The third week of the fantasy football season is coming up and with a number of interesting games going on around the league, there are some players that will perform better or worse than others and some names to watch include Rashard Mendenhall, Chris Ogbonnaya, Ray Rice and Reggie Bush.
There are some exciting games on the schedule this week, including on Monday night with the Denver Broncos hosting the Oakland Raiders and also with the San Francisco 49ers playing host to the Indianapolis Colts. The Chiefs and Eagles get things started on Thursday and the big news around the NFL is the Cleveland Browns trading running back Trent Richardson was traded to the Indianapolis Colts in a surprise deal that changes things up for both teams.
Once Trent Richardson was dealt, fantasy owners started to take a look at the Browns running back situation and with Chris Ogbonnaya and Bobby Rainey on the roster, many thought they would be solid options. The team is signing Willis McGahee to make up for the loss and while Ogbonnaya could get more carries now that Richardson is gone, he is not a legitimate option in fantasy and likely will be a bust this week against the Minnesota Vikings on the road.
The Browns did not do much in the running game over the first two weeks with Richardson and now that a player of his talent is gone, chances are the rushing game won't improve much. The team is ranked near the bottom of the league in rushing and Richardson had only 105 yards in two games before he was dealt. Some in the media said that Richardson was not a good fit for the offense the Browns were running and now he likely will get a boost with the Colts.
Andrew Luck was the primary offensive player for the Colts and now he has another player in the backfield that can be very good and it should take some pressure off him for the Colts. The Browns likely are preparing for the 2014 draft now that they have multiple picks in the first, third and fourth rounds and now fantasy owners will be trying to figure out the best course of action for their teams.
Reggie Bush was banged up last week and he has been as good as advertised so far and while the team is playing an awful Redskins defense, chances are they will improve after two awful games for the team. Bush has been an excellent receiver and he has rushed for 115 yards this season so far.
Mendenhall is leading the Cardinals in rushing and while the Saints are not the best rush defense team in the league, they are playing at home and the emergence of Andre Ellington will hurt him. Ray Rice and the Ravens play a tough Houston team and owners should be cautious with his start after dealing with his hip last week.
