Mike Wallace's Fantasy Trade Value, Updated Outlook After Week 3

Miami Dolphins receiver Mike Wallace continued to confuse fantasy owners with another disappointing performance in Week 3 against the Atlanta Falcons.

The Fins’ big-money offseason acquisition voiced his dissatisfaction with his lack of involvement in the team’s offense after a poor showing in Week 1. He followed that up with a breakout game in Week 2, gaining more than 100 yards and a touchdown against the Indianapolis Colts.

But fantasy owners who gained confidence from that big game were let down again in Week 3 as Brown was blanketed by Asante Samuel and saw just five passes come his way. He caught only two for 22 yards.

Quarterback Ryan Tannehill didn’t look in his direction once during the team’s game-winning drive. He has more value to the Dolphins as a decoy than to fantasy owners, clearly.

Wallace may have received a big payday to become the Dolphins’ No. 1 receiver, but he’s not shown he has the ability to beat the top corners in the NFL. Unless he can win those matchups, he’s going to struggle to gain Tannehill’s confidence—and the fantasy opportunities his owners are counting on by deploying him in their starting lineups.

Moving forward, it’s impossible to consider Wallace a must-start receiver. He has a lot of upside if he can get a favorable matchup, but you’ll want to weigh your other options carefully before counting on him for production.

If possible, you might want to consider unloading him for another receiver who isn’t the focal point of defensive game plans. It might be a hard sell, but if you play it right, you could potentially get a more consistent producer if you’re willing to give up something at another position.

Wallace’s five targets in Week 3 are closer to the mean than the 11 times Tannehill looked in his direction in Week 2. In 2012, he was targeted seven times per game as he had some of the same struggles finding separation.

There’s no doubt you can count on a big game here or there from the speedy receiver, but the risk of a dud performance is just too high to really consider him a top fantasy option on a weekly basis.