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, my biggest Week 3 fantasy football takeaways. 

Let's dig in …

#1 Fantasy Football Takeaway - Week 3

Brandon Aiyuk Jauan Jennings goes nuts

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 luck-boxed 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.


#2 Fantasy Football Takeaway - Week 3

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 fantasyThe number one.

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.


#3 Fantasy Football Takeaway - Week 3

The Panthers are … back?!

What a difference one week makes. Last week the Panthers had bottomed out and we were begging for the team to make a QB change.

Flash forward to yesterday, and Andy Dalton is leading the squad to a 36-22 drubbing of the Las Vegas Raiders.

Dalton wasn't just a game manager, either. He was dealing: 319 yards and 3 TDs. He's the only player in the NFL this year to clear 300+ passing yards and 3 TDs in a single game.

Best of all, he resuscitated Diontae Johnson's fantasy value (8-122-1).

The Panthers claim they turned down four trade offers for Young this week–-a declaration that feels a lot like the 'ol "My girlfriend lives in Canada" yarn, but whatever. 

Regardless, Dalton didn't do Young or the Panthers any favors by showing the league that a nearly-retired journeyman QB can make the offense hum. 


#4 Fantasy Football Takeaway - Week 3

The 2 big games flopped

The two projected shootouts of the week–Saints/Eagles (49 point o/u) and the Cardinals/Lions (51.5)–-both flopped yesterday.

The Saints/Eagles game was 3–0 at the end of the third quarter and finished with only 27 total points. Somehow the game still yielded some massive fantasy performances, particularly from Saquon Barkley (17-157-2) and Dallas Goedert (10-170).

The Lions and Cardinals combined for only 33 points themselves. David Montgomery (23-105-1), Jahmyr Gibbs (103 total yards, 1 TD), and Amon-Ra St. Brown (7-75-1) had nice days, but most of the Cardinals put up duds.

If it weren't for the late surge by the Cowboys offense spicing up that tilt with the Ravens, it would have been another low-scoring, fairly boring day of football.

We need one of those classic, season-defining barn burners soon to flip this current NFL meta on its head.


#5 Fantasy Football Takeaway - Week 3

Sam Darnold and the Vikings are cooking

The Saints Cinderella pumpkin coach hit a bump in the road yesterday, which opened the door for the Vikings to enter the conversation for "Surprise Team Of The Year"--a new award I just made up (it's kinda my thing these days).

Sam Darnold carved up the Texans defense for 4 TDs as Minnesota moved to 3-0 on the year.

Darnold now leads the league in passing TDs despite not having two of his Top 3 passing options (Jordan Addison and T.J. Hockenson). Who needs Addison and Hockenson when you have Jalen Nailor (TD) and Johnny Mundt (TD) stepping up?

Darnold gets the lede, but the defense deserves a shoutout as well. They allowed a very good Texans offense to score only 7 points, sacked C.J. Stroud five times, and turned him over twice.

This team is going to be very tough to beat when that aforementioned weaponry returns to the lineup.


#6 Fantasy Football Takeaway - Week 3

Let's not talk about the tight ends

Fine, we can talk about it, but just for a second. I can only stomach so much.

The Top 3 TEs heading into the slate:

You think that's bad? Mark Andrews only played 20 snaps and was targeted once.

What the hell is going on here?

Dallas Goedert went nuts, but otherwise, the TE position was once again a colossal disappointment relative to expectations.

Even when Kyle Pitts hauled in a 50-yard catch, he fell short of the one.

I'm begging the God almighty-–and yes, I realize it is the same deity who gave us Nabers … and Dalton–-to please stop trolling us with these TE performances.