Dion Lewis (NYG) – Saquon is done for the season, and the Giants signed Devonta Freeman, but he won’t be ready yet. So, in Week 3 you can roll with Dion Lewis as a spot start. This is unlikely to last longer than a week or two, so if he has a big week, go ahead and put him on the trading block. Lewis found the end zone last week and had 14 touches against a tough Bears defense. This week, he’ll be facing the 49ers who have their own slew of injury problems. Week 1, they gave up double digit points to both Kenyan Drake and Chase Edmonds. I expect Lewis to be in the 15+ touch range this week, and he’ll get work mostly based on the fact that he is the only 3rd down back on the team, and I expect the Giants to find themselves in 3rd down often.
Joshua Kelley (LAC) – While not replacing anyone directly with injury (yes, this is a stretch), the Chargers did lose their starting QB and will need to tweak their game script with Herbert taking the reins. He will lean on a strong run game for now. Both Kelley and Ekeler are tied with 35 carries on the season, good for 6th most in the league. This week they will feast on the awful Panthers defense who are currently giving up the most fantasy points to opposing RBs. With Kelley getting even more carries than Ekeler in Week 2, I’m not hesitant to ride with a rookie this early in the season. Ekeler has always succeeded as the second guy, and this really appears to be a 1A/1B situation they’re setting up for the Chargers.
Jerick McKinnon (SF) – McKinnon has 6 carries this season, his first since 2017. Finally healthy, he’s basically the last man standing in the 49ers backfield for now. Tevin Coleman has been put on the IR and Raheem Mostert is likely to sit this week, so it’s McKinnon all the way. He already has 2 touchdowns this season and a 55 yard run last week, showing that he’s got the talent to take advantage of the opportunities that Kyle Shanahan creates for this offense. The Giants have given up 2 good fantasy games already this season, one to backup Benny Snell and one to David Montgomery, so there’s nothing to fear in terms of this week’s matchup, aside from perhaps turf monsters, which the 49ers seem overly concerned with.
Tre’Quan Smith (NO) – Last week, with Michael Thomas out, Smith had 5 receptions on 7 targets for 86 yards, all respectable. There’s going to be plenty of extra volume to go around if Michael Thomas sits another week. The Saints play the Packers this week, who have probably been the most dominant team in the NFC. However, if there’s one thing that they don’t do incredibly well, it’s limit WRs. The Packers are giving up the 9th most points to opposing WRs. While the Saints will surely lean on Alvin Kamara for a majority of their offense, they will still need to throw the ball a lot to keep up with Aaron Rodgers. I expect the Saints to play very well and clean up their sloppy play from Monday night. They are 10-1 following a loss since 2017, so I expect lots of fantasy fireworks in this game from both sides. Smith is a good option to slide in your lineup if you’ve been bitten by the injury bug.
Dalton Schultz (DAL) – Going in to last week’s game, Schultz had 14 career receptions. He added 9 more on Sunday on 10 targets and turned that into 88 yards and 1 TD. He did fumble once, but it seems like the Cowboys will be sticking with him due to Blake Jarwin’s torn ACL. This week is a big game against Seattle, one that could very well mirror last week’s script where Dallas finds themselves playing catchup. The Seahawks defense has been stout against the TEs so far this year, but they also haven’t faced much high profile competition yet. Dak Prescott is playing very well this season, so you need to trust in Dak to get the ball to the TE. The top players at TE have been so random this year (Smith, Fant, Gesicki, Reed, Hockenson all in the top 10), why not Schultz too?
