NFL Week 3: Daily Fantasy Preview

Week Three here we come! Last week had a couple of big misses (Tyreek Hill, Shady McCoy) but overall the performances by Ty Montgomery, Tom Brady, Buck Allen, and Zack Ertz helped land me some nice finishes in tournaments. I hope that everyone else had some success also. In week 3 fantasy players are starting to get acclimated to most of the offenses in the league and DFS players need to get creative in building their lineups. You want to balance risky plays with no-brainers in each tournament. You will not win tournaments by playing the same 5 guys that the majority of the field has…it just won’t happen.

A good strategy is to look at WR/DB comparisons weekly to determine if there are any mismatches each week. Maybe a number 3 WR will step up and catch a few TDs for you at a low cost. A move like that will differentiate your team from the rest of the field. Overall, I will continue to give top plays each week broken down in tiers. Here you go:

Quarterback

Aaron Rodgers (Dk $7.3, FD $9.3)

Of course we all expect Rodgers to do have a good game every time that he takes the field but out of all of the top QBs he seems like the one that is in the best situation to me. At home and going up against a Cinci D that does not seem to be completely on the same page so far this year is an ideal set up for Rodgers. This may be a week to pay down at QB and grab a mid-tier guy in order to put funds into the skilled positions.

Jay Cutler  (DK $6.1, FD $7.4)

Jay Cut is going up against a very weak Jets defense. He seems to have found a top target in Landry and I expect a nice balanced attack from Miami this week. The run could set up Cutler to hit Davante Parker down field on one or more deep balls. Most of Miami’s offense will be chalk this week but ownership won’t be high enough for you to avoid the players.

Deep Sleeper: DeShone Kizer (DK $5.0, FD $6.9)

This is an extremely contrarian play. I do not expect Kizer to light the world on fire but he is not scared to go downfield and he has upside with his running ability. He won’t be priced this low forever so I would say use him in a few GPP lineups while you can at such a low cost. Expect around 17 points. Nothing too crazy but the savings can help you build studs around him.

Running Back

Le’Veon Bell, (DK$8.8, FD $8.7)

Bell has not looked like himself so far this year but I expect this to be the game that he and Antonio Brown get back to being the studs that they have been over the last couple of seasons. Bell is by far my number 1 expensive back and will most likely pair him with Brown in some lineups. This is the week for Pitts offense.

Ty Montgomery, (DK $6.9, FD $7.2)

Sunday Night Football did not disappoint last week and Ty did exactly what most fantasy players expected. He was one of the highest used backs of the week and for good reason. He is on the field for over 90% of Green Bay’s offensive plays so it just makes sense to keep riding the Ty Montgomery wave. There will be a game to completely fade him but this is not it.

Deep Sleeper: Theo Riddick ( DK$5.1, FD $5.6)

He is one of the best pass catching running backs in the league and is going up against the Falcons who historically give up yards to running backs that catch the ball well. There is still a lot of people that are trying to get in on the action in Detroit but Riddick is a reliable weapon for Stafford and Stafford knows it. Riddick is a great cheap option for Week 3 especially on Draftkings where receptions mean more.

Wide Receiver

Antonio Brown (DK $9.0, FD $9.0)

Brown has no touchdowns yet. He will get at least one this week. If you have the money, spend it on him.

Davante Adams (DK $5.6, FD $6.8)

Rodgers built a nice rapport with him last season and although he is not lighting the world on fire right now numbers-wise he has still been consistent over 2 weeks. If Jordy Nelson is out Adams may move up to one of my top plays overall. The targets will go up and he is always a deep threat to break one.

Deep Sleeper: Torrey Smith (DK $3.6, FD $5.3)

Carson Wentz isn’t scared to go downfield. Torrey Smith still has speed to beat most D-Backs in the league. Torrey will line up against Eli Apple a lot on Sunday. Eli Apple has struggled this year…..you figure out the answer.

Tight End

Zach Ertz (Dk $5.0, FD $6.5)

Ertz is moving into the Kelce/Gronk category. He is always a threat for double digit targets and his YAC has improved this year. The only thing missing is touchdowns. If he starts getting them watch out!

Martellus Bennett (DK $4.0, FD $5.6)

Still not sure how I feel about this one (especially with Adams and Ty already highlighted) but I do expect Rodgers to look Bennett’s way more in the red-zone. Ultimately, you want TDs from tightends. One short catch can equal a huge day by another tightend without a TD.

Deep Sleeper:  Hunter Henry (DK $3.9, FD $5.5)

Henry looked like he is starting to become a big part of the Chargers offense last week. He is going up against a KC defense that can give up yardage up the middle. The chiefs are playing out of their minds right now so a Rivers/Henry pairing might be a great contrarian play in a big tournament.

Defense

Denver Broncos (DK $3.6, FD $5.1)

The Bills could not move the ball last week and Shady McCoy was shut down. I expect much of the same this week from a Broncos D that is playing like they are the best defense in football. Usually, I would say to find a Defense that is cheaper but it is worth it to pay for the top priced D this week. Pay low for WR2 or WR3 and spend up here.

Philadelphia Eagles (DK $3.0, FD $4.5)

The Giants O-line looks like it cannot stop anybody and Philly’s strong point is their defensive line. It seems like a no-brainer play especially with the price that Philly is coming in at. Beware though that the Eagles can give up points and they do not have any defensive backs that can contain OBJ. Their scoring will be mostly based on sacks and turnovers which I expect.