The Week 3 matchup between the Washington and the New York Giants features two teams with something to prove. We’ve got the fantasy projections courtesy of numberFire.
Fantasy football projections, Week 3: Washington-Giants featuring Matt Jones, Jordan Reed and Odell Beckham Jr.
We break down the Week 3 matchup between Washington and the New York Giants.
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Washington
One of the hottest free agent pickups in fantasy football this week is running back Matt Jones. Jones saw his workload more than triple in the team’s win over the St. Louis Rams last week and he cashed in big time. The rookie ran for 123 yards on 19 carries and managed to find the end zone twice. It’s clear that coach Jay Gruden is excited about getting him more involved, which means there could be a time-share looming in Washington’s backfield. Jones is definitely worth a look in deeper leagues against the Giants.
Jones will have the help of tight end Jordan Reed in the passing game which should balance the offense. Reed caught all six of his targets last week for 82 yards. With DeSean Jackson out again against the Giants, Reed should be the steadiest influence in Washington’s receiving corps. He’ll be a particularly good option this week against a Giants pass defense that’s really poor. Fantasy owners who have him should definitely start him.
New York Giants
After a lackluster performance to open the season in Week 1, wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. exploded against the Atlanta Falcons last week. He caught seven passes for 146 yards and his first touchdown of the season. Beckham is generally always going to be the most targeted player in the Giants’ offense, and a match up against Washington shouldn’t scare anybody from starting him. Beckham will be an elite wide receiver in Week 3 as he always is.
If the Giants are to pick up their first win of the season against Washington, quarterback Eli Manning is going to have to step it up. Coach Tom Coughlin expressed during the week that he’s frustrated with Manning’s erratic play. Odds are, so are his fantasy owners. The good news is that Manning was able to throw for 292 yards to go with a pair of touchdowns last week against the Falcons, so while the losing effort doesn’t make Coughlin happy, the fantasy outcome was not too shabby. Manning is on the lower end of the elite quarterback scale, but a lot of fantasy owners will start him this week.
