Fantasy Football Saturday Mailbag for Week 3
Good Morning, FootClan, and welcome to Week 3 of The Fantasy Footballers’ Saturday Morning Mailbag!
I can’t believe we are onto our third instalment of the weekly mailbag series – how time flies when football is finally back! As always, I am here this – and every upcoming – weekend to select a handful of your questions from The Fantasy Footballers’ Discord server, and answer some of the hot topics that didn’t quite make it to that week’s edition of The Footcast.
The Ballers’ Discord is home to the biggest and best online fantasy football community in the world, and is your go-to if you’re looking to talk about all things fantasy football. Head over today and get involved with thousands of members across dozens of dedicated channels for start/sit questions, trade advice, and waiver wire insights, as well as exclusive areas which are only available to members of the Footclan.
After the somewhat topsy-turvy opening slate of games to start the season, Week 2 saw somewhat of a regression to the mean with a far more familiar look to proceedings. Jonathan Taylor, James Cook, De’Von Achane, and Christian McCaffrey led the way for RBs, with Amon-Ra St. Brown, Malik Nabers, and Ja’Marr Chase finding themselves at the top of the pile for WRs. Unfortunately, another early-season tradition returned, with Cincinnati Bengals QB Joe Burrow finding himself back in the blue medical tent, with what was later confirmed as an essentially season-ending turf toe injury.
This week, we’re looking at which TEs will last the course of the season, performing a heat check on Chargers’ rookie RB Omarion Hampton, and looking for some spicy RBs who we could consider our FLEX with benefits. There’s all this and more…so let’s dive in!
Question #1 – Season-long Strategy (Rest of Season TEs)
Howdy Hoo Balleroos! Who do you think are the top 5 TEs rest of season? Do you think Tucker Kraft could be one of them? – Just a Happy Guy
Answer: After yesterday’s breaking news on the FootCast, I could fully understand if you wanted to change your username to Just a Sad Guy…especially if you are asking that question as a Tucker Kraft fantasy manager!
Thankfully, it appears that Green Bay’s third-year TE has avoided any major injury, with the issue surrounding his knee and his early disappearance from Thursday’s practice being called “just a little scare” by those close to the team. While Kraft may have avoided any long-term absence, his status for Sunday’s matchup with the Cleveland Browns is still very much up in the air, but assuming he doesn’t miss any extended period of time, can we classify him as a potential top-5 guy at the position ROS?
Let’s get the softballs out of the way nice and early – despite both currently sitting outside the top-5, Brock Bowers (TE8) and Trey McBride (TE6) are absolutely locked in as the overall #1 and #2 for me until the end of the year; however, which order I would put them in is up for debate. After the big two, the waters start to get a little murky and filled with players all at vastly different stages of their careers.
First, we have the new hotness; the rookies who have defied the odds and exploded onto the scene over the first two weeks of the year – a short list of names led by Indianapolis’ absolute DAWG, Tyler Warren. The 14th overall pick in this year’s Draft leads the Colts in targets, receptions, and yards, but has yet to find the endzone for the first time as an NFL pro. Warren feels like a safe bet to finish at a top-5 TE, with some analysts having the former Penn State Nittany Lion as the best option outside of Bowers and McBride. If I was going to take a dart throw at another rookie who could join Warren at the top of the TE scale come December, it would not be fellow first round draft pick Colston Loveland, but rather the 67th pick off the board back in April…Cleveland’s Harold Fannin Jr.
Next up is the old guard – I was going to say “old busted”, but that only applies to George Kittle (for now). Travis Kelce, TJ Hockenson, and the aforementioned Kittle (despite being on IR) all have claims to be in that top-5 come the end of the regular season…but each has their obstacles, be it returning players, terrible QB play, or personal injury battles. Despite being guaranteed to miss at least another three games, I personally feel Kittle has the best chance of being at the upper end of the TE scale ROS. The 49ers offense is just too good, and by the time he is back on the field, his QB, Brock Purdy, should be long over his current toe injury, opening the door for George to return to a weekly must-start for your team.
Finally, we have the two third-year TEs, of which Tucker Kraft is, of course, one. Kraft is joined here by 2023 breakout superstar Sam LaPorta – who, after a somewhat disappointing TE7 finish last year after his TE1 outing in his rookie year, seems to have found form again at the start of the 2025 season on a Lions offense with the highest pass efficiency in the entire league…but how do we rank all of these guys moving forward?
Well, here’s my take:
Fannin Jr. would be my dark-horse outsider to break into that list, with Tucker Kraft alongside him. Do I think Kraft finishes in the top 5? No. Could he, absolutely.
Question #2 – Trade Advice (FLEX With Benefits RBs)
Steven Bisig-Imagn Images
Howdy Ho! First Zero-RB season here and I’m looking for some good “Flex With Benefits” type RBs that I could try to acquire – akaWallaby
Answer: Shout out to Discord sage akaWallaby, thank you for your question.
For those unsure of what we mean by a “flex with benefits” style of RBs, those are the guys who are likely part of a committee for their respective NFL team but are still currently playable right now in your FLEX spot. The benefits come in the form of legitimate RB1 upside should their running-mate go down to any kind of injury moving forward.
Now that we’ve clarified the terminology, who should we be looking at as a potential trade target to fill that kind of role on your roster? Tyler Allgeier (RB28), Trey Benson (RB35), and Zach Charbonnet (RB41) are three of the more obvious names that come to mind when we think of RBs who would inherit a monster workload should the man ahead of them on their respective depth charts miss any time (obviously not Bijan Robinson, though, e,h Jason Moore?). Diving a little deeper, rookies Bhayshul Tuten, Cam Skattebo, and Dylan Sampson are all names that are at the tippy-top of my trade for list as we progress through the season.
We have already seen at least one explosive play from each of these young backs, and with each of them being the clear No.2 on their respective depth charts behind RBs clouded by significant question marks – don’t be surprised if we see their FLEX appeal develop even further as the year rolls on. Each of these young rushers is ranked in the top-50 at the position heading into Week 3 – with Skattebo (RB34) and Tuten (RB37) already edging into the “must-start” category in deeper leagues.
They’re not there just yet, but all three of these debutants will be much cheaper to acquire from their current managers than the more established veterans mentioned earlier…go grab some potential league winners.
Question #3 – Start/Sit (Chargers WR Trio Edition)
Hey Ball Brothers! If I have Jason’s Little Ladd McConkey, Keenan Allen, and Quentin Johnston in a Full PPR league, should I be starting all three of them? If not, how should I decide how to cycle them? – Shux
Answer: On paper rostering the current WR5, WR13 and last season’s overall WR12 seems like an excellent overall strategy…particularly in a PPR format – but when those three players all just happen to be on the same NFL roster, and the player you invested the highest draft capital in so far appears to be one struggling the most in this offense…things don’t feel quite as rosy.
My initial thought is not only should you not be starting all three, but you shouldn’t even be rostering all three. Having multiple pieces of an NFL offense on your roster can offer a huge potential upside – think Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase from last season – but if those players all just happen to play the exact same position (WR) and are on a bottom-10 team in terms of passing attempts…there’s very limited upside each and every week to plugging all of them into your starting lineup.
We know Jim Harbaugh and Greg Roman are big fans of establishing the run – but the truth of the tape was that this Chargers team, in particular its offense, was way more successful with the ball in the hands of star QB Justin Herbert. Despite literally everyone knowing this, we are still not seeing the passing volume we would hope to make each of these three WRs viable starters each and every week.
If I were you, I’d sell as high as I possibly could right now on Quge, potentially packaging him up with another WR or RB to strengthen at either of those positions. We may have finally arrived at Quentin Johnston SZN…but I wouldn’t be so bullish – after all, we’ve seen this before, only for Quge to disappear into the mist like Mike Wright during any awkward conversation.
Keenan’s role appears locked in, and Ladd is bound to return to the form of his rookie season sooner or later. Sell the current WR5 for as much as you can and don’t give yourself the headache of having to decide between any combination of this three-pack. Either that, or go trade for Justin Herbert and Omarion Hampton and go all-in on the Bolts.
Question #4 – Season-long Strategy (Hampton Panic Meter)
Hey Ballers! What are we doing with Omarion Hampton in Redraft? Is he benchable, or are we trying to trade him away? – Frannyman
Answer: Speaking of Omarion Hampton…
It’s not quite been the start we had all hoped for the 22nd overall draft pick so far this season. Back-to-back games of under 3.5 Y/A and a dwindling workload to a now binocular Najee Harris present a somewhat grim outlook for the rookie in Los Angeles…but is it time to panic?
Heading into Week 3, and fresh off the back of weekly finishes at RB33 and RB52, the temptation to send Hampton to the bench is certainly there – but I won’t be taking such drastic action just yet. The Chargers (2-0) play host to their divisional rivals from Denver (1-1) this Sunday afternoon. Homefield advantage, an O/U of 46.5, and an implied team total of 24.5 points for the hosts give me more than enough confidence to still plug the rookie into my lineup with the hope of a sustainable workload and a maiden trip to the endzone.
If you have two better options at the RB position, I would still be trying to find a way to squeeze Hampton into a FLEX spot – after all, we only have to look back at some of the successful rookies of just last season and where they were after two games. Yes, just 12 months ago and a fortnight into the NFL calendar, Bucky Irving was RB41, Chase Brown RB52, and Audric Estime (remember that hype train?) all the way down at RB82. Sometimes it takes a little time for rookie RBs to adjust to life in the big leagues – look at Ashton Jeanty or RJ Harvey, for example.
Hampton was drafted by the Chargers to be great, and he will be…it may just take a little time. Keep the faith and don’t be too quick to toss him to the sidelines – and whatever you do, don’t trade him away for pennies on the dollar – Hampton SZN is coming.
Question #5 – Trade Advice (2-4-1 Special)
Brad Rempel-Imagn Images
Would you package trade Jordan Mason and Jaylen Waddle for Jonathan Taylor? My other RBs are Ashton Jeanty, Zach Charbonnet, and Bhayshul Tuten. I’m in a 12-Team Half-Point-PPR league. Thanks, fellas – Andy’s Throat Yodel
Answer: Short answer – yes, in a heartbeat.
Slightly longer answer – probably, but it would depend on what your WR depth is like and how many you need to start each week. With the injury to Aaron Jones and his subsequent placement on Injured Reserve, Jordan Mason is the talk of the town and a player all savvy fantasy managers are trying to acquire on the cheap. Mason looks set to be thrust into a bell-cow role for the foreseeable future, with only UDFA from 2023, Zavier Scott (no, I hadn’t heard of him either), behind him on the depth chart. With sophomore QB J.J. McCarthy struggling just two games into his NFL career, and the Vikings already chasing the 2-0 Green Bay Packers, I expect to see the ball in the hands of Jordan Mason a lot over the next couple of weeks against the very generous rush defenses of Cincinnati and Pittsburgh.
So why should you trade that potential workload away, especially when you’re also giving up a serviceable WR in Jaylen Waddle? Well, it’s fairly simple – have you seen Jonathan Taylor play football so far this season? The current RB4 on the year followed up a serviceable performance against the Dolphins in Week 1 (it could have been legendary save for Daniel Jones’ perpetual TD vulturing) with a week-leading outing against the Broncos last time out, in which he posted 215 total yards from scrimmage and a score.
JT is a machine, and a true roster-changing piece in fantasy football – if I can magically turn a fringe RB2 plus a borderline WR3 into a bona fide top-5 RB…I am making that move every time.
Remember, you’re not just getting Taylor, you’re also getting a free roster spot that you can then go on to fill with one of the unclaimed waiver-wire picks or spot-starts that are highlighted each week in The Ultimate Dashboard here at The Fantasy Footballers.
Make the move and gaze at the one-two punch of Jeanty and Taylor starting back at you each and every week on the way to a #FootClanTitle
Question #6 – Free Agent Frenzy (Mediocre RB Edition)
What’s good, Ballers! Isiah Pacheco and Zach Charbonnet were both dropped in my league. If you have one open roster spot, which of these guys are you picking up? – CB3
Answer: Normally I would say that that this is a no-brainer and to go with the guy who is the starting RB on his real-life team…but given the way that the twinkle-toed fourth-year back has started his campaign after missing most of last season with a broken fibula, and Andy Reid’s deployment of other RBs on the roster – I’m not so sure.
There were high hopes for the former 7th-round pick heading into the 2025 season. Reports that Pacheco was looking back to his former self in training camp saw his ADP reach the lofty heights of RB23 come the end of August, with many fantasy managers having to invest at least a 5th-round pick to acquire his services. So far, it’s safe to say that back-to-back finishes outside the top-40 aren’t exactly the return on investment drafters were hoping for from the Chief’s number one guy. Heading into Week 3, Kansas City sits 0-2 for the first time in 11 years – three seasons before the arrival of franchise QB Patrick Mahomes, so we’re in unfamiliar territory for everyone associated with this franchise. It’s been a disaster for Mahomes and company in the opening fortnight, with the team losing Rashee Rice to suspension before a ball was kicked, as well as Xavier Worthy to a shoulder injury just four plays into their Week 1 defeat to the Chargers in Brazil.
Hopes of leaning on the run game disappeared almost as fast as WR Worthy, with Pacheco and Kareem Hunt seeing an almost evenly distributed combined total of 28 carries in the opening two weeks. Both men have recorded exactly 47 yards on rushing plays…some 80 yards short of lead rusher Patrick Mahomes, who has scrambled his way to almost 130 yards against L.A. and Philadelphia. Something has to change in Kansas City, and thankfully, a trip to the Big Apple is just what the doctor ordered for any ailing RB.
I expect Pacheco to bounce back in a big way over the next fortnight, helping the Chiefs get back to at least 1-3, if not 2-2, with a trademark sneaky win over the Ravens in Week 4. Charbonnet will always have FLEX appeal, but his ceiling is just that as long as Kenneth Walker isn’t Kenneth Limper.
Pick up Pacheco and plug him in as a FLEX this weekend against the Giants and their 31st-ranked run defense – and if he still doesn’t crack into RB3 territory, then consider him completely washed.
Good luck in Week 3, FootClan!