5. Jaxon Smith-Njigba has been putting up historic target share numbers. But Brock Bowers said, “Not so fast”. Klint Kubiak installed the Seattle offense that turned JSN into a target funnel. Now he appears to be doing the same with Bowers.
6. Travis Kelce seems to be rejuvenated by his off-season marriage to Taylor Swift. He is off to a great start, ranking 8th among all pass catchers in yards per route run.
7. In last week’s column, I highlighted these two players as buys with the statements below:
Ted Hurst: “Ted Hurst seems primed for a week 3 breakout. He has little to show for surface stats with just 5 receptions for 63 yards through two games. But he only trails Egbuka by 1 target for the team lead with 10. The Bucs go up against the 28th-ranked Vikings pass defense next week. Per Fantasy Points Data, he boasts an excellent 17.9% route win rate. He is getting open and getting targets. The chemistry with Mayfield is still developing. “
Marcus Mariota: That brings us to Marcus Mariota. If you are going to empty your FAAB and need a multi-week starter, I’d go with Mariota. In his 7 full starts in 2025, he averaged 17 fantasy points per game. “
Hurst had his best fantasy production of the young season with 11 fantasy points, while Mariota put up 20 of his own in an upset win over one of the best defenses in the NFL, Seattle.
8. Jeremiyah Love had the best game of his young career. He excelled in every metric I evaluated for my annual RB1 model, but his most exciting trait for fantasy was his receiving ability. I wrote in the RB1 model article.
“The most exciting aspect of his repertoire is his receiving acumen. Receiving, not rushing, is what makes a running back a perennial top fantasy asset. Think Christian McCaffrey, Alvin Kamara, Saquon Barkley, Austin Ekeler, and De’Von Achane. And boy, is Love a great receiving back. He may be the second-best slot receiver in this draft to Makai Lemon.
Love led all running backs in this class in yards per route run at 1.6, good for 10 points towards his overall model score. He also excelled in receiving yards and receptions per game. The receiving categories contributed 32 points towards his overall RB1 model score.”
Week 3 was the first game to really showcase his receiving prowess with 5 receptions for 19 yards and a TD.
