Fantasy football managers are witnessing some dramatic shifts in player values as we move deeper into the season. Week 3 brought unexpected breakouts from young receivers who are seizing their opportunities, while established stars are struggling with injuries and quarterback changes that could reshape entire roster strategies.
The waiver wire is suddenly looking much more interesting as backup players step into starring roles and prove they belong in starting lineups. These early-season developments are creating both exciting opportunities and frustrating setbacks that could define championship runs for the rest of the year.
Winners: Ricky Pearsall, San Francisco 49ers
Is Mac Jones like a very, very lite version of Matthew Stafford? Does he make wide receivers? Last year, Brian Thomas Jr. didn’t really take off until Jones displaced Trevor Lawrence. Now, Ricky Pearsall is breaking out before our very eyes with the former Patriots quarterback under center.
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Pearsall caught eight of 11 targets for 117 yards. While he’s yet to catch a touchdown, the sophomore now has two 100-yard receiving games already on the season. His worst game was still a respectable 9.2 fantasy points in Week 2.
It probably didn’t hurt that the San Francisco 49ers were without Jauan Jennings, George Kittle, and Brandon Aiyuk. But Pearsall is still a first-round pick. He’s supposed to be good.
If this continues, he will establish himself as the 49ers’ new WR1 and won’t give that role back.
Emeka Egbuka, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The theory behind drafting Emeka Egbuka is that he’s a very talented player with several different paths to success. It appears that multiple of them are hitting.
Chris Godwin’s recovery did not go as expected, so Egbuka was put in a starting role to open the season. While in that role, he’s played exceptionally well, which also earned him favor with Baker Mayfield and his coaches. Then, this past week, another one hit.
Mike Evans strained his hamstring and is set to miss time, just as Godwin is nearing a return. That will keep Egbuka in the starting lineup.
It’s obvious Egbuka is the future of the Bucs’ passing game. The longer he remains in the starting role and plays well, the harder it will be to take him off the field. His six catches for 85 yards were one thing. The clutch receptions he made on the team’s game-winning drive really hammer home what he offers this team, and in turn, fantasy managers.
Losers: Tee Higgins, Cincinnati Bengals
Obviously, going from Joe Burrow to Jake Browning was never going to be a good thing. Last week, I theorized that Ja’Marr Chase might be okay, but Tee Higgins would be the one to suffer if either took a hit.
Now, to be fair, the Bengals were punched in the mouth from the get-go — they never had a chance. Browning threw for 140 yards. No one is going to produce on those numbers. Even so, it’s clear there was a deliberate effort to get the ball to Chase… not so much for Higgins.
The Bengals’ WR2 caught one pass for 15 yards. It’s only one game, but fantasy managers have to be concerned. Browning may not be talented enough to sustain two fantasy-relevant wide receivers. He certainly is not going to keep them at the levels they were at with Burrow.
Brian Thomas Jr., Jacksonville Jaguars
Trevor Lawrence is a bottom-five starting quarterback in the NFL. He probably should be a backup. That already creates a problem for Brian Thomas Jr., but we can’t put this all on Lawrence.
Depending on how generous you want to be, Thomas already has three to seven drops on the season. Most of them are egregious. And those don’t even take into account the plays where he didn’t even try to catch the ball because he was scared to get hit.
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Simply put, Thomas is playing horrible football and deserves far more of the blame for his poor start to the season than his equally terrible quarterback.
Now three weeks into the season, we have enough of a sample to mostly throw ADP out the window. We need to value players based on what we’ve seen. And what we’ve seen from Thomas is someone who is not an automatic weekly starter in fantasy lineups.
That’s not to say you should definitely bench Thomas. You should include him in lineup decisions rather than assuming he’s locked into a starting spot.