Week 3 gave us an even clearer picture of how NFL backfields, target shares, snap counts, and offensive roles are developing across the league. With three games of data now available, emerging usage trends carry significantly more weight and are beginning to reshape rest-of-season fantasy values. Here are the biggest risers and fallers in my updated fantasy football rest-of-season rankings heading into Week 4.
Full Rest-of-Season Fantasy Football Rankings
Looking for the complete rankings? Jump to the full rest-of-season rankings below to see where every QB, RB, WR, and TE currently stands in PPR, Half-PPR, and Standard formats.
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Rankings Risers
Drake London
Drake London was one of my biggest concerns through two weeks because Atlanta’s quarterback situation had completely prevented him from producing like the high-end fantasy receiver I expected. He entered Week 3 with only an 18.5% target share and was sitting at WR55 in fantasy points per game, but Michael Penix Jr.’s return immediately reminded us what London’s ceiling can look like. London caught nine of 10 targets for 194 yards against Green Bay, averaging 21.6 yards per reception. More importantly, this wasn’t London suddenly becoming a different player. He was already separating effectively despite the disappointing production, ranking 25th in separation score among 101 qualifying receivers through two games. The quarterback play simply wasn’t allowing him to capitalize.
London has now drawn 20 targets through three games, and Week 3 showed what can happen when those opportunities are actually converted into high-quality production. I’m not expecting 194 yards every week, but that’s not what we need for this to become a meaningful rest-of-season change. London has already demonstrated that he can earn targets and separate; what he needed was an offense capable of translating those skills into fantasy production. I’m moving him right back toward the high-end WR1 conversation because the talent was never the issue. If Penix stabilizes this passing game, one of the biggest variables suppressing London’s value through the first two weeks disappears.
Brock Purdy
I’m done treating Brock Purdy as a quarterback whose fantasy value is primarily matchup dependent. Purdy completed 15-of-27 passes for 297 yards and four touchdowns against Arizona while adding another 34 yards on the ground. Through three games, he’s now produced 789 passing yards, nine passing touchdowns, 91 rushing yards and another touchdown on the ground. He’s thrown multiple touchdowns in every game, but the rushing production might be the most interesting development for fantasy. Purdy doesn’t need to suddenly become Josh Allen with his legs. Consistently adding 25-to-35 rushing yards gives him another two or three fantasy points before we even account for whatever he produces through the air.
San Francisco is also getting this production despite dealing with significant injuries throughout the receiving corps. George Kittle is finally returning to his normal workload, and getting healthier around Purdy should only increase the number of ways this offense can attack defenses. The passing efficiency has never really been the question with Purdy; fantasy managers have worried about whether he possesses the volume and rushing ceiling to consistently compete with the position’s elite options. Through three games, we’re starting to get both. Purdy has played his way out of the streaming tier for me and into the weekly QB1 conversation.
Jeremiyah Love
This is the backfield shift I’ve been waiting for with Jeremiyah Love. The rookie had only 20 combined carries through his first two games while Arizona continued rotating Tyler Allgeier heavily, but Love’s workload exploded in Week 3. He rushed for 90 yards against San Francisco and saw a substantial increase in his involvement relative to the first two weeks. According to PFF, Love’s early-down snap rate jumped from 56% over the opening two games to 80.4% in Week 3. That’s the type of usage change I care considerably more about than one big fantasy score because it suggests Arizona may finally be moving toward treating Love like its primary runner.
The remaining concern is the goal line. According to PFF, Allgeier has handled six of Arizona’s nine goal-line snaps, and that could prevent Love from reaching his absolute fantasy ceiling if it continues. But I’m much more willing to live with limited goal-line work when the rest of the backfield is moving this decisively in Love’s direction. If he’s dominating early downs and consistently getting into the 15-to-20-touch range, the talent gives him enough opportunities to create fantasy production without needing multiple goal-line carries every week. I’m moving Love firmly upward into weekly RB2 territory, and there’s another level available if Arizona eventually starts giving him more of the valuable touches near the end zone.
Bhayshul Tuten
I’ve been high on Bhayshul Tuten throughout the offseason, and three weeks into the season he’s giving us more reasons to believe the breakout is real. Tuten handled 15 carries for 73 yards and a touchdown against New England while catching two passes for another 17 yards. He’s now rushed 43 times for 204 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 4.7 yards per carry, while adding five receptions for 36 yards. Most importantly, Jacksonville isn’t giving him random spike-week volume. He’s received 15, 13, and 15 carries through his first three games and has scored in consecutive weeks.
The efficiency underneath the production makes me even more interested. PFF currently has Tuten third among 46 qualified running backs in both overall grade and rushing grade. He’s forced 15 missed tackles, averages 4.28 yards after contact per attempt, and has already produced six runs of at least 10 yards. Those are meaningful numbers because they show Tuten isn’t simply surviving on volume; he’s creating additional yardage himself. The receiving role remains relatively modest, which keeps me from pushing him into the elite RB1 tier, but stable rushing volume combined with this level of efficiency gives him a much stronger weekly floor than I expected this early. Tuten continues climbing quickly in my rest-of-season rankings.
Josh Downs
Josh Downs’ value is moving up because this isn’t just one 11-target game anymore. Downs caught five of 11 targets for 77 yards against Houston after producing seven receptions for 72 yards the previous week, and he’s now led Indianapolis in routes, targets, and receiving yards in consecutive games. According to NFL Pro, Downs commanded a 30% target share in Week 2 and 31.4% in Week 3 while accounting for 42.9% and then 62% of the Colts’ air yards. For the season, his 25.5% target share ranks 11th among NFL wide receivers, and his 43.7% air-yard share ranks seventh among all players.
Alec Pierce’s heel injury has unquestionably contributed to the increased opportunity, so I’m not blindly projecting 11 targets every week, especially after Indianapolis added Darius Slayton. But Downs is doing more than simply catching underneath passes because someone else is unavailable. His average depth of target is sitting around 11 yards depending on the provider, which gives him considerably more upside than the stereotypical low-aDOT slot role. He’s earning a massive percentage of the Colts’ opportunities while also getting meaningful downfield usage. I’m moving Downs into the weekly WR2/flex conversation because the underlying opportunity is finally beginning to match the talent we’ve seen throughout his career.
Michael Wilson
Michael Wilson’s Week 3 performance is one I’m taking seriously because 17 targets are extremely difficult to ignore. Wilson caught 11 of them for 89 yards and a touchdown against San Francisco, and he’s now commanded a substantial role in Arizona’s passing game through three weeks. His season air-yard share sits around 41%, which is particularly encouraging because it tells us Arizona isn’t simply manufacturing a bunch of low-value underneath targets for him. He’s getting opportunities that can actually translate into meaningful fantasy production.
I’m not turning one 17-target game into a claim that Wilson has suddenly overtaken Marvin Harrison Jr. as Arizona’s unquestioned WR1. That’s not the takeaway. The important development is that the Cardinals clearly aren’t treating Wilson like a complementary receiver either. A player capable of commanding this much volume and this large of a percentage of the team’s air yards has to move up in rest-of-season rankings. The 8.1 yards per reception in Week 3 wasn’t particularly exciting, but I’ll take 17 opportunities over a receiver relying on three or four explosive targets every week. Wilson is becoming a legitimate weekly flex option with WR2 upside.
George Kittle
George Kittle’s production was never my biggest concern entering the season; I needed to see whether San Francisco was actually ready to give him his normal workload after the Achilles injury. We finally got the answer in Week 3. According to PFF, Kittle played 85.2% of San Francisco’s offensive snaps after being limited to roughly 47% through the first two games. He immediately turned seven targets into six receptions, 82 yards and two touchdowns. The touchdowns are obviously great, but they’re not the reason he’s moving up my rankings. The disappearance of the workload restriction is considerably more important.
San Francisco’s injuries at wide receiver make the restored role even more valuable because Purdy needs reliable receiving options, and Kittle remains one of the most dangerous tight ends in football when healthy. I’m not projecting two touchdowns every week, nor do I need to. An 80%-plus snap rate gives Kittle enough routes and scoring opportunities in this offense to consistently threaten the elite tier at the position. The biggest factor suppressing his preseason value was uncertainty over how quickly San Francisco would restore his normal role. Week 3 gave us our first real indication that the restriction is disappearing, and I’m moving Kittle right back toward the top of my rest-of-season tight end rankings.
Fallers
George Pickens
George Pickens is a difficult faller because the underlying opportunity isn’t actually bad. He saw 11 targets against Baltimore, and his season target share remains around 25%. That’s normally the type of usage that would make me move a receiver up rather than down. My concern is that the fantasy ceiling hasn’t consistently followed the opportunity. CeeDee Lamb remains the player Dallas’ passing game is built around, which leaves Pickens in a role where he can earn meaningful volume but still needs to convert his downfield opportunities at a high rate to produce the type of ceiling we expected entering the season.
That’s why I’m not dramatically dropping Pickens or treating him like a player whose role is collapsing. The targets are too good for that. I’m adjusting where he belongs within the WR2/WR3 range because his fantasy production can become volatile when the explosive plays don’t connect. Week 3’s increased volume was actually encouraging, and if 10-plus-target games become normal, this downgrade could disappear quickly. For now, though, I’m viewing Pickens as a more volatile weekly option than I did entering the season, rather than someone I’m automatically treating like a high-end WR2.
Omarion Hampton
Omarion Hampton is one of my biggest fallers because the problem is no longer just inefficient rushing. His role is moving in the wrong direction. Hampton still led Los Angeles with 15 carries for 56 yards against Buffalo, but he played only 42% of the offensive snaps while Keaton Mitchell played 26 snaps to Hampton’s 29. According to Fantasy Points Data, Hampton’s share of the Chargers’ rushing attempts fell to a season-low 53.6%, while his route participation has declined every week from 28.6% to 25.8% to only 15.8%. Both Mitchell and Kimani Vidal ran routes at higher rates than Hampton in Week 3.
The efficiency isn’t giving Los Angeles much reason to immediately reverse that trend either. Hampton is averaging only 0.86 yards before contact per rush through three games, so some of this is absolutely an offensive-line problem rather than Hampton simply running poorly. But Mitchell has been considerably more explosive with his opportunities, and losing passing-down work is particularly damaging for Hampton’s fantasy ceiling. I’m not giving up on his talent, and 15 carries still gives him usable weekly value. The problem is that the feature-back role we hoped could develop is moving further away rather than closer. Hampton is falling from potential RB1 territory into the RB2 range until this committee starts consolidating again.
Emeka Egbuka
Emeka Egbuka’s fall isn’t really about Egbuka. He still caught five of nine targets for 62 yards against Minnesota and led Tampa Bay in receiving despite another difficult offensive performance. Nine targets are exactly what I want to see, and nothing about his individual usage makes me want to panic. My concern is everything happening around him. Tampa Bay is 0-3, the offensive line has struggled throughout the opening three weeks, and Baker Mayfield left Sunday’s loss with a thumb injury.
That’s a meaningful change for receiver whose fantasy ceiling depends on this offense generating enough quality targets and scoring opportunities. If Mayfield avoids missing significant time, this downgrade could disappear almost immediately because Egbuka is still earning opportunities. But rest-of-season rankings have to account for changes in a player’s environment as well as changes in the player himself. I’m moving Egbuka down rather than fading him entirely. The target earnings remain one of the most encouraging parts of his profile, but his immediate floor and ceiling become considerably harder to project until we know exactly what Tampa Bay’s quarterback situation looks like.
Jalen Hurts
I’m not suddenly pretending Jalen Hurts isn’t a fantasy QB1, but he’s moving down within that tier because Philadelphia’s offense has shown more limitations than I expected. Hurts completed only 16-of-25 passes for 153 yards with zero passing touchdowns and an interception in the Eagles’ 27-7 loss to Chicago. His 25 rushing yards and touchdown salvaged the fantasy day, but the passing production continues to leave very little margin for error. Through three games, Hurts has thrown for 620 yards with five touchdowns and three interceptions while adding 87 rushing yards and another touchdown.
Hurts remains extremely valuable because the rushing and goal-line role can rescue otherwise mediocre passing performances, so this isn’t remotely a panic situation. The concern is that his current fantasy profile has become more dependent on touchdown production because the passing volume hasn’t provided the same weekly floor. The elite quarterback tier is filled with players generating considerably more total yardage, which makes it harder for Hurts to separate when the touchdowns aren’t there. I’m still starting him essentially every week. I’m simply lowering him within the QB1 tier until Philadelphia starts generating more consistent passing production.
David Montgomery
Week 1 is looking increasingly like the outlier for David Montgomery. He opened the season with 20 carries for 60 yards and two rushing touchdowns while catching three passes for 19 yards and another score. Since then, Montgomery has carried 17 times for only 43 yards across two games. He finished Week 3 with 11 carries for 33 yards and two receptions for 15 yards, leaving him at 103 rushing yards on 37 carries for the season — just 2.78 yards per attempt. The underlying efficiency hasn’t been much better. Entering Week 3, Montgomery was averaging only 1.54 yards after contact per attempt with a 12% missed-tackle rate and 4.5% explosive-run rate.
Woody Marks is also becoming impossible to ignore. Montgomery still played 33 offensive snaps compared with 18 for Marks in Week 3, so this hasn’t suddenly become Marks’ backfield. The more concerning development came near the goal line. According to NFL Pro, Marks played five red-zone snaps and received the goal-line touchdown, while Montgomery played only two red-zone snaps and didn’t receive a goal-line snap. That’s particularly important because touchdown equity is one of the primary reasons we value Montgomery in fantasy. If Marks begins taking some of those opportunities while Montgomery continues averaging under three yards per carry, his weekly floor becomes considerably shakier. I’m lowering Montgomery from a comfortable RB2 toward more touchdown-dependent RB2/flex territory.
Drake Maye
Drake Maye is easily my biggest quarterback faller through three weeks. He completed 14-of-25 passes for 199 yards with zero touchdowns and two interceptions against Jacksonville while also losing a fumble, giving him three turnovers in New England’s 35-6 loss. He’s now sitting at 585 passing yards, one passing touchdown, and six interceptions through three games. He’s also taken three sacks in each game. The rushing ability that previously gave Maye such an intriguing fantasy floor hasn’t been enough to compensate for what is happening through the air.
This isn’t simply one bad matchup anymore. We have three consecutive games of problematic quarterback play, an offensive line struggling to consistently protect him, and a passing offense that hasn’t generated enough high-value fantasy production. Maye obviously still has too much talent and rushing ability for me to write him off for the season, but rest-of-season rankings have to react when the current environment becomes this poor. I’ve moved Maye out of the locked-in QB1 tier, and in normal one-quarterback leagues I’m willing to stream another option until New England shows us tangible signs that the passing game is stabilizing.
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