Week 2 either left you with some extra coin in your pocket or the bitter taste of redemption for Week 3. Regardless you’re back and still kicking! Week 2 concluded with a couple notable injuries like Drew Brees and Ben Roethlisberger going down, but with that comes fresh blood like Mason Rudolph holding the reigns of the team. Not only that, but Miami has shown us that there is a new punching bag in the league so move aside Lions. Also, New England’s defense has given up only three points in the last 2 weeks. With all this in mind, let’s take a look at our Week 3 optimal lineup.
DraftKings Optimal Lineup – Week 3.
QB – Mathew Stafford @ Philly – $5,500
Speaking of the Lions, Mr. Stafford looks to have a good matchup this week going against the Eagles. In the last two games, the Eagles have given up 680 passing yards and six TDs. Not to mention they just got burned on the Monday night game against the Falcons and Julio Jones. The Eagles also only have two total sacks in the couple games they have played, which means there might be some extra time in the pocket for Matt Stafford.
Alternative QB: Russell Wilson vs New Orleans Saints – $6,300, Jameis Winston vs New York Giants – $5,400
RB – Ezekiel Eliott vs Miami Dolphins – $8,900
Oh, Zeke, you’ve been one of the highest-rated RBs in the league but you have yet to have your breakout game. This, my friends, is why we are going to spend the big bucks on Zeke this week. The Dolphins have dropped 391 yards in the rushing game in only 2 weeks of play, that’s a fat 195.5 yards a game to our RBs people! Let’s ride the Zeke train this week because the next stop is big points in Miami.
Alternative RB: Todd Gurley II @ Cleveland Browns – $6,700
RB – Frank Gore vs Cincinnati Bengals – $4,400
Mr. Gore has been the RB in a time machine. He’s still in the league but surfs around from team to team hoping to get a starting spot. This season it is the Buffalo Bills and with rookie Devin Singletary banged up, Gore might be the play. The Bengals have given up just 60 fewer yards in the rushing game compared to Miami with 331 and the Bills have had the hot hand in New York football. Josh Allen seems to have sparked a winning flame within Buffalo and with that, Gore is going to be getting a lot of playing time setting up the passing game.
Alternative RB: Nick Chubb vs Los Angeles Rams – $6,500
WR – Stefon Diggs @ Oakland Raiders – $6,000
When it came to this game I thought Adam Thielen would be the better play. But after last week’s dud and his few hundred dollars difference between Diggs, Thielen might have to sit on the back burner. Diggs showed his WR1 quality last week and with Oakland’s poor secondary, another week of big points could be in the mix. Currently, Oakland sits 32nd in passing defense with 682 yards in 2 weeks, not to mention Kansas City’s four TDs through the air in just the second quarter. Minnesota is going to grind it out with Dalvin Cook and his rushing abilities, but they may end up folly with Oakland averaging 63 rushing yards, which means Diggs getting some looks in the passing game.
Alternative WR: D.J. Moore @ Arizona Cardinals – $5,900
WR – Allen Robinson II @ Washington Redskins – $5,600
Robinson might be one of the cheaper starting WRs that we can grab in a favorable matchup. Washington Redskins DB, Josh Norman, usually covers the number one receiver but even so, Amari Cooper didn’t fair too bad last week. Washington’s giving up about 287 passing yards a game, which is 25th in the league. Additionally, Robinson had 13 looks and seven receptions in Week 1, and seven looks with four receptions in Week 2. This factors into his matchup with Washington very well because we know he is getting looks from his young QB, he just needs the opportunity to prove it.
Alternative WR: Tyrell Williams @ Minnesota Vikings – $5,600
WR – Tyler Lockett vs New Orleans Saints – $6,200
There’s no doubt D.K. Metcalf is trying to make a name for himself after running the fastest 40-yard dash in the combine. This gives Lockett some breathing room after being the only WR Wilson had to throw to last season with Doug Baldwin‘s injury. Last week Lockett was targeted 12 times and had 10 receptions. If he would’ve hauled in a TD, his lackluster 79 receiving yards could have put him over the top with a fat 23 points. Instead, he finished with 17, which still makes for a pleasant day.
In Week 1, the Saints got lit up against the Texans for three TDs and 268 passing yards, and in Week 2, the Rams took their piece with one TD and 283 passing yards. The only possible reason Jared Goff didn’t throw for more TDs is because of their substantial lead after Brees was sidelined.
Alternative WR: Julian Edelman vs New York Jets – $6,300
TE – Mark Andrews @ Kansas City Chiefs – $4,600
When it comes to Lamar Jackson and his safety blankets, who better than his second-year tight end Mark Andrews. Currently, Andrews has 17 targets and 16 receptions for the whole 2019-2020 season. Not only that, he has also averaged 110 receiving yards and one TD each game, which leads the NFL in TEs. Only one other TE has more receptions than Andrews and that is Evan Engram with 17.
Alternative TE: Vance McDonald @ San Francisco 49ers
FLEX – Christian Kirk vs Carolina Panthers – $5,000
I know, I know, the sketchy Cardinals get an honorable mention on the list. Rookie QB Kyler Murray has had a rough couple weeks but the man sure knows how to spread the ball. Both Kirk and Fitz have hauled in their fair share of targets from the rookie, Kirk has had 20 total targets and Fitzgerald has 24. This means points points points to our players and Kirk is one of those players that is found in the budget bin. He and Fitzgerald both have a very favorable matchup when it comes to the Panthers, they just gave up eight receptions, 121 receiving yards and one TD to Chris Godwin. Unfortunately, Fitz puts us $100 over the budget, so roll with Kirk here.
Defense – New England vs New York Jets – $3,800
When it comes to defense, why not roll with the guys shutting down all teams. New England might be a little pricier than a few other good matchups, but let’s face it, the Jets are on their 3rd QB. There is no measure of the blood in the water when it comes to these sharks. They slapped around Big Ben Week 1 only giving up three points and straight annihilated Ryan Fitzpatrick and the Dolphins last week 33-0.
Alternative Defense: Vikings vs Oakland Raiders – $3,300
Dallas Cowboys Running Back Ezekiel Elliott. Photo Credit: KA Sports Photos | Under Creative Commons License