Post Week Three: Stretching the Field

Follow@cimini Week three is in the books and it’s time to see which player’s did the most with their receptions. Yards after the catch and stretching the field reap the big rewards in terms of fantasy points. Here is a look at player’s that had success in week three. Antonio Brown I listed Brown as a fourth quarter killer for week two. He did much more than have a stellar fourth quarter statistically. He averaged over twenty yards a catch and added to the plethora of receivers that have scorched the Bears secondary to start the season. Nate Washington Days that a Tennessee Titans quarterback throws for over 250 yards you can expect Washington’s name to dot the fantasy spectrum of top performers. Sunday, Locker had an unordinary passing day that was brought to life by Washington’s 130 yards receiving on eight of ten targets. Will Locker find confidence in his arm, or will the Titans rescale back to a basic offense yet again? Josh Gordon Returning from suspension Gordon was the biggest impact player in the game even over Adrian Peterson. Gordon’s presence allowed Brian Hoyer to rip apart the Vikings atrocious secondary. Gordon hauled ten catches for nearly fifteen yards a catch. Donnie Avery Avery had a gem of a day with over twenty yards a catch against the hapless Eagles secondary. Kansas City has a package of plays called specifically for Avery. Alex Smith doesn’t look down the field much and a lot is expected of Avery and playmaker’s such as Jamaal Charles and Dexter McCluster to take Smith’s short passes for big gains. Avery has small value in PPR leagues and slim to none in others. Jimmy Graham Graham was the latest tight end to join the ranks of shredding the Cardinals secondary. Jared Cook did so week one, and the Lions had some success with their tandem as well in week two. Graham is paying strong dividends for those that went against the grain and drafted him in the second round of fantasy drafts. He had two touchdowns with a near 15 yards a catch average. Nate Burelson Detroit’s loss a week ago to the Cardinals came on a fourth and four in which Burelson could not break a tackle of Tyrann Mathieu. Sunday Burelson was a difference maker in getting the Lions their second victory of the season. He had right under twenty yards a catch with six catches. With him now out due to a broken arm in a car accident, Ryan Broyles will fill in and take a bump up in fantasy leagues. Tedd Ginn Jr The Panthers have enjoyed and welcomed the edition of Ginn Jr to their receiver group. He fits in perfect and relishes his role as the third receiver. Often times a team’s third receiver is a young player trying to work his way up to the number one receiver. For Ginn Jr. he knows that is not his main goal. He is just trying to show he can be an asset as a situational receiver. For the second straight week Ginn has caught a deep throw from Newton. His catches aren’t high but he is stretching the field for the Panthers. Torrey Smith Baltimore was in total disarray as their offense tried to figure out its way without Ray Rice in the first half Sunday. A pick six defensive touchdown and special teams touchdown seemed to relax the passing attack in the second half. Joe Flacco and Torrey Smith connected on a fabulous sideline throw, and Smith finished the day with five catches for just over ninety yards receiving. Stephen Hill and Santonio Holmes The Jets resorted back to phase one of offensive 101 basics. Establish the run and the passing game will flourish. Hill and Holmes have hardly been as impactful as a Jet as they were Sunday. Limited receptions for both did not matter as Hill and Holmes received a few big pass plays from rookie Geno Smith. Holmes caught the game winner on a tough grab in which he outran the defender for a 69 yard touchdown. Cecil Shorts III Shorts was tagged as a must sit by many fantasy football analyst, in a tough matchup against the Seahawks. I had him listed as a fourth quarter killer but was impressed with the all around game Shorts had. With Justin Blackmon returning after another week, Shorts and the Jaguars overall passing attack should see vast improvement. Shorts finished Sunday with 8 catches and over 140 yards receiving.