Last week gave us a ton of excellent performances from multiple players (Lamar Jackson, Tua Tagovailoa, Jalen Hurts, Amon-Ra St. Brown) that you hopefully had in your NFL DFS lineups. Week 3’s daily fantasy football main slate is loaded with a ton of interesting matchups, which means there will be plenty of potential value sleepers and star players putting up points. Our Yahoo DFS tournament lineup targets what we hope is a good mix of both, saving salary at our QB, RBs, and TE spots while spending up at WR.
Before we discuss our strategy and picks for Week 3, remember that you only have a $200 budget to work with for Yahoo DFS, so it’s a bit of a different vibe than FanDuel or DraftKings. Also, here are the most notable scoring rules for Yahoo contests, which are similar to FanDuel: four-point passing TDs and half-point PPR.
WEEK 3 DFS LINEUPS: FanDuel | DraftKings
Yahoo DFS Picks Week 3: NFL DFS lineup for GPP tournaments
Sunday main slate (does not include Sunday night), $200 budget
QB Derek Carr, Raiders @ Titans ($29). Carr played better than he did in Week 2, but it was not enough for the Raiders to defeat the Cardinals. The veteran quarterback completed 25-of-39 passes for 252 yards and two touchdowns (18.98 fantasy points). It was the second consecutive week that Carr threw at least two touchdown passes. He should be in line for one of his better performances this week against the Titans’ defense, which gave up 41 points to the Bills on Monday night. Tennessee’s defense has allowed the eighth-most points to quarterbacks this season (23.4 fantasy points per game). If Carr can score between 20-25 fantasy points in Week 3, he might be one of the better steals at QB.
RB Joe Mixon, Bengals @ Jets ($29). Mixon did not perform well last week against a Cowboys’ defense that rose to the occasion after they allowed 127 rushing yards to Leonard Fournette in Week 1. However, Mixon recorded 22 touches (19 carries) and played the majority of snaps. The good news for the veteran running back is he has a favorable matchup against the Jets’ defense, which allowed 184 rushing yards to the Browns in Week 2. When the Bengals and Jets faced off last year, Mixon had 18 touches for 91 yards and two total touchdowns. Mixon is due to score, which should help boost his value in Week 3.
RB Miles Sanders, Eagles @ Commanders ($17). We are going to go with a value play in Sanders, who has looked good through the first two weeks of the regular season. If he was able to put the ball in the end zone or get a touch inside the 20-yard line, he likely would’ve had another 17-point performance on Monday night. Sanders will be going up against the Commanders, who are giving up 26.2 FPPG to running backs this season. Sanders isn’t exciting, but he provides good value this week.
WR Davante Adams, Raiders @ Titans ($35). After seeing what Josh Allen and Stefon Diggs were able to do on Monday night to the Titans’ defense, it was a no-brainer to go with Carr and Adams are our QB-WR DFS stack. Adams had a quiet Week 2 due to the Cardinals’ defense holding him to two receptions (seven targets) for 12 yards and a touchdown (8.2 fantasy points). There will not be many weeks that Adams will have fewer than 10 fantasy points, and I don’t expect the Titans to keep him in check. If the Raiders’ offensive line can protect Carr, Adams should rebound with 70-plus receiving yards and a touchdown.
WR Michael Thomas, Saints @ Panthers ($23). Thomas is surprisingly just $23 after scoring a touchdown for the second-straight week. The veteran wide receiver has reassumed his role as the Saints’ No. 1 WR and looks like the guy we saw before the ankle injury. In Week 2 against the Bucs, Thomas had six receptions (nine targets) for 65 yards and a touchdown (15.5 fantasy points). Carolina’s secondary has some playmakers and has not allowed a single touchdown to wide receivers this season. However, that could change against a QB who isn’t Jacoby Brisett or Daniel Jones.
WEEK 3 STANDARD RANKINGS:
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Kickers
WR Drake London, Falcons @ Seahawks ($17). The rookie wide receiver is the real deal and a top-three receiving option in the Falcons’ offense. London scored his first NFL touchdown last week against the Rams, to go along with eight receptions (12 targets) for 86 yards and a touchdown (20.6 fantasy points). London has led Falcons’ receivers in targets through two weeks, and that won’t change against the Seahawks. Seattle is allowing 25.7 fantasy points per game to wide receivers, despite playing a run-heavy San Francisco team in Week 2. We could see London, DK Metcalf, and Tyler Lockett all go off in this game, so don’t be afraid to game stack here.
TE Gerald Everett, Chargers vs. Jaguars ($15). If Keenan Allen (hamstring) does not play on Sunday against the Jags, Everett needs to be in your DFS lineup. After not being much of a receiving threat last season in Seattle, Everett has 14 targets through the first two weeks of the season. The Jaguars have not had the toughest of tight end matchups to the start season (Commanders, Colts), so we are banking on Everett to continue to get targets and producing in the Chargers’ passing game.
WEEK 3 PPR RANKINGS:
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Kickers
FLEX Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Chiefs @ Colts ($17). Since we went light at RB2 on salary, we will go with another RB in Edwards-Helaire for our FLEX spot. The former LSU running back has looked solid in the first two weeks of the season. Last week against the Chargers, Edwards-Helaire had 12 touches for 118 yards, which is what you want to see from a non-workhorse running back. Despite not scoring a touchdown, he still managed to score double-digit fantasy points (13.8) for the second consecutive week. The Colts’ defense was humiliated last week against the Jaguars, so they will be looking for a better showing. However, with the talent that Kansas City has, Edwards-Helaire will have some opportunities to make plays as a runner and receiver.
DEF Texans @ Bears ($16). To wrap up our Week 3 DFS lineup, we will roll with the Texans’ defense, which did not look bad last week against the Broncos. Houston only allowed 16 points while also producing three sacks and one interception. They could replicate this performance against a Bears’ team that isn’t good offensively and isn’t the strongest on the offensive line. Lovie Smith will have this defense ready to go, and it should be a good differentiator in DFS tournaments.
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