NFL DFS – Main Slate Optimizer Groups (updated) & Stack Rankings (updated) + Full Game Notes (complete) – Week 3

This article focuses on building lineups with a quality foundation by utilizing the powerful Groups and Rules/Limits tools within the industry’s optimization tools. All of the concepts and pairings included below can also apply to hand-building. The goal is to create lineups with strong correlations among likely point-scorers to maximize the gains from infrequent scoring events within stacks while limiting the likelihood of building inefficient or negatively correlated entries for a full slate of NFL DFS lineups.

This video was made in a former life and features a detailed demonstration of how to apply these concepts in one leading optimizer tool: Fantasy Cruncher – How-To Video

All references to Sims were done via friends of the site: acemind.io

Don’t miss the Above/Below feature article for a few of our top picks, coming Sunday morning

Game notes are updated during the week and initially posted as “work in progress” as they take a long time to create, if teams are missing notes simply check back later in the day/week and they should be updated.

2026 Week 3 DraftKings & FanDuel NFL DFS Stack Rankings

The following stack rankings were created by pairing each team quarterback with his top three scoring options, whether they are three wide receivers, two wide receivers and a tight end, a wide receiver, tight end, and running back, or any viable combination. In some cases, an expensive running back can push the overasll price point of his team stack in the value rankings.

TEAM	OPP	FD$	FDpRank	FDvalRank	DK$	DkpRank	DKvalRank	Vegas
DET	GB	$32,500	1	1	$29,200	1	1	1
ATL	SF	$29,400	3	4	$25,300	2	4	7
CIN	BAL	$31,900	5	17	$28,200	3	16	6
SF	ATL	$29,100	2	2	$25,000	4	8	3
LAR	LV	$29,600	4	6	$25,300	5	10	4
LV	LAR	$28,200	7	9	$25,200	6	11	11
GB	DET	$27,200	6	3	$23,700	7	7	4
BAL	CIN	$29,000	8	16	$23,600	8	9	13
HOU	NYG	$26,400	9	5	$22,100	9	6	2
MIN	IND	$27,400	10	11	$24,100	10	15	7
CAR	TB	$28,200	12	18	$25,800	11	18	9
IND	MIN	$27,200	13	13	$23,300	12	13	18
NYJ	MIA	$27,400	11	12	$23,500	13	14	12
DEN	ARI	$25,600	14	8	$20,900	14	5	9
CLE	TEN	$25,000	16	10	$20,200	15	3	15
TB	CAR	$24,700	15	7	$20,000	16	2	14
ARI	DEN	$24,700	17	14	$24,200	17	19	15
NYG	HOU	$26,700	18	19	$22,000	18	17	20
TEN	CLE	$23,100	19	15	$19,600	19	12	17
MIA	NYJ	$23,500	20	20	$19,100	20	20	18

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Week 3 DraftKings & FanDuel NFL DFS Stacks & Optimizer Groups

Overview

Rules and limits are powerful tools for lineup creation for NFL DFS, where our primary focus is creating highly correlated lineups via stacking players from the same game. Lineups will typically be coordinated around the quarterback selection, which informs at least one pass-catcher choice, establishes a budget, eliminates a defense, and sets the tone for the lineup. We will typically look to correlate a quarterback and at least one of his pass-catchers in every lineup, with many of those including a skill player from the opposing team. This player is included to support the stack in a high-scoring game that drives offense on both sides, creating additional correlated scoring potential. Stacking multiple pass-catchers in the same lineup is a sound approach, though there are typically overall ceilings on how much volume is available at any given position. While pass-catching running backs can be prioritized in stacks and group tools, including running backs who are not involved in the passing game is less important at this stage; they will fall naturally into shares as needed. High-volume backs and pass catchers out of the backfield can be included in the groups utilized below, but it is frequently not necessary to do so with the very best players, they arrive in lineups without help.

Rules and limits are typically applied in an optimizer’s Advanced Options menu. Notes are included to illustrate the reasons behind each rule and explain what it does during the lineup creation process. These settings can typically be saved for re-use, which is highly recommended. Saving the groups created below is also a good idea that will save time with updates instead of recreation each week. These groups are created manually, but most optimizers include automated group creators that can help accelerate the curation process.

DraftKings + FanDuel Settings & Advanced Options

Note – Terminology may vary from site to site but these are common functions across most industry tools.

Unique Players Per Lineup– This setting forces the optimizer to utilize at least X new players who were not in Lineup 1 when it creates Lineup 2, and so on. We recommend a setting of at least two unique players, more can be applied depending on the degree of differentiation desired within lineups.

Team Salary– a minimum or maximum salary spend can be applied here as needed, although leaving salary on the table is an easy path toward creating unique lineups while not necessarily making a negative expected value play.

FLEX position– allows restrictions on what positions can be rostered at the FLEX spot. The primary position to restrict is the tight end so that lineups do not include two players from the position. In many industry tools this is a separate option via a checkbox, it can also be handled specifically within groups.

Global Exposure Setting – allows caps on the maximum percentage of lineups a player can appear in within a given pool of lineup construction. This is a powerful tool for shaping lineups but if settings are too low, attempts to build a full set will fall short due to a lack of available players, one of the most common errors in optimizer building. Most optimizers include the ability to calculate ownership caps continuously or at the end of the pool creation process. If caps are calculated continuously, a player with a 25% cap who is utilized in Lineup 1 will not be available for use again until Lineup 5, we recommend turning OFF continuous calculation.

Randomness – provides a random multiplier to each player’s projected point total based on the set values. This valuable tool helps differentiate lineups instead of simply creating them in order of the highest median projected scores. Using some randomness for lineup generation is strongly recommended but the degree to which it is applied is down to personal preference, 15-25% is fine to get started. We suggest heavier randomness to more event-based players like wide receivers while tracking volume-based positions like running backs more toward their median or ceiling projections.

DraftKings + FanDuel Team Stack Rules

This set of rules will force optimizers to build lineups with certain combinations. We are looking to stack at least one skill player, almost always a pass-catcher, with his quarterback while frequently playing a skill player from the opposing team in the lineup. The theory behind this build is that a high-scoring stack will require some response from the opposing team to deliver a ceiling score in most situations. Most optimizers utilize a “complete the sentence” approach for rule creation with selections from drop-down menus following a very straightforward logic. Exceptions to these rules can be added for specific teams and players on most optimizer products.

QB with at least one WR/TE from Same Team (note: It is fine to set this to two or to utilize two versions of this rule, one with WR/TE and one with RB/WR/TE, but we can also refine this via Groups)
optional – QB with at least one RB/WR/TE from the Opposing Team (we typically prefer the pass-catchers but high-volume running backs can be effective here)
QB with at most zero DST from the Same Team (this is a personal preference; high-scoring teams and quarterbacks tend to leave their defenses on the field, exposing them to simple point-scoring negatives)

Limits & Custom Rules and Requirements

Limit rules can be applied to restrict certain combinations from coming together. This is powerful for limiting multiple running backs from the same team or getting overweight to a certain stack within a lineup.

Limit QB/RB/WR/TE from Same Team to three
Limit RB/WR/TE from the Same Team to one unless paired with QB from the Same Team OR the Opposing Team (this prevents multiple players from a team that is not a primary quarterback-based stack)
optional – Limit RB from Same Team to one (we can also do this with WR in a separate rule that adds an “unless paired with QB or opposing QB” but it’s a personal preference for NFL DFS, we typically do not want two pass-catchers from the same team without their quarterback)

We will maintain the list of rules and limits throughout the season, with occasional tweaks. Each week sees another fresh crop of value plays as situations change and injuries create opportunities around the league. These changing roles and emergent value plays are accounted for in creating these groups from week to week. After a large pool of lineups is created utilizing these groups, it is still critical to filter them for factors including ceiling projections and leverage potential. These groups should help ensure that a highly correlated premium set of options that rotates through various combinations is utilized to create the full lineup pool.

Sunday Updates

Any changes and recommended boosts to specific players will be provided in an early morning update each Sunday.

NFL DFS Week 3 Features & Projections

Construction Concept

Team groups are built by utilizing the quarterback as the KEY player in group settings. The quarterback decision is the driving factor in determining which stack the lineup utilizes and which corresponding plays are made to work within the structured requirements. In Fantasy Cruncher, built to specification, each team will have two groups, a team group and an opponent group, both of which utilize the same quarterback as the key player. Each game will have a total of four groups. This is the best approach to truly capture the requirement of playing individual “run-back” plays from the opposing team. A more basic approach would be to include all of the skill players from a game in each quarterback’s group and rely on rules and limits to restrict any potential overflow. It is highly recommended to save the early season groups as a foundation that will be updated for the rest of the season. The recommended groups will include skill players who have an active role in their offense and provide significant correlation with their quarterback’s scoring; often, bell-cow running backs who do not specialize in the passing game will not be included in groups as they are projected highly and appear on their own in basically correct distributions, while also not always providing the strongest positive correlation plays. Stacking quarterbacks with pass-catchers and allowing running backs to fall into the lanes created by settings, available salary, and randomness should create a well-distributed set of quality lineups. These groups are updated weekly to account for changes in utilization, schemes, injuries, target shares, and more.

Team Groups for DraftKings & FanDuel – Week 3

The goal is to create a large pool of well-built lineups that can be utilized in any large-field GPP contest. Our approach is to build far more lineups than needed and utilize a sorting table or sim process to filter to the best set of entries. The lineups created in these crunches should provide a broad distribution that includes some of the lower-owned high-upside skill players from each stack. Applying boosts is critical in pushing and pulling ownership to individual players within their team’s stacked lineups if they appear too much or too little.

The groups below are designed so that each quarterback will have two groups to create, one with his skill players and another with the opposing team. A more basic approach would be to add them all to one large group with an “at least three” and let rules and limits set things, but there is a more granular level of control in creating them separately.

Utilizing two groups also allows us to place running backs into the “run-back” position in certain teams while not including them in the primary stack for their team. This is useful when a situation has an extremely highly projected running back that does not necessarily fit into his team’s passing game. These players are threaded throughout the following construction recommendations.

Note for all optimizers the rules can be utilized to force bring-back plays in some sets of crunches and turned off for others as a global function instead of changing each group to “exactly one” bring-back play, wherever applicable, but it will apply to all teams.

Arizona Cardinals

Game Total: 47.5 (ARI +8.5 / 19.5)

Offense: 3.6 ypa rush (42.86%) / 5.7 nypa pass (57.14%) / 16.5 ppg

oppDEF: 3.9 ypa rush / 6.4 nypa pass / 7.27% sack / 1.96% int / 31.6% pressure / 10.0 ppg

Key Player: Jacoby Brissett

Setting: at least one / exactly two (these can be alternated in a variety of lineup builds)

Team Group: Trey McBride, Michael Wilson, Jeremiyah Love, Marvin Harrison Jr., Kendrick Bourne, Tyler Allgeier (on/off), Eiljah Higgins (large field; on/off)

Opposing Setting: at most one / exactly one (these can be alternated in a variety of lineup builds)

Opposing Group: Christian McCaffrey, Mike Evans, George Kittle, Deebo Samuel Sr., Kaelon Black (on/off), Jacob Cowing (large field)

Game Notes:

Quarterback

Jacoby Brissett is QB23 by points and QB19 by value on DraftKings and QB24 across the board on the FanDuel slate in a lousy spot as an 8.5-point underdog in Week 3. The Cardinals are a lower-end stack with a tiny sliver of visible value, particularly on DraftKings, but most of the quality comes from a few skill players. Brissett is completing passes 3.5 points over expectation at a 68.0% rate, gaining just 5.7 yards per pass attempt. The quarterback has two touchdown passes and an interception in two games and does not add significant potential on the ground. The skill players surrounding Brissett are the story in this offense but everyone will be facing a fairly good San Francisco defense on the road in this one, limiting quality for anyone not sharing the same last name as the author of this article.

Running Backs

Tier 1:

n/a

Tier 2:

Jeremiyah Love is gaining 3.5 yards per attempt on his 10.0 carries per game over the first two outings of his NFL career. The rookie adds a bit of quality via 3.5 targets per game and has punched one in on the ground while gaining 0.1 yards over expectation per attempt. Love has not done much to justify his draft slot in these early games, but the talent is there whenever he gets fully accustomed to the NFL game. Love is only loosely playable at RB23/21 and RB24/20 across sites.

Reserves/Very Large Field Darts

Tyler Allgeier gains just 3.2 yards per rush attempt and is yet to score a touchdown on 11.0 carries per game after coming into the season as the nominal starter. Allgeier is a capable touchdown vulture and a back who has always made steady gains in the number two role, he is miscast in the top spot and comes into this one as RB36/42 and RB38/39.

Receivers & Tight Ends

Tier 1:

The class of this group is tight end Trey McBride, an absolute superstar at the positon. McBride ranks as TE1 by points on both sites and maintains that level by value on FanDuel, but slips to TE8 by value on DraftKings. The tight end has a pair of touchdown catches in early action, while drawing a 35.72% air yards share and 11.5 targets per game. McBride sees more targets than most of the star wide receivers around football, he is an easy go to in any situation and does not break the bank as much as the very top of the receiver board. McBride is looking to build on a career year that saw him score 11 touchdowns while catcing 126 of 169 targets for 1,239 yards in 2025.

Tier 2:

Michael Wilson caught five passes for 56 yards in Week 1, running 35 routes and drawing seven targets. The receiver was targeted the same number of times on 32 routes run in Week 2, but was limited to just two catches and 18 yards. Wilson had his best year as a pro in 2025, putting up seven touchdowns and his first 1,000+ yard season on 78 catches from 126 targets. Wilson is a capable field-stretcher who has previously operated at a double-digit average depth of target, which has slipped to just 9.4 yards this season. Wilson still has the second-best mark on the team with a 34.18% air yards share.

Marvin Harrison Jr. has been disappointing with just 0.53 yards per route run over 31.0 weekly routes. Harrison has worked to an 18.5-yard ADOT on the season, getting himself into big play territory regularly but seeing just a 50.0% catchable target rate that has led to just 0.5 catches per game from 2.0 targets. Harrison has fallen to WR43/43 and WR44/46 across sites.

Reserves/Very Large Field Darts

Kerndrick Bourne has run 27.0 routes per game and is out-gaining Harrison with 1.59 yards per route run this year. Bourne has an 11.84% air yards share on just a 4.5-yard average depth of target this year, he benefitted from some quick early work and is highly likely to come down as the season continues. Bourne is outside of the top-50 receivers on the Week 3 slate.

Stack Ranks: DraftKings: 16 points / 12 value; FanDuel: 17 points / 16 value

Best Stacking Options: Brissett-McBride-Wilson

Best One-off: Trey McBride

Best Value/Upside/Ownership Play: Michael Wilson

Wildcard: Marvin Harrison Jr.

Baltimore Ravens

Game Total: 53.0 (BAL -3.5 / 28.25)

Offense: 5.3 ypa rush (49.17%) / 10.0 ypa pass (50.83%) / 29.0 ppg

oppDEF: 5.0 ypa rush / 6.6 nypa pass / 3.03% sack / 0.0% int / 18.70% pressure / 24.0 ppg

Key Player: Lamar Jackson

Setting: at least one / exactly two / at most three (allow for Lamar Jackson one-off builds; these can be alternated in a variety of lineup builds)

Team Group: Derrick Henry, Mark Andrews, Zay Flowers (Q), Rashod Bateman, Justice Hill (on/off), Chris Moore (large field), Devontez Walker (very large field), Elijah Sarratt (very large field), LaJohntay Webster (very large field)

Opposing Setting: at most one / exactly one (these can be alternated in a variety of lineup builds)

Opposing Group: CeeDee Lamb, Javonte Williams, George Pickens, Jake Ferguson, Ryan Flournoy, KaVontae Turpin (large field; on/off)

Game Notes:

Quarterback

Superstar quarterback Lamar Jackson slots in as QB2 by points on both sites but, as with some of his peers, the $7,500 DraftKings salary renders him as QB22 on that slate’s value board. Jackson is QB2 by points and QB3 by value on the FanDuel board at a normalized $8,600 price tag. The quarterback has thrown 28.0 pass attempts per game over the season’s first two weeks, completing passes at a 68.0% clip for a 7.5 CPOE mark. Jackson has thrown two touchdown passes against a single interception while gaining a hearty 10.0 yards per pass attempt on 9.9 intended air yards per attempt. Jackson makes major gains on the ground as well, of course, with 6.7 yards per rush attempt over 5.5 carries per game, adding an early rushing touchdown to the overall scoring mix. Jackson threw for 324 yards with a touchdown pass and a rushing touchdown in Week 1, his Week 2 output was more limited against the Saints, with just 235 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. Jackson is a go-to option and one of only a few quarterbacks one should consider rostering without any of his teammates on board.

Running Backs

Tier 1:

Derrick Henry is RB 4/5 on DraftKings and RB2/4 on FanDuel in Week 3; the veteran superstar is a major asset on the ground against a team allowing 5.0 yards per rush attempt in a 53.0-point game. Henry is averaging 5.3 yards per rush attempt on unending volume with 20.0 carries per game. He already has four rushing touchdowns on the board this season while breaking tackles at a 10.0% clip and gaining 3.2 yards after contact per attempt and 0.7 yards over expectation per attempt. Henry simply cannot be stopped by this defense; he is a major piece of the Week 3 slate on both sites and could be in for “one of those games.”

Tier 2:

n/a

Reserves/Very Large Field Darts

Justice Hill is a limited option who carries the ball 4.0 times per game and sees a handful of targets, though he is averaging 1.5 over the season’s first two games. Hill ranks outside of the top-40 running backs this week.

Receivers & Tight Ends

Tier 1:

Zay Flowers is questionable and seems less-than-likely to play after missing Week 2 and failing to practice. Flowers is reportedly going to work out ahead of the team’s late game, putting him in complete limbo for the main slate lock earlier in the day. The leading option in the Ravens’ passing room would be a big piece to find active. Flowers caught five passes for 150 yards and a touchdown in Week 1 and is coming off of back-to-back 1,00o+ yard seasons.

Mark Andrews remains a sturdy tight end option each week, with potential gained from his opportunities in scoring territory. Through two weeks, Andrews has no touchdown catches and only one red zone chance, but he caught six balls for 49 yards in Week 2 and had a 4-catch, 49-yard day in Week 1. Andrews was limited to only five touchdown catches in 17 games last season but scored a whopping 11 the year before on one fewer target. With Flowers out of action, there would be plenty of scoring potential available in the passing game; Andrews seems likely to find the end zone soon and ranks as TE9 by points on both sites. He slips to TE13 by value on DraftKings but climbs to TE5 by value on FanDuel.

Tier 2:

Rashod Bateman caught seven passes on nine targets over his 34 routes run in Flowers’ absence last week; he would be a likely candidate to step forward again if his teammate is out in Week 3. Bateman gained 88 yards and scored his first touchdown of the season last week, a nice change of pace after seeing just one target that he failed to catch on 28 routes run in Week 1. Bateman is WR41/39 and WR34/26 but he could see a pre-lock uptick if we get any indications about Flowers’ status ahead of time.

Reserves/Very Large Field Darts

Devontez Walker and Chris Moore mix in as low-end darts who each caught one pass in Week 2. Moore ran 16 routes and drew three targets, catching one for six yards. He had a 53-yard gain on two targets the week before. Walker did not play in Week 1 and caught one of two targets for 47 yards on his 14 routes run last week.

Elijah Sarratt has not played in the team’s first two games despite missing pieces and a fourth-round draft slot.

Stack Ranks: DraftKings: 7 points / 19 value; FanDuel: 7 points / 10 value

Best Stacking Options: Jackson-Andrews-Bateman

Best One-off: Derrick Henry

Best Value/Upside/Ownership Play: Derrick Henry

Wildcard: Rashod Bateman

Buffalo Bills

Game Total: 50.0 (BUF -7.5 / 28.75)

Offense: 5.1 ypa rush (47.11%) / 9.7 ypa pass (52.89%) / 38.5 ppg

oppDEF: 2.7 ypa rush / 7.6 nypa pass / 4.35% sack / 1.52% int / 25.4% pressure / 26.0 ppg

Key Player: Josh Allen

Setting: at least one / exactly two / at most three (allow for Josh Allen one-off builds; these can be alternated in a variety of lineup builds)

Team Group: James Cook III, DJ Moore, Dalton Kincaid, Khalil Shakir, Keon Coleman, Joshua Palmer, Dawson Knox (on/off)

Opposing Setting: at most one / exactly one (these can be alternated in a variety of lineup builds)

Opposing Group: Omarion Hampton, Ladd McConkey, Quentin Johnston, Oronde Gadsden II, Tre’ Harris, Keaton Mitchell (on/off)

Game Notes:

Quarterback

Josh Allen is no secret; you’ve heard of him, we’ve all heard of him. Allen is the star quarterback at the helm of the Bills’ offense, directly responsible for nine touchdowns already this season. Allen has thrown for five and run for four in just two games; his fantasy scoring potential is significant on any given slate, and he is one of the top overall projections on this week’s board. Allen is QB 1 by points on both sites. His $8,000 DraftKings price tag sets him apart and knocks his value rating down to QB18 on that site, where some quarterbacks cost half that price this week. Allen is QB1 by points and QB2 by value for his $9,100 FanDuel price tag. The quarterback draws a compliant Chargers defense that has been allowing 7.6 net yards per pass attempt to rank 23rd this season; he is in a good spot in Week 3.

Running Backs

Tier 1:

Running back James Cook III is a stellar option on the Week 3 slate, landing as RB8/9 and RB7/10 across sites. The explosive rusher has averaged 5.6 yards per rush attempt so far this season, gaining 1.7 yards over expectation per attempt, and scoring one rushing touchdown in two games. Cook carries the ball 17.0 times per game and sees another handful of chances with 3.5 targets per game to get him over the 20-potential-touch mark. Cook had an OK Week 1 with 57 rushing yards and 12 receiving yards on 16 overall touches; he blew up in Week 2 with a 135-yard performance including a rushing touchdown, on 21 carries. Cook was only targeted three times in that game and only caught one of those opportunities, but that is nitpicking given the production on the ground. The lone issue with Cook’s upside tends to be his quarterback’s desire to run the ball in for six himself every time.

Tier 2:

n/a

Reserves/Very Large Field Darts

Ray Davis and Ty Johnson are low-end running backs ranked outside of the top-45 at the position. Davis has played 15 snaps all year and Johnson has been inactive in both of the first two games, they have no NFL DFS upside.

Receivers & Tight Ends

Tier 1:

n/a

Tier 2:

DJ Moore is a game-time decision while dealing with a shoulder injury that could have an impact on the depth receivers on this squad, particularly with Keon Coleman also ailing. Moore hit the century mark in Week 1, scoring a touchdown among his five catches while delivering exactly 100 yards. Moore ran nine routes on 23 snaps last week and went untargeted, losing a yard in the ground game to add insult to injury, which he suffered moments later. The receiver is WR17/22 and WR16/19; if he plays, he has potential in stacks with Allen, but he is not much better or worse than the team’s other options.

Tight end Dalton Kincaid has drawn 7.0 targets per game over the season’s first two contests, putting up a touchdown catch while working at a team-leading 12.7-yard average depth of target. With the tight end outdoing the receivers on big-play potential, he vaults up the board of ceiling options at the position and rates as TE4 by points but TE17 by value on DraftKings while coming up as TE3 by points and TE2 by value on FanDuel.

Khalil Shakir is WR20 by points but WR8 by value on DraftKings and WR25/22 on the FanDuel slate, with potential to rate better if his teammates fail to suit up. Shaki runs 21.0 routes per game and has come away with 2.10 yards per route run. While that is not even half the mark put up by the team’s starting tight end (Kincaid: 4.59 yprr), it keeps Shakir relevant on his 9.3-yard ADOT despite not finding paydirt yet this season. The receiver typically provides quality after the catch, but he currently sits -1.1 yards over expectation per reception after the catch.

Keon Coleman missed most of the week of practice with an ankle injury that still has him listed as questionable; he practiced on a limited basis on Friday but looks like a game-time call heading into Sunday morning. Coleman was largely absent in Week 1, but he hit the board in Week 2 with Moore’s exit, posting six catches on six targets over his 26 routes run in the contest after seeing just one look on 17 routes run in Week 1. Coleman is WR61/72 and WR57/62 this week, if he suits up at all.

Dawson Knox brings significant red zone ability to the table. The secondary tight end option is TE27/27 and TE28/28 across sites; he has one touchdown on the board already and has drawn 1.5 targets per game on 15.5 weekly routes.

Reserves/Very Large Field Darts

n/a

Stack Ranks: DraftKings: 5 points / 10 value; FanDuel: 5 points / 2 value

Best Stacking Options: Allen-Cook-Kincaid +/- WR of choice

Best One-off: James Cook III

Best Value/Upside/Ownership Play: Dalton Kincaid

Wildcard: Khalil Shakir

Carolina Panthers

Game Total: 42.0 (CAR -2.5 / 22.25)

Offense: 4.4 ypa rush (36.07%) / 8.8 ypa pass (63.93%) / 35.5 ppg

oppDEF: 4.6 ypa rush / 6.7 ypa pass / 7.58% sack / 4.92% int / 31.0 ppg

Key Player: Bryce Young

Setting: at least one / exactly two (these can be alternated in a variety of lineup builds)

Team Group: Tetairoa McMillan, Jalen Coker, Chuba Hubbard, Darren Waller, Xavier Legette

Opposing Setting: at most one / exactly one (these can be alternated in a variety of lineup builds)

Opposing Group: Quinshon Judkins, Denzel Boston, Harold Fannin Jr., KC Concepcion, Jerry Jeudy

Game Notes:

Quarterback

The Panthers have been a pleasant surprise to start the season, with Bryce Young throwing three touchdown passes in each of the first two games. Young was tremendous in Week 1, completing 23 of 37 pass attempts for 361 yards and three touchdowns, with one interception, in the shootout with Chicago. He followed that performance with 287 yards on 23-of-36 passing for three touchdowns and zero interceptions against a lousy Atlanta squad in Week 2. With the opposing Browns yielding 6.7 net yards per pass attempt and failing to gain significant pressure on the quarterback, there could be significant potential for a repeat performance from Young. The Panthers are still drawing just a 22.25-point implied team total, but there is more ceiling room than that in this matchup.

Running Backs

Tier 1:

Chuba Hubbard is RB18/23 and RB17/18, and he has a clearer road to quality with Jonathan Brooks hitting the IR. Hubbard gains 4.6 yards per rush attempt in a rejuvenated start to the season, while carrying the ball 11.0 times per game to start. Hubbard is picking up an excellent 1.1 yards over expectation per attempt, gaining 3.4 yards before contact but just 1.2 yards after, with a 13.64% broken tackle rate. The running back has one rushing touchdown and has been a frequent target in the passing game, where he has another two touchdowns. While he is not a premium option and he was awful in losing his job fully last season, Hubbard is the only show in town in the Panthers backfield, unless one wants to throw darts at AJ Dillon’s four carries.

Tier 2:

n/a

Reserves/Very Large Field Darts

AJ Dillon gained 3.1 yards per attempt on 4.0 carries in his limited action; he is unlikely to be relevant even with Brooks out, unless something happens to Hubbard in front of him. Dillon is outside of the top-50 running back options on this slate.

Receivers & Tight Ends

Tier 1:

Tetairoa McMillan is a top-notch wide receiver who ranks as WR15/19 and WR15/14 and is highly playable from those spots. McMillan caught five passes for 75 yards while running 40 routes and drawing eight targets in Week 1, he caught five of his 10 chances for 101 yards over 36 Week 2 routes but has not found the end zone despite a few opportunities. The 6’5″ 212lbs standout has four red zone targets in two games, the touchdowns will come quickly. McMillan scored seven times on 70 receptions, gaining 1,014 yards as a rookie last year; he is the undisputed best option in this passing game.

Tier 2:

Jalen Coker is questionable in Week 3 while dealing with an ankle injury. Xavier Legette is also questionable and is closer to a game-time decision with a knee issue. Either receiver’s absence would likely result in more targeting for McMillan. Coker has seen nine targets in each of the team’s games so far, running 36 and 34 routes respectively. The receiver hit the board in a big way with 138 yards and a pair of touchdown catches in Week 1 but he failed to impress while catching eight passes for just 66 yards without a touchdown in Week 2. Legette drew just two Week 1 chances and caught neither of them, but his big play impact was on display with 64 yards on just two catches over four targets on 24 routes in Week 2. If Coker plays, he is a fine choice as WR22/29 and WR18/21. Legette, meanwhile, is WR73/70 and WR75/74, and belongs in a lower tier.

Reserves/Very Large Field Darts

Xavier Leggette (see above).

Darren Waller is the team’s leading tight end in the passing game; he rates as just TE21/22 and TE21/21 across sites. Waller caught just three passes for 33 yards in Week 2, but two of them were for touchdowns, giving him a big fantasy score at a low price. Waller was less impactful on the Week 1 slate, catching two of two targets on his 17 routes run and failing to score.

Tommy Tremble caught just one pass for four yards in Week 2 after putting up 25 yards on his three Week 1 catches; he is not a primary option in the passing game but will see looks here and there, including infrequent red zone chances.

Stack Ranks: DraftKings: 17 points / 23 value; FanDuel: 16 points / 19 value

Best Stacking Options: Young-McMillan-Coker

Best One-off: Tetairoa McMillan

Best Value/Upside/Ownership Play: Chuba Hubbard

Wildcard: Darren Waller

Cincinnati Bengals

Game Total: 43.0 (CIN -3.5 / 23.25)

Offense: 3.8 ypa rush (40.98%) / 7.0 ypa pass (59.02%) / 26.5 ppg

oppDEF: 4.3 ypa rush / 6.1 ypa pass / 13.73% sack / 6.82% int / 16.5 ppg

Key Player: Joe Burrow

Setting: at least one / exactly two (these can be alternated in a variety of lineup builds)

Team Group: Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, Chase Brown, Mike Gesicki, Samaje Perine (on/off), Colbie Young (large field), Erick All Jr. (large field), Dohnte Meyers (very large field)

Opposing Setting: at most one / exactly one (these can be alternated in a variety of lineup builds)

Opposing Group: Jaylen Warren, DK Metcalf, Michael Pittman Jr., Pat Freiermuth, Roman Wilson, Germie Bernard, Darnell Washington (on/off)

Game Notes:

Quarterback

Joe Burrow and his Bengals rank as a premium stack once again this week, despite back-to-back disappointing performances and a challenging matchup against a team with a sturdy pass rush but limitations when it comes to allowing yards per attempt both on the ground and in the air. If Burrow can stay upright long enough, his receivers have a chance to beat the Pittsburgh group downfield for big gains. The quarterback has a 0.50 CPOE on a 68.0% completion rate over 33 attempts per game so far in 2026, delivering three touchdown passes against a single interception and gaining 7.0 yards per pass attempt on 6.2 intended air yards per attempt. Burrow is QB7 by points but crashes to QB23 by value for $6,600 on DraftKings. The Bengals signal-caller is QB7 by points and QB10 by value on FanDuel, and he is driving Stack 3 by points on both sites.

Running Backs

Tier 1:

Chase Brown is a top-10 running back across the board again in Week 3, landing as RB9/6 on DraftKings and RB9/7 on the FanDuel slate. Brown gains 3.8 yards per rush attempt over his 18.0 carries so far this season, though that amounts to a -0.3 rate against expectation per attempt. The running back sees some open space with 2.3 yards before contact per attempt and has managed an 8.33% broken tackle rate but just 1.5 yards after contact; he has one touchdown on the ground this year. Brown is an involved pass-catcher who sees 5.5 weekly targets and gains 2.2 yards per target on a -2.5-yard ADOT out of the backfield. Brown is an easily playable option both in and out of Bengals stacks given his heavy target rate and touchdown scoring potential.

Tier 2:

n/a

Reserves/Very Large Field Darts

Samaje Perine gains 3.7 yards per attempt on just 3.5 carries per game and sees another 2.0 chances per game from targeting in the small sample this year. The running back would only find value if he gets in the end zone, which is unlikely given his limited volume and utility.

Receivers & Tight Ends

Tier 1:

Ja’Marr Chase is one of the top options on any given slate. The receiver is WR3 by points but WR11 by value on DraftKings; he is WR4/8 on FanDuel. Chase has two touchdown catches on the season, including an incredible grab at the goal line last week. The receiver gains a steady but unspectacular 1.23 yards per route run over his 35.5 routes per game, and has seen a 76.92% catchable target rate from his quarterback. Chase operates on an 8.8-yard average depth of target for 28.85% of the team’s air yards so far this season. Chase was a huge disappointment in Week 1, catching just two passes for 12 yards, but he got back on track in Week 2 and that quality should carry forward. The Bengals are facing a pass defense allowing 6.1 net yards per pass attempt, ranking them exactly in the middle of the league, but the pass rush can be a problem.

Tee Higgins is WR11/15 and WR11/10, he is not far removed from his superstar teammate despite not finding the end zone yet this year. Higgins has seen regular action with 8.0 targets per game over his 30.0 routes run, and he is badly outpacing Chase in efficiency at 2.57 yards per route run. Higgins did have an impactful game in Week 2, catching five of 10 targets for 95 yards but not getting in the end zone. He has at least five touchdown catches in each of his seven seasons, including 11 last year and 10 the season before; the upside is significant both in and out of stacks.

Tier 2:

Mike Gesicki is the team’s go-to tight end; he ranks as TE23/24 and TE22/22, and lacks the potential for volume given how much is soaked up by his three premium teammates. Gesicki drew seven targets and put up 78 yards and a touchdown on five catches ovre 18 routes run in Week 1 with his wide receivers in hiding; in Week 2, with more prominent play from the tandem, Gesicki stepped back to zero targets on 19 routes run.

Reserves/Very Large Field Darts

Colbie Young played 10 snaps last week, making a catch on his lone target and gaining seven yards, there is not enough volume to support and projectable potential for the depth options on this team.

Stack Ranks: DraftKings: 3 points / 9 value; FanDuel: 3 points / 6 value

Best Stacking Options: Burrow-Chase-Higgins +/- Brown

Best One-off: Ja’Marr Chase

Best Value/Upside/Ownership Play: Tee Higgins

Wildcard: Mike Gesicki

Cleveland Browns

Game Total: 42.0 (CLE +2.5 / 19.75)

Offense: 2.9 ypa rush (43.27%) / 8.5 ypa pass (56.73%) / 16.5 ppg

oppDEF: 6.3 ypa rush / 5.9 nypa pass / 7.58% sack / 4.92% int / 35.9% pressure / 31.0 ppg

Key Player: Deshaun Watson

Setting: at least one / exactly two (these can be alternated in a variety of lineup builds)

Team Group: Quinshon Judkins, Denzel Boston, Harold Fannin Jr., KC Concepcion, Jerry Jeudy, Raheim Sanders (on/off), Isaiah Bond (very large field)

Opposing Setting: at most one / exactly one (these can be alternated in a variety of lineup builds)

Opposing Group: Tetairoa McMillan, Jalen Coker, Chuba Hubbard, Darren Waller, Xavier Legette

Game Notes:

Quarterback

Veteran Deshaun Watson has been surprisingly competent for the Browns over the season’s first two games. Watson had a 3.20 CPOE mark on a 77.0% completion rate, completing 20 of 26 attempts each week and developing a quick connection with rookie Denzel Boston. Watson threw for 205 yards with a touchdown and an interception at Jacksonville in Week 1 and then upset the Buccaneers with a 24-of-30 performance for 238 yards and a pair of touchdown passes last week. With the team returning home against an upstart Carolina team in Week 3, Watson is probably aligned to disappoint as QB21 by points but QB3 by value on DraftKings and QB17/13 on FanDuel. Watson’s $4,700 price tag is very cheap for a quarterback who has not been entirely incompetent and now faces a middle-of-the-road pass defense. Watson still has talent on the ground as well, padding his fantasy scoring potential with 4.6 yards per rush attempt on 6.5 carries per game; his first rushing touchdown of the season is likely in the mail.

Running Backs

Tier 1:

Quinshon Judkins is RB20 by points and RB16 by value on DraftKings and not much better as RB19/16 on the FanDuel board. Judkins is a disappointing running back, gaining just 2.3 yards per attempt on 12.0 carries per game. The running back is meeting contact just 1.2 yards into his rushing attempts on average but gains just 1.1 yards after contact and has a 0.0% broken tackle rate. Judkins is yet to find the end zone this season, but he does offer a bit of additional potential via 3.5 receptions per game for 6.3 yards per target on his 3.5 weekly chances. The running back gained just 21 yards on 12 attempts last week but caught five passes for 27 yards to add a touch of output. He was no better in Week 1 but there is very little pressure with Dylan Sampson on IR for a few more weeks. Judkins is a low-end selection in Week 3.

Tier 2:

n/a

Reserves/Very Large Field Darts

Raheim Sanders and Jaleel McLaughlin both rank outside of the top-45 running backs this week. Sanders gained four yards on two carries and another seven on one catch last week, he had 25 yards on three catches the week before but gained just one yard on one rushing attempt. McLaughlin did not play in Week 1, he drew eight snaps in Week 2 and carried the ball one time for three yards while failing to catch his only target.

Receivers & Tight Ends

Tier 1:

Denzel Boston has been an emergent talent for a team that could desperately use it over the first two games of 2026. One of the team’s two rookie receivers, Boston has quickly climbed to the top of the depth chart after his second-round selection saw him go 39th overall out of Washington. Boston caught two of his four targets on 27 routes run in Week 1, hauling in his first career touchdown. He added to that in a big way with a strong Week 2 performance including five catches for 95 yards on seven targets, with his second touchdown of the season. Boston has become a quick favorite of his veteran quarterback and operates on a significant 15.8-yard ADOT for a 51.90% air yards share that rivals the very best big-play receivers in the league.

Tier 2:

KC Concepcion Jr. is the team’s other rookie wideout; he was actually selected ahead of Boston with a first-round pick because the Browns can’t win at anything. Concepcion went 24th overall out of Texas A&M and debuted with four catches for 43 yards on five targets over 25 routes run. He also carried the ball three times for 15 yards in the ground game. Concepcion followed that performance with six catches on six targets over 28 routes but gained just 28 yards in Week 2. Concepcion has yet to find the end zone in two weeks, but he has been involved and could see better days given his multiple carries in the rushing attack.

Harold Fannin Jr. is just TE12 by points but he gains ground as TE6 by value on the DraftKings slate. Fannin is just TE12/11 on FanDuel. The tight end draws 4.5 targets each week, working at a 9.34% air yards share and gaining 54 yards on five catches in Week 2. Fannin caught six touchdowns as a rookie, hauling in 72 of 107 targets for 731 yards last year; he is a quality option with a developing connection with his quarterback.

Reserves/Very Large Field Darts

Jerry Jeudy has been dead in the water with 0.53 yards per route run over 24.5 routes per contest this season. Jeudy has been targeted on a 10.0-yard ADOT with just a 40.0% catchable target rate, he and Watson have not been on the same page frequently. Jeudy caught two passes on four targets over 24 routes run, gaining 26 yards in Week 1 but was held entirely off the board over his 25 routes in Week 2, drawing just one target. Jeudy has become an afterthought; he is WR67/69 and WR73/76 this week and warrants very little consideration until we see signs of life.

Isaiah Bond and Tylan Wallace are fringe options barely clining to the top-100 wide receiver ranks, they are not relevant DFS plays.

Stack Ranks: DraftKings: 21 points / 3 value; FanDuel: 22 points / 14 value

Best Stacking Options: Watson-Boston-Fannin Jr. +/- Concepcion Jr.

Best One-off: Denzel Boston

Best Value/Upside/Ownership Play: Harold Fannin Jr.

Wildcard: KC Concepcion Jr.

Dallas Cowboys

Game Total: 53.0 (DAL +3.5 / 24.75)

Offense: 3.5 ypa rush (36.79%) / 7.0 ypa pass (63.21%) / 28.5 ppg

oppDEF: 3.6 ypa rush / 5.5 nypa pass / 7.14% sack / 1.54% int / 19.20% pressure / 23.5 ppg

Key Player: Dak Prescott

Setting: at least one / exactly two (these can be alternated in a variety of lineup builds)

Team Group: CeeDee Lamb, Javonte Williams, George Pickens, Jake Ferguson, Ryan Flournoy, KaVontae Turpin (large field; on/off), Emari Demercado (on/off)

Opposing Setting: at most one / exactly one (these can be alternated in a variety of lineup builds)

Opposing Group: Derrick Henry, Mark Andrews, Zay Flowers (Q), Rashod Bateman, Justice Hill (on/off), Chris Moore (large field), Devontez Walker (very large field), Elijah Sarratt (large field)

Game Notes:

Quarterback

The Cowboys come in with a high-flying offense in a 53.0-point game that leads the slate. Quarterback Dak Prescott stands to benefit from an opportunity to shootout with star power on his side. Prescott has thrown the ball 32.5 times per game over two weeks, completing a whopping 74.0% of his attempts for a fantastic 10.9 CPOE. The veteran passer has six touchdown passes and one interception on the year, gaining 7.0 yards per pass attempt on 8.5 intended air yards per attempt. Prescott has a fantastic connection with his top star but has struggled to find his second-best receiver early in the season; when that changes, this offense will take a step forward. Prescott is QB4 by points and QB12 by value on DraftKings and QB4/8 on the FanDuel slate.

Running Backs

Tier 1:

Javonte Williams has picked up exactly a dozen carries in each of the first two games, putting up 41 yards and a touchdown in Week 1 with 30 yards and no touchdown last week. Williams has value in the passing game as well, he was targeted five times in Week 1 and caught them all for 31 yards and a second touchdown. In Week 2 the running back caught three of his four targets for 20 yards but did not find the end zone. Williams will have up-and-down weeks that depend largely on game script in the team’s aggressive passing attack, but he drew regular red zone targets in this offense last season and should continue to do so in 2026. Williams is RB12/19 on DraftKings and RB12/15 on FanDuel; he is likely a better fit as part of a Cowboys stack than an independent option.

Tier 2:

n/a

Reserves/Very Large Field Darts

Emari Demercado played nine snaps in Week 2, carrying the ball just three times for eight yards, though that was one more carry and yard than he had the week before. Demercado is not truly an option on this slate.

Receivers & Tight Ends

Tier 1:

CeeDee Lamb rates as WR5 by points and WR7 by value on DraftKings; the superstar receiver is WR5 by points and WR6 by value on the FanDuel slate. Lamb draws 8.5 targets each week for a 46.6% air yards share on a 13.3-yard ADOT, putting him in constant big-play range. Lamb has three touchdown catches on the season, gaining 3.4 yards per route run over 29.0 routes per game to lead the team by a wide margin that more than triples the next most productive receiver. Lamb is a go-to option both in and out of stacks.

George Pickens is WR7 by points and WR13 by value on DraftKings; he is WR8 by points and WR15 by value on the FanDuel slate. Pickens remains a tier 1 stacking option for the Cowboys despite a disappointing first two games that saw him gain just 1.10 yards per route run. Pickens leads the team with 31.0 routes per game and draws a 33.78% air yards share on a 13.4-yard ADOT that keeps him next to Lamb in big-play territory. The receiver simply hasn’t found paydirt yet in 2026, but the weekly potential remains strong. Pickens caught 93 passes for 1,429 yards and nine touchdowns his first year in Dallas; he should come back to life this week in a premium game.

Tier 2:

Jake Ferguson draws frequent chances in the passing game, seeing 3.0 targets per game for 0.96 yards per route run over his 25.5 weekly routes. Ferguson has three red zone targets already this season and has scored two touchdowns, both of which came in Week 2. Ferguson was limited in Week 1 with two catches and six yards; he is a hit-and-miss option who is a highly functional pivot away from any of the three skill players above him on this list, all of whom will be more popular at their positions. Ferguson rates as just TE14/16 and TE16/19 across sites but has the nose for the end zone that could push those marks competitively against the field.

Reserves/Very Large Field Darts

Ryan Flournoy had a mini-breakout last season but has been held to just 0.80 yards per route run on 28.0 routes per game. Flournoy has not scored, and works at just a 3.1-yard average depth of target for a 6.45% air yards share. Flournoy is just WR52/47 and WR54/52 across sites, he climbed from four targets on 25 routes in Week 1 to six on 28 routes in Week 2, leading to five catches but only 23 yards.

KaVontae Turpin is a cheap mixer who ranks outside of the top-85 on both sites. Turpin sees upside in the kick return game but just 0.5 targets per game.

Stack Ranks: DraftKings: 2 points / 11 value; FanDuel: 2 points / 8 value

Best Stacking Options: Prescott-Lamb-Pickens +/- Williams

Best One-off: CeeDee Lamb

Best Value/Upside/Ownership Play: Jake Ferguson

Wildcard: Jake Ferguson

Detroit Lions

Game Total: 48.0 (DET -7.0 / 27.5)

Offense: 4.4 ypa rush (39.26%) / 6.9 ypa pass (60.74%) / 31.0 ppg

oppDEF: 4.1 ypa rush / 3.9 ypa pass / 8.96% sack / 0.0% int / 25.4% pressure / 15.0 ppg

Key Player: Jared Goff

Setting: at least one / exactly two (these can be alternated in a variety of lineup builds)

Team Group: Jahmyr Gibbs, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, Sam LaPorta, Isaac TeSlaa

Opposing Setting: at most one / exactly one (these can be alternated in a variety of lineup builds)

Opposing Group: Breece Hall, Garrett Wilson, Adonai Mitchell, Kenyon Sadiq, Braelon Allen (on/off), Isaiah Williams (large field)

Game Notes:

Quarterback

Jared Goff drops in with his typical “better on the backs of his amazing skill players” ratings at QB8 by points and QB14 by value on DraftKings and QB8/9 on the FanDuel board. Goff has six touchdown passes and has not thrown an interception this season, racking up 266.5 passing yards per game but just 6.9 yards per attempt on 38.5 attempts per game, including an overtime contest in Week 1. Goff has a 1.7 CPOE mark for the year, slightly beating expectations.

Running Backs

Tier 1:

Jahmyr Gibbs rates as RB1 across the board on both sites in Week 3. The superstar running back is averaging 4.6 yards per rush attempt on a significant 22.5 attempts per game, adding more potential via 6.5 weekly targets in the passing attack. Gibbs provides ultra-premium volume and gobs of talent to back it up. The running back is a fixture in the end zone; he has two rushing touchdowns and a touchdown reception already this season and stands to make the day long for a Jets defense that has been much better against the pass than the run over two games. Gibbs is one of the top selections in or out of Lions stacks.

Tier 2:

n/a

Reserves/Very Large Field Darts

Sione Vaki carries the ball 1.5 times per game for 4.7 yards per attempt and has virtually no DFS value without a catastrophe.

Receivers & Tight Ends

Tier 1:

Amon-Ra St. Brown is WR2 across the board on both sites this week, giving the team two of the top three overall options on the slate. Despite the Jets allowing just 3.9 net yards per pass attempt, St. Brown looks tremendous. The receiver draws 13.5 targets per game and has averaged 104.5 yards per contest over the first two outings of the season. St. Brown already has four touchdown catches while hauling in a 37.99% air yards share from the massive volume at a medium depth of just 8.1 yards. St. Brown operates all over the field; he is one of the very best in football and belongs in any stack of Lions while functioning as a premium one-off.

Jameson Williams has big-play appeal working downfield at a 13.0-yard ADOT for a 31.28% air yards share. The volume for Williams is more conservative with just 6.5 targets per game, and the receiver has seen just a 69.23% catchable target rate impact early numbers, resulting in just 0.96 yards per route run over his 40.5 routes per game. Williams is a weapon in this passing attack; he will connect with Goff for huge passing plays, and he will find the end zone this season despite not doing so over two games. Williams is WR14 by points but hurdles to WR5 by value on DraftKings; he is WR12 by points and WR7 by value on the FanDuel slate.

Tier 2:

Sam LaPorta has one touchdown catch on the season while averaging 7.5 targets per game. The tight end runs 37.5 routes each week, he is heavily involved in the passing attack while working at a limited 2.0-yard average depth of target for 9.71% of the team’s air yards. LaPorta gains 1.33 yards per route run and has drawn a 73.33% catchable target rate from his quarterback on the season. The tight end gains upside in scoring territory, he has four red zone targets on the season already this year. As TE6 by points and TE3 by value on DraftKings and TE7 by points and TE8 by value on FanDuel, LaPorta is very much a part of this slate.

Reserves/Very Large Field Darts

Isaac TeSlaa is outside of the top-60 wide receiver options; he draws a 14.0-yard average depth of target over three chances per game while running 33.0 routes each week. TeSlaa has managed just 0.39 yards per route run while seeing a 33.33% catchable target rate on his deep chances; he has more explosive potential in an any-given-slate sense than in a projectable one.

Stack Ranks: DraftKings: 1 points / 1 value; FanDuel: 1 points / 1 value

Best Stacking Options: Goff-Gibbs-St. Brown +/- Williams

Best One-off: Jahmyr Gibbs

Best Value/Upside/Ownership Play: Sam LaPorta

Wildcard: Jameson Williams

Houston Texans

Game Total: 42.5 (HOU -2.0 / 22.25)

Offense: 3.7 ypa rush (33.11%) / 6.7 ypa pass (66.89%) / 18.5 ppg

oppDEF: 5.4 ypa rush / 8.9 ypa pass / 5.26% sack / 0.0% int / 14.80% pressure / 37.0 ppg

Key Player: CJ Stroud

Setting: at least one / exactly two (these can be alternated in a variety of lineup builds)

Team Group: David Montgomery, Dalton Schultz, Xavier Hutchinson, Kayshon Boutte, Jaylin Noel, Woody Marks (on/off), Jared Wayne (large field), Foster Moreau (very large field)

Opposing Setting: at most one / exactly one (these can be alternated in a variety of lineup builds)

Opposing Group: Jonathan Taylor, Tyler Warren, Josh Downs, Keenan Allen, Darius Slayton, Laquon Treadwell

Game Notes:

Quarterback

The Texans have a chance to shine against what has thus far been the NFL’s worst defense at 37.0 points allowed per game. The Colts are yielding a ridiculous 8.9 net yards per pass attempt to rank 31st out of 32 and 5.4 yards per rush attempt to seat them 28th out of 32. This should play up the potential for Houston to deliver beyond their mere 22.25-point implied team total in a 42.5-point game that should go north of that mark if offenses play to their potential. The Texans have averaged just 18.5 points per game on the season; they are not a good offense, and they are without leading receiver Nico Collins. CJ Stroud connected with his tight end for a big performance last week, and the team saw a good game out of David Montgomery in Week 1, there are usable pieces in Houston if nothing else. Stroud has thrown for 313.5 yards per game with two touchdown passes and zero interceptions, posting a CPOE of 1.4 on his 60.0% completion rate. Stroud is just QB14/20 and QB14/14 across sites, he is playable in large portfolios of lineups but is a non-priority overall.

Running Backs

Tier 1:

David Montgomery was very good in the season’s first week, gaining 60 yards on 20 carries and scoring twice in the rushing attack while adding a third touchdown and another 19 yards on 3-for-3 receiving. The veteran was bound to come down a bit in Week 2 but the total collapse that amounted to six carries for 10 yards and two catches for 14 over his 42 snaps was difficult to predict. Montgomery gains just 2.7 yards per attempt on the whole this season, an unappealing number that will eventually limit his output, but his “any given slate” potential for touchdown scoring should be intact. Last week was likely the result of the opposing defense keying up to stop the run with Collins out, allowing Dalton Schultz to roam free in the passing game. Montgomery comes into Week 3 as RB14/12 on both DraftKings and FanDuel this week.

Tier 2:

n/a

Reserves/Very Large Field Darts

Woody Marks is an overpriced backup who ranks as RB29/28 and RB28/29 across sites. Marks gains merely 2.9 yards per attempt on his 8.5 carries per game so far in 2026, not much more impressive than Montgomery’s mark. The younger running back will regularly spell the veteran; he has a role with 3.5 targets per game as well, but has not provided much output with just 3.6 yards per target and zero scoring over two weeks.

Receivers & Tight Ends

Tier 1:

Dalton Schultz was a standout in Nico Collins’ absence last week. The tight end caught 12 of his 14 targets for 140 yards but failed to score a touchdown on 43 routes run. In more normal circumstances in Week 1, Schultz ran 30 routes and caught four of eight targets for 35 yards. He is better than Week 1 but probably in for less obvious upside than in Week 2. Schultz is TE11/10 and TE10/13 at fair pricing on both sites. The tight end has an excellent 2.13 yards per route run on the year and should continue to see his share of volume with his star receiver teammate out of action.

Tier 2:

Astoundingly, no other Texans pass-catcher managed more than three receptions with Collins out in Week 2. The group saw both Xavier Hutchinson and Kayshon Boutte catch three passes for 37 yards, though Hutchinson’s work came on nine targets while Boutte only drew five. The lack of output is problematic on the whole but concerns should abate against such a bad pass defense. Both Hutchinson and Boutte are in the mix for better performances this week, and their double-digit ADOT marks have big play appeal. Hutchinson is slightly ahead as WR48 by points and WR36 by value on DraftKings, while Boutte is WR50/53 and WR50/48 across sites.

Reserves/Very Large Field Darts

Jaylin Noel caught just one pass on five targets over his 39 routes run last week, gaining 31 yards in the process. He gained another 13 on his lone carry in the rushing game and provided little else of value. He gained 53 yards on two receptions from two targets in his usual low-end role in Week 1 and does not bring much as WR58/56 and WR62/65.

Jared Wayne ranks outside of the top-75 receivers after catching two passes for 33 yards on seven targets last week. If he sees similar volume he could have a far better day against this Colts defense but he has only caught five NFL passes in his now third-year career, including the three this season.

Stack Ranks: DraftKings: 23 points / 20 value; FanDuel: 21 points / 20 value

Best Stacking Options: Stroud-Schultz-Montgomery

Best One-off: Dalton Schultz

Best Value/Upside/Ownership Play: David Montgomery

Wildcard: Xavier Hutchinson

Indianapolis Colts

Game Total: 42.5 (IND +2.0 / 20.25)

Offense: 4.3 ypa rush (44.83%) / 6.1 ypa pass (55.17%) / 26.5 ppg

oppDEF: 3.9 ypa rush / 7.5 nypa pass / 10.45% sack / 0.0% int / 22.10% pressure / 28.0 ppg

Key Player: Daniel Jones

Setting: at least one / exactly two (these can be alternated in a variety of lineup builds)

Team Group: Jonathan Taylor, Tyler Warren, Josh Downs, Keenan Allen, Darius Slayton, Laquon Treadwell

Opposing Setting: at most one / exactly one (these can be alternated in a variety of lineup builds)

Opposing Group: David Montgomery, Dalton Schultz, Xavier Hutchinson, Kayshon Boutte, Jaylin Noel, Woody Marks (on/off), Jared Wayne (large field)

Game Notes:

Quarterback

Daniel Jones’ 2026 season is not off to the rip-roaring start we saw from the quarterback last year. Jones has managed just 6.1 yards per pass attempt despite completing 66.0% of his passes for a 3.5 CPOE. The quarterback has been relegated to just a 5.6 intended air yards per attempt average that has been a limiting factor and the team is without downfield bomber Alec Pierce, with Adonai Mitchell no longer employed there. The deepest average target in the mix of regular Colts options is currently the 8.1-yard ADOT drawn by tight end Tyler Warren, though Laquon Treadwell’s 14.5-yard mark in limited action has dart-throw potential. Indianapolis also brought in Jones’ former Giants running mate Darius Slayton, who is expected to see action. Jones has steady upside weapons on his side but he is currently operating more as a game manager, even his rushing attempts have been limited to date. Jones is QB22/17 and QB22/23 across sites, his value in stacks floats on the efforts of his teammates.

Running Backs

Tier 1:

Jonathan Taylor is a superstar who carries a ridiculous workload for the Colts. Taylor is up to his usual tricks in 2026, gaining 4.4 yards per rush attempt on 21.5 carries per game with four rushing touchdowns already in the bank. The monster fantasy point producer has seen four targets per game in early action this season, delivering 7.9 yards per target but not scoring in the passing game or drawing a red zone chance just yet. Taylor gains 2.2 yards before and 2.2 yards after contact for the season and is posting 0.2 yards over expectation per attempt in the small sample. The running back is a top option on any given slate, against a rush defense that is currently top-10 at just 3.9 yards allowed per rush attempt, he still lands as RB3 by points and RB4 by value on DraftKings, and as RB5/3 on FanDuel.

Tier 2:

n/a

Reserves/Very Large Field Darts

DJ Giddens and Seth McGowan mostly stand around and cheer for their teammates; Giddens is yet to be active and McGowan has played 10 snaps in two games.

Receivers & Tight Ends

Tier 1:

Tyler Warren is a premium tight end who ranks as TE7 by points but falls to TE18 by value at a heavy DraftKings price. Warren is TE8/10 on FanDuel for a more appealing $5,900 mark. Warren has a touchdown in each of the team’s first two games and has already been targeted 12 times on 54 routes run overall. Warren has three red zone targets and has caught nine passes, but his yardage output is a bit askew with just 0.60 yards per route run in the dink-and-dunk attack. Warren caught 76 passes as a rookie, gaining 817 yards and scoring four touchdowns on 112 targets in 17 games. He has a strong chance to exceed both of those marks in 2026.

Tier 2:

Josh Downs rates as the team’s top wide receiver option at WR28 by points but an ugly WR49 by value. Downs is WR31/36 on the FanDuel board. The receiver operates at medium depth, averaging a 7.15-yard ADOT thus far in his career. Downs can be electric in the right spot. He caught four touchdowns last year and five the year before, but he is far from a star or a true number one, even when drawing 6.5 targets per game. Downs has two red zone targets but has failed to score.

Keenan Allen’s 15.16% air yards share on a 5.0-yard ADOT and 5.5 targets per game fail to inspire confidence. The veteran receiver has not been good, gaining just 0.80 yards per route run over 23.0 routes per game, well off of the 31.0 routes per game that Downs runs. Allen has a red zone target and has been limited by a 63.64% catchable target rate but his after-the-catch gains land at -0.3 yards over expectation per reception, making the short yardage looks less valuable. Allen is WR44/44 and WR45/51 across sites this week.

Reserves/Very Large Field Darts

With Laquon Treadwell and Darius Slayton in the mix, the team picks up the potential to renew their downfield air raids that were more common during 2025. Treadwell has a 14.5-yard average depth of target that has turned into 1.79 yards per route run on 17.0 routes per game in early action. Slayton is in his first week with this team but should play and could slot in as the third option on the receiver depth chart. The wideout is far from dependable, but he has always worked to average depths of at least 12.2 yards. Slayton peaked as a rookie with eight touchdown catches on 48 receptions, he has nevre had more than four in a season after that 2019 campaign. It is difficult to envision better days suddenly arriving in his age-29 season. Slayton is not available on the FanDuel slate, he is a limited option on DraftKings. Treadwell is WR78/76 and WR72/63 across sites.

Stack Ranks: DraftKings: 13 points / 18 value; FanDuel: 13 points / 17 value

Best Stacking Options: Jones-Taylor-Warren

Best One-off: Jonathan Taylor

Best Value/Upside/Ownership Play: Tyler Warren

Wildcard: Laquon Treadwell or Darius Slayton

Jacksonville Jaguars

Game Total: 45.5 (JAC -2.5 / 24.0)

Offense: 3.9 ypa rush (50.45%) / 8.3 ypa pass (49.55%) / 23.5 ppg

oppDEF: 4.2 ypa rush / 4.7 ypa pass / 8.57% sack / 1.56% int / 24.70% pressure / 8.0 ppg

Key Player: Trevor Lawrence

Setting: at least one / exactly two (these can be alternated in a variety of lineup builds)

Team Group: Parker Washington, Bhayshul Tuten, Jakobi Meyers, Brenton Strange, Chris Rodriguez Jr. (on/off), Josh Cameron (large field), Travis Hunter (large field)

Opposing Setting: at most one / exactly one (these can be alternated in a variety of lineup builds)

Opposing Group: Rhamondre Stevenson (on/off), TreVeyon Henderson (on/off), Romeo Doubs, Hunter Henry, Mack Hollins, DeMario Douglas, Kyle Williams

Game Notes:

Quarterback

Trevor Lawrence had a massive first week of the season, throwing four touchdown passes and zero interceptions on 18-of-23 passing for 245 yards, and fully looking like he was going to deliver on the promises made through his final handful of games during last season’s second-half fantasy breakout. The quarterback faltered somewhat in Week 2, throwing an interception and failing to throw a touchdown pass while racking up just 189 passing yards on 17-29 passing. Lawrence now draws a challenging New England pass defense that has limited opponents to just 4.7 net yards per attempt, ranking them second in football, while applying steady pressure to the quarterback. Lawrence has been good with a 6.80 CPOE mark while throwing for a premium 8.3 yards per pass attempt on 10.5 intended air yards per attempt, putting him in big play territory at all times. If the quarterback gets his rushing touchdowns on the board as the season goes along, he will meet expectations, but there are no guarantees in a tough spot with a 45.5-point total.

Running Backs

Tier 1:

n/a

Tier 2:

Bhayshul Tuten is RB19/17 and RB20/19 across sites this week. The running back has made steady gains at 4.7 yards per rush attempt on 14.0 carries per game over two contests. Tuten has been hit after just 1.5 rushing yards on average, but has made strong gains after first contact with another 3.1 yards per attempt. The running back has a rushing touchdown on the board and can provide quality in the passing game, particularly in the red zone where he has already seen a target in his limited action. Tuten is not a go-to, and he is not a great option in stacks; we would rather have the primary pass-catchers, but he is a playable piece with a bit more meat on the bone against New England’s mid-board rush defense.

Reserves/Very Large Field Darts

Chris Rodriguez Jr. is outside of the top-35 running backs in Week 3. Rodriguez gains 3.0 yards per rush attempt on 6.0 carries per game, gaining 23 yards in Week 1 and 13 last week. Rodriguez has gone untargeted over 17 routes run on the season.

LeQuint Allen Jr. has played 11 snaps all season, drawing one target and not touching the football all in either game.

Receivers & Tight Ends

Tier 1:

Parker Washington ranks as a strong play on both sites this week, he is WR8 by points and WR6 by value on DraftKings and looks even better as WR7 by points and WR4 by value on the FanDuel board. Washington draws 9.0 targets per game on the short season, catching six of them for 90.5 yards per contest with a touchdown reception already on the board. The wideout sees a huge 47.18% air yards share on a 15.5-yard average depth of target and has delivered an outstanding 3.93 yards per route run over his 23.0 weekly routes.

Tier 2:

Brian Thomas Jr. is WR31 by points, but he skips up a grade to WR21 by value for just $4,600 on the DraftKings slate. Thomas is WR33/28 on FanDuel for $5,700 and does not play quite as nicely on that site. The receiver has been targeted six times per game on the season and has worked up 2.16 yards per route run across 18.5 routes per game, though that production amounts to exactly 40 yards on three catches in each contest this season. Thomas saw an uptick from just three targets in Week 1 to nine last week, doubling his routes from 12 to 24 in the process, but it made little difference. The enigmatic receiver is trying to find his way back to the 1,282 yard 10-touchdown rookie superstar he once was, but his overall role in this passing game is less than ideal for those purposes most weeks.

Jakobi Meyers is gaining just 1.39 yards per route run on his 24.5 routes per game this season. Meyers has been limited to just 1.5 targets per game in early action, losing ground to others in the passing game but posting a Week 1 touchdown catch. Meyers was solid for this team last season, demonstrating a good connection with Lawrence upon arrival. The receiver’s routes spiked from 17 in Week 1 to 32 last week and looks to have overcome a lingering thumb injury, hopefully clearing the way for brighter horizons. Meyers is just WR33/30 and WR38/24 across sites but that puts him well in play in stacks and loosely on the value board when not stacked.

Brenton Strange is a quality tight end who has a touchdown on the board already this year. Strange works at a 10.2-yard average depth of target that puts him downfield further than many of his positional peers. The tight end sees 2.5 targets per game on 20.0 routes run and has additional upside when he draws more chances. Strange has two red zone targets on the season and carries fair low-owned, low-cost touchdown potential into every game. He is Te16 by points but TE9 by value on DraftKings and TE17/18 on FanDuel.

Reserves/Very Large Field Darts

Travis Hunter has been limited to just 5.0 routes per game, while Josh Cameron has seen 8.0 routes each week. The receivers have been limited targets but Cameron was able to haul in his first touchdown catch as one of two receptions for 20 yards in Week 1. Neither player is a good idea for NFL DFS upside in Week 3.

Stack Ranks: DraftKings: 14 points / 6 value; FanDuel: 12 points / 13 value

Best Stacking Options: Lawrence-Washington-Thomas +/- Meyers

Best One-off: Parker Washington

Best Value/Upside/Ownership Play: Brian Thomas Jr. or Jakobi Meyers

Wildcard: Brenton Strange

Kansas City Chiefs

Game Total: 46.0 (KC -11.5 / 28.75)

Offense: 5.6 ypa rush (46.21%) / 7.6 ypa pass (53.79%) / 32.0 ppg

oppDEF: 3.5 ypa rush / 8.6 nypa pass / 0.0% sack / 3.85% int / 12.5% pressure / 31.0 ppg

Key Player: Patrick Mahomes

Setting: at least one / exactly two (these can be alternated in a variety of lineup builds)

Team Group: Kenneth Walker III, Rashee Rice, Travis Kelce, Xavier Worthy, Tyquan Thornton, Noah Gray (on/off), Emmett Johnson (on/off), Cyrus Allen (large field), Jalen Royals (large field)

Opposing Setting: at most one / exactly one (these can be alternated in a variety of lineup builds)

Opposing Group: De’Von Achane, Malik Washington, Chris Bell, Greg Dulcich, Kevin Coleman Jr.

Game Notes:

Quarterback

Patrick Mahomes’ “remember me?” tour seems likely to roll on against a Dolphins defense that has been mostly inept in allowing 31.0 points per game over two contests while yielding a league-worst 8.6 net yards per pass attempt. Miami is unable to pressure the quarterback; they have zero sacks and a 12.5% pressure rate over two games. Patrick Mahomes and his offense will have time to do basically whatever they want as the largest favorite of the week. The Chiefs are 11.5-point favorites on the road in Miami, giving them a 28.75-point implied team total in a great spot. So far on the season, Mahomes has thrown for five touchdown passes and only one interception while completing 64.0% of his 37.0 pass attempts per game, though that amounts to a -3.4 CPOE. The veteran signal-caller has put his wheels on display as well; he punched in a rushing touchdown in Week 1, gaining 23 yards on seven carries, but only picked up 17 yards on two carries in the overtime win against the Colts. Mahomes completed 32 of 47 passing attempts in the Week 2 victory, throwing for 382 yards with three touchdowns and zero interceptions in a dynamite fantasy performance that could be replicated or exceeded if Miami can stay in the game for a half. Patrick Mahomes is QB6 across the board on both sites at the helm of Stack 6 by points and Stack 4 by value on both sites.

Running Backs

Tier 1:

Kenneth Walker III is gaining an astounding 6.2 yards per rush attempt on 23.5 carries per game, a ridiculous combination of numbers. The explosive, Super Bowl-winning, ship-jumping free agent caught on with Kansas City in the offseason and has paid immediate dividends with back-to-back games of more than 100 rushing yards. Walker carried the ball 23 times for 173 yards and a touchdown, adding three catches for 18 more yards and another six points in the passing game in Week 1. In the season’s second game, the running back accounted for just 117 rushing yards on his 24 carries but added 61 more from scrimmage while pulling in six of 10 targets. The massive potential for touches and heavy involvement in the passing game make Walker an easy option both in and out of stacks; he is RB5/3 and RB3/2 across sites in Week 3.

Tier 2:

n/a

Reserves/Very Large Field Darts

Emmett Johnson is RB34/34 and RB32/32; he has gained just 3.9 yards per rush attempt on 5.0 carries per game over his first two NFL contests. He picks up a bit more in the passing game, drawing two targets in each of the first two contests, and gaining 44 yards on two Week 1 catches and another 20 on two in Week 2. Johnson lacks opportunity with Walker soaking up all of the chances, but the rookie has talent and could pop for sneaky value in single-game formats from time to time.

Receivers & Tight Ends

Tier 1:

Rashee Rice is WR16/37 and WR17/40 across sites; he promises more for raw point potential than points-per-dollar given all of the mouths to feed in this offense and a fairly high price tag. Rice has one touchdown catch in two games this season. He caught five in eight games last season and had seven in his rookie year, the only season where he played anything like a full year, with 16 games. With 35.0 routes run per game and 1.46 yards per route run, Rice is an involved receiver, but the team has a lot of options in play, and his price limits the quality.

Travis Kelce is putting up 2.49 yards per route run over 34.5 routes per game on the season, a nice bounceback in production in the small sample. The veteran star has a touchdown on the board in two games and is drawing 21.42% of the team’s air yards with an 87.5% catchable target rate and eight targets per game. Kelce is TE5/4 on DraftKings and TE5/3 on the FanDuel slate, he is highly playable with upside in and out of stacks of Chiefs.

Tier 2:

Xavier Worthy lands opposite of Rashee Rice’s values on the DraftKings slate, landing as just WR35 by points but leaping to WR17 by value on that site. On FanDuel he is a limted WR32/34. Worthy works at just a 6.3-yard ADOT and has been limited with -1.2 yards after the catch over expectation per reception. The explosive player has major upside when he finds himself with a tiny bit of room to maneuver, but bullseyeing those opportunities can be difficult.

Reserves/Very Large Field Darts

Tyquan Thornton sees 2.5 targets per game on his 30.0 routes run, returning 1.43 yards per route run in the effort. The receiver is the team’s lone bomber, working at a ridiculous 24.2-yard average depth of target over the first two games. Thorton has seen an 80.0% catchable target rate from his superstar quarterback to this point; he has a 50% explosive play rate on receptions and caught all four of his targets for 86 yards last week while missing his lone target in Week 1. Thronton is no more than a wildcard but two big touchdown passes and nothing else can change a slate at his price and likely popularity.

Cyrus Allen is outside of the top-75 wide receivers; he has played four snaps in two games and has drawn one target (Week 1) on four routes run.

Stack Ranks: DraftKings: 6 points / 4 value; FanDuel: 6 points / 4 value

Best Stacking Options: Mahomes-Walker-Kelce +/- Rice

Best One-off: Kenneth Walker III

Best Value/Upside/Ownership Play: Travis Kelce

Wildcard: Tyquan Thornton

Los Angeles Chargers

Game Total: 50.0 (LAC +7.5 / 21.25)

Offense: 3.9 ypa rush (46.90%) / 7.4 ypa pass (53.10%) / 14.0 ppg

oppDEF: 3.7 ypa rush / 6.6 nypa pass / 8.43% sack / 0.0% int / 27.9% pressure / 31.0 ppg

Key Player: Justin Herbert

Setting: at least one / exactly two (these can be alternated in a variety of lineup builds)

Team Group: Omarion Hampton, Ladd McConkey, Quentin Johnston, Oronde Gadsden II, Tre’ Harris, Keaton Mitchell (on/off), Kimani Vidal (on/off)

Opposing Setting: at most one / exactly one (these can be alternated in a variety of lineup builds)

Opposing Group: James Cook III, DJ Moore, Dalton Kincaid, Khalil Shakir, Keon Coleman, Joshua Palmer, Dawson Knox (on/off)

Game Notes:

Quarterback

It has been said that a rising tide lifts all boats, and a 50-point game total certainly lifts all DFS options. Justin Herbert benefits from a robust game environment in Week 3, despite coming in as a 7.5-point underdog traveling East for a game in Buffalo. Herbert has not been good to start 2026. The veteran quarterback is sitting at a -2.80 CPOE while completing 16 of 27 pass attempts per game (59.0%) for 7.4 yards per attempt. Herbert has thrown a pair of touchdown passes against three interceptions in early action, though at least one of those went off of the hands of his receiver first. The quarterback has upside if this game shoots out, he rates as QB10 by points and QB11 by value for $5,800 on DraftKings but sits better for value as QB10/QB5 on the FanDuel slate.

Running Backs

Tier 1:

Omarion Hampton is RB10/13 on both sites, he rates similarly to his quarterback and can be utilized as a bring-back option when choosing to stack the other side of this game. Hampton gains 3.9 yards per rush attempt on steady volume with 17.5 attempts per game in early action. The running back gets hit after just 1.9 yards on average; his 20.0% broken tackle rate speaks for itself, though his -0.2 yards against expectation per attempt are a limiting factor. Hampton has two rushing touchdowns on the season and is largely uninvolved in the passing game, cutting somewhat into his potential in full PPR scoring.

Tier 2:

n/a

Reserves/Very Large Field Darts

Keaton Mitchell and Kimani Vidal round out the backfield and rank outside the top-35 running backs across the board in Week 3. Mitchell gains 3.7 yards per attempt on his 4.5 carries per game early in 2026, while Vidal is yet to touch a game ball this season while playing just 11 snaps in two weeks.

Receivers & Tight Ends

Tier 1:

Ladd McConkey is WR12 by points and WR9 by value on DraftKings, he is WR14 by points and shows plenty of potential as WR5 by value on the FanDuel slate. McConkey was targeted seven times on 19 routes run in Week 1, catching five of those passes for 82 yards and a touchdown. In Week 2 the receiver ran 23 routes on three additional snaps with the offense but was targeted only three times. McConkey caught all three passes and put 35 yards on the board but did not score during the team’s Week 2 letdown against the Raiders. McConkey has more quality than we have seen this season; the receiver is a good option in and out of stacks or bring-back shares.

Tier 2:

Quentin Johnston is no one’s idea of a reliable option. The receiver can get downfield in a hurry, though his 9.3-yard ADOT this season is lighter than in previous campaigns. McConkey gets out to a 13.1-yard ADOT for a 25.35% air yards share, while Johnston’s mark has him at 20.71%. More importantly, Johnston has not caught a touchdown pass through two games and has delivered just 1.5 catches per game on 5.5 targets. Not all of that is his fault, of course; Herbert has managed to deliver just a 45.45% catchable target rate on those chances. Johnston is WR39/41 and WR37/32 across sites this week, he plays up in stacks and has one-off and bring-back potential if Herbert can deliver the ball.

With a touchdown and 2.5 yards per route run over two games, Oronde Gadsden II has the look of an interesting option, but his volume comes up lacking. Gadsden’s efficiency comes on just 10.0 routes run per game so far, he has only been targeted twice per game, though one of those was in the red zone. The tight end is playable as TE17 by points and gains ground as TE12 by value on DraftKings, but his TE15/14 marks on FanDuel are less appealing.

Tre’ Harris picks up a bit more on points-per-dollar value than pure points potential as WR49/35 and WR47/35 across sites. The receiver has drawn 4.5 targets per game and posted 1.46 yards per route run over his 25.0 weekly sprints. Harris is a playable piece for depth, he operates at an 11.3-yard ADOT and sees 18.62% of the air yards. Much like Johnston, part of Harris’ limitation so far in 2026 has ben a 44.44% catchable target rate on his medium-quality volume.

Reserves/Very Large Field Darts

n/a

Stack Ranks: DraftKings: 10 points / 14 value; FanDuel: 11 points / 7 value

Best Stacking Options: Herbert-McConkey-Johnston

Best One-off: Omarion Hampton

Best Value/Upside/Ownership Play: Quentin Johnston

Wildcard: Tre’ Harris

Las Vegas Raiders

Game Total: 44.0 (LV +3.5 / 20.25)

Offense: 2.8 ypa rush (51.97%) / 7.0 ypa pass (48.03%) / 26.5 ppg

oppDEF: 5.0 ypa rush / 5.5 nypa pass / 5.41% sack / 1.43% int / 25.3% pressure / 24.o ppg

Key Player: Kirk Cousins

Setting: at least one / exactly two (these can be alternated in a variety of lineup builds)

Team Group: Ashton Jeanty, Brock Bowers, Tre Tucker, Jalen Nailor, Jack Bech, Michael Mayer (on/off), Malik Benson (large field), Mike Washington Jr. (on/off)

Opposing Setting: at most one / exactly one (these can be alternated in a variety of lineup builds)

Opposing Group: Chris Olave, Travis Etienne Jr., Devaughn Vele, Juwan Johnson, Alvin Kamara (on/off), Bryce Lance, Noah Fant (on/off)

Game Notes:

Quarterback

Kirk Cousins has a surprising six touchdown passes in two games this season. Kirk Cousins has an unsurprising three interceptions in three games this season. The veteran has been a bit of a roller coaster for production, completing 68.0% of his 29.5 attempts per game with a 1.7 CPOE, throwing for 7.0 yards per pass attempt on 8.6 intended air yards per attempt, but flinging the ball away with abandon. The quarterback got into 10 games with Atlanta last season, throwing for 1,721 yards with 10 touchdown passes and five interceptions. Cousins threw for 3,508 yards with 18 touchdowns but 16 interceptions the season before, and is now three full seasons removed from his last high-quality year in Minnesota. The 37-year-0ld clearly still can produce, and he has developed a connection with his new team’s skill players, giving him a bit of sneaky potential in what could be an upside game against New Orleans. While the Saints side of the stack is preferred and Las Vegas skill players function better as bring-back plays in those builds, Raiders stacks are not off the board as Stack 11/16 on DraftKings and Stack 15/15 on FanDuel. Cousins ranks as QB19 by points but QB7 by value at just $4,800 on DraftKings. A $6,800 FanDuel price has him as just QB19 across the blue board.

Running Backs

Tier 1:

Ashton Jeanty is proving his worth early in 2026, though most of the production has come in the passing attack. Jeanty has two touchdown catches in two games and is averaging 6.5 targets per contest, including four red zone opportunities overall. The running back gains 4.6 yards per target but just 3.4 yards per rush attempt so far this season. Most of that limitation is not entirely his fault; first contact comes just 1.5 yards into his average rushing attempt, after all. Jeanty has seen plenty of opportunities early in the season; his 22.0 carries and 6.5 targets per game loft him to nearly unrivaled potential touches. Jeanty is RB6/7 on DraftKings and RB6/5 on FanDuel; he is downright interesting on both sites, both in and out of Raiders stacks, and has particular appeal as the bring-back option in stacks of Saints.

Tier 2:

n/a

Reserves/Very Large Field Darts

Mike Washington Jr. is outside of the top-40 running backs by point-scoring potential on both sites. Washington gains 4.8 yards per rush attempt on five carries per game, gaining 3.4 yards before contact but only 1.4 yards after, without scoring a touchdown in the limited work.

Receivers & Tight Ends

Tier 1:

Brock Bowers remains questionable to play overnight on Saturday. The superstar tight end has been out for the season’s first two contests with a knee injury, and he missed Friday’s practice. Bowers would be a major addition to the offense, giving Cousins another big weapon in his passing game and a target in the red zone. The tight end has 12 touchdown catches in 29 games over his two NFL seasons; it is easy to forget that Bowers is so early in his career, the quality has been of such significance when he is available. Bowers is projected in the current update; he lands as TE2 by points on both sites but is just TE19 by value on DraftKings, he has more appeal as TE7 by value on FanDuel but could disappear from the slate entirely.

Tier 2:

Tre Tucker dips out of the top-40 wide receivers on DraftKings and stays in by one spot on FanDuel. Tucker draws 5.5 targets per game and has so far managed to return 2.86 yards per route run over his 25.5 weekly routes. Tucker caught a touchdown pass and works at a fantastic 17.5-yard ADOT for 36.74% of the team’s air yards. The receiver has managed to produce despite just a 63.64% catchable target rate, but that mark is indicative of a roller-coaster DFS play.

Jalen Nailor is WR51 by points but WR27 by value for just $3,700 on DraftKings; he is only WR51/47 on FanDuel. Nailor draws an 18.80% air yards share on his 11.4-yard ADOT while seeing 4.0 targets per game but he has been held to just .90 yards per route run over 20.0 weekly routes. Nailor is a limited option on this slate; the Saints are playing solid pass defense, and his chances are few.

Michael Mayer is a quality backup tight end who does well in the absence of Brock Bowers, his rankings will change if Bowers is out but currently he slots in as just TE25/26 and TE25/25 across sites. Mayer has drawn 5.5 targets per game to start the season, delivering 1.10 yards per route run over 25.0 routes per game, the second-highest average on the team so far. The tight end works at a light 4.2-yard ADOT for just 8.95% of the team’s air yards but he saw a chance in the red zone already and could be a sneaky mixer in an abundance of Raiders stacks if Bowers plays, while gaining quality if the top option is out again.

Reserves/Very Large Field Darts

Jack Bech gains 1.41 yards per route run over just 17.0 routes per game, second-highest among anyone who has run more than seven routes per week in the team’s two games. Bech is an in-between option with an 8.3-yard ADOT, he already found the end zone once and has draft pedigree that demands an ongoing chance in this offense. Bech is just a dart throw, but he is a somewhat believable one amidst a sea of bad choices.

Cody White already has two touchdown catches this season. The receiver ran give routes on 11 snaps with the offense in Week 1 and six on just seven snaps in Week 2. White did not catch his lone target the first time out but he put both of his chances in the end zone for a ridiculous low-cost low-ownership upside score. White is not a rookie, he is in his fifth season with his third team and had just one touchdown catch for his career prior to last week. The receiver will be active again on Sunday, the team elevated him from the practice squad for the third and final time on Saturday, he could see another wildcard chance after the two-score performance, or he could fade into the wallpaper forever.

Stack Ranks: DraftKings: 11 points / 16 value; FanDuel: 15 points / 15 value

Best Stacking Options: Cousins-Jeanty-Bowers +/- Tucker

Best One-off: Ahston Jeanty

Best Value/Upside/Ownership Play: Ashton Jeanty

Wildcard: Jack Bech

Miami Dolphins

Game Total: 46.0 (MIA +11.5 / 17.25)

Offense: 3.7 ypa rush (44.34%) / 8.3 ypa pass (55.66%) / 13.0ppg

oppDEF: 3.8 ypa rush / 5.2 nypa pass / 6.35% sack / 3.39% int / 22.7% pressure / 20.0 ppg

Key Player: Malik Willis

Setting: exactly one

Team Group: De’Von Achane, Malik Washington, Chris Bell, Greg Dulcich, Kevin Coleman Jr., Ollie Gordon II (on/off), Jalen Tolbert (large field)

Opposing Setting: at most one / exactly one (these can be alternated in a variety of lineup builds)

Opposing Group: Kenneth Walker III, Rashee Rice, Travis Kelce, Xavier Worthy, Tyquan Thornton, Noah Gray (on/off), Emmett Johnson (on/off), Cyrus Allen (large field), Jalen Royals (large field)

Game Notes:

Quarterback

Malik Willis has not impressed in two games in 2026, though he is technically closing in on a new career high for passing yards in a season. Willis has been in the league for four years, serving as a backup in Tennessee and Green Bay, and getting into 22 games along the way prior to landing in the starting job in Miami this season. Willis has an interesting set of raw skills but has never thrown for more than the 550 yards he posted in seven games and on 54 pass attempts in 2024, and has just seven touchdown passes for his career. Willis adds quality on the ground; he has a rushing touchdown in every season but a limited 2023, including two last year. The quarterback has a touchdown pass, a touchdown run, and an interception on the board already this season, while completing just 58.0% of his 25.0 pass attempts per game for a -3.5 CPOE. Willis does gain a strong 8.3 yards per pass attempt on 9.6 intended air yards per attempt; that combined with his rushing talents keeps him in the discussion as an upside player, but he has not packaged everything together just yet. Willis is QB18 by points but QB9 by value on the DraftKings board, he is QB18/11 on FanDuel.

Running Backs

Tier 1:

De’Von Achane gains just 3.5 yards per rush attempt, -0.4 yards over expectation per attempt, but sees steady volume with 15.5 attempts per game. Achane adds quality with another 5.5 potential touches coming from aggressive targeting with the pass, pushing him into premium opportunity territory on a weekly basis. The running back was far better in his 16 games last year, gaining 5.7 yards per rush attempt and totaling 1,350 yards and eight rushing touchdowns in just 16 games, with another 488 yards and four touchdowns coming in the passing game. Achane remains a star-caliber talent; he is just 24 years old in his fourth season, but the limited quality around him can have an impact on the nature of his chances, taking a bite out of efficiency and production. Achane is RB7 by points and RB2 by value against a team that has held opponents to just 3.8 yards per rush attempt over two games; this is not an easy spot. The running back is RB8 by both points and value on FanDuel; he is in play on both sites but stands out as a one-off star on the DraftKings board.

Tier 2:

n/a

Reserves/Very Large Field Darts

Ollie Gordon II and Jaylen Wright are limited low-volume backups without much appeal for DFS purposes; they both rank outside of the top-55 running backs across the board.

Receivers & Tight Ends

Tier 1:

n/a

Tier 2:

Malik Washington is a mid-board mixer with low-end appeal if one is attempting to catch the Malik Willis explosion week in a questionable spot. Washington leads the team with 30.0 routes run per week, gaining 1.60 yards per route to this point. The receiver has not caught a touchdown pass, but he does have a chunky air yards share of 32.26% on a 12.5-yard ADOT and draws a team-leading 6.5 targets per game. Washington is just WR45/33 and WR42/42.

Chris Bell is outside of the top-55 at receiver but lands as the team’s second-best option in desperate times. The rookie takes a step up with his classmate Caleb Douglas out with an injury. Bell has caught one NFL pass in his life, but he is at least growing familiar with route-running, having run 30 over two games while drawing only three targets. As the new number two option at wide receiver, he should be more involved, but that may not mean much in this offense.

Reserves/Very Large Field Darts

Kevin Coleman played 16 snaps in Week 1 but vaulted to 27 in Week 2. That may be deceptive, however, as the receiver actually ran 14 routes the first week and only 12 in Week 2. He drew two targets in the first game and went untargeted in the second, and has yet to catch a pass.

Greg Dulcich has two catches in each of the first two games; he is TE24/23 and TE24/24 across sites and has very little potential for more. Dulcich caught one touchdown in 10 games last season, his first touchdown catch since the two that he had as a rookie in 2022. And that is the best of this team’s tight ends. Will Kacmarek is a limited TE40/39 and TE45/48, he has one catch on two targets this season.

Stack Ranks: DraftKings: 24 points / 8 value; FanDuel: 24 points / 22 value

Best Stacking Options: Willis-Achane-Washington

Best One-off: De’Von Achane

Best Value/Upside/Ownership Play: De’Von Achane

Wildcard: Chris Bell

Minnesota Vikings

Game Total: 43.0 (MIN -2.0 / 22.5)

Offense: 3.6 ypa rush (55.36%) / 6.7 ypa pass (44.64%) / 24.0 ppg

oppDEF: 3.0 ypa rush / 6.9 nypa pass / 9.41% sack / 2.60% int / 18.1% pressure / 12.5 ppg

Key Player: Kyle Murray

Setting: at least one / exactly two (these can be alternated in a variety of lineup builds)

Team Group: Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, TJ Hockenson, Aaron Jones Sr., Jauan Jennings, Josh Oliver (on/off), DeeJay Dallas (on/off), Demond Claiborne (on/off)

Opposing Setting: at most one / exactly one (these can be alternated in a variety of lineup builds)

Opposing Group: Bucky Irving, Emeka Egbuka, Chris Godwin Jr., Kenny Gainwell (on/off), Cade Otton, Ted Hurst III (large field), Jalen McMillan (large field), Tez Johnson (large field)

Game Notes:

Quarterback

The Vikings get Kyler Murray back under center after the newly acquired quarterback took a concussion just a few plays into his first game with the new team. The quarterback played just 11 snaps in Week 1, completing three of five pass attempts for 18 yards but also throwing his first interception of the season. Murray is an unreliable, undersized quarterback who does have skills; on the right day he can soar, and he has several quality options in the passing game, but he has also not seen regular action in two years. Murray only played five NFL games last year and has already missed time this season. In his last complete year, Murray threw for 3,851 yards with 21 touchdown passes and 11 interceptions over 17 games in 2024. The quarterback has never had a 4,000-yard season or thrown more than the 26 touchdown passes he had in his second season. Despite his limitations, Murray should at least be able to develop a connection with Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison that will keep DFS and fantasy gamers happy in spots; he is QB11 by points but QB4 by value on DraftKings and lands as QB11 by points and QB7 by value on FanDuel.

Running Backs

Tier 1:

n/a

Tier 2:

Aaron Jones Sr. slots in as RB16/15 and RB16/14 across DraftKings and FanDuel. The ancient one (he’s just 31 years old!) is coming into Week 3 with a bit of knee pain that he plans to play through. Jones put up a solid 105-yard game on 23 carries in Week 2 with Carson Wentz at the wheel. The veteran went untargeted over his 11 routes run in the passing game and drew just one look on nine routes in Week 1; his value is extracted from the rushing yards and scoring potential. Jones did not find the end zone last week, but he did score in Week 1 while gaining 40 yards on 12 carries. The veteran saw a spike from 29 snaps the first week to 42 last week, his backups are limited options in DeeJay Dallas, who has never been good, and Demond Claiborne, an unproven rookie. Jones is merely a playable mixer; he does not stand out at the running back position, but two touchdowns on a quality day could change that in a hurry. He is not dead yet.

Reserves/Very Large Field Darts

DeeJay Dallas drew the number two role for 15 snaps with the offense last week. The running back carried the ball twice for eight yards and caught his lone target for another 12. There is very little opportunity for DFS success here.

Demond Claiborne is the more interesting player but probably still has the longer path to fantasy relevance. Claiborne was the 198th pick in this year’s draft; he saw his first action last week, playing two snaps with the offense and drawing a target on his two routes run. Claiborne caught the pass for a light two-yard gain. The running back has speed and was a multi-faceted contributor at Wake Forest; he could get in the mix if chances emerge, but until then he is nothing more than a season-long waiver stash.

Receivers & Tight Ends

Tier 1:

Justin Jefferson is where things begin to get good in this offense. The superstar wide receiver is WR6 by points but WR18 by value at a $7,500 price on DraftKings; he is WR6/13 on the FanDuel slate for $8,400. Jefferson draws 7.5 targets per game so far this season, though Murray may look for him even more frequently. The receiver gains 2.72 yards per route run over 27.0 routes per game and operates at an 11.4-yard ADOT; he already has an 18.18% explosive play rate on receptions and has put the ball in the end zone twice in two games, while dominating the team’s air yards with a 53.04% share.

Tier 2:

Jordan Addison is WR30/25 on both sites despite his very slow start to 2026. One has to expect that the return of Murray will help Addison get right; the receiver is averaging just 0.41 yards per route run over 25.5 routes per game, while seeing just 3.5 targets. Addison failed to catch a pass in Week 1, drawing just two targets over 25 routes on 53 snaps; he was targeted five times on 23 routes run last week, hauling in two catches for 21 yards and nothing interesting. The receiver is too talented and too involved to be mired in the mud for long; he caught 10 touchdown passes in 17 games as a rookie in 2023 and nine more in 15 games the following year. Addison’s output cratered last year when the Vikings decided they didn’t need good quarterback play; he caught just three touchdown passes and 42 balls overall for 610 yards in 14 games. The 24-year-old needs to slam the brakes on this downturn with a big Week 3 performance; if Tampa Bay zeroes in on Justin Jefferson, it could be Addison who explodes. Both receivers are playable together in stacks with Murray, as this team lacks a significant ground game.

TJ Hockenson is TE13 by points but he explodes to TE1 by value on the DraftKings slate where he is simply mispriced at $3,200. Hockenson is a $5,100 FanDuel player, rendering him as TE13/12 on the blue site. The veteran only had three touchdown catches among his 51 receptions for 438 yards in 15 games last year and has never caught more than six touchdowns in a season, but he is a frequently targeted asset who has nine chances in two games already this season. Hockenson caught seven of those targets for 65 yards and has already been in the end zone in 2026, that alone should have his price a bit higher on DraftKings. The return of Kyler Murray could also help bolster the tight end’s output.

Jauan Jennings is another quality receiver in this mix. The veteran of five seasons in San Francisco has 22 touchdown catches in his career, including nine last season and six the year before. Jennings missed Week 2 after drawing just one target on 17 routes run over 30 snaps in his first game with the Vikings. The receiver operates around a 9-10-yard ADOT and should immediately provide a strong option in the middle-ground for Murray to connect with when not looking for one of the top two.

Reserves/Very Large Field Darts

Josh Oliver sees 2.5 targets per game and gains 3.54 yards per route run for his 6.5 routes per game in limited usage. Oliver caught one pass for 24 yards last week and two for 22 yards the week before but has yet to draw a red zone target, which is his one true path to actual value. He is outside of the top-35 across the board at tight end on both sites.

Myles Price and Tai Felton have a combined single target (Price), which was not caught, on a combined 32 snaps and 17 routes run. Price played 26 snaps and ran all 17 of those routes lats week but did not catch the one pass thrown his way. Felton has only played three snaps, all in Week 1 and is yet to run a route.

Stack Ranks: DraftKings: 9 points / 13 value; FanDuel: 10 points / 11 value

Best Stacking Options: Murray-Jefferson-Addison +/- Hockenson

Best One-off: Justin Jefferson (Aaron Jones is playable as a one-off RB and has more value in that role than in Vikings stacks)

Best Value/Upside/Ownership Play: TJ Hockenson

Wildcard: Jordan Addison

New England Patriots

Game Total: 45.5 (NE +2.5 / 21.5)

Offense: 4.2 ypa rush (49.17%) / 7.0 ypa pass (50.83%) / 15.0 ppg

oppDEF: 3.8 ypa rush / 8.3 nypa pass / 8.62% sack / 3.77% int / 29.5% pressure / 15.0 ppg

Key Player: Drake Maye

Setting: at least one / exactly two (these can be alternated in a variety of lineup builds)

Team Group: Rhamondre Stevenson (on/off), TreVeyon Henderson (on/off), Romeo Doubs, Hunter Henry, Mack Hollins, DeMario Douglas, Kyle Williams, Efton Chism III (very large field), Eli Raridon (large field; on/off)

Opposing Setting: at most one / exactly one (these can be alternated in a variety of lineup builds)

Opposing Group: Parker Washington, Bhayshul Tuten, Jakobi Meyers, Brenton Strange, Chris Rodriguez Jr. (on/off), Josh Cameron (large field), Travis Hunter (large field)

Game Notes:

Quarterback

There is regression, and then there is whatever happened to Drake Maye in Weeks 1 and 2. The third-year quarterback has had two bad games in a row to start his season after a monster breakout with 4,394 yards and 31 touchdown passes with only eight interceptions last season, adding 450 yards and four touchdowns in the rushing game. In two games this season, Maye has one touchdown pass and four interceptions and has thrown for just 386 yards. On a positive note, his CPOE mark sits 3.20 points above expectation, but that is about it at 7.0 yards per pass attempt. Maye has to find it immediately; a matchup against a Jaguars defense that allows 8.2 net yards per pass attempt this season should be just the thing to set him right. Maye is QB12/25 on DraftKings where his $6,100 price is a misfit; his QB12/15 rating on FanDuel works a bit better for price, leaving him playable but in no way a priority.

Running Backs

Tier 1:

n/a

Tier 2:

Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson share duties in the Patriots backfield, with Stevenson ceding carries to the younger back in his return last week. In Week 1 with Henderson out, Stevenson played 60 snaps and carried the ball 18 times for 51 yards, while adding five catches for another 44 yards from six targets. Henderson returned in Week 2, and Stevenson fell off the map with only 20 snaps played and six carries, though he did gain 43 yards on those attempts. The running back was targeted only twice in the passing game. Meanwhile, Henderson picked up 76 yards on 16 carries, including an explosive touchdown run, but went untargeted on his 11 routes run. The split largely depends on the touchdown; Henderson is the more talented and more reliable back, but both can put the ball in the end zone and both rate between RB20 and 25 across the board on both sites.

Reserves/Very Large Field Darts

n/a

Receivers & Tight Ends

Tier 1:

n/a

Tier 2:

Romeo Doubs ran 31 routes in Week 1 while playing 40 snaps; he ran just 20 routes despite playing 37 snaps in Week 2. Despite the dip in action, Doubs actually had a far more productive day in the Week 2 game, catching three of four targets for 96 yards after going without a catch on three Week 1 targets. The receiver is miscast in the number one role; he is attempting to fill AJ Browns shoes for a few weeks while the star is out, but this is not a great fit. Doubs is in his fifth season, and he has never gained even 725 yards through the air, though he does have a nose for the end zone. The receiver can shine on deep looks; he caught six touchdowns on just 55 overall receptions last year and has a total of 21 in four seasons. Doubs is WR24/20 and WR24/16 across DraftKings and FanDuel; he is better in stacks with Maye than as a standalone but has a bit of big-play appeal across all builds.

Hunter Henry is a touchdown-dependent tight end play on any given slate; this week he is TE15/14 and TE14/15. Henry draws four targets on 23.5 routes run per game, gaining 1.40 yards per route. Henry has one target in the red zone but has not caught a touchdown pass in the first two games while working at an 8.6-yard ADOT for a 16.51% air yards share.

Mack Hollins is a dart throw for a deep touchdown grab, but he rates outside of the top-50 wide receivers on both sites again in Week 3. Hollins works at an 11.0-yard ADOT and draws 3.5 targets per game, delivering 1.5 yards per route run over his 23.0 routes. He is a mixer, not much more.

Reserves/Very Large Field Darts

DeMario Douglas played 44 snaps in Week 1, running 35 routes and drawing seven targets, catching five of them for a mere 20 yards. His chances and output dipped badly in Week 2, he played just 26 snaps and ran 19 routes, picking up two targets and making a single catch for nine yards. Douglas is a low-end WR72/73 and WR71/72.

Kyle Williams and Eli Raridon are low-volume mixers for depth in an abundance of large-field stacks of Patriots. Williams ran six routes on 11 snaps in Week 1 and nine routes on the same snap count in Week 2, he has one catch for 10 yards in two games. Raridon is questionable with a thigh injury, he played 36 snaps in Week 1 but only 11 in Week 2, catching both of his targets, including a two-yard touchdown catch in Week 1 and a 30-yard snare last week, but is no more than a cheap dart from outside of the top-30 at tight end.

Stack Ranks: DraftKings: 19 points / 22 value; FanDuel: 19 points / 18 value

Best Stacking Options: Maye-Doubs-Henry +/- one running back

Best One-off: TreVeyon Henderson

Best Value/Upside/Ownership Play: TreVeyon Henderson

Wildcard: Mack Hollins

New Orleans Saints

Game Total: 44.0 (NO -3.5 / 23.75)

Offense: 3.0 ypa rush (34.67%) / 7.4 ypa pass (65.33%) / 27.0 ppg

oppDEF: 4.0 ypa rush / 5.9 nypa pass / 12.9% sack / 5.56% int / 45.6% pressure / 13.5 ppg

Key Player: Tyler Shough

Setting: at least one / exactly two (these can be alternated in a variety of lineup builds)

Team Group: Chris Olave, Travis Etienne Jr., Devaughn Vele, Juwan Johnson, Alvin Kamara (on/off), Bryce Lance, Noah Fant (on/off)

Opposing Setting: at most one / exactly one (these can be alternated in a variety of lineup builds)

Opposing Group: Ashton Jeanty, Brock Bowers, Tre Tucker, Jalen Nailor, Jack Bech, Michael Mayer (on/off), Malik Benson (large field), Mike Washington Jr. (on/off)

Game Notes:

Quarterback

The Saints are playing interesting football, and quarterback Tyler Shough is a big part of why. Shough has a 4.3 CPOE on the season, slinging 45.0 pass attempts per game over the season’s first two contests, including a wild Week 1 overtime performance. Shough has thrown for 331.0 yards per game, a mark inflated by a bonus quarter, and maintains a sharp 7.4 yards per pass attempt on 7.7 intended air yards per attempt. Playing with one of the best receivers in the league certainly helps; the quarterback has developed a tremendous connection with superstar Chris Olave. Shough looked for his best weapon 13 times in Week 2 and targets him 11.5 times on average this season. The quarterback has value on the ground as well; he punched the ball in for a questionable but review-clearing touchdown run in Week 2 and had three rushing touchdowns in 11 games while gaining 4.1 yards per attempt on the ground as a rookie last season. Shough is QB8 by points and QB2 by value on the DraftKings slate, he is QB8 by points and QB5 by value on the blue site, and comes with excellent stacking weapons.

Running Backs

Tier 1:

n/a

Tier 2:

Travis Etienne Jr. was dealing with a minor hamstring issue earlier in the week but has no injury designation overnight on Saturday. The running back has been used somewhat sparingly in the ground game; he carried the ball just nine times in Week 1 and eight times in Week 2, despite providing a fair 4.2 yards per attempt. Etienne picks up quality in the passing attack; he ran 27 routes and was targeted nine times for seven catches and 32 yards through the air in Week 1 but dipped to just two catches for six yards on his two targets last week, playing only 35 snaps. The running back is the top name on the depth chart, and he remains a multi-faceted weapon, but the team needs to give him a bit more to do, an expectation that could come together somewhat as they attack a Las Vegas defense that has been relatively effective through two weeks. Etienne is RB22/24 and RB22/26 across sites and picks up quality in full PPR play.

Reserves/Very Large Field Darts

Alvin Kamara missed Week 1 and played 20 snaps in Week 2, carrying the ball nine times for 15 yards, or 1.7 per rush attempt. Kamara is shot. The running back had nothing left last year and has less than nothing left this year; all he is doing here is taking opportunities away from Etienne, a better player with skills reminiscent of better Kamara days. This is RB33/35 and RB34/37 in Week 3, he would need multiple calamities to find quality.

Receivers & Tight Ends

Tier 1:

Chris Olave is WR4 by points and WR1 by value on DraftKings for just $7,200. The $8,100 price tag changes very little on FanDuel, where he lands as WR3 by points and WR2 by value. Olave sees nearly unlimited targeting in this offense; they are always looking his way. He gains 2.91 yards per route run on a whopping 46.0 routes per game after the Week 1 overtime contest saw him run 56 routes. Olave put up 10 catches on 13 targets, gaining 182 yards in that first game, but he did not find the end zone; his lone touchdown reception came in the second game. The receiver caught eight of his 10 Week 2 targets for 86 yards and a touchdown reception. Overall, Olave is a premium option whenever healthy; his paramount risk comes from his injury-prone nature. The receiver works at a big-play-adjacent 14.7-yard ADOT and draws a silly but very real 52.50% air yards share in the offense.

Tier 2:

Devaughn Vele caught seven passes on nine targets for 69 yards and a score in the overtime game but dipped to just five catches on seven targets for 64 yards without a touchdown in Week 2. The receiver played 63 snaps with the offense and ran a full complement of 36 routes as the true number two wideout, but he did not post the explosive game many were hoping for as he was a hot waiver pickup for season-long play going into Week 2. Vele could be a bit sneakier this week; if Vegas leans into stopping Olave, then there should be major opportunities for a touchdown and quality gains. Vele is WR29 by points on DraftKings, but he soars to WR10 by value at just $4,400. He is WR26/23 on FanDuel.

Juwan Johnson is TE10 by points but TE2 by value on DraftKings, where all of the Saints are cheap. The tight end is a $3,700 option with plenty of potential; on FanDuel, he costs $5,200 and is TE11/9. Johnson is running 37.0 routes per game, including the overtime action, and sees 5.5 targets each week, including three in the red zone so far. The six-year veteran had three touchdown catches in each of the past two seasons and peaked with seven in the 2022 season. Johnson set new career highs for catches and yards last year, despite the underwhelming touchdown total. At age 28, he caught 77 of 103 targets for 889 yards, 8.6 per target. So far this year he is at 10.9 yards per target. Johnson is a worthwhile option in stacks, and his low-low price on DraftKings has plenty of standalone value.

Reserves/Very Large Field Darts

Bryce Lance is a cheap dart for $3,000/$4,700, but he ranks as just WR75/63 and WR70/68 across sites. Despite playing 61 snaps in Week 1 and 52 in Week 2, Lance has not made much of an impact. He caught three of four targets but gained 42 empty yards in the first game and delivered just one catch on his lone target while seeing his routes cut from 46 in the overtime game to 28 last week. Lance is a fourth-round pick out of North Dakota State, 136th overall, but he adds another big body to the mix at 6’3″, 204 lbs and could see some red zone targeting as his skills develop in the league.

Noah Fant is a quality pass-catcher at tight end; he drew eight targets in Week 1 but hauled in only four of them for 33 yards, including a touchdown catch. The tight end was more limited in Week 2, he played 29 snaps and ran 11 routes but went untargeted. Fant is a depth play and a low-end touchdown-dependent dart throw in very large contests; he is best reserved for single-game showdown formats.

Stack Ranks: DraftKings: 8 points /2 value; FanDuel: 8 points / 5 value

Best Stacking Options: Shough-Olave-Johnson +/- Vele +/- Etienne Jr.

Best One-off: Chris Olave

Best Value/Upside/Ownership Play: Juwan Johnson

Wildcard: Devaughn Vele

New York Giants

Game Total: 38.5 (NYG -2.5 / 20.5)

Offense: 3.7 ypa rush (47.15%) / 5.9 ypa pass (52.85%) / 17.0 ppg

oppDEF: 3.4 ypa rush / 7.3 nypa pass / 4.69% sack / 3.28% int / 20.6% pressure / 23.5 ppg

Key Player: Jameis Winston

Setting: exactly one

Team Group: Malik Nabers, Cam Skattebo, Isaiah Likely, Malachi Fields, Devin Singletary (on/off), Darnell Mooney (large field), Theo Johnson (large field)

Opposing Setting: at most one / exactly one (these can be alternated in a variety of lineup builds)

Opposing Group: Tony Pollard (on/off), Carnell Tate, Wan’Dale Robinson, Tyjae Spears (on/off), Calvin Ridley, Gunnar Helm, Elic Ayomanor, Chimere Dike, Daniel Bellinger (on/off)

Game Notes:

Quarterback

The Jaxson Dart era in New York is not quite over, but its chances of success took a major blow as the oft-injured and wildly overrated second-year quarterback is now out for the entire season after an injury early in Week 2. Backup Jameis Winston is the league’s favorite teammate, but the former number one pick is not the best option at the position and is unlikely to lead this ugly squad to glory, even with the lowly Titans in town. Tennessee just gave a much better Philadelphia team all that they could handle, yet they come in as 2.5-point underdogs to the lousy home squad with a backup quarterback in action. Winston stepped in last week and completed just 11 of his 27 pass attempts, throwing zero touchdowns and one interception, in a classic Winston performance. The erratic but well-liked veteran gained just 4.1 yards per pass attempt but will have a chance for better against a Titans team allowing a net 7.3 yards per pass attempt to rank 30th in football over two weeks. Winston has weapons in the passing attack, but his chances of finding them remain thin as QB24 by points but QB2 by value on DraftKings for just $4,000; he is a total wildcard on the slate. He is QB23/21 on FanDuel, where perspective suddenly seems to matter this week.

Running Backs

Tier 1:

Cam Skattebo gains 3.9 yards per rush attempt and just 1.3 yards before first contact on each attempt. The running back is a wrecking ball who runs headfirst into contact, literally, and provides very limited output in the passing game. Skattebo is a novelty who will be out of the league in three years; he has touchdown-dependent upside against a defense that has actually been stout against the run with just 3.4 yards allowed per attempt over two weeks. Skattebo gained just 36 yards on 12 carries in Week 2 after posting a respectable 81 yards and a touchdown on 18 chances the week before. He did catch four of four targets for 19 yards in Week 2 but went untargeted over 11 routes in Week 1 with Dart. The running back is RB17/22 and RB18/22 in the lowest-totaled game of the week.

Tier 2:

n/a

Reserves/Very Large Field Darts

Devin Singletary is RB35/33 and RB40/44, he gains just 2.8 yards per rush attempt on 4.5 carries per game and sees 2.5 targets per game in this year’s small sample. Singletary has a touchdown reception on the year and has been targeted twice in the red zone in two games, giving him a very minor amount of dart-throw value at a price that is not actually cheap enough.

Najee Harris and Tyrone Tracy Jr. are not on the board unless the Giants make a change, given the limited volume available, if they are active at all.

Receivers & Tight Ends

Tier 1:

Malik Nabers has run 26.0 routes per game and returned 1.35 yards per route run in the effort, catching 3.5 of his 6.5 targets per game and failing to score. Nabers works to a 14.0-yard ADOT and draws 31.15% of the air yards in this offense, but he has seen just a 53.85% catchable target rate from the two Giants quarterbacks. Nabers is coming off of a devastating career-changing knee injury and is seemingly playing with confidence that is limited, perhaps even waning. Nabers is WR13/26 on DraftKings and WR13/30 on FanDuel, he is not dead in the water but it is difficult to see him truly paying off value at his relatively high prices.

Isaiah Likely is probably the best pass-catching option in DFS play on this team. Likely is TE8/11 and TE6/4 across DraftKings and FanDuel. He has two touchdowns on the board already this season, both coming in the team’s Week 1 victory, hauling in all eight of his targets in that contest. Likely caught just five of 10 passes in Week 2, delivering a mere 33 yards in a lackluster performance, but the volume uptick is a strong indicator of the team’s need to keep him involved. Likely is a premium option for a fair price at his position on any given slate but he will be highly limited by the quality of the team’s quarterback play.

Tier 2:

n/a

Reserves/Very Large Field Darts

Malachi Fields and Darnell Mooney are the next options up, with 24.0 and 28.5 routes run per game over two weeks, respectively. Fields caught two of four targets in Week 1, gaining 25 yards; he picked up 30 yards on the same number of catches in Week 2 but saw an uptick to six targets. Only 50% of the balls thrown in Fields’ direction have rated as catchable targets, so most of the lack of output is not his fault. The rookie has talent and draft pedigree and should have a quality DFS day or two this season, but he rates outside of the top-50 across the board in Week 3. Mooney, meanwhile, ran 26 routes in Week 1 and 30 in Week 2, catching two passes in each game on two targets the first week and three the following. The veteran gained 75 yards combined across the two weeks but has done very little to draw attention.

Odell Beckham Jr. went from 11 snaps in Week 1 to just three last week; he has not drawn a target and has been on the field as a decoy for eight routes. He is in no way a DFS option this week.

Stack Ranks: DraftKings: 18 points / 15 value; FanDuel: 17 points / 21 value

Best Stacking Options: Winston-Nabers-Likely

Best One-off: Isaiah Likely

Best Value/Upside/Ownership Play: Isaiah Likely

Wildcard: Malachi Fields

New York Jets

Game Total: 48.0 (NYJ +7.0 / 20.5)

Offense: 3.3 ypa rush (48.89%) / 7.1 ypa pass (51.11%) / 20.0 ppg

oppDEF: 4.8 ypa rush / 6.6 ypa pass / 7.45% sack / 2.30% int / 35.5 ppg

Key Player: Geno Smith

Setting: at least one / exactly two (these can be alternated in a variety of lineup builds)

Team Group: Breece Hall, Garrett Wilson, Adonai Mitchell, Kenyon Sadiq, Braelon Allen (on/off), Isaiah Williams (large field), Jeremy Ruckert (large field; on/off)

Opposing Setting: at most one / exactly one (these can be alternated in a variety of lineup builds)

Opposing Group: Jahmyr Gibbs, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, Sam LaPorta, Isaac TeSlaa

Game Notes:

Quarterback

Geno Smith steps into action as QB20 by points but a slightly intriguing QB10 by value on the DraftKings board, his $4,900 price tag does much of the work in that equation. On FanDuel, the veteran slinger of pigskins is just QB20 by points and remains low-end as QB18 by value. Smith has been an effective game manager in his return to New York, the quarterback has a solid 8.2 CPOE mark on 32.5 pass attempts per game while gaining 7.1 yards per pass attempt on 6.5 intended air yars per attempt. The veteran does not add much value in the ground game but he is an accurate passer who has not thrown an interception over the first two games of the year. Ultimately, any upside to be extracted here will come from the team’s premium skill players, with Smith mostly just along for the ride against a pliable Detroit pass defense.

Running Backs

Tier 1:

Breece Hall benefits from steady volume; there is no way around it. The running back gained 102 yards and scored a touchdown on his 22 carries in Week 1 but turned in just 29 yards on 16 carries in Week 2. Hall’s acumen in the passing game helps pad his fantasy scoring, despite the low output on the ground. His numbers last week were somewhat boosted by a 63-yard performance on 5-for-5 receiving out of the backfield; he caught two of two for just 16 yards in Week 1. Overall, Hall is gaining just 3.4 yards per rush attempt on the season, a very low-end number, but he carries the ball 19.0 times per game and draws another 3.5 targets, putting him over our desired mark of 20 potential touches. Hall checks into Week 3 as RB11/10 and RB11/11 across sites; he is playable but not a tremendous priority as a standalone option or a member of a Jets value stack on DraftKings. Hall’s best role may be as a “bring back” option against stacks of the Detroit passing game.

Tier 2:

n/a

Reserves/Very Large Field Darts

Braelon Allen is gaining just 3.1 yards per attempt on 7.5 tries per game in two contests, but he has a 26.67% broken tackle rate in the small sample, largely because first contact has come just 1.3 yards into his run on average, something that is likely far out of his control. Allen is outside of the top-35 running backs on both sites in Week 3.

Receivers & Tight Ends

Tier 1:

Garrett Wilson is WR9 by points and WR12 by value on DraftKings, and he lands as WR10/12 on the FanDuel board. The receiver runs a team-leading 32.0 routes per game and gains 2.13 yards per route run, also a team-leading number. Wilson has been heavily involved with Geno Smith at the wheel; his 7.0 targets each week provide a steady flow of opportunities on his 10.9-yard average depth of target. Smith has delivered the catchable ball with regularity as well; Wilson comes into Week 3 with a supportive 85.71% catchable target rate for the year.

An interesting depth option and a popular waiver wire pickup in recent weeks, Adonai Mitchell is currently questionable to play after limited practices to end the week. The receiver is dealing with a hand injury but seems likely to take the field, where value can be extracted from his ability to get downfield. Mitchell has a robust 15.8-yard ADOT for the season, drawing a massive and underappreciated 56.69% air yards share over his first two games playing with Smith at quarterback. Mitchell was drawing similar chances to end last year after landing in New York. The reliability leaves something to be desired; to this point, Mitchell is catching the ball steadily, with 5.5 receptions per game coming from his team-leading 7.5 weekly targets, and Smith is delivering the ball well enough to the required depth, with a 73.33% catchable target rate. Adonai Mitchell is interesting as WR34 by points but WR14 by value on DraftKings; he is WR28 by points and leaps to WR17 by value on FanDuel, putting him on the list of potentially explosive one-offs in addition to his obvious value to a cheap Jets stack.

Tier 2:

Kenyon Sadiq played 27 snaps in Week 1 and 28 snaps in Week 2, picking up three targets in each game. His lone touchdown came on an oddball rushing play from short yardage, a role he could continue to fill from time to time to help pad fantasy scoring. With Mason Taylor going down in the Week 2 game, there should be more opportunity immediately available for the only tight end taken in the first round of the 2026 draft. Sadiq is a big-bodied 6’3″ 241lbs with hands, he is an interesting mixer in Jets stacks as TE18/15 and TE18/16 but lacks true standout quality as a one-off.

Reserves/Very Large Field Darts

Isaiah Williams runs 30.5 routes per game but sees just 3.5 targets and has come away with only 0.67 yards per route run so far. The receiver has drawn a 100% catchable target rate, so the lack of output seems squarely on him at a lousy 1.3-yard ADOT. Williams is outside the top-75 on both sites.

Stack Ranks: DraftKings: 15 points / 7 value; FanDuel: 14 points / 12 value

Best Stacking Options: Smith-Hall-Wilson +/- Mitchell

Best One-off: Breece Hall or Garrett Wilson

Best Value/Upside/Ownership Play: Adonai Mitchell

Wildcard: Kenyon Sadiq

Pittsburgh Steelers

Game Total: 43.0 (PIT +3.5 / 19.75)

Offense: 3.4 ypa rush (33.59%) / 5.0 ypa pass (66.41%) / 11.5 ppg

oppDEF: 3.9 ypa rush / 5.5 nypa pass / 8.70% sack / 0.0% int / 27.3% pressure / 16.5 ppg

Key Player: Aaron Rodgers

Setting: at least one / exactly two (these can be alternated in a variety of lineup builds)

Team Group: Jaylen Warren, DK Metcalf, Michael Pittman Jr., Pat Freiermuth, Roman Wilson, Germie Bernard, Darnell Washington (on/off), Travis Homer (on/off)

Opposing Setting: at most one / exactly one (these can be alternated in a variety of lineup builds)

Opposing Group: Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, Chase Brown, Mike Gesicki, Samaje Perine (on/off), Colbie Young (large field)

Game Notes:

Quarterback

That smell coming from Pittsburgh is the aging corpse of Aaron Rodgers. The quarterback has been left in the sun too long and is gone fully bad at a -1.3 CPOE over his 39.5 pass attempts per game. Rodgers is firing the ball at a high rate; he is just not finding much success for the effort, delivering just 5.2 yards per pass attempt on 7.7 intended air yards per attempt. The quarterback comes into action with one touchdown pass in two games and a matching interception total. Rodgers draws a Cincinnati defense that has been good over the season’s first two games, allowing a net of just 5.5 yards per pass attempt and finding regular pressure and eight quarterback sacks in two games. Rodgers is QB25/26 and QB25/25 across sites and heads up a low-end stack with limited skill player appeal.

Running Backs

Tier 1:

n/a

Tier 2:

Jaylen Warren is RB15 by points and RB11 by value on DraftKings and steps up in value as RB15 by points but RB9 by value on the FanDuel slate. Warren gains 4.2 yards per rush attempt but carries the ball just 10.5 times per game so far this season, but could be on the upswing with 1A running back Rico Dowdle out of commission and on the IR. Warren is dealing with a shoulder issue and is technically questionable himself, but he is expected to play and should easily lead the backfield in potential touches. The running back has been limited by his line, gaining just 1.6 yards before first contact per attempt compared to 2.6 yards after contact. His 14.29% broken tackle rate is a solid marker for quality, and he has gained 0.3 yards over expectation per attempt so far in 2026. With a few more chances on the ground and some readily available skills in the passing game, Warren could be nicely positioned to do most of the work for this lousy Steelers offense in Week 3. This is, after all, one of the more regularly targeted running backs so far this year, with 5.0 targets per game, including two in the red zone on the season. Warren is yet to score, but the opportunity is suggestive of upside in Week 3 and beyond.

Reserves/Very Large Field Darts

Travis Homer is the likely next man up for the understudy role. Homer was active in Week 2, playing two snaps with the offense and carrying the ball twice for 16 yards. There is no fantasy appeal unless Homer vaults into the starting slot if Warren is forced to sit out; even then, the chance is very thin on a bad team. Homer has been in the NFL since 2019; he has never carried the ball more than 25 times in a season, let alone a game, though he does see limited targeting, peaking at 20 targets in 14 games in 2021 with Seattle. Travis Homer has three combined NFL touchdowns in his seven-year career; this is not a likely option.

Receivers & Tight Ends

Tier 1:

DK Metcalf is gaining a mere 0.76 yards per route run this season. The veteran receiver ran 47 routes and drew nine targets in Week 2 after seeing 10 chances on his 44 routes run in Week 1, volume is not the problem. Metcalf has just eight catches on those 19 chances over two weeks; he is seeing just a 52.63% catchable target rate from the team’s aged quarterback. Metcalf still draws a huge 44.78% air yards share, but if Rodgers cannot reliably deliver the ball, there is not much value in the chances. Metcalf has not caught a touchdown but still lives in big play territory with a 14.0-yard average depth of target. The wideout is WR19 by points and WR24 by value on DraftKings; he is WR19 by points but plummets to WR33 by value on FanDuel.

Tier 2:

Michael Pittman Jr. is questionable with a foot injury going into Saturday. The receiver was limited through practices during the week and was out of action in Week 2. In the team’s Week 1 game, his first in Pittsburgh, Pittman Jr. caught three of three targets for 58 yards but did little else with the 36 routes that he ran on 59 snaps. Assuming he returns to the field, Pittman would be likely to see the second-most routes and targets on this team, but he is difficult to trust, doubly so with Rodgers making the throws.

Pat Freiermuth is TE20/21 and TE20/20 across sites this week. He has a touchdown on the board this season, something that none of the other pass-catchers in this offense can claim. Freiermuth has been an involved receiver, running 31.5 routes per game in the busy but unproductive passing attack. The tight end gains 1.26 yards per route run and hauls in 4.5 of his 5.0 targets per game on the year while working at a 6.8-yard ADOT for 13.48% of the team’s air yards. This doesn’t make Freiermuth a big-play tight end by nature, more a tight end who is capable of the big play from time to time. Steady volume and red zone targeting keep him involved, but a decent defense and a bad quarterback will keep him limited.

Reserves/Very Large Field Darts

Germie Bernard got into action last week with 55 offensive snaps and 36 routes run while Pittman was out of action. Assuming that the veteran returns in Week 3, Bernard, a rookie, is likely to slide back down the depth chart. The receiver caught four of the eight targets thrown his way last week, turning them into a limited 35-yard performance and failing to score. Bernard worked in the mid-range with an 8.8-yard ADOT and delivered 2.7 yards above expectation after the catch per reception in the small sample. The second-round rookie has upside but his three snaps in Week 1 with the full roster in play are not encouraging for this week’s potential.

Roman Wilson is more likely to see action than Bernard with Pittman back in the mix; he played 37 snaps and ran 28 routes in Week 1 and was on the field for 55 snaps and 44 routes run in Week 2. Wilson has eight catches for 54 yards total in the two games, and has not found the end zone. He is WR74/71 and WR68/69.

Stack Ranks: DraftKings: 22 points / 21 value; FanDuel: 23 points / 25 value

Best Stacking Options: Rodgers-Warren-Metcalf +/- Freiermuth

Best One-off: Jaylen Warren

Best Value/Upside/Ownership Play: Pat Freiermuth

Wildcard: Pat Freiermuth

Seattle Seahawks

Game Total: 40.5 (SEA -7.5 / 24.0)

Offense: 4.2 ypa rush (53.91%) / 8.7 ypa pass (46.09%) / 22.0 ppg

oppDEF: 4.4 ypa rush / 7.3 ypa pass / 8.20% sack / 0.0% int / 30.90% pressure / 30.5 ppg

Key Player: Sam Darnold

Setting: at least one / exactly two (these can be alternated in a variety of lineup builds)

Team Group: Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Jadarian Price, Rashid Shaheed, AJ Barner, Cooper Kupp, George Holani (on/off), Emmanuel Wilson (on/off)

Opposing Setting: at most one / exactly one (these can be alternated in a variety of lineup builds)

Opposing Group: Terry McLaurin, Stefon Diggs, Antonio Williams, Dyami Brown (large field), Jacoby Croskey-Merritt, Rachaad White (on/off), Jaylin Lane (large field), Treylon Burks (large field)

Game Notes:

Quarterback

The Seahawks should take a step up in class with Sam Darnold returning to the helm after missing most of Week 1 and all of Week 2 with a strained glute muscle. Darnold is coming off of back-to-back campaigns of more than 4,000 passing yards, including 4,048 yards with 25 touchdown passes and 14 interceptions in last year’s Super Bowl season. The quarterback threw for 4,319 yards with 35 touchdown passes against only 12 interceptions in his big breakout in Minnesota the year before, but was slightly more of an efficient manager last year. Darnold slides in with excellent weapons in place, he rates as QB16/21 and QB15/16 as an individual and heads up Stack 12/17 on DraftKings, where the Seahawks look a bit misaligned. They are Stack 9/9 on the FanDuel slate where they seem to play up for potential quality. Pairing Darnold and his top pass-catcher is always a playable skinny stack at the very least.

Running Backs

Tier 1:

n/a

Tier 2:

n/a

Reserves/Very Large Field Darts

The Seahawks have one of several messy backfield situations across the league in Week 3, and it is only going to get worse all over as the season continues. Rookie Jadarian Price has seen exactly 24 snaps with the offense in each of the first two games, carrying the ball 10 times for 52 yards in Week 1 and gaining the same number of yards on 13 carries in Week 2, while adding three total catches for 14 total yards on four targets. Emanuel Wilson, the nominal second option, carried the ball 21 times over 29 snaps with the offense in a Week 2 mini-breakout; he failed to catch his lone target but is slated to play the same role in the offense against a team allowing 4.4 yards per rush attempt on the season. Finally, George Holani is the least of the lousy choices; he gains just 3.5 yards per rush attempt over six carries per game on the season but played 23 snaps in Week 1 and 18 in Week 2, keeping him at least loosely involved overall. Holani also has five red zone carries, including two inside of the five-yard line last week, though Wilson had seven total red zone chances and four inside the five-yard line in the same game, and Price had three total and a single chance inside the five. Price ranks best as RB26/25 and RB25/24 across sites; Wilson is just B39/43 and RB36/41 with limited expectations of a repeat. Holani is almost off the board as RB44/44 and RB43/45.

Receivers & Tight Ends

Tier 1:

Jaxon Smith-Njigba is one of the top overall potential performers on the Week 3 slate. Projecting like a high-end quarterback in fantasy points, the wideout is WR1 on both sites for points, while landing as WR3 by value on DraftKings and maintaining the top spot for points-per-dollar potential on the blue site. “JSN” has four touchdown catches in two games this season, including a huge 82-yard touchdown grab in Week 2, while working with backup Drew Lock. The wide receiver is gaining a ridiculous 5.54 yards per route run over two games, posting 122 yards in Week 1 and 155 in Week 2 and picking up a team-leading 11 targets per game, with six total red zone targets already going his way. “JSN” dominates the air yards share at 54.28% on an 8.9-yard average depth of target, and his after-the-catch abilities are tremendous with a 2.5 yards after the catch over expectation per reception mark. This is one of the top receivers on any given slate, even more so when facing a team currently allowing 7.3 net passing yards per attempt over two games.

Tier 2:

Burner Rashid Shaheed has the ability to get downfield in a hurry; he is currently working at a 9.6-yard ADOT but is more frequently seen even further along. Shaheed picked up 4.5 targets per game in Darnold’s absence but they came with just a 55.56% catchable target rate, and he managed to pick up just 0.93 yards per route run over his 21.0 routes per game. The receiver has not scored; no one other than Smith-Njigba has a touchdown reception in 2026, but Darnold’s return should help with that. Shaheed is WR47/38 and WR48/43 across sites this week; he is mostly a touchdown- or big-play-dependent dice roll.

Reserves/Very Large Field Darts

Cooper Kupp should also benefit from the veteran signal-caller’s return. Kupp has run just 17.5 routes per game while drawing 2.5 targets each week, catching two of them per game. The veteran is coming down the homestretch of his strong career but he is far from finished with 1.57 yards per route run on his limited volume. Kupp only scored twice last year and is yet to find the end zone in 2026, his 593 yards on 47 catches in 2025 are far from a promising fantasy bonanza, but the team still calls his number in big spots, with 12 red zone targets in 16 games last year. Kupp is a low-end WR55/57 and WR58/60.

AJ Barner is TE19 by points but leaps to TE5 by value on the DraftKings slate, but on FanDuel he ranks as just TE19/17. Barner ran 17 routes in each of the season’s first two games, picking up two Week 1 targets and just one last week, and catching them all. The tight end has 21 yards and has not scored in the passing game, but he did punch in an oddball rushing touchdown on a single carry at the goal line in Arizona in Week 2. If Barner continues to see those chances as the team struggles with running backs it could easily pad some fantasy value at cheap pricing, while lowering concerns about the high-volume pass catcher atop this depth chart.

Tory Horton did not play in Week 1 but was active for 22 snaps with the offense last week. The receiver ran five routes and went untargeted; he is unlikely to provide value despite being the nominal fourth option at the position.

Stack Ranks: DraftKings: 12 points / 17 value; FanDuel: 9 points / 9 value

Best Stacking Options: Darnold – Smith-Njigba – Shaheed +/- Barner

Best One-off: Jaxon Smith-Njigba

Best Value/Upside/Ownership Play: Rashid Shaheed

Wildcard: AJ Barner

San Francisco 49ers

Game Total: 47.5 (SF -8.5 / 28.0)

Offense: 4.7 ypa rush (50.44%) / 8.8 ypa pass (49.56%) / 31.0 ppg

oppDEF: 4.0 ypa rush / 7.1 ypa pass / 7.02% sack / 1.89% int / 21.0% pressure / 22.5 ppg

Key Player: Brock Purdy

Setting: at least one / exactly two (these can be alternated in a variety of lineup builds)

Team Group: Christian McCaffrey, Mike Evans (Q), George Kittle, Deebo Samuel Sr., Kaelon Black (on/off), Jacob Cowing (large field), Luke Farrell (very large field), KhaDarel Hodge (very large field), Kyle Juszczyk (very large field)

Opposing Setting: at most one / exactly one (these can be alternated in a variety of lineup builds)

Opposing Group: Trey McBride, Michael Wilson, Jeremiyah Love, Marvin Harrison Jr., Kendrick Bourne, Tyler Allgeier (on/off), Eiljah Higgins (large field; on/off)

Game Notes:

Quarterback

Brock Purdy is in the midst of a strong start to his 2026 campaign, throwing five touchdown passes against just one interception over the first two games, with a rushing touchdown adding signficant fantasy value. The quarterback has a terrific 11.1 CPOE while completing 80.0% of his 28.0 attempts per game, gaining 8.8 yards per pass attempt in the process. On the ground, Purdy is averaging 7.4 yards per rush attempt over 4.0 carries per game in the small sample. The signal caller has punched one in already this year after finding paydirt three times in just nine games in 2025 and five times in 15 outings in 2024. Purdy draws an excellent matchup against an Arizona defense yielding 7.1 net yards per pass attempt and not mustering much of a pass rush over two games. He is QB3 by points and QB8 by value on DraftKings while landing even better on the blue site as QB3 by points and QB4 by value atop a similarly-rated stack.

Running Backs

Tier 1:

Christian McCaffrey may no longer be at his absolute apex, no athlete stays there forever, but people have pushed him further down the board in their esteem than his output deserves. “CMC” still gains 4.6 yards per rush attempt on 10.0 carries per game while providing a robust 4.5 catches on 6.0 targets per game in the offense, gaining 5.3 yards per target as a regular option for PPR upside. The superstar running back has a pair of rushing touchdowns on the season, both coming last week against the lowly Dolphins. McCaffrey carried the ball 10 times for just 23 yards in that contest, hauling in four of four targets for another 43 yards. He was more productive for gains in Week 1 in a bigger spot against the Rams in Los Angeles. The talent still seems to be there whenever McCaffrey needs to call on it, the veteran is RB2 by points and RB8 by value on DraftKings and lands as RB4 by points and RB6 by value on FanDuel.

Tier 2:

n/a

Reserves/Very Large Field Darts

Kaelon Black is RB32/32 and RB30/30 across sites on the back of 10.5 rushing attempts per game and 4.3 yards per attempt to this point. The rookie has comported himself well in his immediate role with the team after his selection in the third round. Black gains 2.8 yards before contact per attempt, benefiting to a degree from steady linework and playcalling; his 1.5 yards after contact per attempt are a bit less impressive and explain his -0.5 yards per attempt against expectation, however. The running back has not scored and has caught just one pass on two targets for the season, rendering him far more of a lottery ticket for an explosive rushing play leading to a touchdown than a reliable tier 2 option.

Kyle Juszczyk is the most difficult last name to remember how to spell in all of professional sports, hockey included. The fullback draws the infrequent target in the passing game and does not typically carry the ball. He hits the board because the limited targeting tends to come within reach of the end zone, leading to very cheap very low-owned scoring potential. Juszczyk is better for single-game showdown formats than full slates, even when he connects for the touchdown grab, he provides that and nothing more. Still, a dart here and there at RB55/55 and RB62/61 within larger stacks of 49ers is playable.

Receivers & Tight Ends

Tier 1:

Mike Evans is questionable but looks like he will give it a go after a Friday practice. The veteran has a touchdown under his belt in two games with the 49ers, drawing a 30.26% air yards share and leading the group with 22.0 routes run per game. That volume does not stack up well by comparison to other teams but the 49ers have made scoring touchdowns their business early this season, which restores at least some of the potential lost from lower volume. Evans works at a 9.5-yard average depth of target and gains 2.34 yards per route run, if he stays healthy another 1,000-yard season seems likely. For Week 3, he is WR10 by points but falls badly to WR23 by value on DraftKings. Evans holds up better on the other side of town, but only barely, he is WR9 by points and WR20 by value on FanDuel.

George Kittle is TE3 by points and TE7 by value on DraftKings and TE4 by points and TE6 by value on FanDuel, putting him in the heart of playable territory at the position. Kittle draws 4.5 targets per game and has seen three chances in the red zone in two contests. The veteran tight end has a touchdown on the board this season and draws a 26.22% air yards share on his team-leading 9.8-yard ADOT. With 2.97 yards gained per route run over his limited 15.5 routes per game, Kittle delivers high-impact efficiency but can also live and die by the touchdown.

Tier 2:

Deebo Samuel Sr. would see a bit of an uptick if Evans does not manage to suit up, but he is not the same type of receiver as his high-flying teammate. Samuel works in short yardage and handles gadget plays in the rushing attack at times as well. The receiver has just a 3.3-yard ADOT on the season but has already posted a touchdown catch and has carried the ball once each week for 8.0 yards per game. Samuel put up 48 yards and a touchdown on seven targets in Week 1 and 31 yards on four targets in Week 2, he has plenty of explosive after-the-catch ability but is slightly more limited in ceiling by the nature of his game, unless he finds the end zone multiple times.

Reserves/Very Large Field Darts

Jacob Cowing, Jordan Watkins, and KhaDarel Hodge share limited downstream opportunities, while Luke Farrell runs 15.0 routes per game and has been targeted in each of the first two games. None of the options provide reliability; Farrell is outside of the top-40 at tight end, and all of the receivers rank outside of the top-90.

Stack Ranks: DraftKings: 4 points / 5 value; FanDuel: 4 points / 3 value

Best Stacking Options: Purdy-McCaffrey-Evans +/- Kittle +/- Samuel

Best One-off: Christian McCaffrey

Best Value/Upside/Ownership Play: George Kittle

Wildcard: Kaelon Black

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Game Total: 43.0 (TB +2.0 / 20.5)

Offense: 5.0 ypa rush (39.47%) / 6.4 ypa pass (60.53%) / 23.0 ppg

oppDEF: 3.8 ypa rush / 6.1 nypa pass / 9.41% sack / 2.60% int / 43.2% pressure / 12.5 ppg

Key Player: Baker Mayfield

Setting: at least one / exactly two (these can be alternated in a variety of lineup builds)

Team Group: Bucky Irving, Emeka Egbuka, Chris Godwin Jr., Kenny Gainwell (on/off), Cade Otton, Ted Hurst III (large field), Jalen McMillan (large field), Tez Johnson (large field)

Opposing Setting: at most one / exactly one (these can be alternated in a variety of lineup builds)

Opposing Group: Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, TJ Hockenson, Aaron Jones Sr., Jauan Jennings, Josh Oliver (on/off), DeeJay Dallas (on/off), Demond Claiborne (on/off)

Game Notes:

Quarterback

It is difficult to trust Baker Mayfield and his shipmates after they floundered and sank against the lowly Browns in a revenge spot for their captain last weekend. Mayfield mustered just 182 passing yards with a touchdown and an interception in a lackluster performance for the week. The low-end game left the quarterback with just one touchdown pass over two games in what was supposed to be a decent passing game. Mayfield threw 28 passes in Week 1 and 34 last week, so the volume is intact, and the quarterback’s 9.0 CPOE mark shows the quality of his connections. Mayfield and the offense just have not managed to work for more than 6.4 yards per pass attempt or find the end zone with regularity. The quarterback slots in at the wheel of Stack 20 by points on both sites, landing as Stack 25 and Stack 23 by value, he is QB 17/16 and QB16/22 in a limited week against a Minnesota defense with an outrageous pressure rate and crushing ability to clip gains against both the run and pass.

Running Backs

Tier 1:

Bucky Irving remains a tier 1 talent in this offense after back-to-back solid performances to open the season while his teammates struggled. Irving carried the ball eight times for 45 yards and a rushing touchdown, with an additional 48 yards coming from seven catches on as many targets in Week 1. In Week 2, the running back flipped the script, gaining 89 yards on 17 carries on the ground but just one yard on his four catches from four targets. Irving has seen three red zone carries in two games, but only one of those came from inside the 10-yard line; similarly, his two red zone targets were also from beyond the 10. Irving is a playable RB13/14 and RB13/21, his value mark hits much better on DraftKings, where he is a standalone consideration.

Tier 2:

Kenny Gainwell slips to RB31/30 and RB31/32 across DraftKings and FanDuel this week. The running back carries the ball just 3.5 times per game, gaining 3.6 yards per attempt, though he has a compelling 14.29% broken tackle rate in the tiny sample. Gainwell draws 2.5 targets per game on the whole, but saw just one look in Week 2 as his snap count dipped from 26 to 23 week-over-week.

Reserves/Very Large Field Darts

n/a

Receivers & Tight Ends

Tier 1:

Emeka Egbuka rates far better for value than points on the DraftKings slate as WR21 by points but WR50 by value at his hefty $6,200 price. He lands fairly evenly on FanDuel as WR21 by points and WR18 by value, and could even be called “affordable” at $6,000 against that site’s cap. Egbuka works to a terrific 14.5-yard average depth of target while picking up 5.5 targets per game so far this season. The second-year receiver runs 34.5 routes per game, tying him with Chris Godwin Jr. for the team lead. Egbuka’s deeper downfield work create more big play potential overall, but both receivers are in play for stacking purposes. It is Egbuka who has the lone touchdown catch in the team’s receiving corps this season.

Chris Godwin Jr. slots in not too far behind by points, he is WR36/48 on DraftKings, where his value is also off-base; on FanDuel he is WR36/31. Godwin Jr. has technically slightly outgained Egbuka with 1.25 yards per route run to his teammate’s 1.14, but a 5.1-yard ADOT will be a limiting factor in keeping pace. Godwin Jr. has not been targeted in the red zone but has seen a 100% catchable target rate from Mayfield and has a clear connection with the quarterback on short passes that could be in play in a big way against the hyper-aggressive Vikings pass rush.

Tier 2:

Cade Otton is a cheap tight end play who is a dart at a touchdown catch as TE22/20 and TE23/23 across sites. Otton brings regular involvement to the table; he runs 32.5 routes per game, nearly as much as the top two wide receivers, and has drawn 5.5 targets per game over the first two contests to tie him with Egbuka and Godwin for the team lead. Otton gains 0.98 yards per route run while working on a 7.0-yard average depth of target for 11.93% of the air yards, but he has not found the end zone in 2026. Otton has a red zone target on the board along with accurately delivered chances; he is a fine mixer but no more, and plays equally well in stacks or cheap standalone darts.

Reserves/Very Large Field Darts

Ted Hurst III picks up the slack for the offense with 28.0 routes run per game, drawing 5.0 targets, including two in the red zone in his first two games. Hurst will compete with Jalen McMillan for targets going forward but badly outsnapped and outplayed the veteran in Week 2, McMillan’s first game of the year. Hurst ran 23 routes on 48 snaps with the offense last week, actually playing five more snaps than in Week 1. He caught just two of his whopping seven targets in the game, though, which could push McMillan further into action after he saw just seven snaps and ran two routes in his return. Hurst is WR69/55 and WR66/70 while McMillan is WR70/77 and WR76/75.

Tez Johnson ran just five routes on 12 snaps with the offense in Week 1, drawing one target and also picking up a rushing play for -4.0 yards. The receiver saw a minor uptick in Week 2, playing 19 snaps with the offense and running routes on 14 of them. Johnson caught just one of his four targets but did make a big play with a 49-yard gain on the throw. The receiver will need to prove more reliable in a busy low-end depth group and his 2025 seventh-round pick status does nothing to help his case for time.

Stack Ranks: DraftKings: 20 points / 25 value; FanDuel: 20 points / 23 value

Best Stacking Options: Mayfield-Irving-Egbuka- +/- Godwin

Best One-off: Bucky Irving

Best Value/Upside/Ownership Play: Cade Otton (DK) / Emeka Egbuka (FD)

Wildcard: Cade Otton

Tennessee Titans

Game Total: 38.5 (TEN +2.5 / 18.0)

Offense: 4.4 ypa rush (43.0%) / 6.2 ypa pass (57.0%) / 15.o ppg

oppDEF: 5.0 ypa rush / 7.5 nypa pass / 1.52% sack / 3.08% int / 10.10% pressure / 24.0 ppg

Key Player: Cam Ward

Setting: exactly one / at most one (allows for Cam Ward standalone options)

Team Group: Tony Pollard (on/off), Carnell Tate, Wan’Dale Robinson, Tyjae Spears (on/off), Calvin Ridley, Gunnar Helm, Elic Ayomanor, Chimere Dike, Daniel Bellinger (on/off)

Opposing Setting: at most one / exactly one (these can be alternated in a variety of lineup builds)

Opposing Group: Malik Nabers, Cam Skattebo, Isaiah Likely, Malachi Fields, Devin Singletary (on/off), Darnell Mooney (large field), Theo Johnson (large field)

Game Notes:

Quarterback

Cam Ward demonstrated his value as a passer and his value at putting the ball in the end zone in Week 2, and only one of them was good. Ward threw for 183 yards on just 20 pass attempts but did not manage to throw a touchdown pass. The quarterback is now averaging just 6.20 yards per pass on 6.3 intended air yards per attempt, with a -2.1 CPOE. Ward has been better on the ground, carrying the ball four times per game for just 3.5 yards per attempt but converting two rushing touchdowns in last week’s game. The quarterback is inexpensive on both sites against a limited Giants defense that will be on the field frequently with Jameis Winston in action for their offense. Ward stands a fair chance to punch in a cheap rushing touchdown and should have a better day through the air. In Week 1, the quarterback threw for just 140 yards but he managed a touchdown pass and did sling the ball 32 times, giving some hope for upside in a poorly-played but high-scoring affair that would defy the Vegas expectations of the week’s lowest game total. Ward is QB21 by points on both sites but climbs to QB15 by value on DraftKings and QB17 in the category on FanDuel.

Running Backs

Tier 1:

n/a

Tier 2:

Tony Pollard barely clings to relevance as RB25/26 and RB26/23. The veteran running back is putting up a solid 4.7 yards per rush attempt but has seen just 10.5 carries per game on the season, seven coming in Week 1 and 14 last week. Pollard is yet to score a touchdown, but the team did hand him the ball five times in the red zone in Week 2, including three times inside the 10-yard line. With his understudy ailing but likely to play, Pollard could see a bit of an uptick in volume. The running back is not much more than a dart throw with an appropriate salary on both sites.

Reserves/Very Large Field Darts

Tyjae Spears is dealing with an ankle issue coming into Week 3, but he was able to practice on Friday and is trending toward playing. Spears outgains Pollard on limited opportunities, gaining 5.3 yards per rush attempt on just 5.0 carries per game in brief action this season. The running back has also drawn three targets per game to just 1.5 for the starter, keeping him involved with a bit of potential for big plays and scoring. Spears is mostly an afterthought for DFS in Week 3, his most significant impact would probably come from not playing, in which case one can bump expectations for Pollard by minor degrees. Spears is RB30/31 and RB33/31.

Receivers & Tight Ends

Tier 1:

Rookie Carnell Tate currently paces the team with 28.0 routes run per game over two contests. The neophyte has returned just 1.16 yards per route run on 5.5 targets per game, good for a 24.4% target rate on routes. Part of the issue is a limiting 63.64% catchable target rate at Tate’s average depth of 10.6 yards compared to teammate Wan’Dale Robinson’s 85.71% catchable target rate at an ADOT of just 4.1 yards. If the quarterback struggles to deliver the deeper ball, it is a limiting factor for a receiver who works in that part of the field. Tate has yet to find the end zone in his short career, but he is seeing 39.59% of the team’s air yards and is the go-to option in this passing game.

Tier 2:

Wan’Dale Robinson is a volume and PPR format receiver almost exclusively. The wideout has drawn 3.5 targets a game but saw six in Week 2, operating on the short depth of target. Robinson is managing just 0.90 yards per route run on his 26.0 routes per game, despite reliable targeting and decent hands. The receiver is a mixer as WR42/34 and WR40/37, his points-per-dollar mark is only loosely appealing on DraftKings.

Reserves/Very Large Field Darts

Calvin Ridley is another downfield operator. The team’s resident bomber works at a 13.5-yard ADOT over two games, but he has caught just two passes on two targets and went untargeted over 23 routes run in Week 1. Ridley is a low-end play as WR62/67 and WR65/64

Elic Ayomanor draws interesting targets, including three in the red zone already this season. The receiver slots in as just WR77/75 and WR79/78 across sites, but he has the team’s lone touchdown reception this season and picks up three targets per game on a healthy 12.3-yard ADOT. Ayomanor is objectively cheap with a minor amount of touchdown-dependent potential. There are worse lottery tickets, but there are many better plays.

Gunnar Helm is just TE26/25 and TE26/26 across sites. The tight end has drawn 3.5 targets per game with two red zone targets on the season, but has been uninspiring at a 2.3-yard average depth of target that limits his potential until stacked right up against the goal line.

Stack Ranks: DraftKings: 25 points / 24 value; FanDuel: 25 points / 24 value

Best Stacking Options: Ward-Tate-Robinson

Best One-off: Carnell Tate or Tony Pollard (neither is also an acceptable, if not preferred, answer here)

Best Value/Upside/Ownership Play: Wan’Dale Robinson

Wildcard: Calvin Ridley

Washington Commanders

Game Total: 40.5 (WAS +7.5 / 16.5)

Offense: 4.9 ypa rush (47.76%) / 5.4 ypa pass (52.24%) / 21.0 ppg

oppDEF: 3.7 ypa rush / 3.8 nypa pass / 7.58% sack / 6.56% int / 23.3% pressure / 8.5 ppg

Key Player: Marcus Mariota

Setting: at least one / exactly two (these can be alternated in a variety of lineup builds)

Team Group: Terry McLaurin, Stefon Diggs, Antonio Williams, Dyami Brown (large field), Jacoby Croskey-Merritt, Rachaad White (on/off), Jaylin Lane (large field), Treylon Burks (large field)

Opposing Setting: at most one / exactly one (these can be alternated in a variety of lineup builds)

Opposing Group: Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Jadarian Price, Rashid Shaheed, AJ Barner, Cooper Kupp

Game Notes:

Quarterback

The Commanders took a huge blow with Jayden Daniels’ dislocated elbow knocking him out of action for an undetermined amount of time. Veteran backup Marcus Mariota will be at the wheel for Washington on Sunday, coming into action as a 7.5-point underdog with just a 16.5-point implied team total. Mariota completed 11 of 16 passes for 111 yards and a touchdown, and ran for another three yards after Daniels exited the Week 2 contest; he was not bad but was merely efficient. Mariota has been in action for the Commanders in each of the past three seasons; he has a high degree of familiarity and threw for 1,695 yards with 10 touchdown passes and seven interceptions, adding another 297 yards and a rushing touchdown on his 50 attempts on the ground across 11 games last season. Against a Seattle defense that has been on terrific out of the gate, Mariota ranks as the worst QB on the board at QB26/24 on DraftKings and QB26/26 on FanDuel, and he heads up Stack 26 across the board on both sites.

Running Backs

Tier 1:

n/a

Tier 2:

Rachaad White ranks as RB27/27 and RB29/27 across DraftKings and FanDuel by points/value. The running back has carried the ball an average of just seven times a game this season but has badly outgained his counterpart with an average of 4.6 yards per rush attempt. White is a veteran with added skills in the passing game and could easily operate as a safety valve for the short-tossing Mariota. The running back has been targeted four times per game over the first two games of the year, including once in the red zone. He has four catches but has not scored while gaining 5.6 yards per target. White is just a mixer of a running back but he is capable of breaking big plays and has value in full-PPR formats.

Jacory “Bill” Croskey-Merritt has been limited to start the season, gaining just 3.8 yards per rush attempt over 14.0 carries per game with a 0.0% broken tackle rate. Croskey-Merritt has almost entirely ceded any action in the passing game to White, he has one catch for -1.0 yards on his lone target over two games. There is not much space between the two DC running backs with Croskey-Merritt slotting in as RB28/29 and RB27/28 across DraftKings and FanDuel.

Reserves/Very Large Field Darts

Kaytron Allen carried the ball five times for 24 yards in garbage time last weekend but could see increasing touches if the options ahead of him continue to flail. Allen was the 271st pick of the Draft in this year’s sixth round, coming out of Penn State. The running back does not have the draft capital to force his way into action but his 4.4 yards per attempt in a small sample is at least worth monitoring.

Receivers & Tight Ends

Tier 1:

Terry McLaurin is the lead option in this passing attack. The wideout has not caught a touchdown pass over the first two games but he is by far the leader in routes run each week, averaging 34.5 to the 23.5 run by Stefon Diggs. McLaurin has drawn a 20.6% target rate on routes run but has only managed 0.93 yards per route run. The lack of output and overall reliability, given two catches per game on 6.5 targets, can largely be blamed on an atrocious 46.15% catchable target rate from the team’s quarterbacks. Terry McLaurin is WR27 by points and 28 by value on DraftKings, and WR 27 across the board on FanDuel.

By comparison, Diggs runs very few routes, but he has seen an 80.0% catchable target rate and already has three touchdown catches on the board for the season. Diggs and McLaurin both work downfield, with Diggs posting a 10.3-yard ADOT and 25.60% air yards share that converts into a terrific 2.17 yards per route run in his brief Washington tenure. Diggs caught four of nine targets for 55 yards and a touchdown in Week 1, adding five more catches on six targets last week, including two touchdown receptions, with one coming from Marcus Mariota. Digggs ranks just behind his teammate as WR32/51 and WR35/44 but does not show as much points-per-dollar quality.

Tier 2:

Antonio Williams has run just 16.5 routes per game to this point, but he has been a monster of efficiency with 2.67 yards gained per route run. Williams caught a touchdown pass and has already seen two red zone targets in two games. The receiver competes for chances with options down the depth chart, but his third-round draft pedigree, 71st overall, should help him see constistent targeting unless he falls flat. Williams is a low-end dart throw in the week’s worst stack as WR59/64 and WR59/61.

Reserves/Very Large Field Darts

Dyami Brown, Treylon Burks, and Jaylin Lane all rank outside of the top-75 across the board on both sites; they are minor dart throws in a terrible spot. Among them, Brown’s 23.0 routes run per game leads the way, though the receiver has turned that and a 10.4-yard ADOT into just 0.46 yards per route run on two catches. Lane and Burks have only run seven routes per game and fall well short of likely production.

The team’s tight end position is down to Ben Sinnott and John Bates, neither of whom are likely to be significant options in the passing game.

Stack Ranks: DraftKings: 26 points / 26 value; FanDuel: 26 points / 26 value

Best Stacking Options: Don’t. (Mariota-McLaurin-Diggs)

Best One-off: Terry McLaurin

Best Value/Upside/Ownership Play: Rachaad White

Wildcard: Antonio Williams

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Content Creator:

Terry McBride

Terry is the founder of rotoscouts, he has more than 20 years of experience in daily and season-long fantasy sports. Terry has helped to create industry-leading DFS content for the past few years while sharing his expertise in MLB, NBA, NHL, NFL, and more.

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