Fantasy Football Week 3: Insider Notebook and Preview

You might be staring down the barrel of 0-2, but your past does not define you. It can be your next move that does that. 

Jamaal Charles owners still have time to make up for the mistake of not adding Knile Davis as a handcuff.

Davis is available in 65 percent of fantasy leagues before rosters unlocked Tuesday morning, per CBSSports.com, while Charles is likely headed for a multiple-week absence with an ankle injury. Get ready for Davis' ownership to shoot up to close to 100 percent of all leagues.

Charles' injury "doesn't look to be a real severe one," Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid told Sam McDowell of the Kansas City Star, but...

"It does have the component of a high ankle sprain," Reid added. "What does that mean? We'll see."

The saving grace of the Charles misfortune is your 0-2 start puts you in the right position to add Davis: atop the waiver priority list. If you're in a deep league that forces you to look even behind Davis, rookie scatback De'Anthony Thomas (hamstring) might be ready for his first action after two weeks of rest.

"(Thomas) should be able to work himself back in this week," Reid told McDowell. "We'll just see how he does once we get to Wednesday."

If Davis isn't available to you, Thomas should be. The undersized speedster—5'9", 174 pounds, with around a 4.4 40—is owned in just 2 percent of CBSSports.com leagues. Thomas could be a factor in Alex Smith's short passing game. Running backs Cyrus Gray and Joe McKnight are also on the Chiefs' roster, but they don't have the juice of Davis or Thomas.

There is nothing official, but expect Charles to be out at least for Week 3 at the Miami Dolphins. He might be rushed back for Monday Night Football on Sept. 29 versus the New England Patriots, but an Oct. 5 date at the San Francisco 49ers is a more reasonable return timetable.

Failing that, Charles will rest through the Week 6 Chiefs bye and return Oct. 19 at the San Diego Chargers in Week 7. It is a crushing blow for owners who picked Charles No. 1 or 2 overall in drafts.

Having Davis stashed as a handcuff, or picking him up off waivers, can help minimize the damage. We should expect Davis to be good for at least 100 combined yards and a touchdown each week he is starting for the Chiefs.

Even if he doesn't get a lot of treading on the ground, he will pick up the pieces as a receiver in Reid's offense. Thomas might, too, in a Dexter McCluster-like role.

Adrian Peterson Returns

Matt Asiata served fantasy owners well in Peterson's absence, rushing for 36 yards and catching five passes for 48 yards and a touchdown, but he will go back to being mere insurance with Peterson being reinstated Monday by the Minnesota Vikings amid his legal troubles with child abuse.

General manager Rick Spielman explained the Vikings' tough decision to Matt Vensel of the Minneapolis Star Tribune:

"

I understand this is a difficult thing to handle, but we feel strongly as an organization that this is disciplining a child. Whether it's an abusive situation or not, whether he went too far disciplining, we feel strongly that that is the court's decision to make. ... We believe he deserves to play while the legal process plays out.

"

Peterson's return makes him an obvious must-start in fantasy terms. Asiata and rookie Jerick McKinnon won't have any immediate fantasy value, although the Week 2 examples of Charles and Peterson show the importance of stashing an elite running back's backups.

That will be tough to do once the bye weeks begin in Week 4.

Waiver-Wire Advice

Like Charles above, it was only a matter of time before we would be dealing with a Ryan Mathews absence. His skeptics saw that coming. It makes Donald Brown arguably more important than Knile Davis off waivers.

Michael Gehlken of the Union-Tribune San Diego expects Mathews to miss about a month, if not two, with a sprained MCL. Throw in the fact the San Diego Chargers have a late bye (Week 10), and you have to manage most of the bye season without Mathews.

Gehlken wrote:

"

Running back Donald Brown, signed to a three-year, $10.5 million contract in March, is expected to absorb the bulk of Mathews' work, potentially leading the team in touches in his absence. Danny Woodhead will remain in a role fairly similar to the one he currently occupies. He's led the backfield in snaps both games.

"

Brown is available in 83 percent of CBSSports.com leagues. He should be owned in that many for at least the next month. The Chargers are at the Buffalo Bills, home against the Jacksonville Jaguars and New York Jets and then at the Oakland Raiders. Save for facing the Jets' run defense that shut down Eddie Lacy this past weekend, Brown looks like a viable starter in all leagues.

See, it is good to have that insurance at the running back position, especially if you rely on an injury-prone back like Mark Ingram (broken hand), who is now out at least a month, according to NFL insider Adam Schefter:

Here is how we would rank your top 15 options on the waiver wire Tuesday night, depending on your needs and player availability, of course:

1. RB Jonathan Stewart, Carolina Panthers
2. RB Ahmad Bradshaw, Indianapolis Colts
3. RB Knile Davis, Kansas City Chiefs
4. RB Donald Brown, San Diego Chargers
5. RB Khiry Robinson, New Orleans Saints
6. WR Mohamed Sanu, Cincinnati Bengals
7. TE Niles Paul, Washington Redskins
8. QB Kirk Cousins, Washington Redskins
9. RB Bobby Rainey, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (see explanation below)
10. WR Miles Austin, Cleveland Browns
11. WR James Jones, Oakland Raiders
12. WR Kenny Stills, New Orleans Saints
13. TE Larry Donnell, New York Giants
14. WR Brian Quick, St. Louis Rams
15. TE Owen Daniels, Baltimore Ravens

Consensus Waiver Favorites

The following chart is published every week by FantasyPros.com, ranking the best of the waiver-wire options for Week 3. It is tough to know who might be available in your respective leagues, but this casts a wide swath of analyst favorites:

RK	Player	POS	TM	Consensus Rank	Best Rank	Worst Rank
1	Knile Davis	RB	KC	1.2	1	2
2	Bobby Rainey	RB	TB	2.2	1	3
3	James Jones	WR	OAK	4.8	4	8
4	Ahmad Bradshaw	RB	IND	6.2	3	14
5	Donald Brown	RB	SD	6.6	2	13
6	Khiry Robinson	RB	NO	7.2	6	10
7	Andrew Hawkins	WR	CLE	7.6	4	11
8	Travis Kelce	TE	KC	9.4	3	15
9	Jonathan Stewart	RB	CAR	9.6	6	12
10	Isaiah Crowell	RB	CLE	9.8	6	14
11	Larry Donnell	TE	NYG	10.6	5	14
12	Mohamed Sanu	WR	CIN	10.8	5	15
13	Brian Quick	WR	STL	10.8	5	17
14	Niles Paul	TE	WAS	12	10	13
15	Matt Asiata	RB	MIN	13.6	8	19
16	Miles Austin	WR	CLE	16.2	15	18
17	Jerick McKinnon	RB	MIN	16.6	16	18
18	Davante Adams	WR	GB	17	13	19
19	Andre Roberts	WR	WAS	17.6	15	19

Say Goodbye to Full Lineups

This Week 3 is the last slate you will have until Week 13—the week of Thanksgiving—that is not impacted by byes. You will want to get a head start on planning your fill-ins after Tuesday night's waivers run, if not before.

We don't get eased into it, either. The first set of byes strip us of Peyton Manning, Demaryius Thomas, A.J. Green, Marshawn Lynch, Montee Ball, Zac Stacy, Giovani Bernard, Andre Ellington, Julius Thomas, Larry Fitzgerald, Michael Floyd, Percy Harvin, Russell Wilson and Jeremy Hill.

You will want to plan ahead on finding starting options for those guys next week.

Here is the complete schedule of the bye season:

• Week 4: Arizona Cardinals, Cincinnati Bengals, Denver Broncos, St. Louis Rams, Seattle Seahawks and Cleveland Browns
• Week 5: Miami Dolphins and Oakland Raiders
• Week 6: Kansas City Chiefs and New Orleans Saints
• Week 7: Philadelphia Eagles and Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• Week 8: New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers
• Week 9: Atlanta Falcons, Buffalo Bills, Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers and Tennessee Titans
• Week 10: Indianapolis Colts, Minnesota Vikings, San Diego Chargers, Washington Redskins, New England Patriots and Houston Texans
• Week 11: Baltimore Ravens, Dallas Cowboys, Jacksonville Jaguars and New York Jets
• Week 12: Carolina Panthers and Pittsburgh Steelers

Thursday Night Start, Sit

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Start: Doug Martin, Vincent Jackson

Sit: Josh McCown, Bobby Rainey, Mike Evans, Austin Seferian-Jenkins, Brandon Myers, Patrick Murray and the Bucs D/ST

The Atlanta Falcons have been a defense to take advantage of through two weeks, particularly against running backs. The Falcons are dead last in fantasy against backs, per FFToday.com, giving up a league-high five rushing touchdowns.

This marks the perfect time for a Martin revival, particularly since he held out Sunday—perhaps to rest up for this short week.

Rainey might look like a great option off waivers (available in 55 percent of CBSSports.com leagues) because of his 144 yards rushing (22 carries) and 30 yards receiving (three receptions), but the heavy use on the short week and Martin's return combine to make Rainey a low-end flex option.

You are better off getting a different back.

Atlanta Falcons

Start: Matt Ryan, Julio Jones, Matt Bryant

Sit: Steven Jackson, Jacquizz Rodgers, Devonta Freeman, Roddy White, Harry Douglas, Devin Hester, Levine Toilolo and the Falcons D/ST

The Bucs defense hasn't been as much of a force as we expected, so you can see the Falcons putting up points here, but Ryan and Jones are the only sure things.

White is dealing with a hamstring issue that can limit him, so be prepared to sit him. He sat out Monday's practice, while Jones (ankle) was limited. If White is officially out, you can move Douglas into the starting category, perhaps.

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Eric Mack, one of the giants among fantasy writers, is the Fantasy Football Lead Writer for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter, where you can ask him endless questions about your team, rip him for his content and even challenge him to a head-to-head fantasy game.