Fantasy Football: 10 biggest reactions to NFL Week 3

• A bad week for some veteran running backs: Older running backs such as Ezekiel Elliott have seen their playing time decline, which might not bounce back.

• More Baltimore Ravens tight end drama: Blocking tight end Charlie Kolar led the tight end room in receiving yards, and the team altered its TE rotation.

• Unlock your edge with a PFF+ subscription: Get full access to all our in-season fantasy tools, including weekly rankings, WR/CB matchup charts, weekly projections, the Start-Sit Optimizer and more. Sign up now!

Estimated Reading Time: 7 minutes

Nathan Jahnke’s fantasy football recap highlights key player usage and stats, providing the essential insights needed for fantasy success in 2024. This analysis focuses solely on players relevant to fantasy football leagues.

Here are Nathan's 10 biggest reactions to the games from the Sunday slate. For a more detailed analysis, read his full Sunday recap.

Carson Steele leads Chiefs backfield: Steele led Kansas City's two-man rotation with 17 carries for 72 yards.

The Chiefs recently signed Keaontay Ingram to the active roster and Kareem Hunt to the practice squad. But this week, the Chiefs used only two running backs.

Steele played the majority of snaps on early downs, at the goal line and in short-yardage situations. As expected, Samaje Perine remained the receiving-down back and was the backup in rushing situations.

Perine's limited role doesn't offer much fantasy value. He carried the ball six times for 25 yards and caught three passes for 15 yards. Unlike Jerick McKinnon, who previously held this role and was frequently used at the goal line — resulting in several touchdowns — Perine is less likely to see goal-line opportunities. Therefore, he probably doesn't need to be rostered in most fantasy leagues.

There is certainly a chance Hunt joins the active roster or Clyde Edwards-Helaire returns. However, if the Chiefs stick to their usual approach, it’s likely they would reduce Perine's snaps on early downs and short-yardage situations before affecting Steele’s workload. Given Steele’s effectiveness in the run game, his role seems secure, at least for the near future.

D’Andre Swift’s shrinking role: Swift has averaged 3.0 yards per carry or less in every game and is slowly but surely losing work.

Click here to read article