The Week 3 matchup between the Baltimore Ravens and the Jacksonville Jaguars should present an intriguing matchup as far as the wide receiver position is concerned. We've got the fantasy projections courtesy of numberFire.
Baltimore Ravens
Not too many fantasy owners could have predicted that Mike Wallace would be playing as far beyond his value as he is right now. He has only caught seven passes in the two games he has played, but Wallace has converted those catches into 132 receiving yards and three touchdowns. Much like Washington’s DeSean Jackson, Wallace was never one for racking up the receptions, but he can be a deep threat that produces huge numbers despite fewer targets than many of the game’s elite receivers. Whether he can sustain this kind of production for an entire season at his age remains to be seen, but the Jaguars haven’t exactly done a good job of stopping their first two opponents. They will be hard-pressed to do that against Baltimore.
Should Wallace be held in check this week, perhaps Dennis Pitta might be worth a look in fantasy leagues. He has struggled to stay healthy throughout his career, but Pitta is a big target. He saw the ball come his way 12 times last week and he converted nine of those into catches for 102 receiving yards. It’s hard to say whether he will be a consistent producer week to week, but with the Ravens lacking a running game and true No. 1 receiver, quarterback Joe Flacco will find himself looking towards the middle of the field often, especially when he is under pressure. That can only be good for Pitta.
Jacksonville Jaguars
Although Blake Bortles provided steady fantasy production for his fantasy owners last week, he is not exactly playing lights out football. He benefited from the fact the Jaguars were down big time against the San Diego Chargers last week and was forced to throw the football. Still, Bortles did manage to eclipse 300 passing yards for the second week in a row and managed to toss two touchdown passes in the game. He unfortunately also threw two interceptions and this week he’s up against a Ravens defense that has given up the third least amount of points to fantasy quarterbacks this season. Bortles may not top his fantasy projections this week.
Fantasy owners of wide receiver Allen Robinson hope that he still gets his points regardless of how Bortles’ day ends. After scoring double digits in touchdowns last year and adding 1,400 receiving yards, Robinson has just nine catches for 126 yards and no touchdowns through two games this season. For a guy capable of averaging nearly 100 yards the game that simply isn’t good enough for Robinson’s fantasy owners. The good news is that he’s way too big and too talented to be held down for long. Jacksonville is due for their first win of the season and Robinson’s performance this week will likely go a long way to determining whether both the Jaguars and fantasy owners come out victorious in Week 3.