FanDuel’s Week 3 Main Slate features 16 games and will kickoff at noon ET.
It is a fun mix of games. A potential shootout, Oklahoma State at Texas, is stackable and looks like a great game to target. Alabama (50), LSU (43), Nebraska (38), UCF (37), and Georgia (37) each have big team totals as well. There are blowout concerns to varying degrees in each of these matchups but there is plenty of fantasy gold to be mined from this group of teams.
This slate breakdown will go position-by-position, highlighting the top options and giving an overview of the toughest choices we face this week. The top options are broken down into two categories. Players listed as Core Plays are those who you can play with high confidence in both cash games and tournaments. Players listed as Worth Considering are viable as cost-saving options in your main lineup or high-upside options for tournaments
Quarterback
Positional Overview
We have a handful of quarterbacks with realistic 40-point upside and there isn’t enough of a price differential on FanDuel between the top options and the next tier of quarterbacks to make it worth trying to save money at the position. In cash games and most GPP lineups, we will want to roster one of the five high-priced options below.
Core Plays
Sam Ehlinger, Texas ($10,600)
Ehlinger has come a long way as a passer. He came into the 2019 season having passed for 3+ touchdowns in a game just twice in his career. Through three games this season, he has thrown for 3+ in every game. Ehlinger has a deep cast of talented pass catchers including Devin Duvernay, Brennan Eagles, Collin Johnson, and Jake Smith. The passing numbers give Ehlinger a high floor but his upside mostly comes from his rushing ability. Texas limits Ehlinger’s runs in blowouts but he is a huge part of the rushing attack in big games. Against LSU two weeks ago, Ehlinger ran it 19 times for 60 yards and a touchdown. Against Oklahoma State last season, Ehlinger ran 10 times for 47 yards and 2 touchdowns in what was a 38-35 loss. The 73 points scored in that game are the exact same as the over/under for this year’s matchup. The 73-point total is the highest on the slate and with Texas favored by just 5.5 points, the game should be a back and forth affair.
Joe Burrow, LSU ($10,200)
Burrow has been fantastic this season, completing 83% of his passes and throwing for 1,122 yards and 11 touchdowns in three games. Burrow also has 8 rushing touchdowns in 16 career starts, so there is some modest rushing upside as well in a great matchup. LSU has the second-highest implied team total on the slate (43). In an SEC conference matchup against Vanderbilt, we have a good shot at getting four quarters of Burrow despite LSU being favored by three touchdowns.
Adrian Martinez, Nebraska ($9,400)
Martinez is a true dual-threat. He has rushed for 745 yards and 11 touchdowns in 14 games. This is a great matchup against Illinois. Martinez torched the Illini last season, throwing for 283 yards and 3 touchdowns while adding 55 yards and another touchdown on the ground. Nebraska’s implied team total of 38 points is one of the five highest on the slate. Another factor working in Martinez’s favor is his salary, which is approximately $1,000 lower than most of the other top options on the slate.
Others to Consider
Tua Tagovailoa, Alabama ($10,400)
Tagovailoa has one of the highest floors on the slate. Alabama has a team total of 50 points and the high-flying passing attack should quickly rack up the yardage and touchdowns. The bigger question is how much upside Tagovailoa has considering Alabama’s opponent, Southern Miss, has an implied team total of just 11 points. If the Crimson Tide jumps out to a big lead, we might not see much of Tagovailoa in the second half.
Spencer Sanders, Oklahoma State ($9,500)
Sanders looks like one of the top point per dollar projections on the slate. He has massive upside given his rushing ability in what should be a shootout against the Longhorns. There might be a little bit more risk here than it would appear on the surface, however. Sanders is a freshman and while he has played in a couple road games, he hasn’t faced an environment anywhere near as hostile as he will face in Austin. Given how great Chuba Hubbard has been this season, the Cowboys may look to lean on the running game.
Running Back
Positional Overview
Chuba Hubbard ($10,500) and Jonathan Taylor ($10,100) are obvious studs who have put up absurd numbers this season. If you are mass-multi-entering GPPs, you definitely want to have some exposure. However, both face what are probably their worst matchups of the entire season so they are not core plays. At the top of the salary scale, Cam Akers ($9,800) and D’Andre Swift ($9,200) look like the top options over Hubbard and Taylor.
Unlike most weeks, we might actually be okay passing on the top backs and keying in on some stronger than normal mid-tier running back value. Javian Hawkins ($7,000), Greg McCrae ($7,900), Travis Dye ($6,800), Isaiah Spiller ($6,700), and Brian Robinson ($6,400) are each intriguing salary-saving picks that let us fit in a pair of elite quarterbacks and a top receiver.
Core Plays
Cam Akers, Florida State ($9,800)
Akers was one of the top recruits in the nation two years ago and lived up to the hype as a true freshman, putting up 1,141 total yards and 8 touchdowns.vHe is averaging 154 total yards and 1.7 touchdowns per game through three weeks this season. Florida State has an implied team total of 34 points against Louisville. The Cardinals have played just one quality opponent this season (Notre Dame) and in that game they allowed 230 rushing yards and 4 rushing touchdowns.
D’Andre Swift, Georgia ($9,200)
Swift is an elite talent and consensus first-round NFL draft prospect running behind what is probably the nation’s best offensive line. Swift is averaging 9.4 yards per carry this season. In the only somewhat competitive game to date, he rushed for 149 yards against Vanderbilt. Georgia is a 14.5-point home favorite against Notre Dame and the one area where the Bulldogs should have a decided edge is their rushing offense against a shaky Notre Dame run defense. Even against a weak schedule to date, the Irish are allowing 235 rushing yards per game. Everything lines up for Swift to have a statement-making performance.
Isaiah Spiller, Texas A&M ($6,700)
Auburn has a talented defense that is stout against the run but the same could be set about Auburn last season when Trayveon Williams racked up 182 total yards and 3 touchdowns against them. Williams is now in the NFL. His replacement Jashaun Corbin is out for the season. True freshman Isaiah Spiller has stepped into the void as the clear starter, though he was held out of the first quarter last week for being late to a meeting. “It was nothing bad, just typical young things,” said Jimbo Fisher. When Spiller entered the game in the second quarter, quickly broke off a 38-yarder on his way to 116 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries. The Aggies are just 3.5-point home favorites in what is expected to be a low-scoring game, so Spiller isn’t likely to put up huge numbers. But he is still a talented player likely to get 20 touches at a sub-$7K price tag.
Others to Consider
Travis Dye, Oregon ($6,800)
Oregon has employed a committee at running back. On the season, Dye has 29 carries for 152 yards and CJ Verdell has 30 carries for 149 yards. Dye was the backup last season behind Verdell, putting up 808 total yards and 5 touchdowns. However, Dye got the start last week and racked up 123 yards on 19 touches. Verdell was limited after appearing to suffer an arm injury late in the Week 1 matchup against Auburn. If Verdell is limited again, Dye could prove to be one of the top bargains on the slate in a sweet matchup. Oregon ran for 178 yards and 3 touchdowns against Stanford last year and the Cardinals allowed 198 and 2 touchdowns on the ground last week against UCF. Even if Verdell is back to a more typical workload, Dye still has a solid floor. He has averaged about 70 yards per game with Verdell starting.
Greg McCrae, UCF ($7,900)
McCrae emerged midway through last season and finished on an incredible hot streak. He scored at least one touchdown in each of the last seven games. He has picked up right where he left off, scoring touchdowns in each of the first three games so far, which pushes his streak to 10 straight games with a touchdown. That type of reliable touchdown expectation is rare to find in the sub-$8K price range, making McCrae a strong floor play. There is some question about his upside. He has 11, 14, and 11 touches in the three games so far, sharing time with Adrian Killins and Otis Anderson.
Brian Robinson, Alabama ($6,400)
Alabama has scored almost all of its touchdowns through the air this season but scored 39% of their offensive touchdowns on the ground last year. If things return to form, the Crimson Tide project for approximately 2.5 rushing touchdowns in their matchup against Southern Miss. Robinson has a good shot to get into the end zone. Despite a suspension for the first quarter of Week 1 and a huge blowout in Week 2, Robinson is still averaging 10.3 touches per game. That’s just 2.0 touches per game less than Najee Harris, who costs $3,200 more. If you are looking for a cheap RB2 for GPPs with multi-touchdown upside, Robinson is a top option.
Wide Receiver
Positional Overview
It is easiest to roster a trio of wide receivers in the $7-8K range this week. There are a number of exciting options in this price range, including Bryan Edwards ($7,400), JD Spielman ($7,800), Ja’Marr Chase ($7,900), Jaylen Waddle ($7,100), and Collin Johnson ($7,800).
We also have the option of trying to save some money with one or two value running backs so we can squeeze in at least one of the star pass catchers. Tylan Wallace ($9,700) and Jerry Jeudy ($10,300) are both fantastic options if you can fit them in.
Core Plays
Bryan Edwards, South Carolina ($7,400)
Edwards is a future NFL player, projecting as a 2nd or early 3rd-day draft selection. He is the go-to offensive player for South Carolina. Over the past two weeks, he has 14 catches for 211 yards and 2 touchdowns. The Gamecocks are 9.5-point road underdogs against Missouri, so the game script sets up well for Edwards to again handle a heavy workload. In terms if projected targets per dollar, Edwards tops the list.
Tylan Wallace, Oklahoma State ($9,700)
There are a number of receivers who standout as strong WR1 choices on this slate but none more than Wallace. He has been an absolute star the last two seasons. He has already racked up 390 receiving yards and 6 touchdowns through three games. Unlike the other top WR1 options, Wallace is a lock to see a full four quarters of action in what should be a shootout against Texas. The Longhorns gave up over 400 yards passing and 4 touchdowns a couple weeks ago against LSU and could have another long day trying to defend the high-octane Oklahoma State passing offense. Wallace put up a ridiculous 10-222-2 stat line in this matchup last season.
JD Spielman, Nebraska ($7,800)
Spielman is a true junior who has averaged 5.5-78-0.5 per game in his career. He is the clear top target for Nebraska and has what should be an excellent matchup against a poor-tackling Illinois defense. Nebraska has the 4th-highest implied team total on the slate. The WR1s on the three teams with higher totals on this slate come at an average salary of $10,00, which helps drive home the value of Spielman at this sub-$8K price point.
Jerry Jeudy, Alabama ($10,300)
Jeudy may be the most talented player in college football and is a top fantasy option every single week. The only reason he isn’t the top play on the slate is that he may only see the field for one half in a game Alabama is expected to dominate. Plus, Alabama has the deepest group of pass catchers in the country and there is some risk Tagovailoa could spread the ball around that Jeudy doesn’t have a big enough game to justify his massive salary..
Others to Consider
Collin Johnson, Texas ($7,800)
Johnson is off to a slow start in 2019, in large part due to a nagging hamstring injury. He took last week’s game off to try to get healthy for conference play. Expect him to get back on track soon. Johnson is a dominant contested catch option who can win against single coverage on the outside. He put up a 68-965-7 stat line last season and was expected to be even more productive this season with 2018’s top target, Lil’Jordan Humphrey, entering the NFL draft last April. In a key conference matchup, Johnson has major upside but also comes with some real risk. He’s a nice GPP option stacked with Ehlinger.
Ja’Marr Chase, LSU ($7,900)
Chase is a potential superstar talent and one of LSU’s Uber-talented trio of starting receivers. He had a breakout performance against Texas, catching 8 passes for 147 yards. Chase is possibly priced down due to being held out of the Week 3 blowout against Northwestern State due to a minor disciplinary issue. He comes at an attractive price in a matchup the LSU offense should dominate.
