Week 3 NFL Picks, Predictions & Best Bets | NFL Picks Against the Spread | NFL Props | Survivor
Chris Meaney
Training camps provide our first look into NFL players and teams as we prepare for the upcoming fantasy football season. Information will now begin to flood our social media timelines, leaving us to determine the subsequent fantasy impact. It’s a matter of knowing which information matters, and which should be ignored.
So each day in this space, we’ll take a trip through the top news and takeaways around the league’s training camps to offer up what fantasy managers need to know as we head through draft season and into the 2024 NFL regular season.
Today, let’s review the major news as we start from Wednesday into Thursday.
J.J. McCarthy Done for the Year
The news out of Minnesota has been bad after bad, and it hit its worst Wednesday, with rookie QB J.J. McCarthy announced as done for the year after going for meniscus surgery. They went for the full meniscus repair, which means McCarthy’s career takes an extra year to start. That is probably good for McCarthy’s long-term health, but it leaves the Vikings to rely on Sam Darnold for 2024. Darnold is on his third or fourth “He just needs the right situation,” but he certainly has a shot in 2024 to extend his career by another few contracts. With Justin Jefferson as the No. 1 target, there’s room for Darnold to actually be a mid-range QB2 in 2024 if things break right.
Jordan Addison Carted Off at Practice
The Vikings news stayed bad Wednesday, with second-year WR Jordan Addison going down after trying for a contested ball. There’s a much lower threshold for being carted off in training camp during the regular season, and Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell said afterward that Addison’s ankle issue isn’t expected to be serious, so for now it’s just something to monitor and not make any changes about in fantasy strategy, but definitely keep an eye out for more news later this week.
Jahmyr Gibbs Injury Not Serious
After a brief scare in Detroit, it looks like second-year RB Jahmyr Gibbs escaped serious injury with his hamstring strain. He’s expected to be ready to go for Week 1. With David Montgomery around, the Lions don’t need to rush Gibbs back, so don’t be surprised if he has a light workload in the first couple of weeks of the season, but generally speaking, he’s still a borderline RB1 in fantasy with upside for even more than that.
Bo Nix to Start Denver’s Second Preseason Game
Jarrett Stidham got the start (and majority of first-team reps in practice) in the team’s first preseason game, and now it’s Nix’s turn. Nix was the team’s first-round pick back in April and clearly has higher upside than Stidham, and given that he’s already 24 years old, there’s less of a need to ease him into the NFL than there is for someone like J.J. McCarthy. So this week/weekend will be Nix’s chance to stake his claim to the starting job for the whole season.
Jaylen Wright to ‘Have a Role’ in Miami?
The Dolphins used their fourth-round pick in April on Wright, a speedy running back out of Tennessee, despite having Raheem Mostert and De’Von Achane in place in the backfield already. Pro Football Network’s Adam Beasley Wednesday reported that Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel has spoken highly of Wright’s role in the offense. That could be very good for Miami — the team is one more ridiculously fast guy from filling out the punch card — but it could make things very difficult for fantasy managers. Three running backs all having work makes it hard for any one guy to be that productive, at least in theory.
Matthew Stafford Leaves Practice with Hamstring Tightness
Veteran QB Matthew Stafford missed the end of Rams practice Wednesday with some hamstring tightness, per head coach Sean McVay. Stafford is 36 and dealt with injuries last year, so for now, expect this to be just a precautionary move absent updates. Still, if Stafford misses any time, the team’s backups are Jimmy Garoppolo — suspended for the first two games — and Stetson Bennett. Translation: The Rams really want Stafford to be healthy.
Isaiah Likely in for a ‘Great Year’?
Isaiah Likely was a fantasy powerhouse filling in for an injured Mark Andrews down the stretch last year, and it sounds like that will translate over to 2024 and the Ravens using more 12 personnel. The team doesn’t have much in the way of WR depth after Zay Flowers, so Andrews and Likely should spend a lot of time on the field together. Andrews is a very solid TE1 for 2024, but if Likely sees this sort of playing time, he could flirt with high-end TE2 numbers as well.
Bills Bring in Corey Davis for a Workout
Former fifth overall Corey Davis spent the 2023 season retired, but he’s attempting to make a return for 2024. In six years (four with the Titans, two with the Jets), Davis’ best season was 984 yards and 5 touchdowns in 2020, and he only managed 1,028 yards and 6 touchdowns in two years with the Jets. The odds are pretty heavily against Davis being a big fantasy factor even if he lands a job, but the unsettled depth chart in Buffalo could be one of his better shots. Nothing to do here for fantasy, just a “Let’s remember some guys.”
Commanders Add a QB, Sign Trace McSorley
With rookie QB Sam Hartman likely out for the team’s preseason game this week, and Jayden Daniels not expected to do a lot of work, the Commanders needed an emergency quarterback for the game, and McSorley (a) was available on short notice and (b) had experience with Kliff Kingsbury’s offense. Don’t be surprised if McSorley finds himself unemployed again before long.
