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Hello RotoBallers and welcome back to Break The Slate, our DraftKings NFL DFS Lineup Picks for Week 3! I appreciate you joining me in our season-long quest to find the best plays at each position for every DraftKings Main Slate.
After a Week 2 slate that was light on marquee matchups and projected points, we get a Week 3 board that appears to be the complete opposite, as we currently have six games on the DK Main Slate with a projected O/U of 47 points or more! With such a stacked slate, DFS grinders will have a plethora of options at each position this week.
These DraftKings lineup recommendations are based on matchups, projected ownership, overall upside/talent levels, opportunity, and other factors such as Vegas odds, home-field advantage, and more. There are quite a few great plays available, especially with the extra soft pricing on DK for Week 3. Also be sure to also check out our weekly FanDuel DFS lineup picks and lots of other great NFL DFS articles and NFL DFS tools to help you win big! Good luck with your DraftKings DFS lineups - let's Break The Slate together!
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DraftKings Quarterbacks - Week 3 DFS Picks
Josh Allen - BUF @ MIA ($8,200)
What can I say about Josh Allen? Through two weeks, he looks like the MVP of both the NFL and your fantasy league.
After a fever-dream overtime loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the playoffs last year, Allen has seemingly picked up right where that game left off. In other words...Buffalo's signal-caller has been in take-no-prisoners-99-rating-on-Madden-video-game-beast mode through the Bills' first two games.
Averaging a mind-boggling 33.1 DK points per game, Allen has looked lethal both through the air (614 passing yards & 7 TDs) and on the ground (66 yards and a score on 11 carries). It feels as though he can do no wrong as he strides into a juicy Week 3 matchup against a Miami Dolphins secondary that was scattered, smothered, and covered by Lamar Jackson last week and is allowing the most Yards Per Attempt (9.00) in the NFL to opposing QBs.
Jalen Hurts - PHI @ WAS ($7,600)
Answering any lingering off-season questions about his capabilities, Jalen Hurts has certainly silenced his critics through the first two weeks of the season. The Philly signal-caller has been a downright dominant fantasy force to this point, as he leads all QBs in rushing yards (147), rushing attempts (28), and rushing TDs (3), while ranking fourth at the position in total DraftKings points scored. His ability on the ground gives him one of the highest week-to-week DFS floors in the NFL at the moment.
While a strong point-scoring floor is nice, we’re searching for ceiling games in DFS, and “The Hurts Express” should continue to roll this week in a matchup against a Washington unit that has been Charmin soft in matchups against lowly Jacksonville and Detroit squads.
The Commanders rank bottom-five in the NFL in both total yards (422.5) and points (29.0) allowed per game. This unit presents an intriguing matchup for Hurts and this clicking Philly offense that’s averaging an eye-opening 6.7 yards per play through their first two games of the season.
DraftKings Running Backs - Week 3 DFS Picks
Joe Mixon - CIN vs. NYJ ($7,600)
The ever-thrifty Bengals actually spent a lot of money to upgrade their offensive line during the offseason, but those improvements have yet to show up on the field, as Joe Burrow has been consistently under siege to this point. That inability to protect their franchise QB has likely contributed to a spike in Joe Mixon’s usage thus far.
That usage has been a thing of beauty through Cincy’s first two, as Mixon’s 59 total opportunities lead the entire NFL through the first two games of the season. Perhaps the most exciting aspect of his volume bump is an increased role in the Bengals passing game, which has resulted in a 5% spike in Mixon’s target share and should continue to pay DFS dividends thanks to the value of RB targets on full-PPR DraftKings.
The matchup is a desirable one, as the Jets are fresh off a three-TD whippin’ at the hands of Nick Chubb in Week 2 and have already allowed 54.9 DK points to the RB position this season.
Miles Sanders - PHI @ WAS ($5,500)
Sanders is my DFS Lucy, always pulling the football away at the last minute in order to ensure that I land painfully on my back in Charlie Brown-like fashion.
While I can’t tell you how many times Sanders has forced me to scream out, “Good grief!” in agony over the last few years, I enter the Week 3 slate ready to get hurt again, as the Philly back comes into this juicy matchup against Washington averaging a career-high 5.9 yards per carry.
The concern with Sanders has never been his talent, but rather Philly’s stubborn refusal to consistently get him the football. While history tells me not to trust it, at least to this point, the Eagles have actually shown a willingness to keep Sanders involved on a steady basis, as his 35 total opportunities through Week 2 are tied with the likes of traditional workhorses Christian McCaffrey and Derrick Henry.
Of course, this could all change per Philly’s nauseatingly erratic play-calling history with Sanders, but he’s looked like a beast toting the rock this year and draws a Washington defensive unit that ranks dead last in the NFL in yards allowed per carry to the RB position (a massive 6.80 YPC!). He’s a GPP-only gamble, but if we’re ever gonna roll the dice, this feels like the perfect type of spot.
DraftKings Wide Receivers - Week 3 DFS Picks
Stefon Diggs - BUF @ MIA ($7,700)
With Week 3 pricing released before Stefon Diggs’ 47.8-point explosion on Monday Night Football, we have the unique opportunity to roster the NFL’s leading DraftKings points scorer (77.0) for just $7,700. Diggs is a no-brainer proposition for cash, single=entry, and 3-max formats this week, with the only drawback that comes with rostering him being his expected popularity due to this dirt-cheap price tag.
Buffalo’s offense - and Diggs individually - have looked borderline unstoppable in their first two appearances of the season. He is currently at or near the top of the NFL in targets, receptions, receiving yards, and receiving TDs. At this price tag, Diggs’ matchup is almost inconsequential, but it is nonetheless a very strong one, as Miami’s secondary was torched for 38 points last week and stands stone last in the NFL in Yards Allowed Per Target to the WR position (11.26 YPT).
Amon-Ra St. Brown - DET @ MIN ($7,200)
Man…it’s such a great feeling when one of your “pet players” exceed even your highest expectations. That’s the case with St. Brown, a young receiver that became a frequent DFS roster for me down the stretch last year and one of my most heavily-drafted Best Ball assets during the offseason.
“The Sun God” has shined his light brightly on me and the other believers, as he’s now logged eight or more receptions - as well as 10 or more targets - in eight straight games. The USC product owns a massive 33.8% target share in this concentrated Detroit offense that is content to run plays through its two young stars - St. Brown and D'Andre Swift.
St. Brown and this entire Lions unit have gotten off to a fast start, as Detroit’s average of 35.5 points per game ranks second in the NFL, while St. Brown’s 31.4 DK points per game place him fourth in the league among wide receivers.
Both should continue to shine in a pace-up, domed environment this week against the Minnesota Vikings. With Mike Zimmer now out the door, the Vikes are turning the page on their old defensive-minded approach and focusing on scoring more points. It’s fairly obvious that Minnesota is still figuring things out on the defensive side of the ball, as they rank just 30th in the NFL Defensive DVOA through the first two games of the year. The Vikings are one of just five teams in the league allowing over 10 Yards Per Target to opposing receivers and they rank dead last in the NFL in Catch % Rate allowed to the position (a ridiculous 80%).
DraftKings Tight Ends - Week 3 DFS Picks
Travis Kelce - KC @ IND ($7,900)
You never have to twist my arm to roster Travis Kelce, but his large positional price tag and normally-heavy ownership do force us to pick our spots a bit with the future Hall of Famer.
The Week 3 slate feels like a favorable one for Kelce, as he's set to square off against an Indy defense that's been absolutely shredded by the TE position this season. The Colts have yielded a ridiculous 85.7% catch rate to opposing TEs - the worst mark in the NFL - and have relinquished an eye-opening 8.14 Yards Per Target to the position.
Though getting a bit long in the tooth, Kelce is still the best TE in the league and is, obviously, well positioned in this high-octane KC offense to take full advantage of Indy's defensive weaknesses. His advanced-metrics usage remains elite, as he's amassed 157 Air Yards across the Chiefs' first two - a mark that's second in the NFL among tight ends - and owns a 21.8% Target Share in this Patrick Mahomes-led offense.
Hayden Hurst - CIN @ NYJ ($3,900)
For those looking to save salary at the TE spot, Hayden Hurst sticks out as one of my favorite value options at the often-tough-to-peg position. The Bengals snagged Hurst on a one-year deal this offseason after the South Carolina product had, rather unluckily, been stuck behind the likes of Mark Andrews and Kyle Pitts in his two previous NFL stops in Baltimore and Atlanta, respectively.
Hurst is having no such depth-chart issues with Cincinnati, especially now that young Bengals TE Drew Sample is expected to be out for the season with a knee injury. The new addition has logged a massive 78% Snap Rate through Cincy’s first two and has been targeted 15 times, which is the fifth-most looks in the NFL among tight ends. Obviously, Hurst isn’t Cincinnati’s top option, but his role in this dangerous passing attack is very real, making him a strong volume-based DFS option.
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