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    KOC: Jefferson (ankle) ‘got close’ to returning

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    MIN Wide Receiver #18
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    Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell said WR Justin Jefferson (ankle) “got close” to returning a couple of times in Week 3 against the Buccaneers.

    According to the Minnesota Star Tribune’s Ben Goessling, the Vikings will evaluate Jefferson’s injury further, “but it didn’t sound terribly serious initially.” It sounds like Jefferson could have a chance to play in Week 4 against the Dolphins’ fantasy-friendly pass defense, though nothing is certain at this time. Stay tuned.
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  • MIN Wide Receiver #18
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    Head coach Kevin O’Connell said after Sunday’s game that Jefferson was “close” to returning, so Monday’s report isn’t all too surprising. While Week 4’s game remains on the table for Jefferson, the Vikings could very well opt to sit him this week against a Dolphins offense that’s among the worst in the league and just lost its star player to a torn ACL. Jefferson’s status will be one to monitor throughout the week, but it wouldn’t be surprising if the Vikings rested him for at least one week given the injury and the upcoming matchup.
  • MIN Wide Receiver #18
    Jefferson picked up the ankle injury in the second quarter. He limped to the locker room shortly before halftime and was officially ruled out midway through the third quarter. Hopefully for the Vikings it’s not a long-term issue for the centerpiece of their offense. Jordan Addison would be the de facto No. 1 wideout if Jefferson misses time with the ankle injury. He caught a long touchdown from Kyler Murray against Tampa shortly after Jefferson left the game.
  • MIN Wide Receiver #18
    Jefferson went down with the ankle injury at the start of the second quarter and was seen walking on the sideline a few minutes later. He then left for the locker room with seven minutes remaining in the first half. It’s unclear whether he’ll re-enter the game, leaving Kyler Murray without his top weapon. Jefferson had two catches for 32 yards before exiting.
  • MIN Wide Receiver #18
    Jefferson caught a 30-yard pass against tight coverage on just the second play of the game, but the proceedings then quickly became a contest of wills on a rainy September day in Chicago. Carson Wentz completed all of 11 passes, though Jefferson was his leading receiver, as well as most targeted. With Kyler Murray (concussion) expected to return for Week 3 against the Bucs’ shaky defense, we will hopefully get our first extended look at the Vikings’ “real” offense.
  • MIN Wide Receiver #14
    Head coach Kevin O’Connell ruled out veteran receiver Jauan Jennings, citing a death of a close family member. Jennings will step away from the team to mourn the passing, leaving Tai Felton as the player most likely to step into his vacated role when the Vikings take on the Bears. Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison should take on all the volume they can handle with the team also without Jordan Mason. Jefferson is a locked-in WR1 while Addison offers an intriguing upside-WR2 profile after putting up a dud in Week 1.
  • MIN Wide Receiver #18
    Kyler Murray left in the first quarter with a head injury, but even Carson Wentz is good enough to keep the fantasy points flowing for Jefferson. Wentz found his star receiver on a deep end zone shot late in the second quarter and put the final nail in the coffin with a nine-yard strike to Jettas late in the fourth. Jefferson has now matched his 2025 touchdown total. Even with Wentz likely under center for Week 2, Jefferson will remain near the top of the WR1 conversation versus the Bears.
  • MIN Wide Receiver #18
    Jefferson told Seifert what many of us were concerned about this spring and summer — that having the Murray and QB J.J. McCarthy split first-team reps “was an added challenge.” At the Vikings’ joint practice against the Ravens on Wednesday, Jefferson beat a double team for a touchdown, “but had roughly a half dozen passes broken up as he tried to muscle for position.” Jefferson should still be treated as a WR1, but as he told Seifert, “work needs to be done.”
  • MIN Wide Receiver #18
    This comes from NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. In hopes of getting under the cap before the start of the new league year, the Vikings will restructure the deals of both Jefferson and LT Christian Darrisaw, likely by converting portions of their base salaries into guaranteed money. The Vikings rank last in the league in available cap space, per OverTheCap.com, and will likely restructure a few more deals in the coming days to get to a point where they have money to spend in free agency.
  • MIN Wide Receiver #18
    Jefferson was 47 yard short of 1,000 receiving yards on the season and eclipsed that marker in the first half with a barrage of targets from J.J. McCarthy before McCarthy left the game with a right hand injury. Plagued by some of the worst quarterbacking in recent NFL memory, Jefferson managed just two touchdowns after ten touchdowns last season without an established starter under center for the Vikings. He had no chemistry whatsoever with McCarthy. Jefferson remains an elite wideout who dominates targets and air yards and will continue to do so in 2026. If he gets some decent quarterback play, Jefferson should bounce back nicely in Kevin O’Connell’s fantasy-friendly offensive scheme.
  • MIN Wide Receiver #18
    It could have been worse? Max Brosmer threw for all of 51 yards in a game that set offense back to before there even was a streaming service to watch a football game on, so getting even 30 yards becomes a little more impresssive. Imagine being issued caveats about a Justin Jefferson game coming into 2025. He’ll get one more chance to add to the disappointing numbers in Week 18 against the Packers.

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    Colston Loveland

    CHI Tight End #84
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    Colston Loveland caught all four targets for 31 yards in the Bears’ Week 3 win over the Eagles.

    Loveland matched his to-date season total of one reception on the second play from scrimmage and narrowly missed his first touchdown of the young season after replay assist ruled him down inside the one at the start of the second quarter. The offense would turn the ball over on downs four plays later after failing to punch it in, allowing the Eagles to remain in the game for longer than they otherwise should have been. Either way, it’s a step in the right direction for the talented youngster, although the absence of Caleb Williams could further dent his fantasy upside in the immediate future. Loveland continues to be a TE1 in fantasy circles despite the slow start, which holds for when the Bears play host to the Jets in Week 4.
  • CHI Wide Receiver #15
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    Rome Odunze caught 3-of-6 targets for 44 yards in the Bears’ Week 3 win over the Eagles.

    Odunze continues to function as the deep threat in Ben Johnson’s offense, which spells trouble for his fantasy value in the immediate future considering the absence of Caleb Williams. Case Keenum got the start under center against the Eagles, and while he kept the offense on track through veteran savvy, his general lack of arm strength limited the offense to hefty rates of attacking the short-to-intermediate areas of the field. It is unclear whether Keenum or Tyson Bagent will draw the start in Week 4, but the decision could dictate whether Odunze can be inserted into fantasy rosters against the Jets.
  • CHI Wide Receiver #10
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    Luther Burden caught 7-of-11 targets for 61 yards and a touchdown in the Bears’ Week 3 win over the Eagles, adding seven yards on one carry.

    Burden got the scoring started with a shovel-pass touchdown on the first possession of the game and continued to be the primary engine of the offense on a night the team was led by veteran journeyman Case Keenum. Head coach Ben Johnson handily outmatched his counterpart in Sean Mannion, keeping the offense in rhythm and unpredictable throughout. Burden should continue to improve upon his early-season returns for fantasy managers that chased him up draft boards this offseason, particularly once Caleb Williams returns to the starting roster in a few weeks. In the meantime, treat Burden as an upside WR2 ahead of a Week 4 meeting with the Jets in Chicago.
  • CHI Wide Receiver #14
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    Kalif Raymond caught 6-of-7 targets for 90 yards and a touchdown in the Bears’ Week 3 win over the Eagles.

    Raymond has now led the Bears in receiving in two of the team’s first three games, with Week 3 his best performance yet on the back of a 41-yard touchdown through busted coverage. It isn’t likely the career role player will lead the team in receiving throughout the season, but the early returns on investment must have fantasy managers ecstatic for those that either drafted him in the final round or scooped him off the wire following Week 1.
  • CHI Running Back #25
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    Kyle Monangai rushed 10 times for 31 yards in the Bears’ Week 3 win over the Eagles.

    Monangai has exactly 10 carries in all three games to start the 2026 season, which pales in comparison to lead back D’Andre Swift, the latter of whom has seen 19 or more opportunities in each game. The lack of volume relegates Monangai to handcuff status in fantasy circles for the time being, at least until bye weeks begin in Week 5. He’ll be a difficult start in Week 4 against the Jets.
  • CHI Running Back #4
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    D’Andre Swift rushed 20 times for 84 yards in the Bears’ Week 3 win over the Eagles, adding four yards on two receptions.

    Swift was unable to churn out consistent gains before the break but came alive with the team nursing a second half lead, gaining 53 of his 84 yards on five second half possessions. It was also the third straight game in which Swift handled 19 or more opportunities, something he did only seven times in all of 2025, cementing his status as a volume-driven, back-end RB1 in fantasy circles. He’ll remain a weekly start when the Bears host the Jets in Week 4.
  • CHI Quarterback #11
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    Case Keenum completed 24-of-34 passes for 247 yards and two touchdowns in the Bears’ 27-7, Week 3 win over the Eagles, adding six yards and a touchdown on four carries.

    Head coach Ben Johnson was in his bag from the opening series, trusting Keenum to take to the air on the team’s first two plays from scrimmage. That set the tone for the remainder of the game as the Bears dominated time of possession, running 69 offensive plays to the 47 of the Eagles. Keenum was not perfect by any stretch, with no fewer than three attempts that placed the ball in immediate danger. He would escape with a clean sheet in the turnover department while exceeding expectations within the structure of Johnson’s offense, routinely delivering the football on time and where it needed to go. His counting stats were padded slightly by a 41-yard touchdown to Kalif Raymond against busted coverage in the third quarter and a fourth quarter rushing plunge from one yard out, but he did enough to guide the Bears to a 2-1 record ahead of a Week 4 meeting with the Jets. It remains unclear if Keenum will draw another start under center now that Tyson Bagent will have a full week of preparation. Neither would be an exciting fantasy option against Aaron Glenn’s New York defense.
  • PHI Wide Receiver #9
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    Makai Lemon caught 3-of-4 targets for 29 yards in the Eagles’ Week 3 loss to the Bears.

    Lemon was the target on the team’s first play from scrimmage, gaining a first down on a first down play for the Eagles for the first time all season. The offense would sputter throughout the game on their way to only 47 offensive plays run from scrimmage, capping the fantasy upside of all involved in the process. Lemon has yet to live up to his lofty draft capital through the first three games of his professional career, but he could be called on for heavier work with tight end Dallas Goedert nursing an MCL sprain. Things don’t get any easier with a matchup against the Rams on deck for Week 4, where Lemon can safely be left on fantasy benches.
  • PHI Wide Receiver #13
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    Dontayvion Wicks caught 2-of-5 targets for 32 yards in the Eagles’ Week 3 loss to the Bears.

    For his part, Wicks was consistently breaking free of coverage with smooth route-running ability, but the offense managed just over 23 minutes time of possession on 47 offensive plays, leaving all involved stuck on a sinking ship. Better fantasy days should be ahead for Wicks in the immediate future, at least for as long as tight end Dallas Goedert remains sidelined with an MCL sprain. That said, he draws a difficult matchup against the Rams in Week 4. Treat Wicks as a viable FLEX option in a tough spot.
  • PHI Tight End #86
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    Zach Ertz caught 1-of-2 targets for nine yards in the Eagles’ Week 3 loss to the Bears.

    Ertz saw his snaps managed after both signing with the team Tuesday and returning from a torn ACL suffered in 2025, grabbing one of two targets in his first game in an Eagles uniform since 2021. There is very little fantasy upside here even as Dallas Goedert nurses an MCL sprain. Ertz can safely be left on the waiver wire.