Washington

Commanders

Forbes was initially listed as questionable after avoiding a stint on injured reserve this week, ultimately failing to do enough throughout the week to play against the Bengals. He is now only 10 days removed from a surgery to repair a torn UCL in his thumb, meaning he could be at risk of missing Week 4 as well.

The journeyman edge rusher has the Commanders’ only two sacks through two games. Coach Dan Quinn does not expect it to be a long-term issue, so Ferrell should have a decent shot at returning for Week 4.

McLaurin has eight catches on 12 targets through two games but has only converted those looks in 39 yards. The veteran receiver is seeing more shallow targets than ever, giving him fewer chances to find explosive plays. Another issue for McLaurin and the entire passing game has been Jayden Daniels’ propensity to take off when pressured. Daniels leads the NFL with 11 scrambles this year. Kingsbury’s comments are encouraging for fantasy managers who drafted McLaurin as a potential WR2, but it’s going to be hard for him to turn his season around in this version of the Washington offense. He remains a frustrating WR3 for his Week 3 date with the Bengals.

McCaffrey was on the field in a rotational role for his second game but failed to see one look through the air. The Commanders also made free agent addition Noah Brown active for this game, putting one more pass-catcher in the mix for WR2 and WR3 duties. No one outside of Terry McLaurin his on the fantasy radar in this receiving room.

Ertz’s highlight of the day was a 21-yard reception to open the second half. Jayden Daniels threw a deep floater to the veteran tight end that Giants safety Jason Pinnock broke on for a likely interception. Ertz ripped the ball from Pinnock’s hands to save the interception and come up with a chunk gain. He finished the day with a team-high in receiving yards. Ertz isn’t an exciting fantasy option, but he’s an every-down player who knows the system. He is a viable TE2 off the waiver wire for fantasy managers desperate at the tight end position.

Brown finished the day tied for second on the team in targets but fifth in yards. He was not targeted in Week 1. Brown is a rotational pass-catcher on a team struggling to get its biggest names going early in the year. He is not a viable fantasy option for Week 3.

The Commanders spent all summer looking for a potential WR2 and even traded away Jahan Dotson after determining he wasn’t the answer. They may have found their man after roster cuts in Noah Brown, who was released by the Texans ahead of Week 1. His role could grow as he continues to get more familiar with Kliff Kingsbury’s offense. Brown isn’t on the fantasy radar heading into Week 3, but fantasy managers will want to keep an eye on his target share versus the Bengals.

The bulk of McLaurin’s targets came around the line of scrimmage. Offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury tried to get him going with some layup targets but the veteran wideout couldn’t turn them into anything. McLaurin now has 39 receiving yards on the year. Zach Ertz topped that number in Week 2 alone. Jayden Daniels’ struggles as a passer have trickled down to McLaurin and it’s going to take time for the rookie to find his footing. The decrease in passing volume via Daniels’ rushing hasn’t helped either. Until the Commanders’ offense improves, McLaurin will struggle to get beyond a WR3 rank.

Ekeler opened the game with a 98-yard kick return for a touchdown that was called back because of a penalty on the Commanders. His role on offense, however, remained unimpressive in this game. He saw 11 touches to Brian Robinson’s 18. However, just like in Week 1, Ekeler was impressively efficient on his limited workload. He averaged 10.3 yards per touch last week and held strong at 7.7 YPT versus the Giants. Ekeler is the clear backup in this backfield, but the light workload will help him maintain strong efficiency numbers after a dismal 2023 season had many questioning how much he had left in the tank. Ekeler ranks as an RB3 heading into his Week 3 matchup with the Bengals.

Robinson only managed to bring in one of his three targets for a three-yard gain. Still, he looked the part of a running back who can lead his backfield in touches while still maintaining his efficiency. Robinson has out-carried Austin Ekeler 29-10 through two games and is averaging six yards per carry. He picked up 40 yards on a third-and-one that saw him plunge into a pile of linemen only to materialize on the other side of the pile a second later with plenty of room to run. Robinson still gave up some work to Austin Ekeler on passing downs, but he’s seeing plenty of work between the tackles and breaking chunk plays off at a strong clip. He will sit at the back of the RB2 ranks for the Commanders’ Week 3 game versus the Bengals.