NFL · Weekly Report
Week 3
Jahmyr Gibbs led the week with 37.9 half-PPR points, Matthew Stafford led it on usage.
Everything Week 3 gave us: what happened, what the usage says about the week ahead, and who to add. Read the Opportunity Points column before the points column — it is the one that survives to next Sunday. Fixed order, every week, and short.
Week 4 has not been played yet — our box-score export is complete through week 3, so everything below is week 3 and what it implies for week 4. Nothing on this page projects a result; the forward-looking sections say who to add and who to start, and stop there.
Opportunity Points: the leaderboard that travels
Opportunity Points price a player's volume at what that volume returns on average: 0.44 a pass attempt, 0.61 a carry, 1.38 a target. The rates are fitted by least squares over 29,407 regular-season player-weeks from 2020 to 2024, and the metric knows nothing about whether anything reached the end zone.
It leads the page because it predicts better than the box score. Held out on 2025, a season the rates never saw, a player's Opportunity Points correlated 0.633 with his points the FOLLOWING week against 0.569 for the points he actually scored, over 4,504 consecutive-week pairs. Same direction in sample (0.614 against 0.557, n=21,258). Volume carries; efficiency mostly does not.
| Player | Pos | Team | Opp pts | Share of offence | Points | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matthew Stafford | QB | LA | 25.4 | 24.1% | 22.9 | -2.5 |
| Jacoby Brissett | QB | ARI | 25.3 | 23.4% | 25.6 | +0.3 |
| Jordan Love | QB | GB | 23.9 | 24.2% | 19.5 | -4.4 |
| Michael Wilson | WR | ARI | 23.4 | 21.6% | 20.4 | -3.0 |
| Jahmyr Gibbs | RB | DET | 23.2 | 30.9% | 37.9 | +14.7 |
| Malik Willis | QB | MIA | 21.3 | 25.7% | 11.0 | -10.3 |
| Bryce Young | QB | CAR | 21.1 | 22.7% | 14.6 | -6.5 |
| Bijan Robinson | RB | ATL | 20.4 | 30.1% | 34.3 | +13.9 |
| Sam Darnold | QB | SEA | 20.4 | 21.9% | 29.7 | +9.3 |
| Dak Prescott | QB | DAL | 20.0 | 22.0% | 18.9 | -1.1 |
| Deshaun Watson | QB | CLE | 19.9 | 27.2% | 20.3 | +0.4 |
| Jeremiyah Love | RB | ARI | 19.7 | 18.2% | 19.4 | -0.3 |
Share of offence is his Opportunity Points as a fraction of everything his team generated, which is the version of the number that survives a blowout.
1. 317 players touched the ball, and they averaged 7.7
367 offensive players appear in Week 3's box scores across 32 teams, 317 of them with at least one attempt, carry or target. Those 317 averaged 7.7 half-PPR points and scored 2,457 between them.
Don't overreact. This is one week. Every rate on this page is computed on a single game per player, which is the smallest sample the sport offers, and the reason the leaderboard is sorted by usage instead of by points is precisely that one week of points is mostly noise.
2. The first three rounds: who returned the pick, and who quietly cost you
30 players who went inside the top 36 of preseason consensus ADP (captured 26 August 2026, averaged across six platforms) were in action. They averaged 15.7 points against 7.7 for everyone who touched the ball — which is the gap an early pick is bought for.
The four who paid it back:
| Player | Pos | ADP | Opp pts | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jahmyr Gibbs | RB | 1.0 | 23.2 | 37.9 |
| Bijan Robinson | RB | 2.0 | 20.4 | 34.3 |
| Jaxon Smith-Njigba | WR | 5.8 | 19.7 | 30.4 |
| Drake London | WR | 18.4 | 13.8 | 23.9 |
And the silent killers. No injury, no disaster on the stat sheet, just a third-round price for a bench-grade afternoon — the more expensive kind of miss, because nobody cuts them and the opportunity cost compounds:
| Player | Pos | ADP | Opp pts | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| De'Von Achane | RB | 11.2 | 3.2 | 1.7 |
| Justin Jefferson | WR | 12.2 | 2.8 | 4.2 |
| Malik Nabers | WR | 28.0 | 8.3 | 5.1 |
| Omarion Hampton | RB | 18.0 | 10.5 | 5.6 |
4. Buy low: the workload is already there
Everyone here cleared 8 Opportunity Points and scored less than that was worth. The workload is the durable half, so this is the list to trade for and the one to hold through a bad box score.
| Player | Pos | Team | Touches | Opp pts | Points | Shortfall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KC Concepcion | WR | CLE | 9 | 12.4 | 1.9 | -10.5 |
| Malik Willis | QB | MIA | 45 | 21.3 | 11.0 | -10.3 |
| Jonathan Taylor | RB | IND | 26 | 18.1 | 8.2 | -9.9 |
| Daniel Jones | QB | IND | 39 | 17.7 | 8.9 | -8.8 |
| Jacory Croskey-Merritt | RB | WAS | 20 | 12.9 | 4.8 | -8.1 |
| Ryan Flournoy | WR | DAL | 8 | 11.0 | 3.2 | -7.8 |
5. Waiver targets, in priority order
This list is Waiver Wingman itself, not a second opinion written for the article: the same projection snapshot, the same league-scoring conversion, the same value-over-replacement ordering and the same bid model the tool runs for a member's own league. The one thing the tool gets from a member and a public page cannot is the league, so this run assumes the common shape — 12 teams, one QB, two RB, two WR, one TE and a flex, half PPR, with replacement level set at the worst fixed-slot starter and the flex left out of that count — and treats anyone drafted outside the top 168 of preseason consensus as available. Point it at your actual league and the order will change, because your roster changes what each of these is worth.
| Player | Pos | Team | Proj | Over replacement | Suggested bid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dalton Schultz | TE | HOU | 9.3 | +1.6 | 15% (4–35%) |
| Bryce Young | QB | CAR | 18.5 | +1.1 | 6% (1–14%) |
| C.J. Stroud | QB | HOU | 17.4 | +0.0 | 2% (1–8%) |
| Mike Gesicki | TE | CIN | 7.3 | -0.4 | 1% (1–5%) |
| Kenyon Sadiq | TE | NYJ | 7.2 | -0.5 | 1% (1–3%) |
| Sam Darnold | QB | SEA | 16.4 | -1.0 | 1% (1–1%) |
| Pat Freiermuth | TE | PIT | 6.5 | -1.2 | 1% (1–1%) |
| Daniel Jones | QB | IND | 16.0 | -1.4 | 1% (1–1%) |
Bid ranges are Waiver Wingman's pooled prior: the 25th to 75th percentile of what a claim at that rank has actually cost, measured across 40 public Sleeper leagues and 2,566 paid claims sampled 2026-09-16. Shown as a percentage of your budget, because a dollar figure means nothing without one. The suggested figure is the median of that rank; move toward the top of the range if he would start for you this week and the bottom if he is bench depth. 2 of the 638 available players clear replacement level at their position, which is the honest size of this week's wire.
No ownership percentages, and that is a data gap rather than a style choice: nothing we run reads a rostered-percentage feed, so a number in that column would be invented. You know your league better than we do — in a shallow ten-team league half of this list is already rostered, and in a deep one none of it is.
Quarterbacks
Ranked by Opportunity Points rather than by what they scored. The bar for this position is 16.6, the median among QBs who touched the ball; above it is starter-grade usage.
Matthew Stafford, LA (ADP 94.2). He threw for 390 on 55 attempts with 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions and carried 2 times for 13 yards, worth 22.9 points. That volume priced at 25.4 Opportunity Points, 24.1% of everything his offence generated. Start with confidence. The usage earned the points, so neither number needed luck.
Jacoby Brissett, ARI (ADP 244.3). He threw for 280 on 52 attempts with 2 touchdowns and carried 4 times for 4 yards and 1 score, worth 25.6 points. That volume priced at 25.3 Opportunity Points, 23.4% of everything his offence generated. Start with confidence. Touches and production agree, which is the combination that repeats.
Jordan Love, GB (ADP 149.4). He threw for 312 on 53 attempts with 2 touchdowns and 1 interception and carried 1 times for 0 yards, worth 19.5 points. That volume priced at 23.9 Opportunity Points, 24.2% of everything his offence generated. Start him. The workload is already starter-grade and the scoreline has not caught up, which is the gap that tends to close.
Running backs
Ranked by Opportunity Points rather than by what they scored. The bar for this position is 6.6, the median among RBs who touched the ball; above it is starter-grade usage.
Jahmyr Gibbs, DET (ADP 1.0). He carried 20 times for 99 yards and 2 scores and caught 7 of 8 targets for 65 yards and 1 score, worth 37.9 points. That volume priced at 23.2 Opportunity Points, 30.9% of everything his offence generated. Start with confidence. Touches and production agree, which is the combination that repeats.
Bijan Robinson, ATL (ADP 2.0). He carried 29 times for 194 yards and 2 scores and caught 2 of 2 targets for 19 yards, worth 34.3 points. That volume priced at 20.4 Opportunity Points, 30.1% of everything his offence generated. Start with confidence. He was given a starter's work and did a starter's job with it; there is nothing here to explain away.
Jeremiyah Love, ARI (ADP 27.8). He carried 21 times for 90 yards and caught 5 of 5 targets for 19 yards and 1 score, worth 19.4 points. That volume priced at 19.7 Opportunity Points, 18.2% of everything his offence generated. Start with confidence. He was given a starter's work and did a starter's job with it; there is nothing here to explain away.
Receivers
Ranked by Opportunity Points rather than by what they scored. The bar for this position is 5.5, the median among WRs who touched the ball; above it is starter-grade usage.
Michael Wilson, ARI (ADP 88.6). He caught 11 of 17 targets for 89 yards and 1 score, worth 20.4 points. That volume priced at 23.4 Opportunity Points, 21.6% of everything his offence generated. Start with confidence. The usage earned the points, so neither number needed luck.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba, SEA (ADP 5.8). He threw for 14 on 1 attempts and caught 10 of 14 targets for 128 yards and 2 scores, worth 30.4 points. That volume priced at 19.7 Opportunity Points, 21.2% of everything his offence generated. Start with confidence. Touches and production agree, which is the combination that repeats.
Davante Adams, LA (ADP 50.0). He caught 7 of 13 targets for 137 yards, worth 17.2 points. That volume priced at 17.9 Opportunity Points, 16.9% of everything his offence generated. Start with confidence. Touches and production agree, which is the combination that repeats.
Tight ends
Ranked by Opportunity Points rather than by what they scored. The bar for this position is 4.1, the median among TEs who touched the ball; above it is starter-grade usage.
Brock Bowers, LV (ADP 22.8). He caught 10 of 13 targets for 116 yards and 1 score, worth 22.6 points. That volume priced at 17.9 Opportunity Points, 24.8% of everything his offence generated. Start with confidence. The usage earned the points, so neither number needed luck.
Trey McBride, ARI (ADP 21.6). He caught 9 of 11 targets for 75 yards, worth 12.0 points. That volume priced at 15.2 Opportunity Points, 14.0% of everything his offence generated. Start with confidence. Touches and production agree, which is the combination that repeats.
Tyler Higbee, LA (ADP 317.5). He caught 8 of 11 targets for 62 yards and 1 score, worth 16.2 points. That volume priced at 15.2 Opportunity Points, 14.3% of everything his offence generated. Start with confidence. The usage earned the points, so neither number needed luck.
Efficiency: points per Opportunity Point
Points scored for every point their volume was worth, among the 126 players who cleared 8 Opportunity Points. Above 1.00 beat his usage. This is the column that does NOT predict next week — it is here so you can see which of this week's big numbers were earned and which were bought.
| Player | Pos | Touches | Opp pts | Points | Per opp pt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| George Kittle | TE | 7 | 9.6 | 23.2 | 2.42 |
| Brock Purdy | QB | 29 | 13.1 | 31.3 | 2.39 |
| Kalif Raymond | WR | 7 | 9.6 | 18.0 | 1.88 |
| Tee Higgins | WR | 7 | 9.6 | 18.0 | 1.88 |
| Kenyon Sadiq | TE | 8 | 11.0 | 20.0 | 1.82 |
| Juwan Johnson | TE | 8 | 11.0 | 19.3 | 1.75 |
| Drake London | WR | 10 | 13.8 | 23.9 | 1.73 |
| Bijan Robinson | RB | 31 | 20.4 | 34.3 | 1.68 |
| Harold Fannin Jr. | TE | 9 | 12.4 | 20.6 | 1.66 |
| Jahmyr Gibbs | RB | 28 | 23.2 | 37.9 | 1.63 |
Negative regression candidates
The mirror of the buy-low list: they scored well past what their volume was worth. Not a sell signal on its own — but if somebody offers you a real price this week, this is the list to listen on.
| Player | Pos | Team | Touches | Opp pts | Points | Overshoot |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brock Purdy | QB | SF | 29 | 13.1 | 31.3 | +18.2 |
| Jahmyr Gibbs | RB | DET | 28 | 23.2 | 37.9 | +14.7 |
| Bijan Robinson | RB | ATL | 31 | 20.4 | 34.3 | +13.9 |
| George Kittle | TE | SF | 7 | 9.6 | 23.2 | +13.6 |
| Jaxon Smith-Njigba | WR | SEA | 15 | 19.7 | 30.4 | +10.7 |
| Drake London | WR | ATL | 10 | 13.8 | 23.9 | +10.1 |
More from ATO
Waiver Wingman · Weekly projections · Preseason ADP · Schedule · College weekly recap
Points are half-PPR on the same table the weekly scoreboard uses, computed from nflverse box scores. Opportunity Points price a player's pass attempts, carries and targets at what each returns on average, fitted over five finished seasons and graded on a sixth the fit never saw; the grade is printed in the report. Salaries and our pre-slate projections are DraftKings', and the value-per-dollar table is a record of one slate rather than a prediction of the next. Nothing here is betting advice.
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