What is happening to Ja'Marr Chase? 😵‍💫

The Garrett Wilson sell window has been propped open for yet another week. Please take advantage and sell if you haven’t already.

What’s in store:

• Joe Burrow’s calf injury is lingering. Not a good look for the Bengals considering they’ve played pretty bad even with him in the lineup.

• The Top Fantasy Takeaways from Week 2. See what Faraz is paying attention to as the dust settles.

• Tyler’s Week 3 Waiver Wire targets are here! Scroll down to see who you should be throwing FAAB dollars at this week.

• Josh Jacobs leaves fantasy managers hanging. It’s the second straight quiet week from last year’s rushing yardage leader.

• David Montgomery expected to be sidelined “a couple weeks” with quad injury

  • Montgomery needed to be carted off the field, but the nature of his removal from the game does not appear to be congruent with the extent of the injury. Regardless, it looks like missing some time is in the cards for Monty, and that shifts the fantasy focus from him to Jahmyr Gibbs and Craig Reynolds, who split the workload in relief. The hope is that Gibbs will have a chance to see more opportunity in the ground game after largely being limited to work in the receiving game, but things looked awfully familiar in the Lions backfield when Craig Reynolds began taking snaps over the first-round rookie. Their usage in Week 3 would be one of the most important stories to monitor if Montgomery ultimately can’t go.

• NFL Network’s Ian Rapaport says that the Rams have had trade talks involving RB Cam Akers

  • This report comes on the heels of a report just minutes before kickoff on Sunday indicating that there was a rumor that Akers was available via trade. At this point Kyren Williams has effectively supplanted Cam Akers for the starting role in a surprisingly productive Rams offense, and he’s doing everything fantasy managers envisioned Akers would be doing. Akers likely won’t start another game for LA, but he’s worth stashing on the end of your bench while we wait to see where he’ll be playing next. That being said, if you need to drop him, it would be a perfectly fine move as well given his poor Week 1 performance and the fact that there’s no guarantee there will be a market for his services.

• Bengals QB Joe Burrow appears to be in danger of missing Cincy’s Week 3 tilt against the Rams

  • The word of the week for Bengals fans and Burrow’s fantasy managers will be “re-aggravation” as he attempts to get right ahead of a suddenly consequential game against the Rams. He reportedly tweaked the same calf that held him out of the majority of training camp in the fourth quarter on Sunday, and there’s been speculation that he has been playing at less than 100% health to open the season. Even in the games he’s played, Burrow has been incredibly disappointing and the rest of the Cincy offense has suffered because of it. The trajectory of the Bengals offense for the rest of the season depends solely on the level of play – and at this point, the availability – of Joe Burrow. The bad news: ESPN’s Adam Schefter says it’s “fair to wonder” if Burrow will be able to suit up for Week 3.

• Puka Nacua making history

  • Puka’s 15 catches on Sunday were the most all-time for a rookie WR. He’s also the first player ever to have 10+ catches and 100+ receiving yards in each of his first two games. He’s shaping up to the waiver wire pickup of the year after seeing 20 targets in Week 2.

• CJ Stroud balls, leads to WR production

  • Nico Collins caught 7 of 9 targets for 146 yards and a TD. Robert Woods and Tank Dell had similar target share, but Collins has the advantage of being targeted downfield. Dell looked impressive, and he should be rostered.

• Zack Moss takes over Indy backfield.

  • He played on a ridiculous 98% of snaps, and went over 100 yards on 22 touches. This is must-start territory.

• Chicago’s backfield shrinks

  • We have a two-back system in Chicago - D’onta Foreman was a healthy scratch, so both Khalil Herbert and Roschon Johnson are better plays moving forward.

• Don’t worry about Ja’marr Chase and Josh Jacobs

  • The production has been terrible over the first two weeks, but they will bounce back. I will not be looking to sell, and I will continue to start them. Buy low if you can. Much more confident in Chase, but let’s hope Joe Burrow’s calf is ok.

• Kyren Williams takes over Rams backfield

  • Cam Akers was a healthy scratch, which led to Williams playing on 95% of snaps. That combined with his 14 carries and 10 targets puts him in must-start territory moving forward.

• Brian Robinson is the guy in Washington’s backfield

  • Robinson controlled 95% of the RB carries for the Commanders on Sunday, leading to 129 yards and 2 TDs on 22 touches. He’s a solid RB2 moving forward.

• Jahmyr Gibbs role increases

  • Gibbs’ role increased before David Montgomery’s injury, as he played a much larger role in the receiving game. He caught 7 of 9 targets on 60% of dropbacks. Being targeted on 45% of routes is very encouraging as his role grows even more. Monitor ankle injury.

• Hunter Henry and Zach Ertz are start-worthy moving forward.

  • Henry ran a route on 91% of dropbacks on Sunday, which allows us to believe his performance over his first two weeks is sustainable. Ertz has received a 30% target share over the first two weeks, moving him to TE6 on the year so far.

1. Zack Moss (RB - Indianapolis Colts) - After a rough Week 1 from Deon Jackson, Zack Moss was anticipated to return from his preseason arm injury and take the lead RB duties in Indy, but it wasn't expected to be quite to this degree. Moss was the workhorse in Indy, commanding 22 touches that he took for 107 total yards, a TD, and 20.7 points... The even better news - he was the only Colts RB to register a touch. Long-term his security is unknown (with the possibility of a Jonathan Taylor return), but for now, Moss appears to be a near-weekly option off volume alone.

2. Josh Reynolds (WR - Detroit Lions) - There was noise about Reynolds potentially being a valuable fantasy option in the Lions' highly-productive offense if he pulled away as the team's WR2 and it appears that has come to fruition. Reynolds registered 4 for 80 yards (on 7 targets) in Week 1 and took his production to the next level with 5-66-2 (23.6 points) on 6 targets in Week 2. Through two weeks, he's the WR2 and has a substantial role in one of the league's top offenses. He's a potential weekly FLEX option going forward.

3. Gus Edwards (RB - Baltimore Ravens) - A week after the J.K. Dobbins season-ending injury, Edwards looks to be the more valuable of a 1A-1B duo in Baltimore between Edwards and Justice Hill. Hill continues to serve as the receiving back, but Edwards still shows better efficiency (6.2 YPC) and got the goal-line work (1-yard TD) in a 12-point performance in Week 2. It's unlikely either Edwards or Hill truly pull away and establish RB2 value, but Edwards appears to be the better bet between the two as a potential matchup-based RB3/FLEX option.

4. Matt Breida (RB - New York Giants) - It was an ugly ankle injury for Saquon Barkley in the final minute of the Giants' Week 2 comeback against Arizona. We don't have results on Barkley's X-ray, but reports from the Giants' locker room suggest that "his face told the story that it's not good," per Giants' bet writer Pat Leonard. As soon as we hear what Barkley's injury is (and how long the timetable is), we'll have a clearer idea of Breida's worth. If he's out long-term (5+ weeks, Breida's likely the top waiver wire target this week). If he's out for a few weeks (2-4 weeks, Breida is sitting around this spot). If he's a 1-2 week option, I'd likely prefer options such as Gus Edwards/Justice Hill over him at the RB position). Regardless, Breida will likely be a fringe RB2/FLEX option while Barkley is sidelined.

5. Jordan Love (QB - Green Bay Packers) - Jordan Love has been on a tear to start the 2023 season, going for 257 yards and 3 TDs in the opener while posting 174 yards and 3 TDs in Week 2. With 20+ points in each of his first two games, Love stands as the QB2 so far in points and has shown signs of potentially being at least a matchup-based option in 2023. He's worth an investment if you don't have an elite QB1.

One of the most surprising developments of the first two weeks of the 2023 season has been the struggle of last year’s rushing yards leader, Josh Jacobs, to get anything going in the ground game this season. Fresh off of signing his reworked one-year deal, Jacobs has put together one of the worst statistical performances through two weeks, rivaling the ineffectiveness of a recently benched Rams running back.

Jacobs’ 1.6 yards per carry through two weeks is the second-lowest in the NFL above just Cam Akers, who’s pulling up the rear with 1.3. Granted, the Raiders have played against two relatively stout rushing fronts (the Broncos and the Bills) and relied on the passing game to move the ball, but the usage has been there just as it was last year. It’s the efficiency that’s been missing so far in 2023.

One stat captures Jacobs’ struggles early this season from Sunday’s game: Jacobs ended the day with fewer cumulative rush yards on the season than he had going into the contest. Jacobs took nine carries for negative yardage against the Bills, leaving Raiders fans and his fantasy managers frustrated for the second week in a row.