DraftKings Daily Fantasy Football Helper: Week 3

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Quarterbacks

Lamar Jackson ($7,000): After exceeding 300 passing yards in Week 1, Lamar Jackson ran for 120 yards while also throwing a total of 37 times in Week 2. Priced $600 below Patrick Mahomes -- whom Jackson will be taking on as he goes up against the Kansas City Chiefs in Arrowhead Stadium -- the second-year breakout quarterback brings just as much upside for both cash games and tournaments. According to Sharp Football Stats, Kansas City ranks 23rd in allowing explosive pass plays, and they could be pushed even further down the rankings as the Baltimore Ravens' passing attack is first in explosive pass rate through two games.

Deshaun Watson ($6,400): After putting up a weak performance in Week 2, it is easy to forget Deshaun Watson scored four touchdowns and nearly hit 32 points on DraftKings to start the season. Watson has already been sacked 10 times but faces a Los Angeles Chargers pass defense that is bottom-five in sack percentage. With so many useful options in a similar price range, stacking Watson with an underpriced Will Fuller ($4,900) makes a lot of sense in a tournament lineup.

Kyler Murray ($5,800): Perhaps the best choice for those looking to pay down at quarterback without dipping into the growing list of replacement quarterbacks who are priced at $5,000 and below is Kyler Murray. Through two games, Murray has yet to produce much on the ground but has attempted 94 passes for more than 650 yards. Pass defense for the Carolina Panthers has looked good so far, but this will be their first test on the road. Carolina's D could be taking the field often if the offense under backup Kyle Allen has issues sustaining drives.

Running Backs

Dalvin Cook ($7,800): After scoring 29.0 and 31.1 points, you would think DraftKings would price Dalvin Cook in the $8K-range, so let's enjoy what could be the final time we see Minnesota's bellcow this cheap all year. Oakland has been good at limiting running backs thus far but has not been on the road until now. Additionally, they faced a split backfield in Denver to start the season and saw several injuries impact the Kansas City rushers last week. The Vikings are one of only four teams to already have double-digit explosive runs (15 yards or more) and are nearly double-digit home favorites.

Austin Ekeler ($7,200): Speaking of running backs who are headed up in price, Austin Ekeler has a dozen receptions and a total of four touchdowns in only two games yet continues to be a terrific value in all formats for the third straight week. As an offense, the Chargers rank sixth in explosive run rate while the opposing Houston Texans are a percentage point away from being the worst defense in the league when it comes to limiting big runs. Alvin Kamara had a lot of success against the Texans both on the ground and as a receiver in Week 1 while Leonard Fournette caught four of six targets for 40 yards last week.

Frank Gore ($4,400): With rookie Devin Singletary set to miss Week 3, 36-year-old Frank Gore is going to see plenty of volume. In Week 2, Gore ran 19 times for 68 yards and a touchdown while adding two receptions for 15 yards. Fellow backup T.J. Yeldon has seen snaps but has yet to record anything in the box score. Meanwhile, the Cincinnati Bengals are one of only five defenses to have already allowed double-digit explosive runs, and they most recently allowed a pair of San Francisco 49ers running backs to exceed 130 yards of offense against them. Elsewhere, Peyton Barber ($4,600) is a similarly priced option who could also grind out enough fantasy points to be viable in cash games.

Wide Receivers

Kenny Golladay ($6,600): All Kenny Golladay did last week was catch eight of 10 targets for 117 yards and score a touchdown. Yet DraftKings did not raise his price. Meanwhile, the secondary of the Philadelphia Eagles has already seen three wide receivers surpass 100 receiving yards against them and is tied for a league-high five touchdowns allowed to the position. Even though the Detroit Lions came into the season wanting to establish the run, they are seventh in explosive pass rate and will likely need to keep targeting Golladay to keep up with the Eagles on the road. While Julio Jones ($7,300) and Keenan Allen ($7,000) are terrific high-priced options, Golladay is a strong alternative in tournaments.

Calvin Ridley ($5,300): With a price tag that works well in any format, Calvin Ridley sticks out among other players in the middle tier. The Atlanta Falcons are narrow road underdogs and have struggled to get anything out of their run game through two games. According to PlayerProfiler, Ridley's snap share is up from 65 percent as a rookie to more than 73 percent through two games this season. Their game charting also credits Ridley with five deep targets already, which helps to give him the sixth-most completed air yards. Ridley was sixth in target separation a year ago and is currently top-15 in the early going this season.

Nelson Agholor ($3,600): The key to savings in the cash games this week is clearly Nelson Agholor, who will be thrust in a starting role with DeSean Jackson (abdomen) expected to miss at least two games and Alshon Jeffery (calf) expected to sit. Even though Agholor had a brutal drop in last week's Sunday night game against Atlanta, he still caught eight of his 10 targets for 107 yards and a touchdown. The Lions have allowed only one touchdown reception to wide receivers thus far, but they lead the league in targets against. Agholor will be heavily-owned in cash games but is fine to avoid in tournaments.

Tight Ends

George Kittle ($5,600): Even though George Kittle has only managed 54 receiving yards each of the last two weeks, he currently leads all tight ends in market share of his team's air yards at 31 percent. In the opener, Kittle caught eight of 10 passes but could have had a much bigger day given he has averaged more than 14 yards per reception for his career. Additionally, offensive penalties negated two would-be touchdown receptions. Pittsburgh allowed the 11th-most DK points to tight ends last year and is coming off a game in which Will Dissly caught all five of his targets, two resulting in touchdowns.

Mark Andrews ($4,600): It is nearly impossible to avoid paying Mark Andrews in cash games with him coming off back-to-back outings in which he caught eight passes, exceeded 100 yards, and found the end zone. Kansas City allowed eight of nine targets to be completed to tight ends in Week 1 before Darren Waller posted a respectable line of six catches for 63 yards last week. In 2018, Kansas City struggled mightily to guard to the position as one of only two defenses to see tight ends record more than 1,000 yards and score double-digit touchdowns.

Defenses

Tampa Bay D/ST ($2,900): After allowing more than 400 yards of offense in five consecutive games to start 2018, Tampa Bay made a change at defensive coordinator and saw that number surpassed only four more times over the final 11 games. This offseason, Todd Bowles was hired as defensive coordinator in a reunion with head coach Bruce Arians. Through two games, the Tampa defense has yet to allow more than 20 points in a game and has the seventh-lowest quarterback rating against, which does not offer much optimism for the visiting New York Giants, who will be starting rookie quarterback Daniel Jones.

New Orleans D/ST ($2,200): After taking more than 50 sacks despite attempting fewer than 430 passes a year ago, Russell Wilson has already been sacked eight times through two games for the third-highest sack rate in the league. Back in Week 1, the Saints got to Deshaun Watson -- also a mobile quarterback -- a total of six times and currently lead the league in sack rate while ranking third in quarterback hits. Priced a mere $200 above the salary floor, all the risk of playing on the road without a potent Drew Brees-led offense is baked in.

Eric McClung is not a FanDuel employee. The views expressed in his articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.