The Lineup of the week is based on DraftKings salaries.
My Lineup of the week for Week 3 is:
QB - Russell Wilson (vs DAL) - $7,300
RB - James Conner (vs HOU) - $6,700
RB - Miles Sanders (vs CIN) - $6,400
WR - Tyler Lockett (vs DAL) - $6,400
WR - CeeDee Lamb (@ SEA) - $5,400
WR - Darnell Mooney (@ ATL) - $3,000
TE - Jonnu Smith (@ MIN) - $5,200
FLEX - Kenyan Drake (RB) (vs DET) - $6,000
DST - Chargers (vs CAR) - $3,600
Rationale: As Week 3 is set to get under way, I can't wait to see this lineup in action. I think it has great potential to make for a happy Sunday! I definitely wanted to target the Dallas @ Seattle matchup, as I expect this to be a high scoring affair with two horrible passing defense squaring off against two fantastic passing offenses - a recipe for a beautiful day in the DFS office. The over/under is now at 57 points, so Vegas is calling for a shootout. Seattle is scoring a ton and the over has hit in both of their first two games. Additionally, Seattle is ranking as the #1 pass-funnel defense, and they will host a Cowboys team that is the #3 passing offense through two weeks. For these reasons, I decided to pay up for the most expensive option in the slate for QB Russell Wilson. He is priced only $100 over Dak (who I also love this week). I wanted to stick with this game at WR, so two of my wideouts in this lineup are Tyler Lockett and CeeDee Lamb. I expect a huge game for Lockett against the horrendous Cowboys secondary riddled with injuries and poor performance. The Wilson-Lockett stack should produce big points. On the other side, Lamb is poised for a true breakout performance. His price tag is a nice discount compared to other receivers on the slate that he could easily outperform. The matchup against the Seahawks is very attractive, but his specific CB matchup is one that makes playing him really enticing. Lamb will be up against Seattle's slot corner Ugo Amadi, a special teamer being thrust into this role due to an injury to starter Marquise Blair. Seattle has given up big points to slot WRs in the first two weeks of the season, and I expect that to continue with a WR as talented and quick as Lamb. My third WR is my sleeper special at the low price of $3,000. Darnell Mooney, Bears rookie WR, caught a touchdown in Week 2 and is seeing increased usage in the Bears offense. His snap percentage increased from 32% to 60% from Week 1 to Week 2. This is an encouraging sign paired with the positive talk surrounding him by players and coaches in Chicago. An added bonus: Mooney squares up against an awful Falcons secondary who will be without rookie CB A.J. Terrell, who tested positive for Covid-19. At running back, I was able to find some great value in a few very talented players with great opportunities this week. The first is Miles Sanders, and at $6,400, he seems like a steal for the game I project that he will have this week. With the struggles in the passing game and the Bengals struggling against the run (They just have up 215 yards on the ground to Cleveland's 1-2 punch of Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt), Sanders should eat on Sunday. My next running back locked in is James Conner of the Steelers who matches up against the Texans. Houston just gave up 230 rushing yards to the Ravens in Week 2, while Clyde Edwards-Helaire had himself a nice rookie debut vs. the Texans defense in Week 1. Conner, as "the guy" in the Steelers backfield, should have a huge game. My third running back fills my flex spot for the week, and that is Kenyan Drake. He is a steal at $6,000, and I am happy to watch him go off at that price. The Cardinals play the struggling Detroit Lions that just gave up 168 yards and two scores on the ground to Aaron Jones. Prepare for Drake to ball out in what projects to be a fast-paced, high scoring contest. At tight end, I am going back to the well with Titans TE Jonnu Smith. Smith's salary jumped $1,000 dollars since Week 2, so he isn't the steal he was last week, but his price is just perfect enough to return some great value. In Week 2, Smith had 5 targets, 84 yards, and 2 touchdowns! The Vikings defense that the Titans are scheduled to face are 28th in the league in passing yards allowed (567) and tied for the second most passing touchdowns allowed (5). Not to mention, second string tight end Mo Alie-Cox of the Indianapolis Colts just lit up this defense in Week 2 to the tune of 5 catches for 111 yards. Tannehill still doesn't have A.J. Brown to throw to, so I expect the blossoming chemistry between Tannehill and Smith to continue to grow this week. Lastly, I had enough cash left to round out the roster with a solid D/ST choice with the L.A. Chargers, as they are set to face off against the Carolina Panthers. With the loss of CMC for at least a month, I think Carolina's offense may sputter a bit, at least this week against the strong defensive backfield featuring Chris Harris and Casey Heyward. Add in the scary pass rush featuring Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram, I'd expect a couple of turnovers and a handful of sacks in this one.
Good luck in Week 3!
- JD