After a crazy and odd Week 1, Week 2 seemed to settle things down a bit. No major storms conflicted any of the games played, the Patriots looked dominant again, and the Jaguars are who we thought they were. We should start seeing which teams will be viable contenders down the stretch in Week 3. The same could be said for fantasy players. Whether or not that guy was worth the reach in round 5, which players are obvious busts, and which of those have been drastically overlooked, all start to get answered in Week 3. As for DFS, let’s take a look at which players are worth the boom-or-bust label in GPP formats for DraftKings.
The Gamefly DraftKings GPP Plays for Week 3
Quarterbacks
Cam Newton (CAR) vs. NO $6,600Â
Speculation arose Sunday night suggesting that Cam Newton is now only fantasy relevant in matchup dependent situations. Well if that’s true, thankfully, he gets quite possibly the best matchup possible in Week 3 against the Saints. There is no doubt that Newton has struggled in his first two games, but a lot of that has to do with Carolina’s offensive line. It seems that every play Newton is either getting hit or having to scramble. He was even forced to leave the game against Buffalo temporarily after a sack. Newton returned, however, and he should be good to go against New Orleans. The Saints have given up over 62 fantasy points to quarterbacks in just two weeks. If he plays (and we expect that he will), Newton should have no trouble finding success through the air and on the ground.
Kirk Cousins (WAS) vs. OAK $6,100
Cousins has had two consecutive poor fantasy outings to start the season. While players may not care about our fantasy teams, Cousins situation is different as he is playing for potentially the largest contract in NFL history. Two touchdowns for 419 yards through two games is not going to cut it. This week, the Redskins host AFC contender Oakland in a Sunday night matchup. The Raiders defense continues to give up a ton of yards, including giving up 20 points to quite possibly the worst offense in the league last week to the Jets. I have the hunch that Cousins will ball out for the first time this year under the lights in primetime action.
Other Notables: Derek Carr (OAK) @ WAS $6,800, Matthew Stafford (DET) vs. ATL $6,200
Running Backs
Jay Ajayi (MIA) @ NYJ $7,700
Dolphins coach Adam Gase said in the offseason that he wanted to get Jay Ajayi 350 carries this season. Based off of his Week 2 volume, he very well could reach that plateau. To no surprise, Ajayi was the workhorse in Miami’s win over the Chargers. While he did not reach the end zone, Ajayi rushed the ball 28 times for 122 yards, and had a pair of catches. The Chargers have been one of the better run defenses in the past couple years. In fact, Ajayi was the first 100-yard rusher against them in 17 games. I would not be surprised if he surpasses the 200-yard mark this Sunday against the lowly Jets.
Todd Gurley (LAR) @ SF $6,800
With new head coach Sean McVay in town, Todd Gurley has become fantasy relevant again. Gurley has gone over 20 fantasy points in back-to-back weeks now. He has three total touchdowns in the first two weeks, despite not going over 100 yards rushing in either. His involvement in the passing game makes him even more intriguing on DraftKings. A division matchup against the 49ers on Thursday night is a great opportunity for Gurley to continue rolling, and raising his fantasy stock.
Other Notables: Tarik Cohen (CHI) vs. PIT $5,600, Carlos Hyde (SF) vs. LAR $5,200
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Wide Receivers
Michael Crabtree (OAK) @ WAS $7,400
Crabtree is fresh off of an impressive three touchdown game – even if it was against the Jets. Although I would not expect him to repeat that against Washington, he should find a ton of success Sunday night. The only defensive threat that the Redskins have is Josh Norman, and chances are he’ll be shadowing Amari Cooper all night, leaving plenty of open opportunities for Crabtree. Crabtree is even priced higher than Cooper ($7,100), possibly indicating that DraftKings has the same mindset. This is the highest Crabtree has been priced at this season, but we believe he’ll provide the necessary value even in GPP tournaments.
Jarvis Landry (MIA) @ NYJ $6,800
Jarvis Landry looked true to form in Miami’s first game, posting 13 receptions for wait for it…78 yards. Even with 13 catches, Landry could not sniff 100 yards receiving, but it proves his value in PPR formats. There was a lot of talk about Jay Cutler finding chemistry with DeVante Parker, but it was Landry who saw a strong majority of the targets in the Dolphins first win. The Dolphins like to run, but Landry remains their guy in the passing game. He may not score often, but this is a good opportunity for him to do just that, and the double digit targets simply cannot be ignored.
Kelvin Benjamin (CAR) vs. NO $6,700
Plenty believe that this could be Benjamin’s bounce back season. That hasn’t really shown yet, but he did have a nice game last week against a respectable Bills defense. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m targeting the Saints defense until they prove me wrong. With Greg Olsen expected to miss some time, Benjamin could see a larger workload and more targets headed his way. The former Florida State standout should have no trouble getting behind this secondary.
Other Notables: Martavis Bryant (PIT) @ CHI $5,700, J.J. Nelson (ARI) vs. DAL $5,300
Tight Ends
Austin Hooper (ATL) @ DET $3,800
Both the top two fantasy tight ends had monster games in Week 2, but for Week 3 I’m going for value lower down the line. The Lions have looked really good in their first two games, but not against tight ends. Their struggles against tight ends actually dates back to last season. Hooper has just two receptions in each of the first two games, but the difference in production between them is widening, making the case for Hooper as a true boom-or-bust player every week. I like his odds to boom in Week 3.
Other Notables: Jason Witten (DAL) @ ARI $4,500, Evan Engram (NYG) @ PHI $3,200
Defense
Philadelphia vs. NYG $3,000
I like the Eagles this week as a sort of contrarian play since many eyes will be on Baltimore and Pittsburgh. The Giants are bad, and now in disarray, after head coach Ben McAdoo called out Eli Manning for poor play. I highly doubt that’s going to fire up Eli, and will probably make things worse. The Giants offensive line couldn’t hold a high school team in check so sacks and turnovers could come natural for Philly in this not so big, but always overrated division matchup.
Other Notables: Baltimore @ JAX $3,900
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