Fantasy Football Week 3: Jauan Jennings highlights sleeper picks

It was a middling return for the Week 2 sleeper page. Daniel Jones was the QB6 (thanks, Commanders) and at least Wan’Dale Robinson and Alexander Mattison both scored a touchdown, although they did just about nothing else.

Let’s move forward and see what’s available in Week 3.

Minshew’s been one of the stunners of the young season, leading the NFL with a 77.5% completion rate. This comes on the heels of a lousy summer, when he completed just 48.5% of his attempts, largely against backup defenses and vanilla schemes. WR Davante Adams and TE Brock Bowers look like two of the ADP steals of the 2024 fantasy season.

Now the Raiders welcome the Panthers, a plus matchup. Benched quarterback Bryce Young is the biggest scapegoat in Carolina and deservedly so, but the Carolina defense hasn’t stopped much (24th in defensive DVOA, 26th against the pass). Make room for The Mustache.

Washington’s pass defense has been the biggest sieve in the league since the beginning of the 2023 season. We mentioned Jones landing at QB6 last week, and Baker Mayfield was the QB2 in the season opener. Cincinnati obviously played a lousy game in its opening-week loss to New England, but the Bengals outplayed Kansas City last week and probably deserved a win. Cincinnati can kick the door down Monday against Washington. Joe Burrow is primed for his best game of the year, with the Bengals carrying a 27.3 implied team total.

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Obviously, these angles lead you to Ja’Marr Chase first, and Tee Higgins (hamstring) has a chance to return, too. But Iosivas is coming off a two-touchdown game and Gesicki was all over the field against the Chiefs (7-91-0, team-high nine targets). The secondary Cincinnati options have to be considered when the matchup is this juicy.

You’ll have no problem identifying McCloud on Sunday night; he’s always on the field. He participated in every offensive snap against Philadelphia, snagging 3-of-5 targets for 42 yards. The Chiefs lost track of Andrei Iosivas a few times in Week 2; perhaps this will be the second straight week an unheralded receiver makes a dent against this secondary.

Jennings can easily get lost in all the San Francisco star power, but he’s in for a bigger role in Week 3 with Deebo Samuel (calf) expected to sit. Jennings has been an efficiency winner in limited opportunities, catching 7-of-9 targets and making 14.4 yards per catch and 11.2 yards per target. The Rams have struggled to stop much of anything through two games, ranking 29th in defensive DVOA and 27th against the pass. The 49ers have an implied team total of 25.8 points, the fourth-highest of the week.

I’ve been pro-Hubbard this year and it hasn’t led to much joy, with Bryce Young driving the Carolina offense off the road. But Hubbard’s Week 2 performance wasn’t that bad. He made 64 yards on his 10 rushing attempts, caught four short passes, and rated RB26 in half-point PPR formats. If nothing else, Hubbard outplayed backup Miles Sanders.

The hope going forward is that journeyman Andy Dalton can bump this offense into the competent range. That’s the angle Diontae Johnson managers are clinging to, and it’s also a possible reason to dial up Hubbard in Week 3. I still believe head coach Dave Canales was a smart hire, and Dalton’s professional chops should give this offense a bounce.

Washington OC Kliff Kingsbury has always had a soft spot for the veteran Ertz, and that affection has carried over to the 2024 season. Ertz finished TE8 last week off a 4-62-0 line, and he ran a route on 32-of-38 dropbacks. Young upstart Ben Sinnott hasn’t cracked the lineup much; he saw just 12 snaps and ran a mere four routes (drawing zero targets) last Sunday. This is still the Ertz show until further notice.