Week 3 Fantasy Underachievers

Here’s a look at some of the players who most missed their projected fantasy points in week 3 of the 2026 season. The projections are from Fantasypros.com and all the scores are based on PPR scoring.

The Injury Effect

Typically, a number of the people on the underperforming list will be because of injury. I’m not going to give these players the same attention I give the others because their inclusion on this list doesn’t tell us much other than they have bad luck

De’Von Achane (-15.6) [Out for the season with a torn ACL]

Justin Jefferson (-11.1) [Day to day with an ankle sprain. Unlike Towlie, it does not appear to be high]

Jalen Coker (-9.6) [Day to day with a minor quad strain]

The Ricochet

These are some players who, while they weren’t injured themselves, saw a dip in numbers because someone else on their team (likely their quarterback) got injured.

Tetairoa McMillan scoring 3.7 vs 13.6 projected (-9.9) - Tetairoa McMillan does not belong in this category. This category is for players who, while they themselves didn’t get injured during the game, still saw a drop in their production because a teammate got injured. McMillan is the opposite: With Coker going down in the third quarter, one would expect Tet to get more targets. Instead Tet only got 5 targets throughout the entire game which translated to two catches for 17 yards. Not good.

‘Tis But A Flesh Wound

Dalton Kincaid scoring 3.8 vs 12.9 projected (-9.1) and Khalil Shakir scoring 1.6 vs 10.3 projected (-8.7) - Sure, even when the Bills score a lot, it’s usually Josh Allen who gets all the fantasy points but even so, Shakir and Kincad have been viable fantasy starts. Okay, maybe not so much Shakir yet but Kincaid absolutely has been with 18 ppr points in week 1 and 22.5 in week 2. So while Shakir’s 1 catch for 6 yards isn’t quite the dropoff that Kincaid’s 2 catches for 38 yards was, they were both disappointing in week 3. In fact, the entire Bills offense was disappointing, despite pulling off a win. They had 5 turnovers in this game, which is uncharacteristic of them. I think they’ll bounce back in future weeks.

Jonathan Taylor scoring 9.2 vs 18.7 projected (-9.5) - I think we all figured Taylor wouldn’t reach the astronomical heights he reached in the first eight weeks of last season, but in the first two weeks of this season he’s been pretty close, scoring 25.1 and 29.2 ppr points respectively. In week 3, however, he only ran for 68 yards and no touchdowns. Now, it was against the division rival Texans so do with that information what you will. I for one, am not too worried.

That Guy Said He Wasn’t Bitten By A Zombie, But He Sure Is Sweaty

This is new category I’m giving to: **Oronde Gadson scoring 0.0 vs 8.7 projected (-8.7) Omarion Hampton scoring 5.6 vs 14.6 projected (-9.0) Hunter Henry scoring 1.5 vs 10.9 projected (-9.4) Drake Maye scoring 3.8 vs 18.4 projected (-14.6) **

I’m grouping these four together because when it comes to the Patriots and Chargers, I don’t want to panic, but I think I’m starting to panic, man. I came into the season with high hopes for both these teams. I’m a Miami Dolphins fan, I have reasons to hate each one and yet I was convinced the offensive genius of McDaniel and McDaniels would prevail. It has not.

Let’s start with the Chargers. Once again, their offense is a mess and once again it’s everyone else’s fault except Justin Herbert. “They’ll be fine, they're getting their offensive tackles back.” oh you mean Joe Alt, who came into this game leading the league in penalties (6)? And the interior line is a mess so now they can barely function. I doubt too many people started Gadsen this week, but many started Hampton. He was being drafted in the second round and this week he had only 56 yards. And he’s had only two catches so far this season

And then there’s the reigning ACF Champion New England Patriots…who stink! They have the worst points per drive in the entire league! Yes, even less than the Dolphins. What is happening with Drake Maye? I was never a fan but even I had to admit he looked great last year. His deep ball looked like the best in the league. Now he’s underthrowing people worse than Tua (or at least worse than Tua if he ever gets back on the field again).

So the question remains, what do fantasy owners do? You can’t cut these guys, can you? Okay, you can probably cut the two tight ends, but Maye and Hampton? You can’t. So you’re stuck with them unless you can find some sucker to trade them with. There’s a silver lining for the Patriots in that their schedule gets noticeably easier in the near future. Unfortunately for the Chargers, theirs does not.

Old Yeller This Guy (Metaphorically, of course)

Jameis Winston scoring 6.1 vs 15.0 projected (-8.9) - It might not be fair to judge anyone in this game too harshly given the weather, but the weather was just fine and Winston looked awful then too. Sure, he was coming off the bench for an injured Dart but Winston has yet to give anyone reason to pencil him as a starter. Now, with the signing of J.J. McCarthy, his days as the Giants started may be numbered.