Carolina Panthers

Fantasy Football Week 3: Biggest Underperformers

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 3:08 p.m. ET

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Fantasy football owners are always bound to be disappointed by somebody each week, and a few notable names let us down in Week 3.

Whether it was the Carolina Panthers, Arizona Cardinals, or Pittsburgh Steelers, heavy-hitters went down without so much as a whimper in Week 3. That goes for supposed fantasy football assets, too, because a few stars busted for your team this week.

Sometimes, a quarterback gets in the way, making it impossible for a wide receiver to get anything going. Other times, the matchup just wasn’t as favorable as we thought, leaving us holding the bag with something close to a goose egg on our side of the fantasy box score.

Either way, there are always scapegoats when it comes to a fantasy football team. Everyone has looked at that player they expected to perform and simply didn’t. True or not, they’ll say they cost them the week’s matchup.

Not counting injuries, which are out of the control of owners, here are five players who came up way shorter than expected this past week. Hopefully, these names don’t become regularly disappointing fantasy producers throughout the 2016 NFL season.

Sep 18, 2016; Charlotte, NC, USA; Carolina Panthers wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin (13) catches a pass for a touchdown against San Francisco 49ers cornerback Jimmie Ward (25) during the third quarter at Bank of America Stadium. The Panthers defeated the 49ers 46-27. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports

5. Kelvin Benjamin, WR — Carolina Panthers

After catching three touchdown passes in his first two games and dusting the San Francisco 49ers for 100 yards of receiving, Carolina Panthers wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin seemed to be teetering on WR1 status going forward. Cam Newton will feed star tight end Greg Olsen and sometimes under-appreciated deep threat Ted Ginn Jr., but Benjamin looked like the main man in the Panthers defense.

He completely vanished in Sunday’s 22-10 loss at the hands of a vicious Minnesota Vikings defense. Newton was sacked eight times and threw three interceptions in Week 3. But at least Olsen and Ginn salvaged 60 receiving yards. Heck, even Corey Brown had 50 yards of receiving.

Benjamin, however, didn’t notch a single catch, and I’m not even 100 percent sure the Panthers targeted him on Sunday. Regardless, it didn’t feel like it and that’s an issue for a player of his caliber. The Vikings made it a priority to shut him down, and without any touchdown passes from Cam, Benjamin never had a chance of salvaging an awful fantasy performance.

Sep 25, 2016; Green Bay, WI, USA; Green Bay Packers wide receiver Randall Cobb (18) tumbles after missing a catch during the fourth quarter against the Detroit Lions at Lambeau Field. Green Bay won 34-27. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

4. Randall Cobb, WR — Green Bay Packers

Before Week 3, I highlighted Randall Cobb as one of the biggest letdowns for fantasy football owners in the first two weeks of the regular season. He continued that status in Week 3 by pretty much doing nothing against a Detroit Lions pass defense that is allowing a QB Rating of 120.2 on the season.

Aaron Rodgers tossed four first-half touchdowns and hit Jordy Nelson up for over 100 receiving yards. However, Cobb could only muster one catch. Sure, his reception went for 33 yards, but he provided no value for fantasy owners in standard leagues or in PPR.

Cobb has been arguably the worst starter on the Packers offense this year, and it still doesn’t look like he’s himself. Last year, we knew Cobb was struggling through a shoulder injury, but is that still ailing him in 2016?

Whatever the case, Cobb has been a non-factor. And unlike Davante Adams, he isn’t scoring touchdowns.

Sep 25, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers running back DeAngelo Williams (34) runs with the ball against the Philadelphia Eagles during the second quarter at Lincoln Financial Field. The Philadelphia Eagles won 34-3. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

3. DeAngelo Williams, RB — Pittsburgh Steelers

Pittsburgh Steelers running back DeAngelo Williams is usually a top performer with Le’Veon Bell out. He was a fantasy beast in the first two weeks of the regular season. Coming into yesterday’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles, it looked like Williams would be able to finish off his last game without Bell in the lineup by putting up more big points.

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Instead, the Eagles shut down the Steelers in all phases of the game, leaving Williams with just 44 yards from scrimmage. For the first time this season, Williams failed to cross the goal line for six, and fantasy owners were frustrated.

Memo to people: please stop tweeting at football players when they don’t help your fantasy team, especially if you happened to walk on this earth long enough to be considered an adult. Yes, Williams probably left your overall point total wanting in Week 3. However, harassing them on social media isn’t going to solve the problem in any way.

Williams’ fantasy value is only going to decline from here on out, as well. Bell returns for the Steelers their next time out, which relegates the veteran to backup duties. With Bell’s injury history, though, Williams is still worth stashing as a handcuff.

Sep 25, 2016; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Denver Broncos running back C.J. Anderson (22) carries the ball against the Cincinnati Bengals in the second half at Paul Brown Stadium. The Broncos won 29-17. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports

2. C.J. Anderson, RB — Denver Broncos

When he’s not hobbled by an injury, C.J. Anderson plays like one of the best running backs in the NFL. He’s a tackle-breaking bowling ball with excellent burst and agility, and he showed all of those traits in the first two weeks of the regular season. Anderson looked lively in the Broncos win over the Carolina Panthers. Then he scored a touchdown with 93 yards from scrimmage in the win over the Indianapolis Colts.

The Broncos won again in Week 3, but that was more thanks to the passing game than Anderson. Surprisingly, Jeremy Hill had a day against the Broncos elite defense, but the Cincinnati Bengals suffocated Anderson and rookie Devontae Booker.

Anderson averaged a measly 2.6 yards per carry on 14 attempts and he didn’t play a role in the passing game, which was dominated by Emmanuel Sanders and Demaryius Thomas. With 41 yards from scrimmage, Anderson didn’t give fantasy owners the performance they likely expected.

Sep 25, 2016; Jacksonville, FL, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars tight end Julius Thomas (80) is tackled by Baltimore Ravens inside linebacker C.J. Mosley (57) during the second half of a football game at EverBank FieldThe Baltimore Ravens won 19-17. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports

1. Julius Thomas, TE — Jacksonville Jaguars

Blake Bortles’s mistakes doomed the Jacksonville Jaguars in their loss to the Baltimore Ravens, but Julius Thomas had the least helpful fantasy impact this week among Jaguars players. One of the NFL’s top red zone threats, Thomas did not score a touchdown—nor did he do anything else of note outside of the end zone.

Thomas caught just two passes for 13 yards, as he failed to take advantage of his five targets. He did not threaten the Ravens defense, and he was actually outscored by No. 2 TE Marcedes Lewis this week. Based on the way Marqise Lee is playing, fantasy owners should be worried about Thomas’s opportunities in the Jaguars passing offense. At this point, he’s a touchdown-dependent play.

That said, Thomas did catch four balls for 71 yards against the San Diego Chargers in the previous week, performing well for fantasy owners despite not scoring a touchdown. The Indianapolis Colts are on deck, so he figures to have nowhere to go but up.

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