so there are at least some breadcrumbs.

As for Week 4, you can’t justify going this direction in any capacity. Ridley doesn’t have a top 50 finish this season, and his current catch rate (38.1%) is lower than the worst free-throw season from Shaquille O’Neal.

Cedric Tillman | CLE

Cedric Tillman caught five of eight targets for 52 yards and a score in Week 1 against the Bengals.

He’s caught five of 10 targets for 48 yards and a touchdown since, and let’s not forget that the score was an uncoordinated play by the defender that deflected an errant pass in his direction.

Distancing yourself from this Cleveland offense isn’t a bad idea, especially with the Lions flying high after sacking Lamar Jackson seven times on Monday, tying the most of the former MVP’s career.

I’d keep Tillman rostered across the board because his proximity to targets is too high. He’s on a team we expect to be playing from behind that is currently starting a quarterback who isn’t shy about cutting it loose.

But you can’t play him right now.

CeeDee Lamb | DAL

Jerry Jones left the door open for CeeDee Lamb to be placed on IR, and that’s obviously a major concern.

The ankle injury is one thing, but things could get really ugly, really fast in Dallas. They are currently 1-2 and in a brutal spot this week. In theory, they have two winnable games after this (Jets and Panthers), but what if Lamb’s absence short-circuits this offense and the defense can’t get off the field?

The Cowboys’ bye doesn’t come until Week 10, and it sounds as if Lamb will be back before then, but he’s missing plus-matchups after this week and potentially returning for a Week 12-16 stretch that is as brutal as it gets in the league.

Lamb is an elite talent, but I do worry about the team being cautious with a superstar who will earn a base salary of $25 million or more in both 2026 and 2027.

Chris Godwin | TB

The Bucs activated Godwin off the PUP list on August 21 (Week 7, fractured ankle), but it wasn’t until early September that he returned to practice. The middle of October remains the current estimation for his return to action, but this is a situation that should be monitored weekly, if not daily.

This, of course, was baked into the draft-day price tag on the 29-year-old. Unless something changes drastically, this will be the sixth time in seven years that Godwin has missed multiple games. But there is hope that the cautious rehab approach will result in him peaking at the right time for both the Bucs and his loyal fantasy managers.

Tampa Bay has a well-positioned Week 9 bye, which could allow Godwin to test his body to its limits in the second month of the season, knowing that an off week isn’t too far off.

RELATED: Chris Godwin Injury Update: What’s the Latest on the Buccaneers WR, and Will He Play in Week 4?

In any event, you drafted him with the hope that he’d be a 1,000-yard pace player for a seventh straight season with consistent volume for you when he hits the field, and we have no real reason to think he won’t be.

His lack of touchdowns was a concern heading into last season, but five of his 50 catches in 2021 resulted in scores, giving us hope that we are looking at a WR2 down the stretch. The Bucs close the season with about as favorable a schedule as anyone in the league, giving him an even better chance to impact your fantasy season massively, even if he’s not doing that in the first month.

Chris Olave | NO

The NFL’s leader in targets is somehow not one of the 177 players this season with a 15-yard catch.

We were aware of the limitations in New Orleans, but did we think things could be this bad for Chris Olave?

I know I didn’t.

The ability to earn targets at this rate demands our attention. Maybe a future QB change will unlock what I think is a top 15 receiver in the league in terms of raw talent. Still, until we get a reason to adjust our expectations, Olave is relegated to fantasy benches, only to be used when upside options elsewhere have been fully explored.

Christian Kirk | HOU

Christian Kirk made his 2025 debut on Sunday after missing the first two weeks with a hamstring strain, and I thought he looked healthy.

In the loss to the Jags, he ran a route on 33 of his 40 snaps and trailed only Nico Collins on this team in targets earned. With him absent, Jayden Higgins led non-Collins pass catchers with 60 yards, thus leaving the door open for him to assume WR2 duties.

Kirk’s eight targets gained only 25 yards, and that’s obviously sub-optimal, but that’s also part of being a member of this team in 2025. I think better times are ahead, and the role is his to lose, but I can’t justify starting him just yet.

Could he light up the porous Titans?

He certainly could, and if he does, I’ll be thrilled. It could add a player to the WR3 mix, and with the Cardinals/Raiders on the Week 15-16 schedule, I’m looking to win the war with Kirk more than the Week 4 battle.

Cooper Kupp | SEA

Fantasy football is complicated enough, so there’s no need to overthink this one.

Don’t do it.

Cooper Kupp was productive in Week 2 against a Steelers defense that isn’t as stout as we thought, but that’s it. In the two games sandwiching that Pittsburgh game (7-90-0), he failed to reach 25 air yards and finished under 6.0 PPR points.

We aren’t getting New York Jets Sam Darnold these days, but we also aren’t getting the Minnesota version, and thus, two pass catchers aren’t going to come along for the ride every week.

You’re playing Jaxon Smith-Njigba every week without a second thought. If you want to roll the dice on one of Seattle’s running backs, be my guest, but that’s all the interest I have in this team.

Courtland Sutton | DEN

Courtland Sutton was a top-26 fantasy receiver in nine of 12 games to conclude last season, showcasing strong consistency while riding out an impressive rookie season from Bo Nix.

Entering this season, we weren’t sure about Sutton’s ceiling, but we felt good about the floor. As it turns out, Denver’s WR1 is a random number generator with two good and one bad outcome through three weeks.

• Week 1 vs TEN: 18.1 points (6-61-1 on 9 targets)
• Week 2 at IND: 1.6 points (1-6-0 on 4 targets)
• Week 3 at LAC: 23.8 points (6-118-1 on 8 targets)

Will water find its level and give us some semblance of consistency moving forward?

I don’t think so.

Nix is experiencing some second-year regression that we’ve seen happen before, as the NFL reacts to a year’s worth of film. As long as that continues, I think the Sutton production will be spotty.

Even if you like Nix moving forward, there certainly looks like more target competition on this roster than what we saw a year ago. Troy Franklin has more catches than Sutton this season, while Marvin Mims has seen a few opportunities, and Evan Engram can’t be worse moving forward.

Sutton got home for you last week courtesy of a busted coverage that resulted in a 52-yard score. On the one hand, plays like that don’t always happen. On the other hand, the Cincinnati defense is also plenty capable of giving up splash plays like that (only the Cowboys have allowed more TD passes thrown 20+ yards since the beginning of last season).

Sutton is a low-end WR2 for me, boasting enough volume to stabilize his value in a spot like this while having access to the slate-breaking play.

I have Sutton ranked ahead of other big talents with iffy QB play, the Tyreek Hills, Tee Higgins, and DK Metcalfs of the world.

Darius Slayton | NYG

The thought process here is simple.

Darius Slayton averages 15 yards per catch for his career, and the QB situation in New York is murky at best. Nothing we’ve seen from the seventh-year burner this season demands he be rostered (eight targets on 118 routes), but if this offense gets a makeover sooner than later, why not have some cheap investment at the end of your bench?

Regardless of who is under center, I want to see it before flexing a boom-or-bust player like Slayton. That said, if the situation is likely to change, why not hold and see?

Darnell Mooney | ATL

Danrell Mooney already has more end zone looks this season than last, and we saw him used in a high-upside, vertical role last week against the Panthers (126.5 air yards, a number he topped just three times in 2021).

In theory, this profile looks good, but the deeper you get into your bet on strong Michael Penix play, the more risk you take.

I have no problem with rostering Mooney, but he won’t be in the flex conversation until we see some consistency from the QB position in Atlanta. In the scope of Week 4, I’d rather play Calvin Ridley/Chris Olave types where I can at least use volume as a path of overcoming quarterback limitations.

Davante Adams | LAR

I know we are four seasons removed at this point, but man, what the Packers wouldn’t give to have a WR1 like Davante Adams on their roster.

The 32-year-old brought in a 44-yard pass from Matthew Stafford against the Eagles last week, and after struggling in the opener (WR41), he’s the eighth-best wide receiver in fantasy.

I don’t think he’s a top 10 player the rest of the way, but I do think he’s paused any concerns of Father Time and is to be locked into lineups as long as Stafford is under center.

Adams is clearly the red-zone threat on this team, and with Puka Nacua helping them matriculate the ball up and down the field, that role is going to hold value.

This week will serve as a good litmus test for the Colts’ defense, but I think they struggle to stop Adams’ athletic profile from making at least one splash play.

DeAndre Hopkins | BAL

DeAndre Hopkins is going to make an impactful play either late in this regular season that impacts the playoff race or during the postseason.

That I feel good about.

I’ve been surprised with how spry the 33-year-old looks when given the opportunity, but the Ravens are smart and are managing his reps (exactly two targets in all three games).

Hopkins scored in each of the first two weeks this season and forced an end zone DPI on Monday night. When Baltimore calls his number, it’s almost only for high-impact plays, and that gives them access to upside that they’ve lacked in the past.

That said, I don’t think there’s enough meat on this bone to demand we roster him. If you want access to this offense on your bench, Rashod Bateman is on the field much more and would be my preferred option.

Hopkins can still make plays, but in a game of opportunity, he’s not passing the sniff test, and I don’t expect that to change as we approach the dog days of the season.

Deebo Samuel Sr. | WAS

Deebo Samuel is a unique player, but you can only ask him to do so much.

He opened Week 3 with a 69-yard kick return to put Washington in position and handled three carries (Weeks 1-2: one total carry) as the Commanders try to settle on who they want to get labeled as their RB1.

Hopefully, Jayden Daniels is back, but now Terry McLaurin is dealing with a quad injury, potentially putting Samuel in a spot to adapt again.

The Swiss Army nature of his skill set is great, but as he ages, this jack of all trades might be a master of none.

Over the past two weeks, his nine receptions have gained just 55 yards, and if the YAC ability starts to fade, I’m worried.

The sheer number of ways to touch the ball in this specific matchup (Atlanta is the second most blitz-happy defense in the league so far, and if Samuel is one broken tackle away from daylight, there’s upside to chase) have him at the back-end of my WR2 rankings, a tier he’ll share with McLaurin should everything check out medically.

DeMario Douglas | NE

Entering draft season, every year, I pick a boring receiver that I want to add to the end of my roster. These picks never get much attention in the room, but if it’s Week 9 and I’m battling through three injuries and two bye weeks, you know how good 10 PPR points sounds?

DeMario Douglas and Wan’Dale Robinson were my two targets in that mold this summer, and to say the results have been drastically different would be an egregious understatement.

This season, Douglas has turned 13 targets into 13 yards.

I was not under the assumption that Drake Maye would be an overly consistent passer this season, especially early on, but he has proven to be. He’s been consistent in his lack of interest in getting Douglas the ball with any sort of space.

Fortunately, that’s become obvious before bye weeks start, and I need to reach for depth. Douglas should be nowhere near lineups or rosters for that matter, right now, even in deep PPR formats.

DeVonta Smith | PHI

As someone in DeVonta Smith’s general size range, I’m always impressed with what he can do in contested situations. Against the Chiefs in Week 2, we saw him make a splash play in traffic, and over the weekend against the Rams, he beat press man coverage for a four-yard score to give Philadelphia the lead.

The risks with him are the same they are with any member of this passing game: volume. That’s not an issue that will be solved unless the Eagles start falling behind in games, but with a single-digit aDOT for the first time in three seasons, I trust Smith as my WR3 every week with the thought that he’ll be efficient with the looks he does get.

DJ Moore | CHI

DJ Moore was supposed to be the target, earning safety net in Chicago while the young options developed.

That may have been the plan, but is Rome Odunze already ready to be a star?

It certainly looks that way, and if Colston Loveland can grow with time, Moore’s opportunity count could shrink further (7.1% third-down target share this season).

There is one note that should help comfort you in the short term. In Week 1, before the Bears were aware of just how productive Odunze could be, Moore posted a 17.8 aDOT. In the two weeks since, his mark sits at 6.8, and that’s something you should be happy with.

Odunze is clearly the better athlete at this point, and the shortening of Moore’s routes means that Ben Johnson still wants him involved.

That could change if the TE room earns more of those looks, but I think, moving forward, something like 4-6 catches for 50-70 yards is a reasonable expectation. Moore is a PPR flex who might be able to be acquired on the cheap with just 135 receiving yards through three weeks.

DK Metcalf | PIT

I’m thrilled that DK Metcalf got his first deep target of the season on Sunday, but I’m still shaky on his long-term projection in this offense.

It’s clear that Aaron Rodgers trusts him, but it’s not clear that Rodgers has a ton of great football left in the tank.

The tandem connected on a 12-yard fade early in the second quarter last week, and that’s the sort of thing that breathes life into Metcalf’s stock, but I think you’re walking an awfully fine line in this low-octane offense.

Metcalf doesn’t have a top 25 finish on his 2022 resume, and if I had to project it forward, I’d say he has more weeks like that than ones where you’re glad you played him.

Among the healthy players, Metcalf is the one I’m most rooting for to have a big game this week so that I can get out of this business at a reasonable price.

Dontayvion Wicks | GB

Romeo Doubs has shown some flashes this season, and I personally think that Matthew Golden is on a promising trajectory.

That puts Dontayvion Wicks’ stock very much in question.

The Packers get this plus matchup, but they then go on bye, and I’m not overly interested in holding onto a player like Wicks through the off week unless it’s him that victimizes this leaky Cowboys secondary.

I’m not betting on that being the case, but given the potential of this offence, I think you’re wise to at least hold him through this game.

It has been nearly a whole year since Wicks last hit 50 receiving yards in a game, and his 9.5% target share inside the opponents’ 40-yard line this season doesn’t exactly offer much scoring potential.

If Wicks busts this week, I think you cut ties. If he shows well for himself, I’m still not overly optimistic, but he’ll at least be deserving of a roster spot as a part of a Green Bay offense that is democratic when it comes to targets.

Drake London | ATL

I’m not sounding the alarm on Drake London just yet, but I’m making note of where the alarm is.

London hasn’t cleared 55 receiving yards in a game this season and has more fumbles than touchdowns. I’m encouraged by the 27 targets through three weeks, and he’s clearly the player this pass game is slanted toward (four targets on the first drive last week), but I don’t care about the ingredients in the fridge if you don’t know what to do with them.

I expected more from Michael Penix in the early going this season (one touchdown on 99 pass attempts); it really is that simple. Not all young QBs follow the same developmental curve, and that’s why I’m not yet seeking trade partners, but I’m certainly concerned.

This isn’t a bad get-right spot, and with the bye on deck, there’s a decent chance that everything is as it should be by the middle of October. You’re playing London this week, and we can circle back ahead of the Week 6 primetime battle against the Bills for a value check.

Emeka Egbuka | TB

We are nearing the “how high is too high” discussion when it comes to the ranking of Emeka Egbuka.

Here is a list of receivers to start their first season with 12.5+ PPR points in Weeks 1-2-3 since 2010:

• Stefon Diggs (2015)
• Sterling Shepard (2016)
• Terry McLaurin (2019)
• Ja’Marr Chase (2021)
• Emeka Egbuka (2025)

He got there in what has become a standard highlight fashion. His 6-85 game on Sunday against the Jets was highlighted by a one-handed catch that falls harmlessly out of bounds for the majority of receivers in this league.

Mike Evans (hamstring) didn’t need to get hurt for you to feel good about Egbuka’s stock, but I don’t think trading Chris Godwin for Evans is a bad thing in terms of the rookie’s projectable production moving forward.

He’s the clear-cut top option on an aggressive offense that is exploring how to use its new toy best. I’m downright giddy to see what is schemed up to keep him this involved as defenses begin to shade coverages in his direction: we are talking about a player that can win at all three levels, and he’ll be asked to prove that.

It’s early, but Egbuka is on pace for over 1,000 receiving yards and double-digit scores. Only four times in the 2000s has a rookie reached both of those thresholds: Mike Evans/Odell Beckham Jr. (2014), Ja’Marr Chase (2021), and Brian Thomas Jr. (2025).

He’s already a locked-in starter, and I think his 22.3% target share is far more likely to rise than regress. It’s rare to hit this big (cost-adjusted) in a fantasy draft. You did the hard part already; now all you have to do is build around this massive hit and earn yourself a trophy!

Garrett Wilson | NYJ

Garrett Wilson is off to a great start in 2025. He’s earned 30 targets through three weeks, has a pair of top 10 performances on his resume, and has seen his Jets play in much more offensively friendly environments than expected.

I’ll bite at least for the next month.

The Dolphins have allowed the third-most yards per deep pass this season (17.7 yards), and Wilson is a near lock to see at least a few targets down the field. Miami also has the type of offense that could make this a sneaky entertaining game, and that’s only a good thing for the value of Wilson, a player who had more receiving yards last week than any of his teammates have this season.

After this week, Dallas comes to town, and before the Week 9 bye, dates with Carolina and Cincinnati are on the books.

This offense has flaws (Tyrod Taylor threw 36 passes in a game that saw 56 points scored, and the Jets didn’t have a play pick up more than 20 yards), but Wilson can rise above it and produce low-end WR1 value for all of October.

George Pickens | DAL

I actually worry that the CeeDee Lamb injury subtracts from the bottom line for George Pickens, an option I’m assuming is a little off the beaten path.

I liked things the way they were. Lamb’s gravity opens up the entire field for a player capable of, in the right situation, winning in a variety of ways. Through three weeks, we’ve seen the deep shots that we expected, but we’ve also seen a 15.1% drop in aDOT from 2021 and thus a profile that was being built to resemble a strong WR2 moving forward.

Now?

With CeeDee Lamb projected to miss up to a month, I’m left wondering if selling Pickens after a pair of top 20 finishes is the play.

On Sunday night, Dallas faces a Green Bay defense that has allowed the second-fewest deep completions this season, and I fear that Pickens will be asked to win on those routes with increased defensive attention, similar to what he faced in Pittsburgh.

Pittsburgh Pickens isn’t a top 20 receiver. He might not be a top 30 receiver. I think this is a good player who was in the perfect spot, but the math has all changed in the short term.

What we will see as long as Lamb is sidelined is the equivalent of Klay Thompson when not paired with Steph Curry. Some health-related aspects on the NBA side of that comparison don’t align perfectly, but the point remains that the subtraction of a focal point significantly impacts the surrounding pieces.

Ja’Marr Chase | CIN

I think we can probably burn the game tape from last week’s 48-10 loss in Minnesota, but it is a data point, and given that we don’t have many from Jake Browning, we have to take what we can get.

I worry that Ja’Marr Chase is at risk of being a fancy DJ Moore.

That’s probably a bit harsh, but his career average depth of target with Joe Burrow is more than two yards higher than what he’s put on tape with Jake Browning, and the few deep balls he does get are 18.2% less valuable with the backup pulling the trigger.

READ MORE: Soppe’s Week 4 Fantasy Football Start ‘Em Sit ‘Em: Analysis for Every Player in Every Game

Now, I will say that I trust the volume. Chase has a 28.8% on-field target share with Browning this season, and a talent like this getting consistent volume is enough for him to be considered a lineup lock, a designation Tee Higgins no longer has.

Better days are obviously ahead for this offense and this team as a whole, but I don’t think the spike weeks for Chase are in the cards. Remember those three games last season with 170+ yards and multiple touchdowns?

They all included a 40+ yard reception, and those are going to be difficult to come by. Don’t do anything crazy, but Chase is no longer a Tier 1 receiver for me.

Jakobi Meyers | LV

Picks like Jakobi Meyers are the ones that consistently competitive fantasy managers make.

Active streaks, 60+ receiving yards

• Jakobi Meyers (5)
• Quentin Johnston and Puka Nacua (4)
• Keenan Allen and Jaxon Smith-Njigba (3)

He’s never going to give you the Tre Tucker game from last week, but he sucks some of the risk out of your lineup and allows your stars, the players you were most confident in at the draft, to dictate your fate.

What more could you ask for?

The first pass of last week was a 45-yard pass to Meyers, his longest catch as a member of this franchise. Spike plays aren’t really a part of his profile, but given the construction of this roster, we might see more shot plays while keeping the high-floor role.

Meyers isn’t a league winner, but he’s a reason you win leagues.

Jalen Coker | CAR

I was excited about Jalen Coker early in the draft process this summer, thinking that the second-year receiver had a real chance to earn meaningful targets in a developing offense. That optimism grew after the Adam Thielen trade, but a day later, a “significant quad injury” landed him on IR.

That means Coker will miss at least the next three games, and all reporting out of Carolina has a mid-October return as the most optimistic. I still believe there’s something in this profile, but Xavier Legette will have every chance to earn more work. That leaves Coker as a drop in all formats — unless you can stash him in a free IR slot. Even then, the odds are strong that a player with a clearer path to production will go down this month.

I’m not selling all of my Coker stock because Carolina gets New Orleans and Tampa Bay in Weeks 15-16, but you can buy back in after Halloween and likely not experience any loss in value.

Jalen McMillan | TB

Jalen McMillan showed up in spurts as a rookie, but scoring on 21.6% of receptions isn’t stable. Nor was the 17.8-yard average depth of target on those touchdowns.

There were plenty of holes to poke in this profile. Still, the drafting of Emeka Egbuka has him fighting for playing time and thus a non-factor in most formats when healthy, which clearly isn’t the case after a scary injury this preseason (currently on IR with an absence that extends beyond the required four games, viewed as the most likely outcome).

There is some athletic ability here, which means spike plays are bound to happen, but I don’t expect the route/target count to be high enough to capture our interest. If this turns into a WR rotation, we can adjust. But for the time being, McMillan is a player who holds contingent value when active, and that’s about it.

You’re not going this direction unless you have an IR spot burning a hole in your pocket, though the Mike Evans injury does make this stash a touch more interesting.

Jameson Williams | DET

We might have a problem here.

Part of what made Jameson Williams’ 2024 season so fun was that Detroit got creative. We know about the top speed, but Ben Johnson wanted him in space: sometimes that meant vertically, other times horizontally.

That hasn’t been the case through three weeks, and my dreams of further development are slowly being crushed.

• 2023: 16.0 aDOT
• 2024: 11.6 aDOT
• 2025: 17.8 aDOT

I’m not throwing in the towel just yet. Detroit has played two Super Bowl threats (Packers and Ravens), and they may be uniquely built in such a way that Williams’ strengths are muted.

He killed the Bears in Week 2, but my concerns are less about the production and more about the opportunity. Williams hasn’t seen more than five targets in a game this season, and if he’s being asked to run fly patterns while Jared Goff is being asked to prioritize efficiency, this is going to be a season full of ups and downs.

In theory, this is a fine spot regardless. The Browns are stingy, but they are often challenged deep down the field, and this Lions offense playing at home is a different beast.

I’ve got Williams as a low-end WR2, ranking just ahead of veterans like Tyreek Hill, DJ Moore, and DK Metcalf, but I very much acknowledge that we are in a critical stretch where I need to see a usage change.

Jauan Jennings | SF

The shoulder/ankle injuries didn’t sound too worrisome coming out of Week 2’s win in New Orleans. Still, whispers grew into chatter by the weekend and eventually resulted in Janouan Jennings being sidelined against the Cardinals.

I’m no doctor, but this feels like a team being cautious and potentially scared about Brandon Aiyuk’s recovery process. The 49ers won their first two games despite a ton of injuries, and they don’t go on bye until December. Jennings is going to be a valuable member of this team, and with a week to rest and nothing but a break on the horizon, this looks like a long-term investment.

Jennings easily paced San Francisco in receiving yards in Week 2, courtesy of a 26.3% target share. He’s my top-ranked 49er pass catcher this week, but you’ll need to monitor things, given the 4:05 p.m. EST kickoff, which means there will be plenty of replacement options locking well before the 49ers take the field this weekend.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba | SEA

I’d never lie to you guys.

When I was updating my rest of the season rankings after the dust settled on Week 3, the thought of Jaxon Smith-Njigba being a top-five receiver crossed my mind.

The developing super duper star has finished as a top 15 performer at the position in all three weeks this season and is pacing for a cool 124-catch, 1,830-yard season.

And that doesn’t even build in the idea that his connection with Sam Darnold stands to improve with reps as this season progresses!

He was the only Seahawk to catch a pass on their first drive last week (41 yards and a score), and until the league figures out how to slow him down, I’ll continue to assume it can’t be done.

JSN caught 11 of 12 targets while scoring in both Cardinal games a season ago: get your popcorn ready and continue to enjoy the profits that you’re getting from Smith-Njigba this season; the price is going to get expensive ahead of 2026.

Jayden Higgins | HOU

Jayden Higgins hasn’t reached a 45% snap share at any point this season and has earned only a single target in consecutive weeks.

His playing time didn’t take a hit with Christian Kirk returning to the fold on Sunday, and I found that interesting. But this offensive line is making Nico Collins a flight risk: this isn’t the offensive profile I want to overextend myself for.

In terms of roster construction, I’d rather bet on a Dontayvion Wicks, DeAndre Hopkins, or Joshua Palmer type: receivers with single-play upside tethered to top 10 offenses.

Jayden Reed | GB

Fantasy football can be cruel at times.

For a brief moment in time in Week 2, Jayden Reed managers were thrilled. It looked like he hauled in a beautiful 39-yard touchdown on Green Bay’s first drive against Washington, not just a 10.9-point play, but some signal that his three deep targets in the season opener weren’t a fluke.

Those vibes didn’t last long.

At the end of the play, he crashed to the ground, and the yellow flag graphic appeared on the broadcast.

Offensive holding, 10-yard penalty, no play.

That hurt us, but Reed was hurting too. He was holding his right shoulder in a way that communicated that everything was not okay.

He never returned to the game, and even then, we optimistic Reed managers were convincing ourselves that it was as much the game situation (Green Bay largely controlled things from start to finish) and depth at the position. That the Packers were taking it easy with their presumptive WR1.

Nope.

Matt LaFleur gave us the broken collarbone diagnosis in the post-game news conference, and the current timeline is Halloween-ish.

That’s brutal.

Green Bay does have its bye during that stretch (Week 5), so that’s a positive, but for a team with Super Bowl aspirations, it’s hard to imagine them being very aggressive with Reed’s return to play, let alone his return to peak performance.

Obviously, you IR him if you can, and I think you hold him at the end of your bench if you can’t. He’s part of a WR committee in Green Bay, and that’s annoying, but his early-season usage patterns suggested some skill growth, and there are targets begging to be earned in this offense.

The Packers’ end-of-season schedule is brutal, as they face the Broncos and Ravens during the fantasy playoffs, but the version of Reed we’ve seen for one game and one drive this season would still be a flex option in those spots.

Jaylen Waddle | MIA

The production profile of Jaylen Waddle passes the sniff test, but I’m nervous.

He scored at the end of the first half on Thursday night, and that’s been encouraging. He’s seen three of Miami’s five end zone targets. With him functioning as the chain mover to Tyreek Hill’s verticality (Hill: 15.6 aDOT, Waddle: 8.47), the high catch rate is likely here to stay (82.4% is probably a bit optimistic, but the easy-button targets are his to lose).

Be careful.

Hill is out-targeting Waddle 8-2 on third downs this season, and that speaks to where Tua Tagovailoa is comfortable going when the chips are in the middle of the table. We also have this weird trend where Waddle only carries scoring equity against opponents he is familiar with.

The fact that he hasn’t scored against a non-AFC East opponent since Week 6 of 2021 is a weird one, but with a divisional opponent on tap this weekend, we can worry about that another time.

Waddle has earned at least eight looks in four straight against the Jets and averages 6.4 catches per game for his career against the divisional rival. I’ve got his numbers checking in around that level on Monday night, and that’s enough for him to crack my top 30, ranking above Hill for the first time this year.

Jaylin Noel | HOU

Jaylin Noel had a two-week window to open the season where Christian Kirk was sidelined, and he had an opportunity to force his way onto the field.

It didn’t happen, and now it’s unlikely to happen in 2025.

Noel ran just seven routes on Sunday, a role that isn’t viable in any setting, never mind a unit that can’t protect its QB. You can move on from Noel at this point without feeling bad about being burned in the short term.

Jerry Jeudy | CLE

Joe Flacco has nearly thrown more passes this season (126) than his presumptive top target has received yards (134).

That’s a problem, and I don’t know why it would change.

These Flacco passes are essentially empty calories, and considering that he’s a good bet to be the best QB on this roster, projecting growth moving forward is a tough mathematical challenge.

Jerry Jeudy has seen his slot usage cut in half from last year, resulting in a decline in his target share. The next red zone target he earns this season will be his first, and he’s been held out of the end zone department in nine of his past 11 games.

Jeudy is north of Chris Olave, and that profile isn’t going to threaten my top 30 at the position most weeks, especially when all 32 teams are in action.

Jordan Addison | MIN

Jordan Addison is back after having served a three-game suspension to open the season. Simple math had him projected for regression this season, as even the best this game has ever seen struggle to score on 14.3% of their receptions, Addison’s rate through two years.

Now, we have a backup quarterback situation to muddy the waters.

Aaron Jones being sidelined for at least the next three weeks should help stabilize Addison’s target share, but the value of those looks is questionable; this is a tough sell.

If you’re hurting for healthy options, I can understand going this direction in a flex situation. As a rookie, he scored in each of his first two games, and in his second game of last season, he found paydirt twice. In rostering Addison, you understand that you’re chasing a score, and that naturally comes with risk in this Carson Wentz world.

I’m taking a wait-and-see approach if at all possible.

Josh Downs | IND

Isn’t football funny?

Anthony Richardson plays quarterback, and we complain that the QB play is preventing any receiver from mattering.

Jones punches so far above his weight that he’s moving the ball around at a high level and not allowing any one receiver to get home consistently (four different Colts have 13+ targets through three weeks).

Last week, five Colts saw 3-6 targets, and I think that’s what we can expect moving forward. I’m not sure people want to admit it, but this offense functions a lot like the Packers, but with less hype.

That makes them an interesting team moving forward, but one that is reasonably straightforward for fantasy: play the running back and tight end every week, the QB in matchups, and pray that a receiver works his way into the top 25 eventually.

Josh Downs has been held under 5.5 PPR points in two of three games this season, and the unblemished Colts aren’t exactly motivated to change how they are going things. Michael Pittman is my top-ranked Indy receiver, but both he and Downs are in that WR40 range, making them risky plays at best.

Joshua Palmer | BUF

We might just be done here.

Josh Palmer earned one target on 15 routes against the Dolphins, and while the drum beat for him this summer spilled over some into Week 1 (5-61-0 against the Ravens), he has just three catches since.

Josh Allen’s recklessness has been contained more over the past 13 months than it was prior, and that’s a problem for Palmer as a vertical threat. Through their play-calling, it very much appears that Buffalo prefers the potential versatility of Keon Coleman over anything that Palmer is capable of, thus relegating him to a high-variance role that is likely to come with more downs than ups.

He plays for the Bills, so if there’s a team environment to take a chance on a player like this, this is it. That makes him stashable in deeper formats as we approach bye-week season, where YOLO options become more appealing due to a lack of options otherwise. Still, if you told me you had to cut ties to open up roster flexibility elsewhere, I wouldn’t bat an eye.

Justin Jefferson | MIN

Getting 12.5 PPR points from your first-round pick isn’t exactly what you’re looking for in a favorable matchup, but I don’t think Jefferson managers can really complain about the final stat line.

Isaiah Rodgers scored a pair of defensive touchdowns, which skewed the way this game was called. Personally, I’m reading more into the 29.2% target share from last week than the pedestrian stat line against a vulnerable defense.

We’ve seen Jefferson produce video game numbers with a variety of QBs, so I’m not concerned about that front. We will see what the target distribution looks like as Jordan Addison returns to action. But again, we have more than enough evidence that Minnesota’s WR1 is going to earn his looks regardless.

I have Jefferson ranked as my WR5 for Week 4 as he takes on a Steelers defense that has already seen Garrett Wilson post a 7-95-1 line and the Jaxon Smith-Njigba/Cooper Kupp tandem combine for 15 catches and 193 yards.

Kayshon Boutte | NE

Kayshon Bouttee earned eight targets on 44 routes in Week 1, and that was a fun way to start the season, but four targets on 56 routes since is representative of the peaks and valleys that come with a developmental QB.

Drake Maye is a work in progress. He’s talented, but not flawless, and without a bona fide top target, these crazy production swings are a part of betting on this offense.

For me, no pass catcher on this roster is going to be a must-start at any point this season. Hunter Henry had the big game last week, and DeMario Douglas could have a 10-catch game at some point.

Counting on players like this every week isn’t wise, but in uncertain situations like this, I have no problem going this way in a pinch, knowing that there are targets widely available every week.

Keenan Allen | LAC

Has enough been made about Keenan Allen’s start to 2025?

Since 2000, only five times has a player in his age-30 season or older recorded 60 receiving yards and a touchdown in each of the first three weeks of a season:

• Terrell Owens (2004)
• Randy Moss (2007)
• Brandon Marshall (2015)
• Mike Evans (2023)
• Allen (2025)

Through three weeks, Allen leads the Bolts in target rate (28.3% of his routes) and has five end zone targets. It is worth noting that we saw ups and downs from Allen last season (no 50-yard games until late November, but he also had a stretch with five scores in five games).

I feel good about saying that this is as good as it gets for Allen in 2025. That’s not to say that he’s going to fall off a cliff; posting top 20 finishes is simply hard to sustain (he’s done it in three straight games, a streak that Justin Jefferson never matched last year).

Allen is my second-favorite Charger receiver the rest of the way and a viable PPR flex moving forward.

Keon Coleman | BUF

Am I allowed to be encouraged by a 3-20-0 stat line?

I used the word “encouraged,” not “impressed” or a reason. Obviously, five PPR points on a night where the Bills score 31 points isn’t ideal, but a 3.3-yard aDOT tells me that there is some hope.

Some hope that we aren’t looking at another Christian Watson or Alec Pierce type. The Bills are looking to explore avenues for the 2024 second-round pick to contribute to drives, not just end them with either a splash touchdown or a deep incompletion that leads to a punt.

Long-term, we love this. But we love in the same way we love a kid learning how to drive. The freedom and convenience stand to be great, but the path to getting there can be bumpy.

Moving violations, near-death experiences, endangered pedestrians. You get the idea.

That’s what last week was. You took your lumps, and the payoff will be great — eventually. I’d be shocked if you’re ever comfortable counting on Coleman consistently this season, but from a DFS perspective, the profile is trending in the right direction, and I could see rolling the dice.

The fact that Josh Allen trusted him to make a hands catch on a third down in the red zone last week could be the start of something big. I do think he’s the answer to the “how will the Bills level up” question; it’s just a matter of how consistently he can piece it all together.

He’s a low-end flex this week for me that will be more appealing as bye weeks work their way into our world.

Khalil Shakir | BUF

After a miserable Week 2 in New York, Khalil Shakir made the most of his four targets against the Dolphins on Thursday night, scoring his first touchdown of the season as part of a 45-yard performance.

The ceiling is never going to overwhelm based on his skill set, but I do think the elevated floor that we penciled in this summer remains. Dalton Kincaid scored a 20-yard touchdown on Buffalo’s first drive, an option route that was run off a designed screen for Shakir.

The touchdown came on a motion play and was nearly a lateral. The fact that this offense is scheming up looks for their slot machine inside the red zone is gold.

The high catch rate and half-a-dozen looks are here to stay: the role we saw this week points to a real chance to match his career touchdown total (seven) this season, and that is why I’m fine with starting him as a WR3 in a PPR setting every week.

Ladd McConkey | LAC

Yep!

His numbers across the board are down a bit, but this feels very much like a “lose the battle, win the war” situation.
Last season, McConkey caught 82 passes for 1,149 yards despite defenses having little to sweat elsewhere (none of his teammates topped 55 receptions or 711 yards).

This season, Jim Harbaugh has opened up the offense in a significant way, and, for now, Justin Herbert is spreading the ball around.

Week 1-3 statistics:

• Quentin Johnston: 24 targets, 239 yards
• Keenan Allen: 28 targets, 194 yards
• McConkey: 21 targets, 163 yards

Be patient.

I don’t think there’s much debate about who the most talented receiver on this roster is. If this pass-centric offense is here to stay, I trust that it will pay off in a big way with time.

The Giants were solid last week in primetime against the Chiefs, but that might be more of a Kansas City problem than a New York strength. We saw Dallas systematically pick them apart in the second half in Week 2, another wide-open offense that wants to move the ball through the air.

I have no reservations about labeling McConkey as a top 20 receiver this week, now that he’s removed from the biceps injury that bugged him during practice this time last week. I think he has the potential to be even better than that moving forward.

What type of package could you get with McConkey for Ja’Marr Chase?

Could you leverage the recent play of Tyreek Hill into some sort of deal for McConkey?

Play around with our free Trade Analyzer. I bet you can open up an interesting conversation.

Luther Burden III | CHI

Luther Burden III had two yards in three targets through two career games, but a meeting with the Cowboys has a way of unlocking things, especially when you have a playcaller like Ben Johnson looking to expose it.

The rookie paid off a goofy flea flicker that looked like D’Andre Swift was pitching a beach ball back to Caleb Williams. The optics really don’t matter: it was a 13.5-point play for Burden on your bench.

It was good to see a gadgety receiver make good on a gadget play, but let’s not do anything that we’ll regret.

Week 3 snap/route counts:

DJ Moore: 51 / 26

Rome Odunze: 51 / 26

Olamide Zaccheaus: 32 / 17

Burden: 17 / 9

Burden remains a pretty clear WR4 in an offense that also features two tight ends and still shows some inconsistencies under center. The big play was great to see, and maybe this is the start of something, but I’m not betting on it.

Burden doesn’t yet need to be rostered in average-sized leagues.

Malik Nabers | NYG

This game we play can be an emotional one.

Malik Nabers won you your Week 2 matchup with the best game of his career (nine catches for 167 yards and a pair of scores in Dallas), and vibes were high.

Maybe Russell Wilson has enough gas in the tank?

Easy come, easy go.

The Chiefs put an umbrella on this offense and required anyone besides #1 to beat them. He turned seven targets into just 13 yards, and there were no real missed opportunities when looking back at the tape.

Relax.

Nabers was great last season, right? Well, that stat line came with eight sub-70-yard performances despite earning 11.3 targets per game.

This was always going to be a volatile situation, and you picked Nabers anyway, believing that his talent would, more often than not, pay off.

I’m not thrilled about his upside this week as we navigate QB conversations and a defense that has allowed just two red zone touchdowns this season. That said, the volume profiles are safe, and the raw ability is overwhelming.

Nabers is still a WR1 for me.

Marquise Brown | KC

Hollywood Brown earned 16 targets in a 46-route Week 1 fill-in spot for Xavier Worthy, where he fell into the featured role. Since then, 11 targets on 63 routes isn’t bad, but they’ve been low-value looks (72 yards with zero touchdowns).

The dip in production signals that the Week 1 stat line was simply the result of filling a void in the game plan, not a game plan that was fitted to him.

With Worthy trending toward a return and Rashee Rice’s suspension up in a few weeks, Brown’s time as a flexy option is likely coming to an end. I’d rather play Jordan Addison in his first game off suspension or even Chris Olave’s locked-in volume, albeit in a brutal offensive environment.

Marvin Harrison Jr. | ARI

“Frustratingly close”

I don’t know how else to say it.

We’ve seen some route development from Harrison this season, and his big-play making ability is something he’s got in his DNA, but we are having trouble getting that breakout game.

In San Francisco last week, it was a penalty that cost him big yardage before the mental lapse.

I’m not sure if he can spin and accelerate fast enough, but he got behind the defense, and Kyler Murray noticed it. Sitting wide open, Harrison had the ball coming his way. He wasn’t running fast, hardly moving at all. The ball was just floating toward him, like one of those slow-motion movie moments where the underdog is in the midst of pulling off some dramatic play.

Bobble.

Grass.

Incomplete.

If he catches it with confidence and can finish the play, we are looking at a 14.6-point play. At the very least, it should have been a 30+ yard gain that helps the 3-44-0 save what turned out to be a 3-44-0 day at the office.

There are problems with high-end receivers across this league, but I don’t think that’s the case here. He’s a talented player with a healthy QB1 and has become increasingly important to the team recently with the Conner injury.

MORE: Cardinals Predicted to Select 19-TD Star WR in 2026 NFL Draft Amid Marvin Harrison Jr.’s Struggles

I’ve ranked Tee Higgins and Brian Thomas types in my rankings this week, but that’s not the case for Harrison on Thursday night. Despite a tough matchup, I still have him as a top 20 player, thinking that we get the opportunity and talent combination to pay off sooner rather than later.

Seattle ranks 30th in blitz rate this season, giving MHJ time to work and cash in on some of the opportunities he’s missed through three weeks this season.

Marvin Mims Jr. | DEN

Marvin Mims has seen half of his targets this season come 15+ yards downfield, doubling his rate from a season ago and pigeonholing him into a boom/bust sort of role as opposed to the developmental project that we were hoping for.

In such a role, you’re going to have a few weeks that look like last.

Mims finishes Week 3 with 1.4 PPR points and was inches from a 14.7-point afternoon in Los Angeles had Bo Nix not misfired on a flea-flicker that left him space to run.

That’s the way the cookie crumbles.

This is, at some level, a cheap bet on Nix. If you think the second-year signal-caller rebounds with time, Mims is a great bet on the cheap right now. He scored six times on 39 receptions a season ago, and that sort of potential remains, but it’s going to be a “how lucky do you feel” situation.

For those looking to roll the dice this week, Mims had an 8-103-2 game in Week 17 against these Bengals last year. Of course, that came against a Joe Burrow-led version of this team that encouraged an aggressive game plan.

I’m not going this route.

I’ll play the Mims game in Week 8 with six teams on a bye and the Cowboys hosting the Broncos. If I’m going to go in a direction like this, it’ll be where my secondary options are lacking, not in a week like this, where no one is on bye and the position is still reasonably healthy.

Matthew Golden | GB

Where there’s smoke, there’s usually fire.

The Packers’ offense struggled for much of Sunday in the upset loss, but Matthew Golden truthers watched with intrigue. The explosive rookie was targeted on the first pass of the game (eight-yard gain) and finished the first quarter with three grabs (18 yards).

I highlighted in our free PFSN Betting Newsletter that Golden’s vertical savvy was in a good spot against a Cleveland defense that is often challenged down the field, and we saw some of that later in the game with a 34-yard, over-the-shoulder pass from Jordan Love while standing in his own end zone.

All of this is encouraging, and I haven’t even mentioned the fact that he got multiple rush attempts for the second straight week. The Packers have a need, and they appear willing to give Golden a chance to help: what more could we ask for?

Well, we could ask for a primetime matchup with a vulnerable Cowboys defense that has allowed a league-high five deep touchdown passes this season. One of every four long throws against Dallas has resulted in a score, well above the league average that sits at roughly one-in-six, thus putting Golden in a spot to pay off on the upside we know him to have.

He’s my clear WR1 in Green Bay this week and is trending toward my top 40. If you want exposure to this burner, I think you have until Sunday night to get him at a reasonable price.

Michael Pittman Jr. | IND

Michael Pittman has 16 catches through three weeks, scoring twice in the process.

We would have done unthinkable things to get a production line like that a season ago, but this seems to be the new reality with Daniel Jones under center.

If you want to bet against Dimes, selling his WR1 now at cost is the play, but I’m inclined to hold. The third-quarter touchdown over the weekend was the type of play you don’t see from sporadic fantasy options. Pittman and Jones timed a zone beater perfectly, and he cashed it in.

Pittman has never scored more than six times in a season, so asking him to keep up this pace probably isn’t fair, but an 80-catch season with 6-8 touchdowns? That’s a nice profit, considering what you paid this summer.

I’ve got Pittman as a firm part of the flex conversation this week, ranking ahead of the “we have a QB problem” tier that includes, but is not limited to, Tee Higgins and Brian Thomas.

Mike Evans | TB

Mike Evans suffered what Todd Bowles labeled on Monday as a “low-grade” hamstring injury, and while that sounds good, let’s not forget that this is a 32-year-old receiver who is in the process of seeing Emeka Egbuka replace him.

Obviously, not all hope is lost. Evans still has plenty of juice (the five-yard TD last week was the scoring zone slant that we’ve seen work for a decade with him) and when at full strength, he stands to slide into the back-end of my WR2 rankings. But with Chris Godwin nearing his return and the best from Bucky Irving yet to come, there’s as much risk as reward in counting on Evans.

There are some instances where a productive player goes down with an injury and I’ll encourage you to buy on a discount. Opportunities like this present themselves all the time as a fantasy manager is holding a distressed asset because of their standing in your league and is looking, for lack of a better way to say it, to make a bad deal. To take pennies now for a dollar in the future.

This isn’t that.

READ MORE: Mike Evans Injury Update: How Long Will Fantasy Managers Be Without the Buccaneers WR?

Evans missed three games a season ago, and these soft tissue injuries always come with aggravation risk. We haven’t seen the future Hall of Famer reach 60 receiving yards in a game this season, and I’m not sure that changes in a meaningful way when he returns to the field.

Assuming he sits this week, you’ll be able to free up a roster spot by using your IR, and that’s fine. Just be careful in assuming that you’re getting a difference-maker when he returns to your lineup.

Nico Collins | HOU

Nico Collins has a deep touchdown in consecutive games after a brutal 3-25-0 showing in Week 1 against the Rams, restoring my faith in humanity as someone who had him ranked as my top overall player at the position entering the season.

That’s probably not going to happen, but it does begin to look like the Texans are starting to embrace the “drop everything and get Collins fed” game plan.

First pass play of their first four drives in Week 3:

• Collins deep target, incomplete
• Nick Chubb, -2-yard reception
• Collins deep target, incomplete
• Collins, five-yard reception

The 50-yard touchdown was more of a defensive lapse than anything, but if C.J. Stroud is programmed to lock onto Collins, he’s going to get some of those.

In the fourth quarter, the flip side of that coin came into play. Understanding how much of this offense is on his shoulders, Collins overextended on a play and lost a fumble trying to do too much.

If we are losing points because our players are too aggressive, I’ll take my chances. Collins isn’t my WR1 anymore, but I do think he’s a locked-in WR1 that still has a chance to return value on the pick you spent this summer, even if this is one of the five worst offensive lines in the sport.

Pat Bryant | DEN

I hate to cut bait on a rookie receiver that I think has some interesting potential long-term before the end of September. Still, I’m cutting bait on a rookie receiver that I think has some interesting potential long-term before the end of September.

Pat Bryant was on the field for just 11 snaps on Sunday, and if that wasn’t bad enough, he ran a route on only two of them.

Marvin Mims and Troy Franklin are pretty clearly ahead of him in terms of receivers that Sean Payton is in a rush to develop. With Trent Sherfield playing more in a big divisional game against the Chargers, I think it’s reasonable to say that the Bryant sleeper thing will have to wait until 2026 at the earliest.

Could there be some post-hype value to grab in 11 months? It’s possible, but that’s a conversation we don’t have to have right now. Bye weeks start up next week, and you’re going to be able to find a better use of a bench spot than the third-round pick out of Illinois.

Puka Nacua | LAR

Puka Nacua is in the conversation to be ranked as the WR1 for the remainder of the season, and he might just be leading it.

Since 2000, most 10+ catch games in the first 31 games of his career:

• Nacua (6)
• Brock Bowers (4)
• Christian McCaffrey (4)
• Kellen Winslow (4)
• Jaylen Waddle (4)

There’s a sense of inevitability with him weekly that so few have access to. Nacua has finished all three weeks this season as a top 10 performer at the position, and, amidst all of the crazy stats surrounding the start of his career, this is the one I find most illuminating.

Since the start of 2022, Nacua ranks as WR13 in total PPR points (WR2 per game). Over that same stretch, here are the Rams’ leaders in end zone targets:

• Demarcus Robinson (now with SF): 12
• Davante Adams (3 weeks with LAR): 8
• Cooper Kupp (now with SEA): 7
• Nacua: 6

Our game is so driven by touchdowns due to the scoring structure, and Nacua is producing at an elite level without the help of the most valuable opportunities in the sport.

What if Happy learns how to putt?

Rashee Rice | KC

Rashee Rice has been suspended for the first six weeks of this season for a violation of the NFL’s personal conduct policy, and with a Week 10 bye, you’re looking at a fantasy star that needs to hit the ground running in a month when you get him back.

Rice showed well physically in camp, and when he’s back on the active roster, there’s no conversation to be had. Over his past 13 healthy games, his 17-game pace was 110 catches and eight scores, a line that makes him an unquestioned asset in all formats.

With Travis Kelce at the mercy of Father Time and Xavier Worthy’s role only set to regress, Rice is the pass catcher to trust in this offense when at full strength, and it’s not close in my opinion.

If you roster Rice, you have the opportunity to play him every week. Survive in the short term and thrive in the long term. I’m told this is what parenting is like, but I cannot confirm.

If you don’t, I’d suggest actively rooting against the team that does. Not that “rooting” does you any good, but you will want to keep tabs on that team: if that team stubs its toe out of the gates and doesn’t feel as if it can survive the entirety of this suspension, you might be able to buy low on a potential league winner:

Week 12 vs. Colts

Stat to track: Second-highest short pass passer rating allowed in 2024 (only the Patriots were worse).

Week 13 at Cowboys

Stat to track: Highest short completion percentage allowed last season (78.5%, league average: 73.5%).

Week 14 vs. Texans

Stat to track: Allowed a league-high 6.1 yards per catch after the reception last season (NFL average: 5.3)

Week 15 vs. Chargers

Stat to track: Last season, 50 of Mahomes’ 66 passes thrown against the Chargers traveled less than 10 yards downfield (75.8%, the highest mark of his career against the divisional opponent, career rate prior vs LAC: 65.4%)

Week 16 at Titans

Stat to track: Sixth-highest touchdown rate allowed on short passes

Week 17 vs. Broncos

Stat to track: Mahomes played against them once last season, and he threw 31 passes no more than five yards downfield, the third highest.

Rashid Shaheed | NO

If you had told me a month ago that we’d be getting 4+ catches from Rashid Shaheed on a weekly basis, I would have told you to make sure you get 100% exposure in your drafts.

The volume hasn’t been an issue, but those looks aren’t anything like we’ve seen in the past from this big-play savant. His aDOT has sunk from 18.1 yards to 10.1, and while that has raised his floor to an acceptable level, he’s really not all that interesting of a fantasy option without the threat of the big play (held without a 20-yard reception in two of three games).

I like having Shaheed rostered right now because I bought the player, and if there is eventually a change under center, having access to something new is generally how I play these things.

That said, I don’t view him as a must-roster player anymore, as the single-play upside that made him an intriguing “break glass in case of emergency” type has vanished.

Rashod Bateman | BAL

Rashod Bateman had easily his best game of the season on Monday night against the Lions, hauling in five of seven targets for 63 yards and a three-yard score.

There is theoretical upside in Bateman. He has a defined skill set as a part of one of the five best offenses in the league. Teams can’t allocate safety help over the top because all hands need to be on deck to stop Derrick Henry from ruining the game, and Lamar Jackson has turned himself into one of the best pure passers in the league.

But if I can’t trust Zay Flowers and the tight ends in this offense, all of whom I think are more talented and vital to the success of this offense, how can I get there on the secondary receiver?

Trick question, I can’t.

Bateman is a perfect plug-and-play option that is essentially matchup-proof when you need him. If you’re battling injuries or byes throughout the season, he’s on the field for an offense that is going to score 25+ points more often than not.

But choosing to play him over players who mean more to their respective teams (There are obvious names, but I’m looking at the upside of a player like Matthew Golladay or Keon Coleman as similar players that I consistently rank higher) just isn’t going to happen for me.

Ricky Pearsall | SF

Ricky Pearsall showed some pro-level chops with a 34-yard sideline catch last week when his team needed it most and continues to impress in this, his first full season in the NFL.

That grab highlighted an 8-117-0 line, making him the first 49er with a pair of 100-yard receiving games in the first three weeks of a season since Antonio Bryant did it in 2006.

The Jauan Jennings scratch (ankle/shoulder) put more responsibilities on Pearsall’s plate, and he didn’t bat an eye. You love to see that, but you have to naturally wonder just how sustainable it is.

In Week 2, with both receivers at full strength, Jennings out-earned Pearsall 10-6 in the target department, finishing with 89 yards and a score. I’m operating under the assumption that Jennings is good to go this week and have him ranked a touch higher than Pearsall, though both are in that WR3 tier against a Jags defense that has played well in two favorable matchups this season while getting lit up in a tough spot at Cincinnati.

This matchup doesn’t scare me, as the potential for this to be a six-target game for Pearsall, in which case you’re banking on plus-efficiency from a banged-up signal-caller in an offense that has the option to dump the ball off to Christian McCaffrey.

Rome Odunze | CHI

Rome Odunze earned 101 targets as a rookie and averaged 13.6 yards per catch in a complementary role, but with Caleb Williams developing and Ben Johnson calling plays, the former ninth overall pick is flashing his pedigree on a routine basis.

The 35-yard score last week came on a shifty move that had the defender on skates, and it was timed perfectly by Williams. Art in motion.

Since 2016, only four players have scored a touchdown in each of the first three weeks of their second season: DK Metcalf, Chris Godwin, DJ Chark, and Odunze. That’s a solid list to join, and I see no reason to think it slows against a Raiders team that just allowed Marcus Mariota’s Commanders to average 7.4 yards per play.

Odunze is the Bears’ top receiver, the third-best in the NFC North, and a top 20 guy across the league the rest of the way (flirting with my top 15 in this specific matchup).

Romeo Doubs | GB

I lost count a while ago, but the “__ consecutive days without feeling good about starting a Packers WR” count is getting out of control.

Green Bay WR stat lines, Week 3:

Matthew Golladay: 4 catches on 4 targets for 52 yards

Romeo Doubs: 2 catches on 2 targets for 25 yards

Dontayvion Wicks: 2 catches on 4 targets for 21 yards

The Packers are a lesser version of the Ravens, with no one receiver as good as Zay Flowers. It’s a tough offense to guard for that exact reason, but even with some optimism that they clear 30 points on Sunday night, I’m not confident in flexing a single one of their receivers.

And that’s with the added clarity that comes with Jayden Reed being on the shelf!

I’m all for rostering any Packer your heart desires, but you have to understand that you’re doing it more as a way to have a bailout option in times of need than the hope for one of them to emerge as a weekly lineup lock (I think we may get one this week, but it isn’t Doubs).

Don’t shoot the messenger.

Stefon Diggs | NE

There’s no one in this Patriots offense I feel great about weekly, and a 31-year-old Stefon Diggs is no exception.

The veteran receiver has seen his target, catch, and yardage count decline each week this season (57 yards in Week 1, 55 yards since), and I’m unsure of the path back to fantasy relevance.

Hunter Henry and Kayshon Boutte are the only every-down pass catchers in this offense, with Diggs fighting with Mack Hollins, Demario Douglas, and Austin Hooper for opportunities. Toss in the likely increase in usage for the versatile TreVeyon Henderson, and it’s hard to project Diggs for five targets, and even more difficult to project him to do much with the looks he does earn.

I’m not stopping you if you want to cut your losses now and build the backend of your roster more strategically.

Tee Higgins | CIN

The margins are so thin in this league, and they are getting even thinner in Cincinnati if Week 3 Jake Browning is the version we get for the next 2+ months.

Tee Higgins caught just three of eight targets in Week 2’s win over the Jaguars, the game in which Joe Burrow was hurt, and struggled to earn targets, forget efficient ones, on Sunday in Minnesota with Browning under center from the start.

• One catch
• Two targets
• 15 yards

It was a mess. The game got out of hand in a hurry, and that reduced any chance of a bounce back.

It should be noted that Browning just missed Higgins on an end zone fade that would have added 9.7 PPR points to his bottom line and lessened your headache quite a bit, but that is the sort of thing that happens with a backup under center.

The reason I’m worried isn’t because of a single poor performance, but a usage pattern.

Since 2023, Higgins has seen 18% of his Burrow targets come 15+ yards downfield, a rate that sits at 40.6% with Browning.

In theory, you’d assume that means more reward potential, but considering that the quality of those throws is low, it carries more risk than anything.

Higgins was effective with Browning in 2023 (2.06 yards per route), but again, if those bombs aren’t connecting, we have a problem (0.98 yards per route with him this season).

I’ve got Cincinnati’s WR2 ranked as a low-end WR3 for fantasy managers this season and fear that his stat lines might look similar to what we’ve seen from Brian Thomas in Jacksonville up to this point.

Terry McLaurin | WAS

For the first time since 2020, Terry McLaurin will sit out this game, the result of a quad injury he suffered last week against the Raiders.

The general hope is that this absence doesn’t extend beyond this weekend, so there’s no need to panic long-term.

In the short-term, Deebo Samuel is a good bet for double-digit opportunities (rushes + targets) while Zach Ertz should see enough volume to squeak into the TE1 rankings.

Tetairoa McMillan | CAR

Context is king.

If I told you that Tetairoa McMillan was earning nine targets per game through three professional contests, you’d be impressed.

If I left that part out and said that his catch rate is hovering around 50% and that he hasn’t scored, you’d be wondering if the preseason buzz was worth it.

I’m choosing the glass-half-full approach. This Panthers team, despite the strong showing on Sunday against the Falcons, is going nowhere fast. There are some pieces in place, but this isn’t a team ready to contend at a serious level.

Given the context of a bad team and no real target-earning support, I’m thrilled with the volume that McMillan has seen through three weeks. He’s opening up windows that are large enough for Bryce Young to see, and that’s a win.

Efficiency concerns are a part of doing business, but we know they are an issue because he’s earning enough to notice. I value the ability to play at pro speed highly for incoming rookies, and McMillan has checked that box with relative ease thus far.

There will be some big games this season. I have no doubt. Carolina schemed up almost the football version of a pick-and-roll for McMillan on an early fourth down, and it’s that sort of creativity that I’m looking for.

No one thought that McMillan was going to make Young into Patrick Mahomes or that his rookie season would look like that of Nacua. He’s a reasonably polished receiver in an ugly spot who is doing the best he can.

I’m encouraged and think the future is brighter than the past. McMillan is a top-20 receiver for me this week and a viable WR2 the rest of the way.

Tory Horton | SEA

We are seeing rookies like Pat Bryant in Denver struggle to earn playing time, while others, such as Tetairoa McMillan, get on the field and thrive right away.

Development is a non-linear process with a million moving pieces; never forget that.

The first piece in most equations is talent, followed closely by opportunity. Tory Horton has the former and is proving deserving of the latter.

He was held without a target on 17 routes in his NFL debut, but has vacuumed in eight targets on 34 routes since, scoring in both games.

Oh yes, and he pulled a reverse Kaleb Johnson and scored for the right team on special teams via a 95-yard punt return during their throttling of the Saints on Sunday.

I’m not here to say that Horton is the next big thing. Cooper Kupp signed a three-year $45 million deal in March, and that alone is going to suppress Horton’s playing time. Still, if he shows the type of juice he did over the weekend consistently and the Kupp experience follows the trajectory from a season ago, we could be looking at a late-season flex who is earning a handful of targets per game.

Those looks aren’t a lock to be valuable if you believe Sam Darnold was more the creation of Kevin O’Connell than anything last season. But there is certainly a way for this to play out, where Horton faces a tapped-out Panthers team in sunny Carolina in Week 17, making a difference in your most important fantasy matchup of the season.

Travis Hunter | JAX

A month ago, we were wondering just how good this offense could be. We were worried about the run game, but confident that Liam Coen could maximize the pass game and result in plenty of value at a cost across the board.

• Week 1: 27 routes, 6 defensive snaps
• Week 2: 27 routes, 39 defensive snaps
• Week 3: 27 routes, 41 defensive snaps

Life comes at you fast.

Now, the rush game is the only thing we can trust. Travis Hunter is now a defender who plays offense, and we have to assume that sticks until proven otherwise. The next time he hits 35 receiving yards in a game will be his first as a pro, and while he continues to show glimpses (his lone catch last week was a five-yard pass that he took for 21 after making two defenders miss on a first-and-20 play), things are very much trending away from us.

I think you’re crazy if you’re cutting ties completely with Hunter after three games, but there’s also no way he’s deserving of a look at your flex spot, even against a hobbled 49ers defense.

If you want to gain exposure to this unique talent, consider low ownership and do it through DFS.

Tyreek Hill | MIA

We got a vintage Tyreek Hill route on the short touchdown against the Dolphins on Thursday night, where his speed in those tight windows can put the corner in a blender.

For a moment, everything looked as it was supposed to. Hill ran the shifty pattern, and Tua Tagovailoa put the ball right where it needed to be, perfectly on schedule. There was a toe-tap third-down play that followed the same pattern in the game as well, so it’s not as if all hope is lost, but I’m not exactly encouraged.

Hill caught just one pass in the second half on Thursday, and that is where the problem lies. The quality of target is a real concern these days, and the deeper down the field those looks come, the less confident I get.

The speed is still there, and we see glimpses of it, but he’s come down with just three deep passes (20+ air yards) this season, and the highlight of that collection was a play in Week 2 where Tagovailoa appeared to be trying to throw a 21-pound football and came up well short of the desired placement.

He missed by enough that Hill was able to work his way back and make the play for a 47-yard gain, but it was far from a clean effort and nowhere near what we’ve seen from this offense in the past. The tandem took a shot against the Bills, but the timing was off, and the pass sailed high without posing much of a real threat.

Hill is the downfield threat in this offense, that much is clear with an aDOT that is nearly double that of Jaylen Waddle. That’s valuable, but it comes with more risk, especially when the opponent is familiar with this system and has an ace corner.

RELATED: Tyreek Hill Predicted As Trade Candidate for Dolphins After Miami’s 0–3 Start

I prefer the high catch rate that we get access to with Waddle in this specific spot, but both will be in the WR3 range for me every week moving forward, and I don’t see that changing.

If past trends are of interest to you, in Hill’s last four games against the Jets, he’s failed to reach five PPR points twice and cleared 25 PPR points in the other two instances. This is an all-or-nothing spot, something we are going to have to get used to.

Wan’Dale Robinson | NYG

Wan’Dale Robinson saw 12 deep targets across 17 games last season, and that’s the profile we locked in for 2022.

That hasn’t been the case (seven deep targets over the past two weeks), and I think he’s looked good down the field. I’ve largely been impressed, but how much of that changes if the Giants make a change under center?

The truth is that we don’t know.

What I do feel good about is that Robinson is the WR2 in an offense that will be playing from behind regularly. In PPR leagues, I have him ranked as a low-end flex option this week, with the thought being that the Chargers will defend the Giants in a similar manner to what we saw from the Chiefs on Sunday night.

Robinson is averaging five catches on 7.3 targets this season: that’s essentially what I have him penciled in for this week, and double-digit PPR points should finish inside the top 36 at the position in a game that I expect to be one-sided.

Even if a change happens, we have enough data points to suggest that Robinson can win on the underneath routes, making him less vulnerable than others to an offensive shift.

Xavier Legette | CAR

A hamstring cost Xavier Legette Week 3 after a limited practice week, and if this is the first you’re hearing of that, it tells you all you need to know.

This is an inconsistent offense at best, and Legette has yet to make good on the Round 1 draft capital that was spent on him (eight yards on 15 targets this season).

The ability to earn targets is at least interesting, but there’s no reason to try to get ahead of the curve in a situation like this.

Nothing in this Carolina pass game is consistent week-over-week, and with Tetairoa McMillan vacuuming in targets weekly, there simply isn’t enough meat left on this bone to like any secondary pass catcher with Bryce Young at the controls.

Xavier Worthy | KC

The final decision continues to linger late into the week, but the Chiefs again ruled out Xavier Worthy for Week 3 with a shoulder injury that cost him all but three snaps in the season opener.

His ability to get on the practice field at all last week puts him in a position to return this week, something that didn’t seem likely given the optics of the injury.

So, can you trust him in this spot?

The Chiefs did get him two opportunities (one rush and one target) before the injury, and the fact that his replacement went on to see 16 targets against the Chargers points pretty strongly to how this team plans to use their talented receiver in his second season while Rashee Rice serves his suspension.

There is, of course, plenty of risk in betting on a loose shoulder, as it could impact how he plays and how Andy Reid deploys him. I have him ranked as more of an “if you need upside” flex play than a surefire option, but this is a pass-centric offense playing against a defense that can shut down the run.

You’re likely playing him if you have him, but don’t be afraid to consider other options if you feel like you’re already favored in your Week 4 matchup.

Zay Flowers | BAL

We are going to see more than we want to.

Think about some of the top teams in the league this season. Your mind will likely go to the Bills, Packers, Eagles, Ravens, and a few others. In those mentioned examples, the ground game is so strong that the passing volume is at risk every single week, and when that’s the case, good players are going to have down weeks.

It’s just math.

Zay Flowers had 14 catches for 218 yards and a score through two weeks before the dud on Monday night against the Lions (two catches for 13 yards).

It’s disappointing, but like a classroom of kids taking advantage of a substitute teacher, it shouldn’t come as a surprise. Flowers continued to earn eight targets per game last season and cleared 1,000 yards, but it didn’t come without eight contests where he failed to reach 40 receiving yards.

This is simply the cost of doing business with the Ravens.

I’m not worried about Flowers’ year-end numbers, but you should be aware that this isn’t the last time he’ll leave you wanting more. I like him to bounce back this week (WR18 for me) against a Chiefs defense that figures to press the line of scrimmage (seventh in both blitz and pressure rate thus far), thus leaving the agile Flowers on an island to win in a hurry.