What an amazing Week 3 we had. Some things were the same and some things never changed. One thing that probably should change, is where you rank Tua Tagovailoa as an NFL quarterback.
After outplaying Joe Burrow in Week 1 and playing subpar in Week 2, Deshaun Watson got it together in Week 3 and started to look like his old self again. His stock is clearly on the rise. But, who is Daniel Jones? And can he put together a solid performance against a team with a solid defense? We’ll see. Is Javonte Williams ever going to ascend? There are still a lot of questions as we head into Week 4 of the NFL season, but some of those questions are already being answered by the players below.
STOCK UP
RB - De’Von Achane, Miami Dolphins
Well I’ll be damned. I was extremely high on Achane coming into this season, but not even I expected a four-touchdown performance with 233 yards from scrimmage as early as Week 3. Achane will likely be the top priority on waivers this week and for good reason. He became only the 21st rookie in NFL history to rush for at least 200 yards in a game. As if the Dolphins’ offense wasn’t scary enough, Achane exploding this early may put them on a historical pace after they put up 70 points on the Broncos. Although he’ll still work in a committee with Raheem Mostert, Achane has cemented his role in the offense and doesn’t need a full workload to be effective. Finishing as Week 3’s RB1 (MNF pending) helps a little bit too.
.@lorddontlose explains why he’s keeping an eye on speedster Devon Achane after being drafted by the Dolphins. 👀#NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/MnyX4YAwWV
— Rotoworld Football (@rotoworld_fb) April 29, 2023
WR - Nathaniel Dell, Houston Texans
The top waiver priority at wideout ahead of Week 4 will be none other than Tank Dell. He was in this column last week, but took it up another notch today after going 5-145-1 in the Texans’ bludgeoning of the Jaguars. Dell was by far the best receiver for the Texans in Week 3 with both Nico Collins and Robert Woods each gaining 34 receiving yards. Furthermore, this is the second straight week Dell has led the team in targets. He and C.J. Stroud have built a chemistry on the field and it’s not stopping soon. Despite Collins coming into Week 3 as a top-10 receiver in fantasy football, Dell is slowly taking the reins as the Texans’ top wideout. He’ll be a guy to put in your FLEX for Week 4, if you can get him.
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TE - Sam LaPorta, Detroit Lions
LaPorta will end up being one of the biggest fantasy draft steals of 2023. One reason is for the early production as he entered Week 3 as the TE4, despite not scoring a touchdown. Another reason is that fantasy points are hard to come by at the tight end position. LaPorta rectified the scoring problem by going 8-84-1 on a whopping 11 targets against the Falcons in Week 3. While his touchdown did come on a 45-yard bomb due to busted coverage, Jared Goff’s eyes for the young tight end will not waver as LaPorta has done well at making himself available. Just three games into his career, LaPorta is giving us what we’d hoped to be seeing from Kyle Pitts: targets, efficiency, a stable offense and production. LaPorta is a fun player to watch rack up points in your lineups.
.@lorddontlose examines how TEs Sam LaPorta and Michael Mayer fit on their new teams. #NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/EFzihbylMH
— Rotoworld Football (@rotoworld_fb) April 29, 2023
STOCK DOWN
RB - Derrick Henry, Tennessee Titans
I sure do hate this for King Henry. He is in a tough situation; one where his team will likely be drafting a quarterback for the third straight year in 2024. Henry came into Week 3 as the RB8, which seems like no big deal and business as usual, but it has been tough. He’s starting to lose more and more snaps to rookie Tyjae Spears because poor quarterback play can’t keep the Titans in a positive game script. In Week 3 against the Browns, Henry only played 38% of the offensive snaps and used that to carry the ball 11 times for 20 yards. These are not ‘King Henry’ type of stat lines and it’ll create the illusion that he’s starting to fall off. Henry might be better served playing for another team at this point.
RB - Khalil Herbert, Chicago Bears
Last week, Justin Fields was in this column. This week it is Herbert. The Bears’ offense is a mess and to make matters worse, Herbert seems to now be in a 50/50 split committee with Roschon Johnson. In Week 3, Herbert lost a fumble against the Chiefs (who were already whooping them) to put them in easy scoring position. Herbert had shown promise in previous years as a lead back whenever David Montgomery would miss time, but it hasn’t translated this season. It’s no shock however, as the Bears’ overall team looks like it needs to get baptized in holy football water and cleanse itself of the stench. Herbert should be a nice solid FLEX play, but after a 10-touch, 40-yard performance, he’s far from it.
WR - Jahan Dotson, Washington Commanders
Sam Howell stinking it up in Week 3 to the tune of four interceptions doesn’t help, but Dotson has not been that guy. So far he’s recorded 10 receptions for 83 yards in three whole games. Terry McLaurin isn’t fairing too much better and should be mentioned here as well, but at least he’s getting something (13-126-1). Dotson more so was talked about as a potential breakout candidate in 2023, but the quarterback play may make that impossible. It’s not a horrible offense to watch as Eric Bieniemy does dial up a nice game plan, but it’ll only go so far with the players you have. I’m certain there will be games where Dotson catches a long touchdown pass that’ll get people hyped up, but the question will be “how consistently can that happen?”
