Mahoneyball: Cameron crowns Week 3 with Caleb and company

Week 3 — Fancy Football IX

The crown stays hot

Cameron Mahoney earned the crown with a blistering 180.0, making it three straight top-half finishes and a statement chase for the season lead. He built a balanced juggernaut around Caleb Williams (29.1), Jordan Mason (26.6), Puka Nacua (25.8), Jaxon Smith-Njigba (20.6), Keenan Allen (19.5), and the Steelers D/ST (16). Even with a modest day from Bijan Robinson (16.1), Cameron simply avoided the landmines that wrecked the field.

The chase and the pivots that paid

Ed Ulreich (167.2) took silver on the back of the smash Vikings D/ST (30) and a heater from Nico Collins (26.4), while Jim Chrystal (152.0) also rode the Vikings defense to the podium. Mike Mckenna (147.4) leaned on a vintage Jonathan Taylor ceiling (35.8) to land 4th, and Mike Fior (142.8) found the slate’s best one-off pivot with the lone share of David Montgomery (32.4) to round out the top five.

Chalk that crushed and chalk that crashed

• The good: Jordan Mason (26.6; 31.6% drafted) and Caleb Williams (29.1; 21.1%) were near must-haves for anyone climbing the ranks. Juwan Johnson (11.1; 21.1%) did his TE job without sinking lineups.
• The bad: CeeDee Lamb put up a slate-breaking zero at 36.8% rostered, while Zay Flowers sputtered to 3.3 at 26.3%. The defense spread was massive with the Vikings D/ST posting 30, but the Saints D/ST (-2) and Bengals D/ST (-1) punished their backers.

Sneaky hits and near-misses

• One-dude dart: Marcus Mariota (21.3) was drafted by just one contestant (CJ O’Neil), and it helped propel him into the top 10.
• Tight end tilt: Jake Ferguson (21.2) was a low-rostered difference-maker and helped Kristyn Morrison cling to 19th—the final “win” spot.
• Bubble heartbreak: Ryan Christensen landed 20th with 118.7, just 2.1 shy of the cut line, with Ben Maier posting the same total right behind him.

Standings snapshot

Jordan Rana remains atop the year-long table with 443.7, but Cameron is breathing down his neck at 442.1—just 1.6 points back—both riding W3 streaks. Ed Ulreich’s runner-up rocket jumped him back into the mix, while the Lamb/Flowers chalk crash sent a slew of lineups tumbling out of the top half.

Congrats to Cameron—fade the traps, nail the values, wear the crown.