Mulligan’s Fantasy Forecast, Week 3
It’s still early in the fantasy football season but it’s never too early to start looking for trends and fantasy stars that may be going unnoticed. Ryan Fitzpatrick is the fifth-ranked fantasy quarterback, with Chad Henne right behind him at number six. Cam Newton is the second-ranked fantasy QB while Denarius Moore is the second ranked wideout. All of these are names that either went undrafted in fantasy leagues or were drafted as very late-round fliers but, the way they’ve performed out of the gate has them looking like borderline every-week starters. They shouldn’t be available in any fantasy leagues with at least 10 teams.
GOOD MATCH UPS
Michael Turner vs. Buccaneers defense: Turner’s 2011 season is off to a better than expected start as he has rushed for at least 100 yards in each of his first two games. This week he’ll square off against the team that has allowed the second most rushing yards through the first two weeks of the season the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Look for a likely third straight 100-yard performance from Turner this week.
Jay Cutler vs. Packers defense: It may have been expected for Drew Brees to light up the Packers’ pass defense in the NFL opener two weeks ago. But Cam Newton throwing for over 430 yards against the defending Super Bowl champions? Clearly Green Bay is having some issues defending the pass and until they figure out the problem, just about any quarterback is a good match up against them. Especially one running a Mike Martz offense.
NOT SO GOOD MATCH UPS
Steven Jackson vs. Ravens defense: Jackson suffered a quad injury in the Rams opener against the Eagles that caused him to miss last week’s game against the Giants. Though he’s expected to return to action this week, starting him in your fantasy lineup is not a good idea. The Ravens defense has allowed just 140 yards rushing through the first two games of this season and they’re not likely to allow much against St. Louis this week.
Eli Manning vs. Eagles defense: With all of the talk in the NFL surrounding how well the quarterback play has been through the first two weeks of the season, Eli hasn’t really been a part of that talk. Eli has totaled just 468 yards passing with two touchdowns and two interceptions through Week 2 and will face a nasty Eagles pass defense in Week 3. It’s the very definition of a “not so good match up.”
WAIVER WIRE WATCH
Fred Davis, TE, Redskins: Cooley who? Davis is quickly making Redskins fans forget the name Chris Cooley as he has dominated and emerged as a top five fantasy tight end through the first two games of this season. If he’s available in your league, he should be picked up as soon as possible as he doesn’t seem to be slowing down, even with Cooley now back and healthy.
Kyle Mulligan is a contributing sports writer for the Observer. He welcomes your feedback and can be reached at kjmulli@gmail.com.