Packers rookie WR Jayden Reed smashed in Week 2, posting 4 rec (8 targets), 37 yards, and two TDs. His 20 PPR FPs ranked as the WR17, which has fantasy football owners wondering about Jayden Reed’s Week 3 Fantasy Football outlook. Specifically:
Can I Start Jayden Reed in Week 3 Fantasy Football?
Based on Reed’s early season-usage, he absolutely should, at minimum, be rostered in nearly all fantasy leagues. At only 20% rostered, Reed is a priority Waiver Wire pick-up.
Reed has led the Packers in targets in back-to-back weeks to begin 2023, with five (19% share) and eight (26%) respectively. This is all the more impressive considering Reed hasn’t run more than 67% of the routes. Ultimately, Reed has an impressive 25% and 33% target per route run. He has almost exclusively played the slot, resulting in many “lay-up” designed targets. He’s also frequently jet-motioned, opening the door for some carries too. Reed’s high usage should keep his weekly floor fairly stable.
Yet, with 4.45 speed (80th percentile), Reed isn’t just a short-to-intermediate guy. In Week 1, he posted an impressive 18.4 average depth of target on 32% of the Packers Air Yards. This included a beautiful 30-yard deep reception.
Reed has the perfect skill set for this “vertical slot role.” He moved all over the formation in college and can win at any WR spot. Despite a smaller frame, Reed never struggled to get off the press in college, which has carried over in the NFL. He has impressive acceleration and phenomenal ball skills. Matt Harmon, among my favorite WR analysts, comped him to Stefon Diggs-lite for his craftiness in routes and versatility.
This all brings us back to the original question: should you trust Jayden Reed in Week 3 Fantasy Football?
I believe you can. I have Reed at WR42 (+4 ECR) in my Week 3 Fantasy Rankings. While I prefer Tank Dell (28% Rostered) in Week 3, Reed is an excellent streaming fall-back. Even if Christian Watson plays (Ques. with hamstring), Reed shouldn’t be overly impacted given their varying roles. In fact, Watson might spread the field even further for Reed to dominate underneath.
The Saints aren’t the sexiest matchup, allowing the 25th most FPs to WRs this year. Considering they’ve only faced the Titans and Panthers– far from high-powered Aerial Attacks– these numbers don’t scare me much. The Saints also appear to be most vulnerable out of the slot. Here, Reed will avoid Marshon Lattimore. We just saw Adam Thielen roast this secondary for 9 tgts, 7 receptions, 54 yards, and a TD. Reed is 1000x the athlete at this stage, and could post similar results.
Jayden Reed Week 3 Projection: 7 tgts, 5 rec, 78 yds
