Fantasy Football: 4 Trends to Know Heading Into Week 3

Two weeks of the 2024 NFL season have now been completed, giving us more information on how teams may look on both sides of the ball. To stay ahead of your opponents and maintain an advantage in fantasy football, it can be valuable to keep an eye on certain trends around the league.

Whether it's a player's usage, a team's offensive pass or rush rate, or a team's defensive scheme, it's beneficial to understand what information can be used for our fantasy football squads. Following another week of action, here are a few trends to know ahead of Week 3's slate of games.

All NFL projections via our numbers at FanDuel Research, and NFL odds references are to FanDuel Sportsbook.

Fantasy Football Trends to Know for Week 3

The Seahawks Are Throwing More AND Playing Faster Than Last Year

With Shane Waldron calling plays as the offensive coordinator of the Seattle Seahawks in 2023, Seattle had the seventh-highest pass rate over expected and they played at the seventh-fastest pace in the NFL. Under new offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb, the Seahawks are throwing it more often and playing at a faster pace than last season.

Through the first two weeks, Seattle's offense owns the fourth-highest pass rate over expected and are playing at the third-fastest pace in the league. This bodes well for those who placed trust in Geno Smith, D.K. Metcalf, and a potential second-year breakout campaign for Jaxon Smith-Njigba.

At the moment, Smith is QB9 in fantasy points per game (18.4), Metcalf is WR16 in fantasy points per game (14.2), and Smith-Njigba is WR28 in fantasy points per game (10.3) in half-PPR scoring formats. As our Aidan Cotter pointed out, Tyler Lockett might be someone to consider dropping with Metcalf and JSN possessing larger roles in the new-look offense.

Entering Week 3, the Seahawks will have a favorable matchup versus the Miami Dolphins after facing the Denver Broncos and New England Patriots to open the season. While the Dolphins won't have Tua Tagovailoa available -- which could limit how aggressive the Seahawks have to be -- Miami's defense is giving up the fourth-most expected points added per drop back (0.21) and the eighth-most deep yards per target (13.5), via NextGenStats.

Slot WRs Are Crushing It So Far

If you were to look at the top performers at the WR position across the first two weeks, there is a common theme between some of the players. Even though it's just a two-week sample, three of the top four -- and four of the top seven -- WRs in fantasy points are either tied or have the most slot snaps on their respective team.

Chris Godwin of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is currently the highest-scoring WR (39.5) in half-PPR leagues with a team-high 32 slot snaps, per PFF. With Godwin returning to his usual slot role in 2024 under new offensive coordinator Liam Coen, he's pacing the Bucs in target share (32.7%) and yards per route run (4.26).

Jayden Reed has the third-most fantasy points (36.7) to begin his second year with the Green Bay Packers as he's leading the team with 40 slot snaps. In a Green Bay offense that has plenty of mouths to feed, Reed has a 17.8% target share and 26.3% air yards share with 3.87 yards per route run, and his usage should improve whenever Jordan Love returns under center for the Packers.

Justin Jefferson doesn't need an introduction as he continues to excel on the Minnesota Vikings with Sam Darnold at QB, tying for a team-high 19 slot snaps with Brandon Powell. Jefferson is the fourth-highest scorer at WR thus far (35.2) with a healthy 27.7% target share, 48.0% air yards share, and 4.27 yards per route run.

Just to bring it back to the Seahawks, Smith-Njigba leads the entire NFL in slot snaps (65), which has helped him thrive in the early going. Teams have continuously tried to have their best pass-catchers operate out of the slot at times to create advantageous matchups, and it's paying off for plenty of WRs to begin the 2024 campaign.

James Cook Could See More Red-Zone Work

James Cook is an explosive player with the ball in his hands, and he saw an increased workload when Joe Brady became the offensive coordinator of the Buffalo Bills in the latter part of last season. Cook finished last season as the RB19 in fantasy points per game (12.4), and that was certainly aided by two performances where he notched 22-plus fantasy points in the final five weeks of the year.

The one concern with Cook carrying an overall ADP of 36.0 (RB14) in FantasyPros' consensus average draft position (ADP) in the offseason was his lack of red-zone usage. According to Pro Football Reference, Cook garnered just 29.0% of Buffalo's carries inside the 20-yard line, 28.1% of the carries inside the 10-yard line, and a mere 12.5% of the carries inside the 5-yard line during the 2023 season.

It's well-known that the Bills have given the green light for Josh Allen to handle the majority of short-yardage and goal-line touches since he became the starting QB. However, Cook could be in store for an increased role in the red zone as he's gotten two carries inside the five-yard line this season, which is already half of his total from a season ago.

Make no mistake about it, Allen will remain the primary goal-line threat for the Bills, indicated by his team-high 41.7% red-zone rushing share to begin the year. At the same time, Cook has seemingly closed the gap a bit with a 33.3% red-zone rushing share, and he's coming off a game where he scored three touchdowns -- one of them being a goal-line attempt and another being a red-zone reception. If Cook continues to get more work in the red area, his ADP could be justified, and he can conclude the season as a top-10 performer at the RB position.

The Eagles Defense Is Giving Up Plenty of Big Plays

The Philadelphia Eagles struggled on both sides of the ball down the stretch last season, which led head coach Nick Sirianni to bring in two new coordinators entering the 2024 season. Offensive coordinator Kellen Moore seems to have the offense running a bit more smoothly with more motion and answers for when opposing teams send blitzes at Jalen Hurts, but the defense looks out of sorts under Vic Fangio.

Although Fangio is no stranger to calling plays on defense -- and he's undoubtedly coached some dominant defenses over the years -- the Eagles have been permitting explosive plays at an alarming rate to begin the season. Even though Philly escaped with a win in Week 1 over the Packers, allowing chunk plays led to a disappointing defeat to the Atlanta Falcons in Week 2.

Against the run, the Eagles are giving up a league-worst 6.4 yards per attempt, and they are surrendering the second-most rushing yards over expected per attempt (2.01) and the third-most rushing expected points added per attempt (0.15) to RBs. After letting Josh Jacobs and Bijan Robinson run loose in their first two games, Philly will be tasked with slowing down Alvin Kamara in Week 3 following a four-touchdown outing from the dynamic back.

As for the pass defense, the Eagles are permitting the 7th-most expected points added per drop back (0.07), 11th-most deep yards per target (11.9), and 6th-most air yards per attempt (9.00). On Monday night, Philadelphia's defense gave up 3 passes of 11-plus yards as the Falcons drove down the field with ease to score the game-winning touchdown, and Kirk Cousins averaged 12.1 yards per completion while Bijan added 6.9 yards per rushing attempt on the ground.

The amount of big plays being allowed by the Eagles could spell trouble ahead of a road matchup versus a rejuvenated New Orleans Saints offense that has produced 91 points in the first two weeks under new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak. At the moment, it's hard not to like Kamara, Chris Olave, and Rashid Shaheed in season-long leagues and DFS in Week 3.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.