FFL's Week 3 DFS Lineup
Week 3 of the 2018 season is upon us and with that comes Fantasy Football Live’s third DFS (Daily Fantasy Sports) lineup! Each week we’ll release an optimal DFS team for Sunday’s games, giving anyone having a poor fantasy season a chance at redemption. Our week 3 lineup below was created on DraftKings with a $50,000 budget.
QB: Matt Ryan
Matchup: vs New Orleans Saints
Price: $5,700
Analysis: Similar to the Falcons game last week vs the Panthers, this matchup vs the Saints is set to be a shootout. Ryan had a great week 2 performance with over 30 fantasy points and he should continue this high level of play against a Saints defense that has under performed so far this season. His price of just $5,700 makes this an easy pick, as Ryan has a good chance of finishing as a top 5 QB again this week.
RB: Christian McCaffrey
Matchup: vs Cincinnati Bengals
Price: $7,800
Analysis: Christian McCaffrey has had solid production so far this season despite not finding the endzone. Through two games he has 234 total yards and 20 receptions, and he is going up against a Bengals defense that has allowed 9 receptions per game to running backs this season. With Carolina’s high usage rate of McCaffrey, it is surprising he hasn’t found the end zone yet, and this could very well be the week. McCaffrey has one of the safest floors among RBs this week based on the number of receptions he should have, and scoring his first TD of the season will help him finish as a borderline top 5 RB.
RB: Matt Breida
Matchup: @ Kansas City Chiefs
Price: $5,400
Analysis: Two weeks into the season, it seems like Matt Breida is the RB to own in San Francisco. He has outplayed Alfred Morris in both match ups so far, and the game script of this game projects Breida to see a lot more play time than he already has. As the more reliable passing down option, Breida will likely be on the field a lot thanks to a high powered Chiefs offense that is bound to put up a lot of points. The Chiefs defense on the other hand, has shown plenty of weaknesses through two weeks. Breida will finish as the leading rusher this week for the 49ers, and against a bad defense, he will have multiple opportunities to get a touchdown, making him a solid play for $5,400.
WR: Julio Jones
Matchup: vs New Orleans Saints
Price: $7,900
Analysis: As mentioned before, the Saints-Falcons game projects to be a shootout, and Julio will be one of the biggest beneficiaries. While Jones is known for touchdown deficiencies, he is one of the only receivers in the league that can put up monster weeks on just yards (look at his 3 straight years of 1400+ yards and his week 1, 169 yard performance). With a touchdown though Jones can easily be the #1 WR for the week, and it’s worth noting that his current 7 game touchdown drought ties the longest drought of his career. As much as it seems like the Falcons hate looking Jones’ way in the redzone, it’s hard to imagine Ryan having another strong week in fantasy without Julio getting a touchdown.
WR: T.Y. Hilton
Matchup: @ Philadelphia Eagles
Price: $6,700
Analysis: Despite facing a tough defense in the Philadelphia Eagles, there are a lot of reasons to be excited about T.Y. Hilton’s fantasy production this week. First, with Carson Wentz back, it’s likely that the Colts play most of this game from behind, forcing Andrew Luck to throw the ball close to 40 times. The Colts’ reliance on Luck this game is further highlighted by the likelihood that the Colts will have a hard time establishing a run game without Marlon Mack and against one of the league’s best run defenses. All of that alludes to a game where T.Y. Hilton sees a lot of targets, and the fact that Hilton lines up against Jalen Mills makes Hilton a lock for top production this week. Mills allowed the most receiving touchdowns (8) last year among corners, and he’s off to a shaky start this year as well (169 yards to Julio Jones week 1, 2 TDs allowed to Desean Jackson and Mike Evans in week 2). Priced as the 11th best WR, Hilton has a great chance to finish top 5 this week.
WR: John Brown
Matchup: vs Denver Broncos
Price: $4,800
Analysis: In creating DFS lineups there is always going to be a weaker link in your lineup, but John Brown is a great player to own as that weak link. He currently has 32.7 fantasy points on just 7 catches. While this rate of fantasy production is near impossible to keep up, it does indicate who John Brown is as a player. Even though he’s faced injury issues the past several years, Brown has been known as one of the better deep threat options in the league, and the fact that his touchdowns have come from inside or close to the redzone is extremely encouraging for his fantasy outlook. Simply put, John Brown is established as a Desean Jackson/Tyreek Hill type guy that can use speed to beat guys down the field for long bombs, but he’s now showing us consistency in the short passing game as well. It’s hard to predict how this Ravens-Broncos game will play out, but it’s easy to see that John Brown will be looked to early and often by Joe Flacco.
TE: Trey Burton
Matchup: @ Arizona Cardinals
Price: $3,900
Analysis: Trey Burton had a lot of people hyped for his 2018 season, but so far he’s been unimpressive, earning just 14.7 points in two weeks. That being said, it’s too early to lose faith. Burton was paid in the offseason, and he was heavily used during the preseason, both of which show that the Bears have big plans for Burton this year. His matchup against the Arizona Cardinals seems like a great time to start what should be a solid statistical year. Putting it lightly, the Cardinals defense is not very good except for Patrick Peterson, who will likely be shadowing Allen Robinson most of the game. Peterson is one of the best corners in the game, and his presence will likely encourage Mitchell Trubisky to look Burton’s way more often.
FLEX: Corey Clement
Matchup: vs Indianapolis Colts
Price: $4,300
Analysis: Corey Clement is a steal at $4,300, especially knowing that both Jay Ajayi and Darren Sproles will be inactive for Sunday’s game vs the Colts. Clement is already an attractive option as a good runner and competent pass catcher against one of the league’s best offensive lines, but now that Carson Wentz is back, the Eagles will put more points on the board. Naturally this means that not only will Clement have more opportunities to score, but he’ll also see more carries if the game is one sided in the Eagles favor.
D/ST: Chicago Bears
Matchup: @ Arizona Cardinals
Price: $3,500
Analysis: The Bears Defense comes in as the 3rd most expensive this week, and while I normally don’t prefer to spend that type of money on defenses, this matchup is too hard to pass up. The Arizona Cardinals are currently in a two team race with the Bills for the worst team in the league, making their case week 2 after failing to advance the ball past the 50 yard line until 1 minute left in the game. The Cards offense has put up an embarrassing 6 points through two weeks, a stat by itself that makes the Bears D an enticing play. The Bears Defense is already looking like one of the better fantasy defenses this season, and their matchup against one of the worst offenses in the league makes them an obvious choice.