Two of the top-three fantasy backs from Week 3 came out of the NFL West. Both saw their teams drop poorly played games. David Johnson continued his early-season tear, putting up 111 yards and two scores on 22 touches in a 33-18 loss to the Buffalo Bills.
Johnson has now gained 386 total yards on 57 touches for an average of 6.8 yards per touch. He's also scored three touchdowns and ranks second behind DeMarco Murray in fantasy points heading into Week 4.
Staying out west, San Francisco 49ers running back Carlos Hyde put up two garbage-time touchdowns in the team's blowout loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday. That had some fantasy owners excited, while others were left wondering what could have been. Overall, Hyde put up 102 yards and two scores on 22 touches. Despite any sort of help from Blaine Gabbert and the passing game, Hyde enters Week 6 as the sixth-best fantasy running back in the NFL.
For the first time in his rookie season, Dallas Cowboys back Ezekiel Elliott was relied on as a primary option in the team's offensive attack Sunday night against the Chicago Bears. He responded by putting up 160 yards on 32 touches. If it weren't for a lack of touchdowns (zero scores), Elliott would have been a dominating fantasy performer. As it is, he enters Monday's contest as the 11th-best fantasy running back on the week.
Outside of the way Elliott and fellow rookie Dak Prescott performed in the Cowboys' 31-17 win, the biggest takeaway here has to be the production of one Cole Beasley. He caught all seven of the passes thrown in his direction for 73 yards. The smallish veteran has now caught 20-of-25 passes on the season. He's someone to watch in PPR-heavy leagues/contests such as DraftKings movin forward.
Speaking of PPR heavy, 19 receivers tallied 10-plus targets in Week 3 with a few others potentially looking to add to that Monday night in the Atlanta Falcons-New Orleans Saints game. Not a surprise, Antonio Brown was back up to his old tricks after struggling last week against the Cincinnati Bengals. He caught 12-of-18 passes thrown his way for 140 yards. Though, Brown, like the entire Steelers team, was kept out of the end zone in a 34-3 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Staying in the AFC North, Terrelle Pryor Sr. had an other-worldly performance against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday. How good was he? The all-everything athlete completed 3-of-5 passes for 35 yards while sharing time with Cody Kessler at quarterback. He added four rushes for 21 yards and a score on the ground. Not a shabby day right there.
Except, Pryor wasn't done. Playin primarily on the outside at wide receiver, the former Ohio State signal caller caught 8-of-14 passes thrown in his direction for 144 yards. That was good enough for him to finish as the third-best fantasy receiver on the day. Even if we ignored the receptions, Pryor would have finished as FanDuel's 17th-best running back as well. Absurd stuff right there.
Carson Wentz completed 22-of-31 passes for 301 yards with two scores and zero interceptions in a 31-point win over Pittsburgh. That was good enough for him to finish as the sixth-best fantasy quarterback. Meanwhile, in Dallas, Dak Prescott completed 19-of-24 passes for 248 yards with a score. He added 36 yards and a touchdown on the ground without turning the ball over. That was good enough for him to finish as the fifth-best fantasy quarterback.
Just look at what these two rookie signal callers have done thus far through three games.
It really is a sight to behold.