Week 3 is the “dress rehearsal” of the preseason. Most of the starters will play the entire firs half before giving way to the second and third string guys. We still won’t see much “scheme” and everything will be pretty vanilla on offense and defense, but for DFS purposes, it will make roster building a little easier. I’m actually on vacation in the Outer Banks as I write this, so I’m going to cover both the Thursday and Friday slate in this article. Let’s get started, shall we…

NFL DFS Preseason DraftKings Plays for Week 3 (Thursday & Friday)

Quarterbacks (Thursday)

Russell Wilson (SEA) vs DAL

There are only two games on the Thursday slate and of the four starting QBs Wilson has the highest floor and highest upside, making this pick an easy one. Cowboys were bad defensively last year and figure to be bad again, making this an ideal matchup for Seattle. I’m expecting the Seahawks to be a little more pass-oriented this year and this is the perfect game to “try it out.” I’m looking for a multi-touchdown game from Wilson either with his arm or his legs.

Dak Prescott (DAL) @ SEA

Tony Romo is so injury prone that I really don’t see Dallas putting him in danger by playing extra snaps in a meaningless game. Yeah, he’ll start, and he’ll play a little more than he has so far in the preseason, but there will be plenty of time for the preseason hype train that is Dak Prescott to put up some decent numbers. He may come in and see a little of the Seahawks’ starters, but because he is all the Cowboys have at QB behind “walking injury” Romo, he needs to be as ready as possible to take over in the regular season and this game will help get him ready.

Quarterbacks (Friday)

Aaron Rodgers (GB) @ SF

Rodgers is from Chino, California and he played for the California Golden Bears, so a preseason game in San Francisco (technically Santa Clara) will be a homecoming — more or less. I honestly don’t know if he has any family still in Chino, or if they will even make the six-hour ride to see the game, but I expect him to be very R.E.L.A.X.E.D and look to put on a show. The 49ers defense is very young and very raw, they will offer little resistance to an Aaron Rodgers-led offense.

Ben Roethlisberger (PIT) @ NO

I’m expecting an offensive show in the first half to this game. Some of the best fantasy players will be on display from Antonio Brown to Brandin Cooks to Drew Bress and Ben Roethlisberger. Both Drew Brees and Big Ben could be good choices for your roster, but I’m leaning towards Big Ben because the Saints defense is the worst one on this slate.

Jameis Winston (TB) vs CLE

Winston is my darkhorse GPP candidate. The Browns defense is ranked dead last so far in the preseason and I expect that trend to continue. Winston has only attempted 19 passes all preseason, but should see plenty of work in this one. A Winston/Mike Evans stack could be a nice contrarian GPP play.

Running Backs (Thursday)

DailyFantasyNerd DraftKings Play of the Day: RB Christine Michael (SEA) vs DAL

Thomas Rawls is expected to miss his third preseason game leaving Michael as the defacto starter. He is fifth overall in rushing yards this preseason and is averaging a healthy 5.8 yards per carry. Dallas will offer little resistance to this Seahawks offense and Michael should get a least one touchdown by halftime — if not two.

Devonta Freeman (ATL) @ Mia

A lot of people are down on Freeman this year (including me), but as a three-down back in a preseason game, he will be hard to ignore. Freeman has a very high floor simply due to his usage in this offense and though I expect Tevin Coleman to cut into his workload, Freeman is the type of back that doesn’t need 25-30 touches to make an impact. I do expect the Dolphins defense to eventually be better than they were last year, but I think the Atlanta offense has the upper hand in that matchup and Freeman will be a beneficiary.

Running Backs (Friday)

Eddie Lacy GB @ SF

The overwhelming favorite by experts to have a bounce back season has looked good in preseason so far and should have his way against a young defense in the 49ers. I’m expecting the Packers offense to return to their 2014 form and that includes Lacy returning to an elite level RB — and it’ll be on display tonight.

LeSean McCoy (BUF) @ WAS

Karlos Williams was cut earlier in the week and the expected “next man up” — Mike Gilislee — is dealing with a concussion and isn’t expected to play leaving McCoy, Reggie Bush, and Jonathan Williams as the only healthy backs. McCoy will get the lion’s share of carries out of sheer necessity.

Carlos Hyde (SF) vs GB

Hyde is a GPP play only, but because he is really the only true offensive threat the 49ers have, his usage will be extremely high. Colin Kaepernick is expected to play in this game, and if he and Hyde are on the field at the same time, that will help Hyde’s value. Blaine Gabbert isn’t the same threat to run the ball as Kaepernick is, making the read option less effective when Gabbert is running the offense. The defense will have to respect Kaep’s running ability which could open up more holes for Hyde.

James White (NE) @ CAR

With the news that Dion Lewis will miss 8-10 weeks with another minor surgery to his knee, James White became the “passing down” back in this Patriots’ offense and he should see a healthy dose of targets. The Patriots will likely use the short passing game to slow down the Panthers front four from getting to Jimmy Grappolo.

Wide Receivers (Thursday)

Julio Jones (ATL) @ MIA

Jones is far and away the biggest threat at WR on the Thursday night slate and I expect him to be the highest owned player in all contests — GPP and cash games. He’ll be a must own in cash games, but a good fade contrarian candidate in your GPP tournaments.

DeVante Parker (MIA) vs ATL

Outside of Julio Jones, WR is a crap shoot. Parker offers some big play ability, but could be a bust as well. He is a high risk/high reward player so I’d use him at your own risk.

Jarvis Landry (MIA) vs ATL

Landry is basically the opposite of Parker. He is a safe bet to put up some good numbers but lacks the upside. A lot has changed with the Dolphins offensively, but with the chemistry that Landry has with Ryan Tannehill, I’d expect Tannehill to look his way early and often.

Tyler Lockett (SEA) vs DAL

Doug Balwin is probably the safer bet from Seattle, but I like Lockett’s upside in this one. I’m expecting the Seahawks to take at least one or two shots downfield in Lockett’s direction, and will force feed him the ball underneath to get him in open space where he is at his best.

Wide Receivers (Friday)

DailyFantasyNerd DraftKings Play of the Day: WR Antonio Brown (PIT) @ NO

Do I really need to explain this one? Brown may be the single best DFS player at any position as long as he and Big Ben stay healthy all season.

Sammie Coates (PIT) @ NO

Coates has had an up and down preseason but it’s clear the Steelers want — and needs — him to be the playmaker everyone thinks he can be. Much like Tyler Lockett on the Thursday slate, they will force feed Coates and take at least one shot downfield. The Saints defense won’t offer much resistance to the Steelers offense and the over/under for this game should be the highest on the slate, meaning plenty of fantasy points to go around.

Michael Thomas (NO) vs PIT

Sean Payton said publically that he would draft Thomas if he played fantasy football, and while I know that means nothing outside of just coach speak, I also don’t think Payton wants to be wrong. The Saints will look to get the rookie involved early and he’ll get a few RedZone looks before this game over too.

Mike Evans (TB) vs CLE

I’m high on Evans for the season and I think we will get a glimpse of what he and Jameis Winston can do on Friday night. This is more of a gut call, but I can see Evans having a multi-touchdown game in this one.

Tight Ends (Thursday)

Jordan Cameron (MIA) vs ATL

Thursday night’s slate of tight ends  is pretty awful. Cameron is the lesser of the evils.

Tight Ends (Friday)

Austin Seferian-Jenkins (TB) vs CLE

ASJ has worked himself back into contention for the starting TE spot in Tampa Bay, and a good showing in this game could go a long way towards securing that. Jenkins has all the upside in the world if he can just keep his head on straight.

Greg Olsen (CAR) vs NE

I’m putting Olsen here just based on the fact he is the best available tight end, but I don’t really know what to expect from him as a veteran tight end that may not play much in this game.

Defense (Thursday)

Seahawks vs DAL

The Seahawks are by far the best defense on this slate and because Dez Bryant has been ruled out for a concussion, I like them even more. I also don’t expect Tony Romo to play as much as most of the starters due to his injury history so that only strengthens my confidence in Seattle twofold.

Defense (Friday)

Buccaneers vs CLE

This pick is more about the Browns offense than it is the Bucs defense. Robert Griffin III has been playing well in preseason, but he is bound to implode sooner or later and I’m predicting sooner, as in this game. He’ll throw at least two picks and take a few unnecessary sacks trying to do too much.

Redskins vs BUF

The Redskins defense figures to be much improved this year with the addition of Josh Norman and the Bills will likely limit Sammy Watkins to only one or two series. The Bills just aren’t deep enough to compete with the Redskins for the entire game.

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