RotoBallers, welcome to Week 3 of the daily fantasy football season. In this column, you will find my recommended FanDuel DFS Lineup Picks to target for Week 3 of the NFL season.
The goal is to identify players to start on FanDuel this week based on various factors including the opponent, the player's opportunity, analysis of the game's matchups, and the FanDuel price.
Let's find some DFS lineup sleepers, and win on FanDuel. Good luck in Week 3! Find me @DFS_Tom if you have any questions.
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FanDuel Quarterbacks - Week 3 DFS Picks
Deshaun Watson - QB, HOU vs NYG (FD - $7,700)
The Texans are having their home opener this week and come in as a six-point favorite versus a very weak Giants team. Watson is in a prime spot for both cash games and tournaments this week as he has multi-touchdown upside via the air and the ground. Watson passed for over 300 yards last week with two touchdowns while adding 44 yards on the ground. The Giants come in with the 28th DVOA vs the pass and the 22nd DOVA overall, which should allow Watson and the Texans to push the offense up and down the field. The Texans have an implied team total set at 24 right now and with his price, he makes a nice pivot off of Matt Ryan, who is the same price and in what should be a higher scoring game.
Andy Dalton - QB, CIN @ CAR (FD - $7,200)
Dalton has sneakily been very consistent to start the year, passing for 250 yards per game with six total touchdowns. He has more touchdowns than Drew Brees, Cam Newton, and Russell Wilson, all who are more expensive than him. This gives him some inherent value since he is a better point per dollar play, especially since he is up against the Panthers who have the 24th DOVA overall and the 16th DVOA vs the pass. If you're going to roster Dalton, really need to stack him with either A.J. Green or Tyler Boyd, to reach his full potential.
FanDuel Running Backs - Week 3 DFS Picks
Chris Thompson - RB, WAS vs GB (FD - $6,500)
Absolutely loved Thompson last week and will be going right back to the well with him this week. He finished with 14 targets last week, for a total of 13 receptions for 92 yards, but no touchdown. The wide receivers on the Redskins are highly inefficient, so Thompson is picking up the slack and grabbing all the short passing targets, which plays right into Alex Smith's passing profile. Thompson has and aDOT (average depth of target) of 1.93, along with having 28% of the total market share for targets on the Redskins. He can reach value solely on the receptions and yards, just needs a touchdown to really have a big game.
Jordan Howard - RB, CHI @ ARI (FD - $7,400)
Howard and the Bears are on the road in Arizona, to face off against a Cardinals team who is just flat out terrible. Until they prove otherwise, you should be rostering against the Cardinals on a weekly basis, as they come in with the 30th DVOA vs the rush and the 31st DVOA vs running backs in the passing game. This puts Howard in a great spot, since he played on 73% of the snaps last week, with 28 snaps in the passing game and 20 in the rushing game. He has 17 or more total touches in each of the first two games this season and makes a great cash game option this week against a terrible defense.
FanDuel Wide Receivers - Week 3 DFS Picks
DeAndre Hopkins - WR, HOU vs NYG (FD - $8,600)
Throughout the week I've heard talk about Michael Thomas, Tyreek Hill, and Julio Jones all being top targets this week. Where is the love for Nuk? He has 11 targets in each of the first two games this season, coming away with an average of 94 yards per game, with one total touchdown so far. Not seeing why he isn't being talked about more, but he is one of the most consistent receivers in the league and the clear number one option for the Texans. He is getting 35% of the total target market share for the Texans and should be able to feast on the Giants with their 28th DVOA vs the pass. Pair him with DeShaun Watson and watch the points pile up.
Kenny Stills - WR, MIA vs OAK (FD - $6,400)
Stills has a very favorable matchup in a game which could go overlooked since there are a few games which have higher over-unders. Regardless of that, Still has a fantastic matchup, since he is up against the Raiders, who come in with the 27th DVOA vs the pass and have given up several big plays in the first two weeks. Stills has an aDOT of 11.33 through the first two games, which is highest on the Dolphins, hopefully putting him in a position to get downfield for big plays.
FanDuel Tight End - Week 3 DFS Pick
George Kittle - TE, SF @ KC (FD - $5,800)
Kittle was one of the chalkiest tight ends last week and if you rostered him, you already know, you came away with basically nothing. No touchdown, no high volume receptions, nothing of value. He is firmly in play this week and could be seeing the classic flop lag touchdown from him. This game has an over-under set at 56, which is highest on the slate, so the offenses should be moving the ball here. He has 13 targets in the first two games and is playing on 78% of the offensive snaps so far. The Chiefs come in with the 31st DVOA vs tight ends, so a very favorable matchup for him and Jimmy G.
FanDuel Defense - Week 3 DFS Pick
Houston Texans vs New York Giants - (FD - $4,400)
The Texans defense was also very popular last week and did nothing. They had a dream matchup vs the Titans, who were missing two starting offensive linemen and had Blaine Gabbert at quarterback. They simply couldn't get it done then, but we have a whole new week to run it right back. They are up against the Giants and their terrible offensive line, who just gave up six sacks to the Cowboys on Sunday night. With the pass rushers the Texans have, combined with the overall inefficiency by Eli Manning, we should be looking at a solid outing in their home opener.