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"&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em &gt;People magazine runs an annual feature on the 25 most intriguing people of the year. Barbara Walters hosts an annual special on the 10 most fascinating people of the year. Borrowing People\u2019s adjective and Babs\u2019 number, we offer you the 10 most intriguing fantasy football performers of the week. This is a subjective list, of course. It might not include some of the players most intriguing to you personally. But for one reason or another, a great many fantasy owners are anxious to see how these players fare in their upcoming games.&lt;/em&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;h3&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Julio Jones vs. Houston&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;At this rate, Julio\u2019s 2015 reception total will eventually surpass the number of Waffle House franchises in the Atlanta metropolitan area. (But unlike Waffle House hash browns, Julio can\u2019t be covered or smothered.) Jones has 34 catches, the highest three-game total to open a season in NFL history, and 440 receiving yards, putting him on pace for 2,347 (which would break Calvin Johnson\u2019s single-season yardage record of 1,964 from 2012).\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Matt Ryan targeted Jones 20 times against the Cowboys on Sunday, and Julio finished with 12 catches for 164 yards and two touchdowns. The Falcons host the Texans this week, and Houston has a good pair of veteran cornerbacks in Johnathan Joseph and Kareem Jackson. But Joseph and Jackson are both under six feet tall and will have a hard time matching up physically with the 6'3\" Jones. At this point, Houston\u2019s best chance of slowing down Julio is having J.J. Watt and the rest of the Texans\u2019 pass rushers put Ryan under duress.\r\n\r\n&lt;h3&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Carson Palmer vs. St. Louis&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;There is no finer place in America to grow old than Arizona, with its warm, dry weather and ample golf courses. The Grand Canyon State is especially hospitable to aging quarterbacks. Kurt Warner thrived in Arizona during the twilight years of his career, and now 35-year-old Carson Palmer is aging ever so gracefully as a member of the Cardinals, playing what might be the best football of his 13-year career. He\u2019s averaging an insane 9.13 yards per passing attempt and has thrown for 803 yards and nine touchdowns.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Perhaps the only concern with Palmer is that he\u2019s only slightly more mobile than Michelangelo\u2019s statue of David. Palmer is willing to stand patiently in the pocket and wait for his receivers to come open, sometimes at his own peril. Fortunately, the Cardinals\u2019 offensive line has done a fine job of protecting the venerable quarterback to this point, allowing just one sack. This week the Cardinals host the Rams, who\u2019ve given up only two touchdown passes and can bring a fierce pass rush. Holding onto the ball too long with Rams defensive linemen Aaron Donald and Robert Quinn lurking is as foolish as poking a desert rattlesnake with a stick.\r\n\r\n&lt;h3&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Ryan Mathews at Washington&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Is there a running back controversy percolating in Philadelphia? The Eagles had a woeful 70 rushing yards in their first two games, and&amp;nbsp;DeMarco Murray, who was signed to a five-year, $40 million in the offseason, had 21 carries for 11 yards. Murray was a Week 3 scratch due to a hamstring injury, so Mathews got the start and ran 25 times for 108 yards against a good Jets defense in a 24\u201317 Eagles victory.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;We\u2019re already hearing talk that Mathews is a better fit for Chip Kelly\u2019s offense, and that Murray, the reigning NFL rushing king, should be relegated to a complementary role. But in Murray\u2019s defense, the Eagles\u2019 offensive line played far better against the Jets than it had in the losses to the Falcons and Cowboys. It seems a little too early to cast aspersions on Murray\u2014even for Philadelphia sports fans, who have booed Mike Schmidt, Allen Iverson and Santa Claus. If Murray returns to action this week, it will be fascinating to see how he and Mathews share carries against a very good Washington run defense that\u2019s giving up 75.0 rushing yards per game and has allowed only one touchdown run.\r\n\r\n&lt;h3&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Brandon Marshall at Her Majesty\u2019s Realm&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Oy! Wot the bloody \u2019ell was you thinkin\u2019 with that lat\u2019ral attempt, Brandon? I haven\u2019t seen a howler like that since the last Newcastle United match! Some bloomin\u2019 rubbish, that. No more dodgy business, eh mate?&lt;/em&gt; Sorry ... just trying to get in the mood for some English football. Well, not English football per se, but American football in England. This isn\u2019t just some Jaguars game either. It\u2019s Jets vs. Dolphins, longtime divisional rivals who get on with each other about as well as those squabbling Gallagher brothers from Oasis. Best of all, it\u2019s a morning kickoff! I recommend watching the game while enjoying a full English breakfast. And don\u2019t leave out the black pudding, which tastes better than it looks and works wonders on a hangover.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Oh ... back to Marshall. Yes, his boneheaded move proved costly in a 24\u201317 loss to the Eagles. Jets fans might still be stewing over it, but Marshall\u2019s fantasy owners can no doubt find it in their hearts to forgive a guy who\u2019s scored three touchdowns and is averaging better than 90 yards a game.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;h3&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Michael Vick vs. Baltimore&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Suppose you were the betting type and were offered 2-to-1 odds on how Michael Vick will fare in place of the injured Ben Roethlisberger, who sprained his MCL on Sunday and is expected to be out 4-6 weeks. Let\u2019s say the three choices were \u201Cgreat,\u201D \u201Cacceptable\u201D and \u201Cawful.\u201D Where would you put your money? I have no idea how to handicap this one.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Vick remains physically gifted even at 35, with fleet feet and a live arm. He\u2019ll also have WR Antonio Brown and RB Le\u2019Veon Bell at his disposal, with suspended WR Martavis Bryant due back next week. But it\u2019s fair to wonder how comfortable Vick is with Todd Haley\u2019s offense, having only been with the Steelers for five weeks. Vick has also been a turnover waiting to happen for years now. Adding further intrigue to the unveiling of Vick 3.0 is the fact that it will happen in a nationally televised Thursday-night game against the Steelers\u2019 archrivals, the Ravens. Place your bets.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;h3&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Karlos Williams vs. N.Y. Giants&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;A lot of fantasy owners were wary of LeSean McCoy heading into this season after something of a down year in Philadelphia and a move to a seemingly much worse offense in Buffalo. The Bills actually rank second in offensive yardage after three games, but McCoy is averaging 3.4 yards per carry and dealing with a hamstring injury that\u2019s likely to sideline him for this week\u2019s game against the Giants.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;McCoy\u2019s injury puts the spotlight on Williams, an impressive-looking rookie from Florida State who was somehow available in the fifth round of this year\u2019s draft. Surprisingly nimble for a bigger back, the 6'1\", 230-pound Williams is averaging 7.8 (!) yards per carry on 24 attempts and has run for a touchdown in each of his first three games. It\u2019s going to be fun to see what he can do with extra touches against a Giants defense that\u2019s been surprisingly stingy against the run so far, allowing 74.7 rushing yards per game.\r\n\r\n&lt;h3&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Colin Kaepernick vs. Green Bay&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Kaepernick was so bad in a 47\u20137 loss to the Cardinals on Sunday that 49ers&amp;nbsp;coach Jim Tomsula began the Q&amp;A portion of his postgame press conference by fielding a series of questions about Kap\u2019s job security. Kaepernick staked Arizona to an early 14\u20130 lead by throwing two interceptions that were returned for easy touchdowns. He wound up completing 9-of-19 passes for 67 yards with no touchdowns and four interceptions. In fairness to Kaepernick, he had a pretty decent passing day in a Week 2 43\u201318 loss to Pittsburgh, completing 71.7% of his throws for 335 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. He\u2019s given his fantasy owners the rushing numbers they expected, running for at least 41 yards in each of his starts this season, with one touchdown.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Kaepernick owners might wince at the idea of starting the embattled quarterback this week, but Kap will be facing the Packers, whom he\u2019s tortured all three times he\u2019s faced them in his career. He\u2019s 3\u20130 against Green Bay, 2\u20130 in playoff games. In those three starts he\u2019s averaged 300.7 passing yards and 100.3 rushing yards, with six total touchdown passes and two touchdown runs. If you think Kaepernick stinks, don\u2019t bother telling Packers defensive coordinator Dom Capers.\r\n\r\n&lt;h3&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Amari Cooper at Chicago&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The rookie wide receiver class of 2014 may eventually go down as the finest in NFL history. This year\u2019s rookie receiver crop isn\u2019t quite as bountiful, but Cooper is a jewel. Drafted fourth overall, Cooper has been splendid thus far, with 20 receptions for 290 yards and one touchdown. The rookie from Alabama has been positively electric with the ball in his hands, with well over half of his receiving yardage coming after the catch. On Sunday, Cooper will face the Bears, who have allowed eight touchdown passes and are making opposing quarterbacks look Joe Montana-like with a league-worst 123.8 passer rating against.\r\n\r\n&lt;h3&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Keenan Allen vs. Cleveland&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Allen is a streaky son of a gun, isn\u2019t he? He blasted out of the gates in Week 1 with 15 catches for 166 yards against Detroit, had only two catches for 16 yards against Cincinnati the following week, then had 12 catches for 133 yards and two touchdowns against Minnesota.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;We\u2019ve seen this sort of thing before. Allen did little in the first few games of his rookie season in 2013, then kicked it into gear and finished with 71 catches for 1,046 yards and eight touchdowns. With high expectations in 2014, Allen produced 109 yards and zero touchdowns over his first three games. He erupted for 10 receptions and 135 yards in Week 4, then had fewer than 30 receiving yards in each of his next two games. He got hot in late November, amassing 17-225-3 over a two game-stretch, then had 21 yards and zero touchdowns in Weeks 14 and 15\u2014critical weeks for fantasy owners\u2014before his season ended with a broken collarbone. But Allen is hot &lt;em&gt;now&lt;/em&gt;, which is all that matters, right? So what could possibly go wrong for Allen\u2019s fantasy owners this weekend when the Browns visit San Diego and put ace CB Joe Haden on our inconsistent friend?\r\n\r\n&lt;h3&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Greg Olsen at Tampa Bay&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Knowing that Cam Newton does a lot of things well but isn\u2019t exactly a pinpoint passer, Panthers GM Dave Gettleman selected Devin Funchess in the second round of this year\u2019s draft, providing Newton with a gargantuan pair of receivers: the 6'4\", 225-pound Funchess and the 6'5\", 245-pound Kelvin Benjamin. Well, Benjamin ripped up his knee in the preseason and Funchess hasn\u2019t been able to earn substantial snaps, so Newton\u2019s top wide receiver has been 5'11\", 185-pound Ted Ginn. Funny how things so rarely go according to plan in the NFL, isn\u2019t it?\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;But the Panthers still have the 6'5\", 253-pound Olsen, and Newton has peppered his rangy tight end with 25 targets over the last two weeks. Olsen had six catches for 70 yards in Week 2, then had eight catches for 134 yards and two touchdowns against the Saints. Olsen will be challenged this week by a Buccaneers defense that\u2019s giving up only 4.5 fantasy points per game to opposing tight ends.\r\n&lt;/p&gt;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.si.com/fantasy/2015/09/30/fantasy-football-week-4-most-intriguing-players>