Week 3 Daily Fantasy Football Value Buys to Target at DraftKings

Week two in daily fantasy football was highly profitable if you made the right plays at DFS sites like DraftKings – specifically the right value plays.

That may have especially been the case if you checked out our week two value buys and plugged a few into your lineups. The key is always going to be mixing the right value picks with the right studs and having zero gaffes. If you can do that, you can at least place in the green and maybe even tackle some serious cash in a big GPP tourney.

The first step is surveying the land, which means assessing the top value plays at DraftKings. We made out pretty well with some of our favorite week two values, as the likes of Jimmy Garoppolo, Philip Rivers, Matt Ryan, Ryan Tannehill, LeGarrette Blount, Sterling Shepard, Travis Benjamin and Delanie Walker made our list.

All of those guys worked out, while Blount destroyed his perceived value and Benjamin put up 32 fantasy points. If you rolled into week three with Rivers, Blount and Benjamin as a core, there’s a decent chance you made some cash.

While last week was a success, we aim to strike it big with our value picks every week. Let’s move ahead to our favorite daily fantasy football values at DraftKings for week three:

Quarterbacks

• Marcus Mariota – Titans ($5.9k)
• Alex Smith – Chiefs ($5.8k)
• Dak Prescott – Cowboys ($5.7k)

Quarterbacks have been pretty expensive up near the top in 2016 and a lot of the cheaper options are no longer quite so cheap after big starts to the season. That probably leaves us with just Mariota, Smith and Prescott as truly appealing week three fantasy football quarterback sleepers.

Mariota heads the list, as he gets a brutal Raiders defense that just can’t stop team through the air right now. Mariota has been just decent with 18+ fantasy points in both games this year, but he’s also had two tough matchups. This could be the week he blows up.

Smith is a tough guy to figure out, as he was a monster in week one and then only registered 5 fantasy points in week two. He’s risky, but he gets a very beatable Jets defense – one that has yielded big days to Andy Dalton and Tyrod Taylor this year.

The last quarterback value to consider diving for is Prescott, who wraps up week three with a Sunday Night Football game at home. Chicago is far from an unbeatable matchup and Prescott seems to be slowly trending to a big day. If you don’t dive for Mariota or Smith, Prescott seems like a good try to cap the main slate in daily fantasy leagues this week.

Running Backs

• Melvin Gordon – Chargers ($5.8k)
• Frank Gore – Colts ($5k)
• Charles Sims – Buccaneers ($5.9k)
• Carlos Hyde – 49ers ($4.4k)
• Jay Ajayi – Dolphins ($4k)
• Jerick McKinnon – Vikings ($3.8k)
• Matt Asiata – Vikings ($3k)

A slew of running backs went down in a rough week two, which naturally could open the door to a lot of backup rushers thriving this week.

Seven NFL running backs when down in Week 2. So … what's next? https://t.co/CRzIsS0tEB

— USA TODAY Sports (@USATODAYsports) September 19, 2016

That puts guys like Sims, Ajayi, McKinnon and Asiata in play going into week three. You’ll want to check the statuses of guys like Adrian Peterson, Doug Martin and Arian Foster, but it sounds like they’ll all be out. If these other guys get big roles, they’ll be too tempting to bypass given their prices.

Of that group, Asiata may be the most appealing, as he’s the bare minimum at DK this week and has had some monster fantasy success in the past.

Melvin Gordon is probably the most obvious play this week and he should be highly owned.

Fantasy owners: take notice. Chargers RB Melvin Gordon is tearing it up on the field. pic.twitter.com/hX2obIHDir

— Bleacher Report NFL (@BR_NFL) September 19, 2016

He’s been terrific through two weeks and with Danny Woodhead’s untimely DFS death, will be looking at a full featured role in San Diego. He’s as chalk as it gets in daily fantasy football this week.

Gore and Hyde make the list simply because their talented backs with good roles and excellent prices. Hyde is much tougher to back with a date with the Seahawks, but he was great in week one and has a versatile skill-set that could still help him win a brutal matchup.

Gore is old and slow, but he has a nice role and has somehow topped 11+ fantasy points in each of his first two games. San Diego got lit up by the running back position in week one, so there is upside for Gore at home in week three.

Wide Receivers

• Jeremy Maclin – Chiefs ($6k)
• Allen Hurns – Jaguars ($5.2k)
• Travis Benjamin – Chargers ($5.2k)
• Stefon Diggs – Vikings ($5.1k)
• John Brown – Cardinals ($4.8k)
• Tajae Sharpe – Titans ($4.7k)
• Phillip Dorsett – Colts ($4.3k)
• Tyrell Williams – Chargers ($4.3k)
• Steve Smith – Ravens ($4.1k)

Maclin has been decent through the first two weeks, but he’s coming at a discount this week as he faces a Jets defense that has gotten absolutely shredded in 2016. It’s possible Darrelle Revis and co. bounce back this week, but if they don’t, Maclin could be one of the best plays in DFS leagues.

Guys like Hurns, Brown and Smith make the list because they can make big plays, have good roles and remain dirt cheap. Hurns and Smith are already nearing quality performances, while Brown has lagged behind due to a smaller role thanks to some concussion issues. If Arizona finally unleashes him this week, watch out.

Other guys to consider are Benjamin and Williams, the top two Chargers receivers who wrecked last week and will continue to have big roles. There is also the case for Sharpe, who was solid in week one and could have a tasty matchup with an Oakland defense that has been getting obliterated through the air.

If Moncrief misses this week, Hilton sees a bunch of Jason Verrett … Phillip Dorsett and Dwayne Allen could be in for BIG games.

— Jared Smola (@SmolaDS) September 19, 2016

The last guy to consider is Indy’s Dorsett. Donte Moncrief (neck/shoulder) is iffy for week three and with T.Y. Hilton likely locked up by Jason Verrett, we could see Dorsett come up big down the field.

Tight Ends

• Gary Barnidge – Browns ($4k)
• Dwayne Allen – Colts ($3.8k)
• Eric Ebron – Lions ($3.7k)
• Dennis Pitta – Ravens ($3.4k)
• Jimmy Graham – Seahawks ($3k)

Tight end was an excellent spot to find value in daily fantasy football leagues last week, and that might be the case again in week three. Barnidge is certainly shaky after two weak outings to start the year, but with a rookie passer under center for the Browns, perhaps he’s used as a safety blanket more than ever.

Allen and Ebron remain criminally underpriced despite both turning in killer week one performances. They both were duds last week, though, so their pricing makes some sense. They are talented pass-catchers with good matchups this week, however, so you could take advantage of the value, as well as a lot of people being off of them after weak performances.

Pitta might be the best value at tight end right now, as he’s insanely cheap for a guy who just hauled in 9 of 12 targets for over 100 yards. That puts him in the elite PPR scene for the position and possibly a must-start chalk option. If he could score, that’d be simply amazeballs this week.

Lastly, we’ll shoot Graham a cursory glance out of respect for the guy he once was. He’s still working his way back from a devastating knee injury and the Seahawks look awful, but his role increased last week and the once elite red-zone monster only needs one score to pay off. With a matchup against a Niners defense that just got absolutely torched by Greg Olsen, he might be in play.

Team Defenses

• Dolphins ($3k)
• Packers ($3k)
• Steelers ($2.9k)
• Cowboys ($2.5k)
• Ravens ($2.5k)

Miami should be an obvious choice this week, as they’re clearly a decent price and get a rookie quarterback in Cody Kessler that was deemed “not even close” to being ready. That should be fun.

Green Bay’s defense hasn’t been amazing, but they stop the run and get sacks. They’re at home against the Lions are will be favored to win, so getting a solid day out of that unit wouldn’t be surprising at all.

The same goes for the Steelers, who also stop the run and rush the passer very well. They’ll be on the road and the Eagles have looked good, but after two strong showings, rookie passer Carson Wentz could be in for a turd performance.

Dallas has to be considered at this low price, especially with Brian Hoyer possibly taking over Chicago’s offense. Heck, the Cowboys would be in the mix even if Jay Cutler were health. Of course, why gamble with a middling Dallas defense when you can get the Ravens for the same price? Baltimore looked lost for one quarter last week, but really rebounded nicely. They’ve been strong now through two games and Jacksonville has not looked amazing offensively.