The Roto Street Journal’s Stock Watch offers great insight into a player’s numbers, rising or falling. They provide the substance that parallels the stats.
As I observed the NFL’s week 3 action, I couldn’t help but notice plenty of substance from different kinds of stats. Many of these stats weren’t rising or falling, but rather consistent. Nevertheless, they were telling.
Calvin Ridley Can Handle Alpha-WR Role With Falcons
Ridley put up a 5-110-0 line on 13 targets against the Chicago Bears. This happened without Julio Jones playing, and even included Russell Gage leaving the game in the first half.
While his final line looks like a bit of a mixed bag, the Bears have done an optimal job covering outside receivers so far this year.
Marvin Jones produced a 4-55-0 line on 8 targets in week 1, and Darius Slayton a 3-33-0 line on 6 targets in week 2. Those were each teams’ respective top outside receiver against Chicago.
Ridley’s 16-point fantasy performance should be encouraging in case Julio Jones, or even both Jones and Gage miss time moving forward, considering his competition from Sunday. After 3 weeks, the Bears have only allowed 2 passing touchdowns and a 52.3 percent completion rate.
Josh Allen Did It Again, This Time Against A Formidable Opponent
Allen came into week 3 having the stigma of his outstanding 2020 start happen against the forgettable defenses of the Jets and Dolphins.
He effectively shredded that stigma, accounting for all five of the Bills’ TD’s, four passing and one rushing, in Buffalo’s 35-32 win over the Rams.
The Rams allowed just one TD and an average of 254 yards-per-game over 41 pass attempts-per-game through the first two weeks, facing Dak Prescott and Carson Wentz. Allen threw for 311 yards on just 33 attempts.
In probably the most telling stat, Allen, and the reputation of inaccuracy that he brought with him when he was drafted, continued his 70-plus percent accuracy in 2020, going 24-for-33 (72.7 percent).
Allen has now legitimately placed himself in the NFL MVP conversation and showed the kind of consistency to make high-end QB1 status a realistic rest-of-season expectation in fantasy.
Michael Gallup Reminds Us All That There are 3 Fantasy-Relevant Receivers in Dallas
This one doesn’t cover the substance surrounding just one player’s consistent numbers. Rather, it covers the consistently high production of a receiving group. The particular performances of the players in that group are what jumps off the page in week 3.
Now if you want to get crazy, throw in Cedrick Wilson‘s 5-107-2 line and argue that there are four fantasy-relevant Cowboys receivers.
I’ll call Cedrick’s performance an outlier for now, and focus on Michael Gallup’s six catches for a team-high 138 yards and a score.
Coming into the year, much focus was on Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy‘s tendency to feed an alpha-WR, assumed to be Amari Cooper.
As rookie CeeDee Lamb‘s production paralleled Cooper’s much more than Gallup’s did after two weeks, Lamb started getting hyped as possibly dethroning Amari as Dallas’ alpha before season’s end. As a result, Gallup was becoming an afterthought.
Gallup and his WR18 ppg rate from 2019 firmly halted that trend on Sunday to remind everyone that there are still three stud WR’s in Dallas. Don’t shut the door on the possibility that the Cowboy’s top producer at receiver could frustratingly fluctuate between those three all through to the end of the year.
It Looks Like Joe Mixon Could Win The Most Patience-Testing Fantasy Player Of 2020
Mixon’s time is coming. I’ll fight on this hill all year. Well, maybe until like week 8, but still, the potential is there.
Mixon still hasn’t gotten into the endzone, and put up 2.9 yards-per-carry for the second straight week, en route to a saddening 8.5-point fantasy day.
Why am I #WaitingOnMixon? He’s on a team that figured out how to get him putting up mid-tier RB1 numbers in the second half of last season. That was with a worse quarterback, a worse offensive line, and a first-year head coach.
However, I’m not going to blame anyone if they jump ship on him in the next few weeks. He shouldn’t be expected to stay this consistently mediocre for long.
Quarterback Joe Burrow ideally will keep adjusting to the pro game and opening up the offense, easing the attention Mixon gets from defenses.
Burrow saw his highest completion percentage (70.5, up from 63.9), and yards-per-completion (7.1, up from 5.4) in Cincy’s tie versus the Eagles on Sunday.
Those two stats and the Bengals’ first, well, non-loss, of the season, are telling signs that Burrow and the offense are finding their sea legs. Once they’re found, a second-half season surge like 2019 definitely isn’t out of the question for Mixon.
