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Fantasy Football: Jayden Daniels looks like a budding superstar to close out Week 3

scott pianowski
Fantasy analyst
·3 min read
Jayden Daniels played a near-perfect game to lead the Commanders to an upset win, and help fantasy managers in Week 3. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images)
Jayden Daniels played a near-perfect game to lead the Commanders (and fantasy managers) to a win in Week 3. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images)

The following is an excerpt from the latest edition of Yahoo's fantasy football newsletter, Get to the Points! If you like what you see, you can subscribe for free here.

It's been a slow liftoff to the 2024 fantasy football season. Scoring is down. Passing games have been stifled. Explosive plays have been hard to come by, with two-deep defensive shells suffocating the world.

So Monday's football doubleheader was most welcome:

We needed this. Stars like Allen and Ja'Marr Chase delivered and we also got plenty of other great performances. It feels like the season finally started. Let's dive into the fantasy risers and fallers coming out of the fireworks:

Upgrades 📉

  • Jayden Daniels: This was his "Hello, NFL" moment. The rookie quarterback played a near-perfect game, completing 21-of-23 passes or 254 yards with two TDs. He also ran for 39 yards and a score, and landed at QB3 for the week. Maybe OC Kliff Kingsbury knows what he's doing after all. The game doesn't look too fast for Daniels, and run-pass talents are forever the fantasy cheat code.

  • Joe Burrow: His offense is getting healthier and there's nothing wrong with 25.36 fantasy points. And maybe Cincinnati's defense is bad enough to force shutouts.

  • Terry McLaurin: His game-clinching score was a beauty, the most unlikely touchdown pass of the season. McLaurin is finally tied to a superstar QB after years of limited teammates.

  • Khalil Shakir: He led Buffalo in targets (catching all six) and receiving yards, and was one of four Buffalo receivers to catch a score. Shakir isn't a league-winning player, but he's going to beat his ADP.

Downgrades 📉

  • Trevor Lawrence: He was touted as a can't-miss prospect three years ago. Is it too early to say Lawrence has missed? He took four sacks, had a pick, and made a skimpy 4.7 yards per attempt.

  • NFL tight ends: You don't throw a parade for Dalton Kincaid's 3-41-1 line, though it landed him as TE5 for the week. But it was a kick in the teeth to see Jacksonville backup TE Brenton Strange score a touchdown, one of two receptions on the night, to make him the TE7 on the week.

Holding steady ⚖️

  • Chase Brown, Zack Moss: They're still in a timeshare. Stars, no. But in many leagues, they're startable.

  • Brian Robinson Jr.: He had 12 more touches than Austin Ekeler, who left with a concussion, but Robinson managed just 2.1 yards per carry and a mobile QB hurts his goal-line equity.

  • Tee Higgins: It was a quiet open to his season (3-39-0), but at least he wasn't on a pitch count, running 39 routes on 41 dropbacks.

  • James Cook: A 3.5 YPC is ordinary, but he collected 15 touches, 87 total yards and a score, landing him at the RB11.

  • Keon Coleman: His only target was a 24-yard TD catch. He also missed the first two series as part of a team suspension. You can't start him right now, but you probably should roster him.

  • Jaguars receivers: Christian Kirk had a solid 8-79-0 line on 10 targets. Brian Thomas Jr. was targeted nine times, though most of the downfield attempts fell flat. But does a struggling Lawrence cap both of their upsides?