Eric Karabell is a senior writer for fantasy baseball, football and basketball at ESPN. Eric is a charter member of FSWA Hall of Fame and author of "The Best Philadelphia Sports Arguments".
Quarterbacks generally score the most points in fantasy football and after three weeks of this NFL season, the position is showing even more dominance than ever. Russell Wilson has been unstoppable, as have Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes and Dak Prescott. Just three of the top nine ESPN PPR scorers are flex-eligible options, yet quarterback depth has become a bit of a problem as well. As a result, whereas quarterbacks were to be faded in preseason drafts, today they keep on moving on up!
Anyway, here are the latest rest-of-season rankings entering Week 4, with more injuries and more movement and oh, by the way, there remains a pandemic to deal with. Good luck!
QB Stock Up
Jared Goff, Los Angeles Rams:Week 1 was a bummer, but since then Goff has resembled the quarterback we so loved in 2018, when he threw the football downfield and with relative accuracy. In fact, he is averaging 13.7 yards per pass completion, tops in the league. More good news: the next games are also versus NFC East teams!
Ryan Fitzpatrick, Miami Dolphins: This could all go quite awry at any moment's notice, fitting the career path for the journeyman, but I do not get the feeling the Dolphins are rushing to get rookie Tua Tagovailoa into a game. In November, perhaps. Fitzpatrick delivered another top-10 performance in fantasy in Week 3 and seems like a reasonable two-QB option.
QB Stock Down
Deshaun Watson, Houston Texans: I don't wish to alarm his investors too much, and the schedule has been challenging, but perhaps we underestimated the loss of his top receiver. Watson is efficient, but lacks reliable weapons, and his paltry 16.3 rushing yards per game is less than half his average from two seasons ago. Still in my top 10, but thinking about it.
Dwayne Haskins Jr., Washington: I wonder what Terry McLaurin would do in the Houston offense. Haskins should be better than this, as he has yet to reach 225 passing yards in a game or 13 PPR points. The team should stick by him and see what he does, but fantasy investors probably do not risk him turning into a star if they choose Fitzpatrick or new Chicago Bears starter Nick Foles instead.
RB Stock Up
Alvin Kamara, New Orleans Saints: If you thought Christian McCaffrey achieved amazing things in the passing game last season, Kamara is averaging nine catches for 95 yards per game. That is ridiculous. Removing the rushing numbers would still place Kamara among the top-five fantasy wide receivers in PPR! Perhaps the streak of four consecutive seasons of exactly 81 receptions ends, since Kamara is on pace for 144. The mild concern is he continues to do little in the running game, far less than McCaffrey a season ago, but Kamara and Ezekiel Elliott seem to be in their own top tier now.
James Robinson, Jacksonville Jaguars: Does it matter that he went undrafted in both real life and in fantasy this season? Nope. The Illinois State product sees ample volume and there is no hint of a timeshare or committee. Enjoy this RB2 and stop dreaming about Ryquell Armstead.
RB Stock Down
David Johnson, Houston Texans: I was not terribly excited about his fantasy value months ago, since he last looked like a safe RB2 a few seasons ago. Little has changed, as Johnson looks uninspiring as both a traditional runner, where he has 57 rushing yards on 24 carries the past two games, and in the passing game, where he has done even less. I just do not see an RB2 here. I am not trying to pick on the winless Texans, but if Will Fuller V shows up in the next section -- whoops, he did last week -- well, then perhaps I am.
D'Andre Swift and Kerryon Johnson, Detroit Lions: What are the Lions doing? Adrian Peterson handled 22 of the 25 rushing attempts after things were a relative split in Week 2. Swift is the future. He can play all three downs, catch passes, make big runs and on Sunday he was asked to barely do a thing. Nary a rushing attempt, two targets. Yeah, the Lions won, but I do not get it. Keep Swift rostered in case they figure things out.
WR Stock Up
Tyler Lockett, Seattle Seahawks: Russell Wilson has never been on a legitimate 50-touchdown path before, but look at him now! I still like second-year behemoth DK Metcalf a bit more than Lockett long term, but it sure looks like this offense can support an RB2 in Chris Carson (when healthy) and a pair of WR2 options as well!
Justin Jefferson, Minnesota Vikings: It remains to be seen if any rookie wide receivers establish themselves as reliable, top-40 options at the position, but Jefferson broke out against the Titans with three receptions of 30-plus yards. That works. For now Jefferson is the No. 2-ranked rookie wide receiver after the Cowboys' CeeDee Lamb (hey, it is Dak over Cousins!), with others lurking.
Allen Lazard, Green Bay Packers: Perhaps he topped his performance from the first two games combined only because Davante Adams was absent with a hamstring injury, and when Adams returns, Lazard returns to irrelevancy. It makes sense. Then again, Adams missed four games in 2019 and last played in all 16 back in 2016. Lazard should have some more relevant games.
WR Stock Down
Julio Jones, Atlanta Falcons: How can he not move down in the rankings? OK, so he is injured and perhaps he plays in Week 4, but Calvin Ridley skyrocketed into WR1 range and even if Jones is healthy, we can't help but wonder if this is the new hierarchy.
Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry, Cleveland Browns: Such wildly talented players, but even they seem resigned to the fact the big statistics are just not pending in the current situation. Beckham has fewer PPR points than Braxton Berrios and Adam Humphries. The Cleveland running backs are awesome for fantasy. As for the Baker Mayfield wide receivers, not so much.
TE Stock Up
Mo Alie-Cox, Indianapolis Colts: The third-year man from Virginia Commonwealth followed up his 111-yard receiving Game 2 with a Game 3 touchdown, and did it with Jack Doyle active. We would like to see more targets, but Alie-Cox is a decent deep-league pickup.
TE Stock Down
Dallas Goedert, Philadelphia Eagles: This Eagles offense is in trouble. Goedert could miss significant time with a left ankle fracture and yes, Zach Ertz should see more targets, but defenses are well aware of this as well. Frankly, the way quarterback Carson Wentz is playing, Miles Sanders could be the lone reliable player in this offense quite soon.
