For the first two weeks of the NFL season, our FanDuel tournament lineup looked for lower-priced QBs to stack with their passing game buddies. This week, we're going with an on-the-rise Cam Newton and finding value/differentiation elsewhere in our lineup. Newton might be a popular play, but pairing him with Julian Edelman and Damiere Byrd makes a unique enough stack for our Week 3 NFL DFS GPP picks.
Again, we've found ourselves looking to play some of the best players on the entire slate to create a sound floor with upside, using the trio of Ezekiel Elliott, Dalvin Cook and DeAndre Hopkins. Throwing in a few of the better value plays on this slate creates the right mix of floor and upside to perform well in a tournament.
WEEK 3 DFS: Best stacks | Lineup Builder
FanDuel Picks Week 3: NFL DFS lineup for GPPs
QB Cam Newton, Patriots vs. Raiders ($7,700)
Maybe it's chasing points to play Newton coming off back-to-back great fantasy weeks, but it also seems like as long he's healthy, he'll keep delivering. The Raiders certainly aren't the team that's going to slow him down.
RB Ezekiel Elliott, Cowboys @ Seahawks ($9,000)
Sometimes the chalkiest running back plays come from the value RBs, so we're going in the opposite direction here with Elliott and Dalvin Cook. Both rarely come off the field and have huge guaranteed workloads each week. Seattle struggled to stop New England's offense, and if anything, Dallas has a better one - and the Cowboys should give Zeke some goal-line action after Dak Prescott stole it last week.
WEEK 3 DFS CASH LINEUPS: Yahoo | DraftKings | FanDuel
RB Dalvin Cook, Vikings vs. Titans ($8,600)
After watching James Robinson find running room against Tennessee in Week 2, there's no doubt that Cook shapes up for a big day. Kirk Cousins has struggled, so we need him to do well enough that the defense can't totally sell out against the run. Either way, Cook will be the most important player in Minnesota's Week 3 offense.
WR Julian Edelman, Patriots vs. Raiders ($6,500)
Edelman managed his career high in receiving yards on a bad knee in his second-ever game catching passes from Cam Newton. Pretty good, right? And again, maybe it seems like we're chasing points, but this is a more favorable matchup and Edelman's price isn't too high to be the logical main stack with Newton.
WEEK 3 DFS TOURNAMENT LINEUPS: Yahoo | DraftKings
WR Damiere Byrd, Patriots vs. Raiders ($4,500)
Byrd led Patriots receivers in snaps for the second week in a row last Sunday night, and this time that led to six receptions for 72 yards. He's less of a secret than he was last week, but he's still underpriced just based on the amount of time he'll spend on the field.
WR KJ Hamler, Broncos vs. Buccaneers ($4,500)
Courtland Sutton (knee) is out for the year, so in Hamler's second NFL game, he'll play an important role against a tough defense. Hamler rushed once and saw seven targets in his NFL debut, and he has the most big-play ability of anyone on Denver, so his volume and opportunity outweigh the matchup.
WEEK 3 PPR RANKINGS:
Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker
TE Logan Thomas, Washington @ Browns ($4,900)
The Browns were one of the league's worst defenses against tight ends last year, and Thomas remains an important part of the Washington passing attack. Admittedly, that's not a super inspiring group, but this is a good price for one of Washington's main red-zone options.
FLEX (WR) DeAndre Hopkins, Cardinals vs. Lions ($8,500)
Hopkins is bound to go off against the Lions. He's too good not to, and his early relationship with Kyler Murray looks phenomenal. The highest WR price this week is deserved and still worth playing.
WEEK 3 STANDARD RANKINGS:
Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker
DEF Indianapolis Colts vs. Jets ($4,800)
Sam Darnold and Frank Gore don't exactly send jitters down my spine. The Colts have talented players throughout their defense, so in a favorable matchup, those studs should work together enough to dominate.