Fantasy Football Week 3: Victor Cruz and 4 Most Surprising Performances

Victor Cruz led the charge of unheralded players exploding in Week 3, but are any of them relevant in fantasy football?

Every week, a few players will leap up from under the radar and straight to the head of the line on waiver wires nationwide. Sometimes, one game can signal a trend for the rest of the season, but sometimes it's just a blip on the screen.

So, of this week's unexpected explosions, who really deserves your attention?

Victor Cruz, New York Giants WR

Did somebody forget to tell Victor Cruz that the preseason is over?

The New York Giants' favorite workout warrior finally delivered in a game that counts on Sunday, exploding for 110 yards and two touchdowns on just three catches. Cruz showed an outstanding combination of speed, agility and hops on his two touchdown catches, though the Philadelphia Eagles' poor tackling probably deserves some of the credit as well.

Cruz has shown these skills before, but whether he can actually carve out a role in the Giants passing game will determine his fantasy value. Hakeem Nicks is the incumbent as the Giants deep threat, and unless Nicks is injured, I don't anticipate that his role will change much.

Cruz may have one or two more games like this, but it's unlikely that he'll see enough of the ball to be a consistent performer the rest of the way.

James Casey, Houston Texans TE

A new fantasy stud seems to emerge from the Houston Texans every week. This time, it was backup tight end James Casey, who smoked the New Orleans Saints for 126 yards and a touchdown on five receptions.

Casey showed impressive athleticism at times, laying out in the end zone to snag his touchdown. His 62-yard reception, however, is actually a bit less impressive than it seems. The Saints brought the house on a blitz, choosing to leave Casey uncovered. Matt Schaub made the Saints pay, finding his tight end with a quick pass.

Casey did well to rumble downfield, but he was tracked down from behind fairly easily once the Saints realized what happened.

That play is actually a great illustration of Casey's fantasy potential. There's a little something there, but it's mostly a mirage.

Casey had a great day on Sunday, but he's still behind Owen Daniels in the Texans tight end pecking order. Daniels was targeted more often than Casey and reeled in just as many receptions.

Unless you're truly desperate for a tight end, leave Casey on the waiver wire.

Torrey Smith, Baltimore Ravens WR

Torrey Smith is finally starting to deliver the value that the Baltimore Ravens expected when they drafted him in the second round of this year's draft.

Smith torched the St. Louis Rams defense for three first quarter touchdowns and a total of 152 yards on five catches. Smith was a perfect illustration of the old football adage, "If I'm even, I'm leavin,'" running away from coverage while the ball was in the air.

Joe Flacco has always had the arm strength to push the ball downfield, but he's lacked a receiver to run down his bombs. In Smith, he finally has the speedster he's been waiting for.

If you have an available bench spot, Smith is a great speculative pickup. He'll likely be inconsistent, but he'll almost assuredly find his way into the end zone a few more times, which makes him a valuable commodity.

LaDanian Tomlinson, New York Jets RB

It seems every time the fantasy community starts to forget about Ladanian Tomlinson, he reminds us of what he's capable of. In Oakland on Sunday, Tomlinson turned just 11 touches (six rushes and five receptions) into 154 total yards and a touchdown.

Nearly half of his yardage came on a single play. Tomlinson lined up as a receiver in a five-wide set and took a screen pass 74 yards to the Raiders' 2-yard line. LT looked good on the play, breaking a couple of tackles before streaking downfield behind a fantastic block by Plaxico Burress.

This effort may seem encouraging, but don't get the wrong idea. Tomlinson is still clearly the second banana in New York. Shonn Green received more carries than Tomlinson, as well as more targets in the passing game.

If you have LT, look for a trading partner who might buy into his apparent renaissance.

Michael Jenkins, Minnesota Vikings WR

Michael Jenkins has been an enigma for much of his career, occasionally scraping the ceiling of his potential but usually leaving his team (and fantasy owners) wanting more. This week's game against the Detroit Lions was one of those potential-scraping occasions.

Jenkins was Donovan McNabb's favorite target on Sunday, snagging nine catches for 88 yards. Even more impressive though was the fact that McNabb looked Jenkins' way 11 times, more than twice as many as any other Vikings receiver. Unfortunately, this game was an aberration, not a trend.

Jenkins' eleven targets in Week 3 is nearly double his output for the first two games combined.

There isn't a true No. 1 target in the Minnesota passing game, but Percy Harvin would certainly be in line for that role before Jenkins. Keep your eye on him, but there's no need to burn a roster spot on Jenkins at this point.