Melvin Gordon. Start him now. Rely on him as a top-five fantasy option each week. Buy him in DFS contests. With Danny Woodhead and Keenan Allen both lost for the season to torn ACLs, Gordon promises to see an uptick in touches moving forward. That's somewhat astonishing considering Gordon entered Week 3 ranked seventh among running backs in attempts.
Taking on a lackluster Indianapolis Colts defense on Sunday, Gordon is an optimal DFS play. With games then coming up against the New Orleans Saints and Oakland Raiders, the NFL's two worst defenses, Gordon will remain a high-end play over the short term.
Demaryius Thomas' struggles are real. Sure he's caught nine passes for 138 yards in two games, but those numbers pale in comparison to what he did prior to Peyton Manning's retirement. In fact, last season had to be seen as a sign of things to come for Thomas.
In the nine games that Manning started last season, Thomas recorded 68 receptions. In the seven games that Manning was benched, Thomas recorded just 37 catches. That surely doesn't bode well for his fantasy production moving forward.
Despite last week's struggles (three catches against the Los Angeles Rams), Seattle Seahawks receiver Doug Baldwin continues to dominate from a fantasy perspective. Over the course of his past 10 games, Baldwin has caught 59 passes and tallied 14 touchdowns.
That equates to an absurd 23.7 touchdown rate. He's also caught 73.8 percent of the passes thrown in his direction during this span. Look for solid production against the San Francisco 49ers come Sunday afternoon.
The very same game should be friendly to those of you buying stock in 49ers tight end Vance McDonald. Despite putting up just three catches in the first two games, the young tight end entered Week 3 as the seventh-best fantasy player at his position. That's primarily due to the two touchdowns he's scored in those three catches.
Now taking on a Seahawks defense that ranked in the bottom 10 against fantasy tight ends last season, McDonald could be a solid DFS play. That's only magnified by his recent success against the division rivals. The last time San Francisco played up in Seattle, McDonald caught four passes for 65 yards and a score.
With Brandon Marshall nursing a knee injury, look for Quincy Enunwa to continue playing a huge role in the New York Jets' offense. He leads the team with 13 receptions, and has done so on 14 targets. Absolutely absurd numbers right there.
Speaking of absurd numbers, Travis Benjamin of the aforementioned Chargers has also caught 13 of the 14 passes thrown in his direction through the first two weeks. With Keenan Allen and Woodhead lost for the season, expect Benjamin's target numbers to increase.
That bodes well for his production, especially in DFS contests where the first-year Chargers receiver is not valued as even a WR2 option against a bad Indianapolis Colts defense this week.
Speaking of bad defenses, the Oakland Raiders. Yeah, that's pretty much all we have to say at this point. One now has to wonder who Marcus Mariota will target in his attempt to dominate the league's worst defense. Rookie Tajae Sharpe seems like a good bet. After all, receivers are catching 82 percent of the passes thrown in their direction against the Raiders.
Heck, Delanie Walker could very well provide No. 1 upside from the tight end position. Here's a defense that's allowed 92 receptions to tight ends over the past 18 games. Walker himself caught six passes on as many targets against the Detroit Lions last week.
Arizona Cardinals running back David Johnson has himself an incredibly sexy matchup against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. Not only has Bufffalo's defense been terrible all-around, it's been horrendous against running backs in particular. Last week alone, Matt Forte of the New York Jets put up three touchdowns.
This should equate to an electrifying fantasy performance from the young running back. Here's a dude that's averaging 7.9 yards per touch this season. Give him the ball 20 times on Sunday, and nearly 200 total yards doesn't seem too far-fetched.