What did you think of Caleb Williams and the young QBs’ performances in Week 3?

It’s officially been three weeks of the NFL season, and quarterbacks still aren’t “playmaking” to our expectations. Repeat veterans continue to dominate — even Andy Dalton and Malik Willis broke out with top-10 performances this week — and young players we expected to make a splash in Year 2 or make an immediate impact as rookies are missing the mark.

It’s now time to evaluate their performance after Week 3 and our level of confidence in their pass catchers.

Fantasy superstar QBs fail to reach fantasy draft value

C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans

Stroud’s early season production isn’t alarming, but he’s ranked outside the top 15 in fantasy points the last two weeks. The only time he’s cracked the top 10 was in Week 1 against an Indianapolis defense that has struggled early in the season, allowing Caleb Williams to have the best performance of his career (more on that in a second). This week, Stroud completed 20 of 31 passes for 215 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions in his worst fantasy performance of the season.

Pulse check: Can Stroud be excused for early season performances?

I’m willing to overlook Stroud’s performance against Minnesota in Week 3. In the words of Brock Purdy, this “plan is crazy.”

But it’s concerning that we haven’t seen Stroud surpass 260 passing yards yet. Stroud’s fantasy value comes from volume. He doesn’t have the rushing potential to get him over the 20-point fantasy barrier. Two hundred and fifty yards and two touchdowns is a good day for a quarterback, but it’s not enough for Stroud to get what he deserves at his ADP.

Look at Stroud’s upcoming schedule and you start to see a problem. Aside from a matchup here and there, Stroud’s schedule is not particularly quarterback friendly. Stroud goes from a solid middle QB1 to a borderline QB with limited running potential.

There is a second question we need to answer: are we worried about Stroud’s buyers?

Stroud’s current volume is enough to warrant weekly fantasy upside for Nico Collins and Stefon Diggs. Dell had his best performance of the year in Week 3, but he will continue to be a volatile asset until Stroud consistently sees 300-plus-yard performances. While we are concerned about Stroud’s overall output, there is no panic for the receiving corps outside of Dell.

Anthony Richardson, Indianapolis Colts

The concerns for Richardson are much greater than those for Stroud. While Stroud has been more mediocre, Richardson has been up and down this season, and we are faced with the reality of what Richardson’s fantasy production looks like when he’s not scoring offensively. We weren’t expecting a big jump in Richardson as a passer, but his skill set is variable. Richardson relies heavily on the deep ball, where his average depth of field is very high. When he hits it, it’s magic. But after two consecutive misses, our confidence levels plummet.

Pulse check: Are we ready to label Richarson a failure?

The biggest concern here is that Richardson’s metrics are declining. Our 2023 sample size was admittedly small, but Richardson threw just one interception in 84 attempts. This year, he threw four interceptions in 53 attempts. In 2023, Richardson’s completion percentage was around 60%. This year, it’s 49%.

This week’s game was intriguing. Despite all of Richardson’s struggles and the low scoring, Indianapolis had plenty of red zone opportunities. When it came to goal-line looks, the Colts relied heavily on Jonathon Taylor. We drafted Richardson for his offensive potential, but if goal-line touches continue to go in Taylor’s favor, we have a big problem.

Subscribe Yahoo Fantasy Prediction Open Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Youtube or wherever you listen.

Given Taylor’s dominance at the goal line and Richardson’s difficulty with aerial balls, are we worried about Richardson’s receivers?

Unlike Stroud, Richardson’s lackluster performances have significantly affected his pass catchers. Michael Pittman Jr. has four catches and 36 yards. I voiced my concerns about Pittman’s future on Sunday’s “Fantasy Football Live,” and that concern continues after today’s game. Deep receivers like Alec Pierce certainly benefit from Richardson’s skill set, but they’ll be volatile, low-target players who you’ll never feel ready to start.

Deep league QBs with big impact for their weapons

Good: Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears

Williams had his best performance of the season in an extremely high-volume game, throwing 52 passes, 33 of which he completed, for 363 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Forty-four yards of that came on a Hail Mary pass to halfback DJ Moore that he caught on a deflection. Still, this was a big step in a positive direction for Williams and the Bears. However, it’s important to pause and contextualize this performance before making Williams a weekly starter.

Taking the Pulse: Is this production level the new expectation for Williams?

Indianapolis’ defense is a problem…and not in a good way. Williams’ strong performance against the Colts doesn’t set a new standard for what to expect going forward. Sacks continue to be an issue for Williams, turnovers continue to be an issue, and the running game offers limited support. Williams’ upcoming schedule is friendly, but he’s still just a streaming option. The stepping stone for Rome Odunze is an excellent sign of his development, and Cole Kmet’s resurgence has been exciting. It remains to be seen what kind of distribution we’ll see in a fully healthy receiving group, but the increased volume and excellent matchups should help instill confidence in Williams’ pass catchers going forward.

Bad: Will Levis, Tennessee Titans

In Levis’ defense, the Titans’ early schedule has been extremely unfriendly. Chicago and the Jets have two of the best defenses in the league, and Green Bay’s pass defense looks much better with the addition of Xavier McKinney in 2024. Levis has four touchdowns on the season with five interceptions and a lost fumble in each game. His Week 3 performance was a slight improvement from previous weeks, but that level of output won’t get the job done.

If we were to make excuses for Levis, there’s plenty of source material. But when half the mistakes are your own, there’s only so much excuse you can make. Levis isn’t just fighting tough defenses — he’s fighting himself.

As for Levis’ pass catchers, their inconsistency makes it hard to trust his receivers. Levis’ volume isn’t enough to feed more than one fantasy receiver, especially when a significant portion of his passes go to running backs. Seven of Levis’ 26 completions were to Pollard and Spears. Expect Calvin Ridley to serve as a WR1 in good matchups, and DeAndre Hopkins to step up if the coverage locks Ridley down. Levis’ struggles put his pass catchers in flex positions with the associated volatility.

Ugly: Bo Nix, Denver Broncos

Similar to Levis, Nix also had his best performance of the year, and similar to Levis, we still face zero incentive for consistent fantasy production. When we look at Nix, we look at him from a perspective of how his game impacts the weapons around him, because Nix cannot be trusted even as a streaming option in deep leagues and only offers hopeless Superflex value.

Pulse check: Does the Broncos offense have a single starting option?

We’re in the third game of the season and Nix has yet to throw a touchdown pass. He has four interceptions and has failed to throw for more than 250 passing yards, taking most of his fantasy value on the ground. While Levis has managed to provide some fantasy value, Nix’s struggles through the air have destroyed consistency and potential for any pass catcher.

Courtland Sutton’s Week 3 performance was a season-best, but he’s still barely providing us with 10 fantasy points in half-PPR. Josh Reynolds has emerged as the Broncos’ WR2 but continues to be a low-volume presence, and there’s no consistency for a third pass-catching option with Greg Dulcich going from the target leader in Week 2 to zero targets in Week 3. The Broncos’ entire offense remains untouched until Nix can provide both volume and scoring.