Week 3 Predictions

Haasinator5 (0-2) vs. Trimeniscus in sept (2-0)

The league's unluckiest team against its luckiest.

Haas: Jared Goff, Saquon Barkley, Javonte Williams, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Luther Burden, Isaiah Likely, DeVonta Smith, Terry McLaurin, NE
Buscho: Drake Maye, Bijan Robinson, Cam Skattebo, George Pickens, Tee Higgins, Michael Mayer, Christian Watson, Chuba Hubbard, DEN

Haas lost his starting quarterback to season-ending surgery and responded by picking up Jared Goff. That's the correct move and it's worth noting he made it inside 48 hours.

He also, for the third consecutive week, has Justin Herbert on his bench. At some point that stops being a decision and starts being a philosophy.

What Haas actually has is the best wide receiver in fantasy football. Jaxon Smith-Njigba scored 45.5 last week and now sits atop the Week 3 WR rankings, with Sam Darnold possibly returning to throw him the ball. DeVonta Smith is coming off 27.7. Isaiah Likely is a genuine TE1 now that the Pitts era is over. New England's defense put up 23.0.

Saquon is the worry — a shoulder stinger that held him to four carries and nine yards on a reduced snap count.

Buscho is 2-0 with the eighth-most points in the league, which is its own kind of achievement. Three of his starters got real upgrades this week: Bijan Robinson gets Michael Penix Jr. back tonight after two games of Cooper Rush, Christian Watson inherits a concentrated target share with Jayden Reed out, and Chuba Hubbard is now locked in as the bellcow with Jonathon Brooks headed to IR.

The problem is the tight end. Buscho is starting Michael Mayer, whose entire value was being the Brock Bowers replacement — and Bowers is expected to play. If Bowers suits up, even on a limited snap share, Mayer becomes unstartable and Buscho has the actual asset on his bench.

Pick: Haasinator5 — this is where it turns

Burrow My Face in TDs (1-1) vs. Champion of the Sun God (1-1)

He fixed the tight end. Then he put Zay Flowers back in.

Chuck: Joe Burrow, Kenneth Walker, David Montgomery, Chris Godwin, Malik Nabers, Mark Andrews, Josh Downs, Breece Hall, DET
Max: Lamar Jackson, Kyren Williams, Chase Brown, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jalen Coker, George Kittle, Ladd McConkey, Zay Flowers, SEA

Max fixed it. George Kittle is in the lineup, one week after scoring 18.0 on the bench and costing him the closest game of the season by less than the swap was worth. Credit where it's due — that is the correction this column asked for twice.

And then he put Zay Flowers back in a starting spot.

This is the whole matchup. Flowers missed Wednesday, the reporting is pessimistic, the game is in Brazil, and Stefon Diggs and Matthew Golden are both available on the bench. Max leads the entire league in total points by 26 and is 1-1 because of exactly this category of decision.

Everything else is strong. Amon-Ra St. Brown has 63.9 points in two weeks. Kittle inherits San Francisco's tight end volume with Jake Tonges done for the year. And Seattle's defense draws Washington with Marcus Mariota under center — one of the better streaming spots on the board.

Chuck is coming off 83.38, the lowest score of the season, and he has quietly made the smartest adjustment of the week: Josh Downs into the starting lineup. With Alec Pierce on IR, Downs and Tyler Warren are Indianapolis's top two targets. Downs scored 14.2 from the bench last week.

He also correctly benched Puka Nacua, who has not practiced and looks likely to miss again. The lingering concern: Chuck is still starting the Detroit defense, which scored −1.0 last week in a lineup that lost by 12.54.

Pick: Champion of the Sun God — unless Flowers is inactive and stays in

Fudge Friends (1-1) vs. ChrisConte47 (1-1)

The most volatile team in the league against the most disciplined.

Fudge Friends: Trevor Lawrence, Derrick Henry, Ashton Jeanty, Ja'Marr Chase, Xavier Worthy, Tyler Warren, Bhayshul Tuten, DJ Moore, PIT
Conte: Josh Allen, Jahmyr Gibbs, TreVeyon Henderson, Khalil Shakir, Jaylen Waddle, Harold Fannin, Parker Washington, Mike Evans, JAX

Fudge Friends have been the most volatile team in the league: 167.20, then 101.56. They won by 61 with Ja'Marr Chase scoring 3.2, then lost by 61 with Chase scoring 26.5. There is no read available here.

The lineup is clean, though. Goedert is correctly benched with a sprained MCL that will cost him multiple weeks. Tyler Warren is a top-two Indianapolis target now that Pierce is on IR. DJ Moore practiced in a no-contact jersey and told reporters he'll be ready. Xavier Worthy is promoted after 13.5 from the bench.

Conte made the other correction this column asked for. TreVeyon Henderson is starting at running back after putting up 13.6 in his season debut from the bench. He also correctly benched Travis Etienne — healthy enough to play, but squeezed by a returning Alvin Kamara — and Nico Collins, who still isn't practicing.

Josh Allen is coming off 41.32 and five total touchdowns. Gibbs added 23.3. That's the best top-two in the league right now.

The live risk is Mike Evans, who left Week 2 with a hip and did not practice Wednesday. Kyle Shanahan said he'd "have to be managed." Evans is 33 and doesn't need reps, so it isn't panic yet — but if he misses Thursday's session too, Conte needs a plan.

Pick: ChrisConte47

hodoryourhorses (1-1) vs. alindeman (0-2)

A perfect lineup one week, a questionable start the next.

Sean: Dak Prescott, Omarion Hampton, Aaron Jones, CeeDee Lamb, Chris Olave, Travis Kelce, Jameson Williams, Rashee Rice, KC
Lindeman: Brock Purdy, Christian McCaffrey, Jeremiyah Love, Rome Odunze, Emeka Egbuka, Sam LaPorta, Dalton Kincaid, Rico Dowdle, BAL

The commissioner comes in off the best week any manager has had: 162.36, the league high, and a mathematically perfect lineup with zero points left on the bench.

He is now, one week later, starting a running back who did not practice Wednesday — while the single best available volume play in the league sits on his bench. Jones is a knee injury with "a chance to play." Jaylen Warren is in line for a heavy workload with Rico Dowdle in a boot, and Warren is right there.

The rest is genuinely good. Sean has three Kansas City pieces against Miami — Kelce, Rashee Rice, and the Chiefs defense — in what should be a favorable spot with Miami's quarterback situation unsettled. CeeDee Lamb is coming off 35.3, Olave off 22.6, Dak off 29.76.

Lindeman fixed his quarterback. Brock Purdy is starting after scoring 28.48 on the bench while Caleb Williams crashed to 8.72 — the exact swap that would have won him last week. Williams is now week-to-week with a hamstring and unlikely to play, so the move was forced and correct.

Kyler Murray clearing concussion protocol helps Jeremiyah Love. Kincaid has justified his promotion with 22.5. LaPorta added 17.2. But Dowdle in a boot is a probable zero in a flex, and Lindeman is 0-2 with the fewest points in the league.

Pick: hodoryourhorses — but make the Warren swap

Tom DaBombadil (1-1) vs. louieyu2000 (2-0)

Game of the week — and one manager's quarterback throws to the other's best receiver.

Tom: Patrick Mahomes, James Cook, De'Von Achane, Garrett Wilson, Davante Adams, Trey McBride, Devaughn Vele, Rhamondre Stevenson, CIN
Louie: Matthew Stafford, Jonathan Taylor, Bucky Irving, Justin Jefferson, Drake London, Tucker Kraft, Tetairoa McMillan, D'Andre Swift, MIN

Best matchup on the board, and it comes with a wrinkle: Louie is starting the quarterback who throws to Tom's best receiver. Matthew Stafford and Davante Adams, same offense, opposite sides of this game. Stafford threw for 327 and four touchdowns last week. Adams caught eight for 195 and two of them. With Puka Nacua unlikely to play again, both are set up to repeat — and every Stafford-to-Adams touchdown pays both managers at once.

Tom made two corrections in one week. Mahomes is finally starting after scoring 28.98 behind Jalen Hurts, and Colston Loveland is finally benched after consecutive near-zeros of 0.0 and 1.3. Hurts is now the one on the bench, which is a genuinely bold reversal.

Trey McBride gets Kyler Murray back from concussion protocol, which restores his ceiling. The soft spot is De'Von Achane against Kansas City, a difficult matchup in a Miami offense with real quarterback problems.

Louie is 2-0 and leads the league in points among teams with a winning record — and he did it last week while leaving 31.44 on his bench, the worst mark of any manager. He got away with it. He may not twice.

Two of his starters play tonight and both just got better. Drake London gets Michael Penix Jr. after two weeks of Cooper Rush in an offense that hadn't reached the red zone all season. Tucker Kraft inherits a concentrated Green Bay passing game with Jayden Reed out. D'Andre Swift could see heavy volume if Kyle Monangai can't go.

The nagging issue is the same one as last week: Jake Ferguson scored 20.3 on Louie's bench while Kraft managed 3.5. Kraft's matchup is better tonight, so this is defensible — but it's twice now.

Pick: louieyu2000