Week 3 had some injuries, pleasant surprises, and disappointing fantasy showings. What’s new? But before we get to Week 4, I want to look back at Week 3 and see what I got right and what I got wrong. There is no point in aimlessly making start/sit/sleeper decisions if I’m not learning from my mistakes. And bragging about one thing I get right. Here’s last week’s start/sit article for reference.
ECR ➡️ Based on the Expert Consensus Rankings at FantasyPros ahead of each week’s games.
ACTUAL ➡️ Based on PPR scoring.
FANTASY POINT DIFFERENCE ➡️ The difference between the player's Actual and the player who finished at that week's ECR. So +1.5 points means the player finished 1.5 points higher/better than the player at the ECR. This gives me an idea of the actual points I gained or left on the table.
✅ Good call
❌ Miss
🤷♂️ / 🚑 ➡️ Wash / Push due to injury
QUARTERBACKS
START
Justin Herbert (LAC) v. BUF ❌
ECR 14 v. Actual QB-23
Fantasy Point Difference: -7.1 points
Herbert’s bounce-back performance will have to wait, as he put together another fantasy finish outside the top-20. The schedule gets no easier before the Chargers’ Week 7 bye, going against Seattle, Denver, and Kansas City. So it’s a miss here, and I’m not looking to start Herbert in 1-QB leagues until proven otherwise.
FADE
Baker Mayfield (TB) v. MIN ✅
ECR 20 v. Actual QB-26
Fantasy Point Difference: -4.4 points
Mayfield left the Week 3 matchup early with a thumb injury that will sideline him for a couple of weeks. Still, Mayfield played enough to validate this fade call. The Vikings limited Mayfield to 217 passing yards and one touchdown, while forcing one interception. Maybe once Mayfield returns, he can get the Buccaneers offense on track.
SLEEPER
Sam Darnold (SEA) v. WAS ✅
ECR 21 v. Actual QB-2
Fantasy Point Difference: +14.5 points
The Seahawks' Week 3 loss to the Commanders was the shock of the week, but I wouldn’t blame Darnold. To keep up with the Commanders’ offense, Darnold threw for nearly 400 yards and four touchdowns, but unfortunately tossed two interceptions. Darnold appeared healthy in his return from injury, and this was a big boon for fantasy managers who started him in Week 3.
