Two consecutive finishes in the money to begin the NFL season is precisely where we wanted to be at this point. We’ve kept a couple of players in our lineup for Week 3 as we circle back to FanDuel for their $2M Sunday Million contest this weekend. Our lineup picks are detailed just ahead.
Quarterback: Kirk Cousins ($7,800)
Cousins lit up the Eagles on Thursday night for 364 yards and four touchdowns in an effort that came up just short for his team. It was a notable improvement from Minnesota’s road trip to Philadelphia last season.
Cousins and company now get a long week to prepare for a defense allowing a league-worst 9.0 yards per pass attempt. Captain Kirk should light up the skies in a big way.
Running Backs: Ken Walker III ($7,600) & Raheem Mostert ($6,600)
Walker has garnered 16+ touches in back-to-back weeks to begin the season while scoring his first two touchdowns in Seattle’s high-scoring victory over Detroit. The Panthers have allowed 132 rush yards per game and four touchdowns on the ground to opposing ball-carriers, and Walker should get another solid workload in this soft matchup.
For Mostert, his 18 carries in Week 2 tied for his highest volume as a Dolphin and was only the second time he’s reached that number since his productive 2019 season in San Francisco.
He’s taking full advantage of the spotlight placed on him following Jeff Wilson Jr.’s injury, averaging 5.6 yards per carry and scoring three times in two games. He and the Fins face a Broncos defense that allowed 5.3 yards per carry to the Commanders in a Week 2 loss.
Wide Receivers: Keenan Allen ($8,800), Zay Flowers ($6,300) & Robert Woods ($5,800)
Allen is in the top ten in all four major receiving categories to begin the season, ranking seventh in catches and ninth in yards while averaging 9.5 targets per game. Coming off a two-score, 111-yard day against the Titans, Allen figures to continue hoovering up looks in the passing game in the absence of target vacuum Austin Ekeler.
Flowers hauled in a long pass against Cincy last Sunday to salvage a quieter fantasy day after his nine catches and 78 yards in the Ravens’ opener. He’s currently the team’s leading receiver with more than double the targets, receptions, and yards of any other pass-catcher. We love adding a #1 receiver to the lineup at this value.
Bobby Trees has never had 19 targets in his first two games of a season during his 11-year career until now, and this Houston offense looks like it’ll need to throw its way into contention all season. Woods is neck-and-neck target-wise with Nico Collins, who balled out for our lineup last week, and retains some solid value at this cap number for Week 3.
Tight End: Sam LaPorta ($5,200)
LaPorta is in the top seven tight ends in targets, receptions, and yards through two games. He’s still waiting to find painted grass, but with Goff attempting 35 passes per game and the way the Lions have moved the ball, it won’t be long for the rookie until he sees more action in the red zone.
Flex: Stefon Diggs ($8,000)
Diggs only saw seven targets in Buffalo’s beatdown of the Raiders in Week 2 but hauled in all of them for 66 yards to reach double-digit fantasy points.
Washington is a top-ten pass defense that should prove to be a better challenge for the Bills, which we’re hoping leads to more looks for Josh Allen’s top target and a stat line similar to Week 1 for Diggs.
Defense: NY Jets ($3,900)
Both defenses we’ve started in Weeks 1-2 brought in 11+ points to the lineup, and we think the Jets could make it three straight. They’ve faced two of the best teams in the NFL and lost their starting QB on their first offensive series, and we expect the defense to be the stabilizing force as they return home for a meeting with the Patriots.
They should be able to pressure Mac Jones once they stop the run, something they’re ranked in the top ten at doing through two games.
