We're at the point in the year where your fantasy lineup should start to stabilize, and you should know who your strongest players are. Unfortunately, the injury bug has caught up to a lot of rosters, and you'll need to make some adjustments to your lineup whether you had planned to or not.
The hardest place to make these adjustments can be at your flex. There are few players who are clearly better talents or fantasy options, and it can feel like you're blindly guessing which player is a better choice that week. If you don't have time to look through every player's matchup, don't worry, we already have.
After combing through the Sporting News' rankings, we've identified five different players who you should consider moving into your Flex spot this week. If you have been going back and forth about any of these players, save yourself some time and get them into your lineup.
WEEK 3 FANTASY PPR RANKINGS
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Kickers
Fantasy Football Week 3 Flex Finder: Sleepers who can pay off in the Flex position
Diontae Johnson, WR, Carolina Panthers
The Bryce Young era is over in Carolina - for now, at least. Andy Dalton is set to take the field in Week 3 and should provide some much-needed stability to this offense.
Last season, the excuses for Young included that he was constantly under siege and that his receivers were unable to create separation. The Panthers remedied both of those issues (to some degree) this season. They beefed up their interior offensive line, and Young has been pressured on 31.3 percent of his dropbacks this season. This pressure rate ranks 20th among among QBs according to NFL Next Gen Stats. Carolina also provided Young with one of the best route runners and separators in the league in Diontae Johnson. Young did not take advantage of any of these improvements. Twenty-five percent of his throws have been deemed to be off target, which is second to last among starters, ahead of only Anthony Richardson.
Dalton's veteran presence should do wonders for Johnson's fantasy value. The thesis on Johnson has always been that he would be a high-level target earner on a bad offense. Nothing about that thesis has changed. Johnson has been targeted on 24 percent of his routes this season which ranks 26th among WRs with at least 10 targets this season. Somehow, his catch rate is just 41.7 percent. Expect Johnson to continue to see his fair share of targets while getting a boost to his catch rate thanks to higher-quality targets from Dalton.
WEEK 3 FANTASY ROSTER MANAGEMENT ADVICE
Buy Low, Sell High | Sleepers | Busts | Usage Report | Stock Watch | Start/Sit
Greg Dortch, WR, Arizona Cardinals
Greg Dortch was the cause of a lot of people's panic in Week 1 after he finished with eight targets while Marvin Harrison Jr. saw just three. Things normalized in Week 2 with Harrison leading the team in both production and usage.
Week 3 could be a "Dortch week" once again. The Cardinals square off against a Lions defense that has been miserable against slot receivers. Through two weeks, the Lions have allowed 28 targets, 21 receptions, and 233 receiving yards to receivers lined up in the slot. These slot targets have primarily gone to talented receivers like Cooper Kupp and Chris Godwin, but this is the weak point of Detroit's secondary nonetheless.
Dortch operates as Arizona's primary slot receiver, lining up on the inside 66 percent of the time so far this year. If Dortch can take advantage of this advantageous matchup against Detroit's slot corner, Amik Robertson, he can easily produce double-digit points in PPR leagues.
Devin Singletary, RB, New York Giants
Outside of a few game-changing talents at the top of the position, a running back's fantasy value is almost entirely driven by their role. Even in a poor offense, a running back with strong usage can deliver RB2 production.
Devin Singletary is exactly this. Through two weeks, he is the RB25 on the back of bell cow usage. Here are a few key notes on his role thus far:
- 77% snap share
- 84% of Giants' RB rush attempts
- 38% route participation
- 9% target share
The receiving numbers are a bit lacking, but this is still an incredibly strong role. Unless Tyrone Tracy starts to mix in at a higher rate, Singletary can be viewed as a low-end RB2 or Flex option with this sort of workload.
WEEK 3 DFS ADVICE
Best Values | TNF DFS Lineups | Top DFS Stacks
Zack Moss, RB, Cincinnati Bengals
Zack Moss is another running back who has been dominating his backfield as of late. In Week 2, the Bengals almost exclusively used Moss.
| Cincinnati Bengals: Week 2 Utilization | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Team | Position | Snap Share | Rush Attempts Share | Route Participation | Target Share | Goal Line Rush Share |
| Zack Moss | CIN | RB | 84% | 55% | 59% | 3% | 66% |
| Chase Brown | CIN | RB | 16% | 18% | 10% | 0% | 0% |
Much like Singletary, his receiving work leaves something to be desired. At a minimum, it's encouraging to see him running a route on nearly 60 percent of Joe Burrow's dropbacks. Overall, this sort of utilization is essentially a bell cow role in today's NFL.
Fantasy managers may be discouraged by Moss's 5.7 points last week. Don't be - the points will come as the Cincinnati offense hits its stride. Week 3 provides a clear bounce-back opportunity for Burrow and the offense against a suspect Washington defense. Moss will operate as the lead back and has a strong chance to be given a goal line opportunity to cap off his day.
Rashid Shaheed, WR, New Orleans Saints
There's no other way to put it, Rashid Shaheed is a stone-cold baller. His speed and overall talent in Klint Kubiak's new system create an on-field product that is just a joy to watch. In two games in Kubiak's offense, Shaheed has 59-yard and 70-yard touchdowns.
Shaheed has a very promising outlook for the rest of the season in this new offense. But the Saint's Week 3 matchup against the Eagles is particularly juicy. The Eagles have run Cover 3 at the third-highest rate of any team this year, deploying this coverage on 51 percent of plays. Shaheed was incredibly effective against Cover 3 last year, averaging 2.43 yards per route run which ranked 23rd among all receivers. Furthermore, deep threats have had their way with the Eagles' secondary this year. Philadelphia's secondary has allowed the 5th-most yards this year on deep targets. If you haven't seen Shaheed play, he's a bit of a deep ball specialist.
Shaheed isn't going to catch a 50-yard touchdown every week. But that's okay; he's now seeing a steady dose of intermediate targets that can provide a steady floor on a week-to-week basis. If he can take advantage of this matchup and catch another bomb, we'll be looking at a 20-plus point week for Shaheed yet again.
