Fantasy Football fool’s gold: 3 players you should believe in, 2 players you shouldn’t in Week 3

Injuries have certainly made a mess of the fantasy football landscape over the past week. The top overall pick in most drafts, Christian McCaffrey landed on injured reserve prior to Week 2 thanks to Achilles' tendinitis while several other stars, including Justin Jefferson, Cooper Kupp and Isiah Pacheco, left their contests early due to their own injury concerns.

The bright side of fantasy football is that there is always an opportunity to find value on the waiver wire as a new crop of players posted big results in Week 2. Who proved trustworthy and whose emergence is fool's gold? Read on for this week's edition of Trust Or Bust ahead of the waiver claim period in your league.

Fantasy Football Fool's Gold: Week 3 Report

Quentin Johnston, WR, Los Angeles Chargers

Fantasy players are very familiar with Johnston, who was a first-round pick for Los Angeles last year and had a very disappointing rookie campaign. Even with the departures of Keenan Allen and Mike Williams in the offseason, few had high hopes for Johnston, who had to compete with Joshua Palmer and rookie Ladd McConkey for target share in new coach Jim Harbaugh's run-first offense.

The script flipped for Johnston in Week 2 against the woeful Carolina Panthers as he feasted with five catches for 51 yards and two touchdowns in Los Angeles' blowout win. The binge came on six targets for Johnston, which is pretty consistent with the five targets he received in a 3-38 line in Week 1.

While J.K. Dobbins and the running game are the priority for the Chargers' offense, Johnston does appear to be one of the primary receiving threats for Justin Herbert and has first-round pedigree in his favor. The two spikes may be an aberration, but given the lack of other proven targets in Los Angeles there is a WR3 PPR floor here for Johnston that can be useful, especially for fantasy teams that have had a big receiver go down.

Verdict: Trust

Carson Steele/Samaje Perine, RB, Kansas City Chiefs

We're listing Steele and Perine together here because they are the first options up in relief of Pacheco, who is likely headed to IR after breaking his fibula late in Week 2. Steele received most of the work after Pacheco left the game, recording seven carries for 24 yards, while Perine received one touch in his second game on the roster.

While the Chiefs have had Steele on their roster most of the summer, Perine has a proven NFL pedigree thanks to some productive stints in Washington, Cincinnati and Denver. Former first-round pick Clyde Edwards-Helaire is currently on the Non-Football Injury List and can return in two weeks while an external addition, like former Chief Jerick McKinnon, can't be ruled out either.

This situation is a bit messy as Pacheco is clearly the only running back Andy Reid trusted as his primary option, which could indicate a committee approach to the run game in Pacheco's absence. Simply having Patrick Mahomes throw the ball more is also a great option, so stay away from this backfield unless a clear favorite emerges to replace Pacheco over the next few weeks.

Verdict: Bust

Derek Carr, QB, New Orleans Saints

Carr had a massive performance in Week 1 but most fantasy players wrote off his effort due to the fact that it came against the woeful Panthers. A step up in competition awaited Carr and the Saints with a trip to Dallas in Week 2 and the upgrade was no problem for Carr, who helped guide the New Orleans offense to 35 first-half points in a blowout of the Cowboys, with his personal highlight being this 70-yard touchdown bomb to Rashid Shaheed.

The Saints saw Carr finish the day with 243 yards passing on just 16 attempts, racking up two touchdown passes and a rushing score on a QB sneak for good measure. There was one pick from Carr, but he has now compiled a sparkling 5:1 touchdown to interception ratio as he clearly is in a good rhythm in Klint Kubiak's new system.

There are plenty of weapons for Carr to play with in New Orleans, including Alvin Kamara (who had four touchdowns on Sunday) and Chris Olave, a proven stud receiver who has yet to fully break out this season. The upcoming schedule doesn't look tremendously difficult for Carr, who just torched one of the best defenses in the league, so hop on board now if you have a need to upgrade at QB.

Verdict: Trust

Braelon Allen, RB, New York Jets

One of the more surprising fantasy lines in Week 2 came in Nashville as a Jets' running back put up two touchdowns, one rushing and one receiving. While most would assume that was Breece Hall's total, it actually came from his direct backup, rookie Braelon Allen.

The Jets started using Allen when Hall needed a breather in the second quarter and he showed some surprising burst in the backfield, racking up 33 yards on seven carries, including the go-ahead 20-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. Allen also showed some chops as a receiver, adding two catches for 23 yards and a touchdown catch from Aaron Rodgers earlier in the day.

A look at the game tape showed that the Jets did have some packages in their scheme that got both Hall and Allen on the field together, but Hall out-touched the rookie 21-9 (which is to be expected) and dominated the snap count. While Allen is a worthy stash in case Hall suffers any kind of injury, expecting standalone value from two backs in a Nathaniel Hackett-coordinated offense is unwise.

Verdict: Bust

Hunter Henry, TE, New England Patriots

Tight end remains a vast wasteland in fantasy football that has become even harder to navigate as expected studs like Travis Kelce, Sam LaPorta and Mark Andrews have gotten off to slow starts. There will always be interest in tight ends who can demonstrate value in the passing game, which makes one-time fantasy star Hunter Henry worth monitoring in New England.

After a quiet Week 1, Henry exploded in Week 2 with eight catches for 109 yards, easily pacing the Patriots' passing attack. The rest of New England's receiving room combined to match Henry's 12 targets, although rookie Ja'Lynn Polk did snag the only touchdown pass from Jacoby Brissett on the afternoon.

Expecting big things out of the New England passing game is a bit foolish and a short-week trip to face the Jets' rugged defense is problematic but the Patriots' schedule does soften a bit after a date with San Francisco in Week 4. Given the anemic production most tight ends have offered up this season, seeing Henry emerge as the potential top target for the Patriots is a positive development.

Verdict: Trust