Omarion Hampton and Jaylen Waddle both let managers down in Week 3, and both bad games carry real warning signs. Drake Maye and Malik Nabers are also worth worrying about, because their problems look tied to their situations and not to one bad week.
Omarion Hampton's Backfield is Getting Crowded
Hampton carried 15 times for 56 yards and failed to catch his only target in the Chargers' 24-16 loss to Buffalo. That was the second time in three games he ran for fewer than 60 yards. He scored 5.6 PPR points, a steep drop from the 18.5 he posted in Week 2 when he was the RB7.
The usage is what worries me. Hampton barely edged Keaton Mitchell in snap share (42% to 36%) and touches (15 to 11), and Mitchell had the better underlying metrics. Cockcroft also said Mike McDaniel seems to be moving toward a more rotational approach. Hampton has also lost a fumble in each of the first two weeks, which can cost a young back the coach's trust.
I still treat him as an RB2 and would not sell at a discount. Mitchell is available in 84.4% of ESPN leagues, though, so he is a smart handcuff. Hampton's next test is Seattle in Week 4.
Jaylen Waddle is the Boom-Bust Trap
Waddle caught 2 of 7 targets for 10 yards in Denver's 30-26 win over the Rams. He added a 14-yard carry and a two-point conversion. That came out to 6.4 fantasy points. It followed an 8-catch, 138-yard game in Week 2, and he has now had one usable game in three weeks.
Managers spent a fourth-round pick on him. Denver gave him seven targets, tied for the team lead with Courtland Sutton and RJ Harvey, but five players topped his receiving yards. The volume is there, and the efficiency is not.
I'm panicking a bit, because while seven targets is a healthy number the efficiency isn't there through three weeks. Coming into Week 4 he is an upside WR3 for now looking like a boom-or-bust based on the matchup ahead. The bad news is that Week 4 is a road trip to San Francisco. Treat him as a flex play until the yardage returns.
Article Continues BelowDrake Maye has a Floor Problem
Maye was intercepted for the third straight week and scored fewer than 10 fantasy points for the third straight week. His 3.76 points on Sunday were the fewest he has scored in any non-Week 18 start of his career.
TRAVIS HUNTER INTERCEPTS DRAKE MAYE IN THE END ZONE pic.twitter.com/3CIHTYZClE
— SleeperNFL (@SleeperNFL) September 27, 2026
His struggles are tied to A.J. Brown's absence, and Maye now faces a brutal schedule that includes a trip to Buffalo in Week 4. His rushing keeps him from being a flat-out cut, but he isn't a viable starter in standard leagues right now. If you're streaming quarterbacks, this is a week to look elsewhere.
A Quarterback Problem for Malik Nabers
Nabers scored only 7.6 points in Week 3. That followed a 1.1-point Week 2, and those are two of his four worst career scores. He's been working with Jameis Winston since Jaxson Dart went down for the season.
Across those two games, Nabers has been targeted 10-plus yards downfield only three times. Those targets produced one catch for 13 yards and an interception. He may struggle to deliver even WR2 value without a quarterback upgrade and even with the addition of JJ McCarthy it's hard to see good times ahead for the former 2-3 round draft pick in this year's fantasy football drafts.