Everything You Thought About Fantasy Football Is Wrong ...

by Peter Overzet

1 month ago

In today's Fantasy Life Newsletter, presented by Experian:

With three weeks under our belt (save for the MNF doubleheader tonight), we finally have a bit of a sample size to inform how we think about these NFL squads.

If Week 1 is all about surprises and overreactions and Week 2 is a heat check on those initial reactions, then Week 3 is all about whiplash.

Right when you think an identifiable pattern is emerging, the NFL is quick to flip it on its head …

Are the Saints actually a wagon? Because they just scored 12 points in a pretty gross home loss to the Eagles.

Are the Broncos not actually trash? Because Bo Nix and Co. bullied the Bucs on their home turf yesterday.

Did the Panthers just go from a Bottom 3 team to a middle-of-the-pack team after benching their 2023 No. 1 overall draft pick for … Andy Dalton?

At this point, there seem to be only a few constants (Sam Darnold and Justin Fields racking up Ws, Elite TEs flopping, and Malik Nabers’ quick ascendance to superstardom).

Read on for six other takeaways from yesterday’s action, which I can’t wait to retract a week from now.

What else is in today’s newsletter?

Pete puts a bow on Week 3’s main slate of games.
Watercooler: A full moon on the field

Week 3 breakouts, surprises, & flops

by Pete Overzet

It's time for Pete's Pick 6—my weekly recap column where I round up six things that caught my eye on the Sunday main slate.

Let's dig in …

🧨 B̶r̶a̶n̶d̶o̶n̶ A̶i̶y̶u̶k Jauan Jennings explodes

The Niners offense entered Sunday's game vs. the Rams completely depleted. No Deebo Samuel. No George Kittle. Everything set up for a highly concentrated gameplan centered around Jordan Mason and Brandon Aiyuk …

But then Jauan Jennings said, "sup."

And by "sup," I mean that he went complete Kool-Aid Man, crashing the party to the tune of 11 receptions, 175 yards, and 3 TDs.

It's sometimes easy to write off performances like this as a fluke, but watch this play and tell me with a straight face that Jennings luckboxed his way into his production.

The elephant in the room here is Aiyuk, though. He got paid $120 million specifically for moments like this and hauled in a measly 5 catches for 48 yards. I'm starting to worry that Aiyuk is the Kyle Pitts of Amon-Ra St. Browns. Trust me, it makes sense if you think about it.

🌞 Malik Nabers is a revelation

There was some fear entering this game that the Browns presented a tougher matchup for Malik Nabers and he'd come back down to earth after last week's layup vs. the Commanders.

I think we learned yesterday, however, that there is no such thing as a "matchup" for Malik Nabers. Nabers is the matchup. He's the one who knocks. He's, as the kids might say, that dude or Him.

After dropping 8-78-2 on the Browns, he's now the No. 1 scoring WR in fantasy. The No. 1.

I'm not a film bro by any means, but it's impossible to watch this guy and not immediately recognize that he's a very special player. The body control on this TD catch and the Moss'ing he did on this underthrown ball are the types of catches you see from Hall-of-Fame-bound WRs deep into their career, not in their second game.

You do not sell high on Nabers. You buckle up and enjoy the goddamn ride.

4 more Week 3 takeaways