Dallas Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb took his game to the next level in his third NFL season. Following the trade of Amari Cooper during the 2022 offseason, Lamb stepped up as the undisputed WR1 in Dallas' offense and put up big numbers. He totaled 107 catches for 1,359 yards and nine touchdowns last season, all career-highs. His WR5 PPR finish was also the best of his young career. He stayed healthy and played all 17 games in 2022, but could that be in jeopardy this upcoming season? Lamb left the Cowboys OTAs early on Wednesday with an apparent leg injury. Will he be ready for the Training Camp? https://twitter.com/toddarcher/status/1666535468278661122?s=42&t=nmclxZ4zP1Gqt9CUbbpkHw Is Ceedee Lamb Injured Or Healthy? Lamb left the Cowboys' minicamp practice early on Wednesday with a leg injury after making a spectacular one-handed catch. He was seen limping afterward but only took off a couple of plays before returning later. The Pro Bowl wideout, though, missed Dallas' final OTAs on Thursday because of the leg issue. However, the Cowboys don't view the injury as a real "concern," which is great news. The team likely wanted to give him the day off and let him rest before Training Camp starts in late July. https://twitter.com/jonmachota/status/1666840909479129094?s=42&t=nmclxZ4zP1Gqt9CUbbpkHw It appears the Cowboys are taking a careful approach with their 24-year-old superstar wideout before Traning Camp begins later next month. There shouldn't be any worry that Lamb will miss the start of Training Camp. He should be good to go by then. Ceedee Lamb 2023 Fantasy Football Outlook Lamb was a fantasy football superstar last season and should be again in 2023. In 2022, Lamb averaged 17.74 PPR points per game and had seven top-12 wide receiver finishes. He was a surefire WR1 and had 19.7 points (Week 15), 34 points (Week 16), and 21 points (Week 17) in PPR formats in the fantasy playoffs last season. Dallas added Brandin Cooks this offseason to join Lamb and Michael Gallup in the receiving game. But, the Cooks' move could actually help the young receiver more than it can hurt him. He will likely face fewer double teams in the offense with the veteran speedster now there. Assuming his injury is minor, Lamb should put up similar stats in 2023 and be a second-round pick in drafts. He finished as the WR5 in fantasy last season, and there's no reason to believe he can't finish better than that in year four in Dallas' electric offense.
Wide receiver Puka Nacua (oblique) caught five passes for 72 yards in the Los Angeles Rams' Week 3 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. Nacua, who had 35 targets in the first two games of his career, settled for a more modest seven on Monday night. His longest gain came late in the fourth quarter when Matthew Stafford found the receiver open near the five-yard line for a 37-yard reception. A better throw from Stafford might have resulted in Nacua's first touchdown, but instead of making the catch on the run he had to go to the ground to make the play and was easily touched down by a defender at the three-yard line. Nacua is a must-start in Week 4 when the Rams face the Indianapolis Colts, who have allowed two 100-yard games and four total touchdowns to opposing wide receivers this season.
Los Angeles Rams running back Kyren Williams had a disappointing showing against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 3. In the Rams' first game since Cam Akers was traded to the Vikings, Williams had only 10 rushing attempts for 38 yards. The second-year back was targeted seven times in the passing game but came away with just two catches for another 27 yards. Sean McVay gave his running back just two red zone rushing attempts on Monday night, ran 13 running plays in the entire game, and perplexed fans with his insistence on utilizing the pass to attempt short-yardage first-down conversions on multiple occasions. In Week 4, the Rams take on the Indianapolis Colts who have limited opposing running backs to 68 yards per game and have not allowed a touchdown to the position since Week 1. Still, with Williams operating as a three-down back he should be in starting lineups in Week 4.
Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Tutu Atwell caught five of his nine targets for 50 yards and a touchdown in Monday's loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. The third-year player added 22 more yards on the ground on a reverse which was initially ruled a touchdown until the video review showed that he was out of bounds at the Bengals' two-yard line. He finally connected with quarterback Matthew Stafford for a score with little more than a minute remaining in the game. Atwell is averaging almost nine targets per game and is thriving in the shadow of the rookie phenom Puka Nacua. In Week 4, the Rams play the Indianapolis Colts, who allowed a touchdown to two different wide receivers in each of their first two games this season. Atwell can put up WR3 numbers against a generous opponent and should be started in Week 4.
Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford opened the 2023 season with back-to-back 300-yard games, but talk of the 15-year veteran's rejuvenation stalled out in Week 3. In Monday's loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, he was intercepted twice and sacked four times while going 18-for-33 for 269 yards and one touchdown. Stafford did lead the Rams into the red zone four times and got within 30 yards of the goal line twice more, but could not get the Rams across the goal line until their final possession of the game. Monday's score was just his second touchdown in 126 total pass attempts this season, the second-worst rate in the league after Ryan Tannehill. Even though Stafford has another favorable matchup against the Colts in Week 4, by now he can't be trusted to finish any higher than as a QB2.
Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tyler Boyd caught 5-of-9 targets for 39 yards in Monday's 19-16 win over the Los Angeles Rams. The 28-year-old slot man saw a busy first half amidst Cincinnati's conservative, dink-and-dunk approach, bringing in four of his six targets for 29 yards. Boyd later pulled in a short 10-yard reception in the fourth quarter but was on the wrong end of a spectacular play later in the series made by Ahkello Witherspoon, who ripped a pass away from Boyd for a pick. Boyd has 17 targets across the past two games but may find himself as the odd man out more often than not this year. The veteran has strong contingency upside if Ja'Marr Chase or Tee Higgins were to ever miss time, but Boyd is going to need the Bengals offense to start clicking if he wants to return WR3 value in full-PPR leagues.
Cincinnati Bengals running back Joe Mixon took 19 carries for 65 yards with one catch for an additional five yards in Monday's 19-16 win over the Los Angeles Rams. The ground game fell victim to a pass-centric Bengals first half that saw 33 Joe Burrow dropbacks to seven Mixon rush attempts, but that ratio evened out a bit in the second half with Cincinnati's defense disrupting the Rams all night. Mixon made a nice cut on a 14-yard dash to the end zone to top off a 10-play scoring drive out of the half to ignite the crowd and ease the pressing Bengals offense for the moment. The 27-year-old has produced solid, yet unspectacular returns in each of campaign's initial three games, amassing at least 70 total yards in each. Mixon may find running room hard to come by on the road in Week 4 against the Tennessee Titans, who have sold out to plug the trenches at the expense of a sieve-like secondary.
Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins caught 2-of-8 targets for 21 yards in Monday's 19-16 win over the Los Angeles Rams. The 24-year-old didn't make his first catch until the middle of the second quarter on a third-and-long checkdown, and he dropped a pass on the ensuing series. Higgins proceeded to push off on Ahkello Witherspoon to set back a drive following a Bengals takeaway that put them in great field position. He chipped in a 13-yard play on Cincinnati's only touchdown drive of the game but committed another drop in the third quarter, which stalled what amounted into a field-goal drive. Higgins had to make a brief exit with cramps to rub salt in the wound but returned at the start of the fourth. His uneven start to the year may have fantasy managers questioning their trust in him, but Higgins nonetheless belongs on the WR1/2 fringe in Week 4's cushy draw with the Tennessee Titans.
Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase caught 12-of-15 targets for 141 yards in Monday's close 19-16 win over the Los Angeles Rams. The two-time Pro Bowler shined as one of the offense's lone bright spots on the evening. Chase made a few beautiful toe-dragging catches along the sideline in the second quarter, but they didn't ultimately provide a spark for Cincinnati's dormant first-half offense. He found some open space for a 43-yard catch-and-run to catalyze an eventual third-quarter scoring drive. Chase had more catches through Monday's first three quarters (11) than he had over his first two games collectively (10), and the 23-year-old may have emphatically slammed shut his fantasy buy-low window on Monday. Chase looks in Week 4 to be the latest WR1 to victimize a leaky Tennessee Titans secondary, who have consistently dispensed 100-yard receiving days in the opening three weeks.
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (calf) completed 26-of-49 attempts for 259 yards and one interception in Monday's narrow 19-16 win over the Los Angeles Rams. Cincinnati's game plan called for a hobbled Burrow to get the ball out quick despite a zone-heavy Rams defense that wasn't sending much heat for most of the night. It was a sleepy first half for the entire Bengals offense, and the 26-year-old's mostly rhythmless start to the year dragged into this one for a pitiful 5.3 yards per attempt on 49 throws. Burrow's pick came on a great fourth-quarter play by Ahkello Witherspoon to keep LA within striking distance when it seemed Cincy was about to pull away. Look for Burrow and the Bengals to try and open up the air attack in a prime opportunity to do so in Week 4 against the Tennessee Titans defense, which has nearly surrendered three consecutive 300-yard passing days to open the season.
Philadelphia Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert caught five of seven targets for 41 yards during the team's 25-11 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In his best performance of the season to date, the 28-year-old has seen seven targets each of the past two games but has been unable to do much with them. Goedert ended up ranking second in targets on the night but gave fantasy managers another frustratingly low fantasy performance. Better days are surely ahead for the Eagles' tight end if he can continue to see a high target share, but he has a stiff matchup against Washington next week, who give up the fourth-fewest fantasy points per game to the position.
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