So you went through your fantasy football draft. You made a trade or two, picked up a guy off the waiver wire. But then before everything went live ... something didn't feel right. Maybe you had a player who was a game-time decision. Or there was a matchup that wasn't in your favor. Whatever the reason, you decided it was time to make a bold choice. You know what they say ... No Guts, No Glory. So this column is for you. Every week here, we'll salute the outside-the-box thinking that was rewarded with big fantasy production. Fortune favors the bold, so here's to you. We sent out the call late Sunday night, and here's what you came back with. Congratulations to those of you who are looking at a Week 3 win!
For the third straight week, Dolphins wide receiver Rishard Matthews posted at least 100 yards or a touchdown and when all was said and done in Week 3 he had collected 113 yards and two scores for 23.30 fantasy points. The fact that Matthews is only owned in 3.3 percent of NFL.com leagues is, at this point, a crime and there is no doubt he'll be a waiver-wire favorite heading into Week 4. While he's second to only Jarvis Landry in targets on Miami, Matthews has out-produced his teammate in receiving yards (262 to 230) and touchdowns (3 to 0) through the first three weeks of the season.
Now this is a move that really took some guts. We had been talking all week about how the Raiders have let up more points than any other team to the tight end position through two weeks. So naturally Barnidge became an intriguing option. But even with a great matchup it's still ... Gary Barnidge. In the end though, it paid off as those who were bold enough to ride the wave got rewarded. The Browns tight end posed 105 receiving yards and a touchdown, and finished as the second-highest scoring fantasy TE of Week 3 with 16.50 points.
While starting Devonta Freeman against the Cowboys in Week 3 wasn't necessarily a gutsy move, sometimes it depends on who you might have benched to get him in your lineup, or who you paired him with. The fact that the first guy actually benched Marshawn Lynch, a first round draft pick, for Freeman, well, that takes some guts. The other guy, who paired Freeman up with Blount...now that's a go big or go home kind of move. Between both running backs, that's six touchdowns and 285 total yards, which translates into a combined 64.5 fantasy points in standard leagues.
Yeah about that. I bought a one-way ticket on the Matt Jones hype train this week and whiffed big time. While it did take guts to start him on Thursday Night Football, there was absolutely no glory involved here. The fumble out of the end zone didn't help either.
If that's how you recover after a bad day in fantasy, with a little "Keeping Up With The Kardashians", whatever floats your boat, man.
Matt Franciscovich is an associate fantasy editor at NFL.com. He's all about the brand new record from Disclosure called Caracal. Hit him up on Twitter **@m_franciscovich** for music recommendations and fantasy advice.