The long and winding road that is a fantasy football season can be both rewarding and frustrating at the same time. Finding a shrewd pickup, like anyone who read last week's column did with Puka Nacua, can lead to a potential league-winning move while using your waiver on the wrong guy can inflict damage that can take weeks to overcome.
While there are plenty of quarterbacks and tight ends out there we'll undoubtedly cover in the future, this week's space will focus on running backs and receivers, the backbone of your fantasy team. Here are the week's top five pickups, with all roster percentages based on Yahoo! leagues.
Top fantasy football pickups for Week 3: 5. New York Giants, RB, Matt Breida
There isn't a bigger game-changer in fantasy than an injury to a starting running back. J.K. Dobbins did some damage to fantasy players last week but a bigger domino may have fallen in Week 2 when Saquon Barkley left the Giants' comeback win against the Arizona Cardinals with an ankle injury.
Early indications are that Barkley suffered an ankle sprain, which is good news since it could have been far worse, but he is still likely to miss some time. Any absence would elevate Matt Breida to the lead role in New York's offense, which still has the ability to be prolific as evidenced by the second-half explosion against Arizona.
Breida is rostered in just one percent of leagues so there will be plenty of opportunity to scoop him up if you need running back help. Keep an eye on the medical updates for Barkley, however, as an extended absence could also lead New York to kick the tires on veteran free agents like Leonard Fournette and Kareem Hunt.
Top fantasy football pickups for Week 3: 4. Chicago Bears, RB, Roschon Johnson
One of the big keys for successful fantasy owners is to not just react to developments in the NFL but try to anticipate them. A key part of that strategy is trying to pick up players before the general public figures out they're valuable, which you can do this week with Chicago Bears running back Roschon Johnson.
A fourth-round rookie out of Texas who served as Bijan Robinson's backup in college, Johnson entered the year as the No. 3 back on the depth chart behind Khalil Herbert and free-agent acquisition D'Onta Foreman. The Bears made a statement about Johnson's progress on Sunday by making Foreman a healthy scratch, making Johnson the clear backup to Herbert.
Johnson did good work with his limited touches, carrying four times for 32 yards and catching both of his targets for another ten yards, and is just a week removed from a six-catch effort against the Green Bay Packers. If the Bears opt to shift to more of a run-heavy approach to help struggling quarterback Justin Fields it would probably create more opportunities for Johnson to get touches.
There is still a window to grab Johnson, who is rostered in 38 percent of leagues, before the rest of the fantasy community catches on. Herbert doesn't have a lengthy track record of success either, which makes Johnson a smart speculative play as either injury or poor performance from Herbert could elevate him to RB1 status with the Bears.
Top fantasy football pickups for Week 3: 3. Houston Texans, WR, Tank Dell
The fantasy football community largely shied away from Houston this season due to concerns about the fantasy viability of its skill players. Those concerns were largely warranted as the Texans were committed to starting a rookie quarterback in C.J. Stroud behind a first-time defensive head coach in DeMeco Ryans, leaving running back Dameon Pierce as the team's safest fantasy commodity.
That formula might be changing as Stroud showed some signs of brilliance today, throwing for 384 yards in a loss to the Indianapolis Colts. While Nico Collins was the headliner, racking up seven catches for 146 yards and a touchdown on nine targets, Stroud also developed a nice connection with fellow rookie Tank Dell.
The Texans gave Dell a bigger workload after Noah Brown landed on injured reserve this week and he responded nicely, turning 10 targets into seven receptions for 72 yards and a score. The workload is very important to see for Dell, who has clearly earned the trust of Stroud throughout the week in practice and converted it into success during a game.
While it might be harder to pick up Collins, Dell is rostered in just five percent of leagues and plays on a team that should be trailing plenty throughout the season. Grab Dell as a potential flex play now and a valuable bye-week filler in the coming weeks.
Top fantasy football pickups for Week 3: 2. Green Bay Packers, WR, Jayden Reed
One of the biggest mantras to keep in mind with fantasy football is that injury creates opportunity. This has certainly been the case in Green Bay, where a hamstring injury for Christian Watson has created a valuable chance for rookie receiver Jayden Reed to show off what he can do.
Jordan Love has formed a strong connection with Reed, who was targeted eight times in Green Bay's tight Week 2 loss to the Atlanta Falcons. Reed caught four of those for 37 yards and found pay dirt twice, a solid effort that could lead to a bit more involvement in the Packers' offensive game plans.
Things will certainly get complicated when Watson, who broke out last year in the second half, returns from his injury issues and Romeo Doubs is still around to draw targets. Reed's performance was very impressive, however, and Green Bay figures to be right in the mix in plenty of games where they will need Love to make plays through the air to win.
Only 10 percent of teams have rostered Reed, who can be a flex consideration as long as Watson is out. The longer Watson is sidelined, the more entrenched Reed can find himself in Love's passing hierarchy.
Top fantasy football pickups for Week 3: 1. Indianapolis Colts, RB, Zack Moss
We discussed Moss last week after Deon Jackson failed to impress in his opportunity to start for the Colts. Jonathan Taylor's continued stay on the PUP list opened the door for Moss to become Indianapolis' starter in Week 2 and he crashed right through it with a monster effort.
Moss carried 18 times for 88 yards with a touchdown, adding four catches for another 19 yards on four targets. Those 22 touches easily led the backfield for Indianapolis, whose only other rushes came from Anthony Richardson and Gardner Minshew, who replaced Richardson after the starter departed with a concussion.
There is certainly vulture potential with Richardson but Moss is going to be the headliner in a run-first offense based on the wildly successful Philadelphia Eagles' system. Shane Steichen should continue to feed Moss the ball early and often to take pressure off of Richardson, who has a ton of talent but is extremely raw as a passer.
This will be the last call on Moss, who is already rostered in 52 percent of leagues and should approach the high-80s at minimum at this time next week. Taylor has at least two more weeks on the PUP list and a lingering trade request that may still be granted by the front office, making Moss a sure-fire bet as the top pickup of the week.
