I went a solid three out of five in my favorite stacks for Week 2 as the Rams, Lions, and Ravens all had success. The two stacks I whiffed on were the Raiders and Broncos, so it’s back to the drawing board this week on DraftKings.
After not having quite a few of the most prolific offenses in the NFL available on the main slate in Week 2, we have plenty of high-octane offenses to choose from in Week 3. There are three games with projected totals of 50+ points and there are another three games that have projected totals of 47.5 points or higher.
It should be an exciting weekend of football again in Week 3 and here are my five favorite stacks for the main slate on DraftKings.
Josh Allen ($8,200) + Stefon Diggs ($7,700) + Gabriel Davis ($6,300) or Dawson Knox ($4,100)
Allen and the offense of the Bills need no introduction as they’ve blown out the Rams and Titans to begin the season. Diggs has a massive 32.4% target share thus far, though, Davis is expected to return this week to face the Dolphins after missing last week’s game.
Knox is also a fine option due to his touchdown upside in the red zone in an offense that is projected to score 29 points (second-highest on the main slate).
Bring-back options: Tyreek Hill ($7,600), Jaylen Waddle ($6,800)
It looks like Mike McDaniel will deploy his running backs differently each week like he did with the 49ers, so I’m fine fading Chase Edmonds and Raheem Mostert, for the most part. I’ll instead be focusing on the two target monsters on the Dolphins in Hill and Waddle.
Both Hill and Waddle have target shares of 28.9% or higher in the first two weeks and the secondary of the Bills has experienced a couple of injuries. The Dolphins are going to need to pass to keep up with the Bills, and I don’t expect Mike Gesicki to be involved as much in the passing game as he should be, so I’d focus on Hill and Waddle.
Kirk Cousins ($6,700) + Justin Jefferson ($9,300) + Adam Thielen ($5,900) or Irv Smith Jr. ($3,100)
The team with the highest projected total (29.25) in Week 3 is the Vikings. The good news for Cousins is that this week’s contest versus the Lions isn’t a primetime game, making him a smash play at his current salary.
Related: Roast & Ghost: Fantasy Football Starts & Sits for Week 3
After scoring 42.4 DraftKings points in Week 1, Jefferson had only 10.8 points in Week 2, but I expect the Pro Bowl wideout to bounce back vs the Lions. Thielen and Smith are the other two pass-catchers on the Vikings that deserve some attention.
Bring-back options: D’Andre Swift ($7,200), Amon-Ra St. Brown ($7,200), DJ Chark (5,100), T.J. Hockenson ($4,200)
Swift and St. Brown are the engines to the offense of the Lions and they’ve been fantastic in the first two weeks of the season. Only Cooper Kupp has a higher target share than St. Brown this season, and even though Swift has only 41.7% of the backfield attempts for the Lions, he’s still posted a combined 46.2 DK points in the first two weeks.
Chark and Hockenson are the only other two skill players I’d consider using as bring-back options, and if I had to choose between the two, Hockenson would be the choice.
Patrick Mahomes ($7,900) + Travis Kelce ($7,900) + JuJu Smith-Schuster ($5,500) or Marquez Valdes-Scantling ($4,700)
Do you know how good Mahomes has been when playing in a dome in his career? In the six dome games he’s played in throughout his impressive career thus far, Mahomes has thrown for 2,035 yards, 15 touchdowns, and only 2 interceptions.
Kelce was limited to 10.1 points in Week 2 after registering 29.1 points in Week 1 due to a stiff matchup with Derwin James, so he could bounce back in a nice matchup against the Colts. Smith-Schuster and Valdes-Scantling are also due for bounce-back performances in Week 3 following a matchup against the Chargers’ much-improved defense.
Bring-back options: Jonathan Taylor ($9,000), Michael Pittman Jr. ($6,900), Nyheim Hines ($5,000), Ashton Dulin ($3,900)
The bring-back options are pretty easy for the Colts, especially with Pittman expected to return in Week 3 from an injury. Mike Williams just exploded for 28.3 points in Week 2 against the Kansas City Chiefs, making Pittman a primary target in this game.
Taylor is certainly viable, though, you’ll have to use a decent portion of your salary to fit him into your lineups. Hines and Dulin are nice ways to save salary, especially with both of them likely being involved in the game plan with the offense of the Chiefs on the other side of the field.
Jared Goff ($5,800) + D’Andre Swift ($7,200) + Amon-Ra St. Brown 0r T.J. Hockenson ($4,200)
I am putting a lot of trust in the Vikings and the Lions this week, which could be something that puts me into a hospital at a relatively young age. Goff and the Lions didn’t disappoint me last week and I believe he can come through for us again in Week 3 after posting 26 points in Week 2.
If Goff is putting the ball in the air, there’s a good chance it’s going in the direction of St. Brown, who is the third wide receiver in NFL history to have eight straight games of eight-plus receptions. Once again, I left Chark off of here because I like Swift, St. Brown, and Hockenson much more, but you can certainly use him to be different in larger-field tournaments.
Bring-back options: Justin Jefferson ($9,300), Dalvin Cook ($7,900), Adam Thielen ($5,900), Irv Smith Jr. ($3,100)
Even though Jefferson struggled in Week 2 against Darius Slay, he still ran the second-most routes among wide receivers in Week 2, and there shouldn’t be any concern for him moving forward. After carrying the ball only 6 times for 17 yards in Week 2, you know the Vikings will want to get Cook more involved in the offense as he still has 70.1% of the backfield attempts and a solid 14.1% target share.
With teams focusing on containing Jefferson in the red zone, Thielen and Smith are usable in GPPs.
Matthew Stafford + Cooper Kupp ($9,900) + Allen Robinson ($5,700) or Tyler Higbee ($4,500)
I tend to always gravitate toward using at least one stack from the afternoon games and the Rams look like the team to target. If Stafford can limit turnovers, the Cardinals likely won’t be able to do much to slow down the veteran signal-caller.
Kupp just shows up and scores 30-plus points each week as he’s currently leading the NFL with a whopping 37.7% target share. Robinson found the end zone last week and he continues to look more comfortable in the offense. Van Jefferson is unlikely to suit up this week, so Higbee is still the No. 3 target in the offense as he’s 20 targets in the first two weeks and he’s still only $4,500.
Bring-back options: Marquise Brown ($6,000), Zach Ertz ($4,600), Greg Dortch ($4,300)
It remains to be seen if James Conner is active for the Cardinals, so I left him off of here for now. If he’s ruled out, then Darrel Williams or Eno Benjamin could be viable salary-relief options in GPPs.
Brown has yet to have a WR1-esque week to begin the season, but this could be the week with the Rams having a multitude of injuries in their secondary. Ertz doesn’t bring a massive ceiling, however, he’s coming off an 11-target game in Week 2. Dortch is my favorite bring-back option from the Cardinals with Rondale Moore trending toward being out for the third consecutive week.