Top daily fantasy football plays for Week 3 of the NFL season

SB Nation will be bringing you the top daily fantasy options each week through the regular season and into the playoffs. We have a small sample size of which offenses look good to target and others to avoid until further notice. As for who should be in your lineups, here are the top value plays of the week, with an eye toward low ownership and high upside.

Stafford is as hot as any quarterback in the league, yet he is still priced like a third-tier starter. And facing the Falcons at home should not be a sign that things will slow down anytime soon. This game has shootout written all over it, with Stafford perfectly capable of 300 yards and 3-4 touchdowns. At his price, that is an epic steal.

I believe in the redemptive powers of the Saints defense. I believe Newton, after two sluggish performances, is ready to show off his surgically-repaired arm. I expect Christian McCaffrey will turn at least one short Newton pass into a touchdown. It’s get-well week for Cam.

Like Stafford, Cousins is priced low and takes part in a game with shootout potential. That’s about all Cousins and Stafford have in common after two games, but I’m willing to give Cousins the benefit of the doubt here, especially with Rob Kelley potentially out of the lineup, forcing Washington to throw first and throw often.

Until he actually shows that his touchdown explosion the first two weeks is some sort of fluke, I’m totally ok with throwing him into my lineups. The Bills defense has been impressive, but the Broncos offense has it all working, with Siemian the main benefactor.

Throw last week out the window. Everyone knew Kizer was going to struggle on the road against a brutal Baltimore defense. The Colts are nowhere near as dangerous, especially if Vontae Davis is out again. Kizer should be able to wake up a few echoes this week as a passer and a runner.

Brees at home is one of the best fantasy quarterbacks there is. Brees on the road against a good defense is another matter. If this game were at the Superdome, I’d be all set to get on board for the second-highest QB salary on DraftKings. But in Carolina, I can’t justify not paying the extra $100 and going up to Aaron Rodgers. Frankly, if I’m paying up at QB (and I’m not) I would fade both of them and go down to $7,100 and play Matt Ryan.

Also consider: Derek Carr, Oakland; Philip Rivers, Los Angeles Chargers; Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks.

Here’s hoping players on DraftKings see Le’Veon Bell just $800 more – and an unusually cheap $8,800 overall – and also get spooked by the red “No. 1” under opponent’s rank and just stay away, because that Chargers’ stat is super misleading. C.J. Anderson and Jay Ajayi had big games against the Chargers the first two weeks and we know what Hunt is capable of. I love him as a sneaky high-priced play.

I wrote about it in my start/sit article, but the Saints are the worst team in the league at defending pass-catching running backs and McCaffrey is certainly due for a breakout game. His price tag is depressed for the amount of production available to him this week and his ownership should be low after two underwhelming performances.

Anderson has been one of the top stories of the year at running back, completely ending any mystery over who should be the main back in Denver, something that wasn’t decided when training camp began. Anderson should keep on rolling against a Bills defense that has been better, but hasn’t faced a back as hot as Anderson through two weeks.

Tarik Cohen lit up the Falcons as a pass-catcher in Week 1. Ty Montgomery was almost a carbon copy in Week 2. See a trend here? Riddick should be just as busy in a back-and-forth affair, having posted a big game against the Cardinals in Week 1 when his services were needed. He was quiet against the Giants after his team took a big lead, so hopefully that drives people away. He’s got 20-point upside, maybe more.

Thompson has already racked up three touchdowns through two games and should see an increased workload against the Raiders if Rob Kelley is unable to play. He should also see an increased workload because this potential shootout is going to call for more passing than handoffs. Thompson is well underpriced for his level of production.

If the Broncos can totally remove Ezekiel Elliott from a game even though he’s on a team with a great offensive line and established wide receiver options, what can McCoy do, despite the huge number of touches he’s expected to receive? Most weeks, McCoy’s price would seem fair, but in a matchup that’s as tough as it gets, he’s a bit too rich for tournament blood.

Also consider: Ty Montgomery, Green Bay Packers, Chris Carson, Seattle Seahawks; Derrick Henry, Tennessee Titans.

Green has not been anywhere near the player we expected him to be thus far in 2017, and that’s great news this week, as the Bengals finally get a defensive matchup that they can exploit. I believe the shake-up on the coaching staff and the 10-day break will all work together to finally get the Bengals offense moving in the right direction, and Green is more than capable of putting up a big number against a defense that was shredded last week by Atlanta.

The Buccaneers are among the league’s worst at stopping slot receivers, and if Sam Bradford is back under center, Thielen is in position to take full advantage. Even with Case Keenum starting last week against the Steelers on the road, Thielen posted a respectable number. Check Bradford’s status, but regardless, Thielen should be a solid play this week.

With Mike Evans expected to draw Xavier Rhodes, this seems like a good week to look to the opposite side of the formation and give the Buccaneers’ newest acquisition a look. For almost 2k less on DraftKings you get a receiver who can burn the Vikings deep while they focus on stopping Evans.

Along the same lines as DJax, I had some Sanu in my lineups last week and he paid off nicely with 13.7 points on DraftKings. With all the attention paid to Julio Jones, I wouldn’t be surprised if Sanu duplicated that performance this week, which would pay off his salary nicely. He’s a low-owned contrarian play in a game likely to be a shoot out.

Funchess is in a terrific spot to crush his salary against a terrible pass defense in a role that should expand now that Greg Olsen is on the shelf. The potential has always been there for Funchess and this is a great spot for him to realize it.

I always hate paying up for guys who spend the week on the injury report. Even if they play, it never seems to work out with the kind of game you need to justify the salary. The Cincinnati offense has been awful, but the defense is strong enough to make me think twice about relying too heavily on the Packers offense, especially the injured players like Nelson and Randall Cobb.

Also consider: Doug Baldwin, Seattle Seahawks; Michael Crabtree, Oakland Raiders; Brandon Coleman, New Orleans Saints.

Kelce exploded last week with an 8-103-1 line against the Eagles. The Chargers are among the worst teams in the league at defending the tight end position and Tyreek Hill is likely to draw the Chargers’ best defender, Casey Hayward. The field could be wide open for Kelce to post another monster game.

Ertz is racking up targets and yards as Carson Wentz’ favorite pass-catcher, and that should continue against a Giants defense that allows big games to tight ends. Ertz gets an even bigger boost if Janoris Jenkins is able to suit up and defend Alshon Jeffery.

Antonio Gates got his milestone touchdown last week, and now the Chargers can get back to focusing on the true talent at tight end. The Chiefs allowed Ertz to go wild last week, so the opportunity is there for Henry to improve on his 7-80 line at a discount price.

The Browns remain the gold standard for targeting tight ends and Doyle has been about the only bright spot in the Colts offense through two weeks. He should be plenty active – and perhaps chalky – this week.

No one seems to be paying attention, but DeValve has posted two solid performances in a row, with eight DK points in each game. That’s better than 3X his salary, which makes him an excellent punt.

Also consider: Evan Engram, New York Giants; Eric Ebron, Detroit Lions; Austin Hooper, Atlanta Falcons.