Week 3 Fantasy Football Sleepers Featuring CJ Stroud & Juwan Johnson
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As the season’s fantasy football stars begin to rise and injuries shake up the NFL landscape, we’re eyeing a list of sleepers for Week 3 that could represent the difference between victory and defeat. Here are a few players worth taking a chance on:
QB CJ Stroud, Houston Texans
The Houston Texans are winless through two games, and after a futile 20-6 Week 2 loss at home to the Cincinnati Bengals in which their red zone offense was abysmal, it feels like the roof of their season may already be caving in.
Not so fast.
CJ Stroud and co. head to Indianapolis to square off against a much weaker foe in Week 3. The Colts have allowed the most yards from scrimmage per contest of any team in the NFL (a whopping 514.5), as well as the most passing yards (337.5).
Although star wideout Nico Collins is not expected to play for the Texans on Sunday, Stroud has established an unmistakable connection with tight end Dalton Schultz, who exploded for 140 yards receiving on 12 catches against the Bengals.
A bounce-back performance from Stroud feels imminent (and for his team's playoff hopes, necessary) given his sparkling 3-0 career record at Lucas Oil Stadium, which includes a completion percentage of 71%, four touchdowns, and 258 yards passing per game.
RB Quinshon Judkins, Cleveland Browns
Judkins’ stats through two games don’t exactly present a compelling case for why he should start in Week 3: 24 carries, 54 yards, zero touchdowns. In the famous words of Mad Men’s Pete Campbell, “Not great, Bob!”
However, the second-year man out of Ohio State is receiving a welcome gift from the football gods. On Sunday, he and the Cleveland Browns will take on the Carolina Panthers whose run defense is currently ranked last in the NFL at 224.0 yards allowed per contest on the ground.
In the Browns’ first home game of the season, the crowd will certainly play a factor. For or against is the remarkable question, given the fanbase’s collective distaste for QB1 Deshaun Watson. Don’t be surprised if Browns’ offensive coordinator Travis Switzer looks to feed a hungry Judkins early and often to try to get him on track.
WR Matthew Golden, Green Bay Packers
With slot receiver Jayden Reed going down early in the Green Bay Packers’ Week 2 victory over the New York Jets, Matthew Golden is high-stepping into position to be Jordan Love’s number two option. That said, examining the statistical returns between Golden and receiving mate Christian Watson thus far indicate that he may be primed for something bigger than second-in-command:
Receptions | Targets | Yards | Route Participation Percentage | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Matthew Golden | 10 | 18 | 156 | 88% |
Christian Watson | 10 | 19 | 188 | 94% |
While Watson has the edge in touchdowns scored (3 to 0), Golden is deployed like a WR1 and should command a lion's share of throws from Love against an Atlanta Falcons defense that just surrendered 31 points to the aforementioned Carolina Panthers.
TE Juwan Johnson, New Orleans Saints
While Juwan Johnson reeled in an efficient four catches (on four targets) for 66 yards in New Orleans’ Week 2 upset victory over Baltimore, his usage was noticeably down 31% from a week prior. The undisclosed illness he dealt with in the days leading up to the game, which kept him out of practice last Wednesday, likely played a factor.
Expect him to be fully plugged back into the Saints’ high-powered offense that is steamrolling defenses with its number-two ranked passing attack.
Their Week 3 opponents, the Las Vegas Raiders, are 2-0, but (perhaps) a deceptive 2-0 at that since their victories came against the lowly Miami Dolphins and Los Angeles Chargers, who are a combined 0-4.
The Raiders’ dismal red-zone defense places them at 28th in the league. Johnson, meanwhile, is 6th among tight ends in red-zone target rate, according to PFF, meaning that Saints' quarterback Tyler Shough, the league leader in passing yards, will likely target his tight end when it's time to find the end-zo
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Macklin is a Brooklyn-based writer who’s covered the NBA, NFL, WWE, Disney Channel Original movies and everything in between. All of his wildest dreams came true the day Jalen Brunson led the New York Knicks to an NBA Championship.
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