The Best Week 3 Underdog Fantasy Lineup: Brock Bowers And A Buccaneers Stack

Build the best Week 3 Underdog Fantasy Battle Royale lineup with Brock Bowers and a sneaky Buccaneers stack to maximize your DFS upside.

Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock Bowers (89) against the Arizona Cardinals during a preseason NFL game at State Farm Stadium. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

In my Week 2 adventure in Underdog Fantasy’s Royale, I invested $28 in four teams, but I had Joe Burrow on all teams with Tee Higgins. As a result, I left the week with no money in my account. Here’s a look at the highest finishing roster:

Underdog Fantas

The winning team in Week 2 scored 163.46 fantasy points, leading to $40,000 in winnings. He gains his edge by stacking Jared Goff (33.96 – 15.20%) and Amon-Ra St. Brown (34.70 – 99.70%). Jonathan Taylor (28.50 – 94.08%) was the top running back of the week despite facing what was expected to be a challenging matchup against the Broncos’ defense. I mentioned in my pre-Battle Royale Plan that I wanted to narrow my tight end plan to four players, with this write-up:

For the tight end position, I would narrow my rotation down to four options (Brock Bowers and Trey McBride are musts for me). I would take one of the top two choices every week over the first two rounds based on their expected ADP and in-season success. The goal is to lock in an edge in scoring at tight end in many weeks while also buying a high floor at the position.

In Week 1, this thought rang true when Brock Bowers (12.80) landed on the top team. His ADP fell in the 2/3 range in the Battle Royale. Last week, Trey McBride (10.80 – 100%) was a mid-second round selection and was on the winning roster. My initial tight end approach is 2-for-2 in taking home the top prize. In addition, Brock Bowers was off the main slate. 

Week 2 Underdog Fantasy Battle Royale Winning Roster

Here’s a look at the winning roster:

Underdog Fantas

This drafter grabbed a piece of the Bengals’ passing game (Ja’Marr Chase – 29.50), and he wasn’t punished for the Joe Burrow injury. James Cook (26.00) was the late round value (5th), highlighted by his lower ownership (69.10%). 

How To Approach The Contest

I’m going to review the top 15 to 20 players projected each week and develop a rotation of players based on their matchups. I don’t want to be a chalk player in this contest due to a short roster, which leads to many overlapping lineups.

I plan to feature one or two quarterbacks each week for the entire year, with the hope that one comes in over an 18-game schedule. One of these quarterbacks will certainly rank outside the top six projected QBs. 

I would then focus on getting their best wide receiver hookup as much as possible.

Each league's draft position will dictate how you build your team with elite running backs and tight ends. 

To help your backend decision-making and highlight players outside the top rankings at each position, I will provide a weekly cheat sheet for Underdogs drafts that will be released on Wednesday and updated later in the week. Here’s a glance at the top projected players at each position in their scoring system.

Week 3 Underdog Fantasy Rankings And Positional Cheat Sheets

Shawn Childs

Shawn Childs

Week 3 Underdog Fantasy Draft Plan

My goal is to enter at least one team each week in Underdog Fantasy Battle Royale to help analyze what it takes to win $50,000. Here’s my first draft in this format for Week 3:

Underdog Fantasy

The top two plays at running back for me this week are Bijan Robinson and Saquon Barkley based on previous success and potential ceiling. Christian McCaffrey sits second in my early Week 3 projections, while De’Von Achane (off this slate) ranks third. 

I stuck with my plan to draft a top tight end. Brock Bowers had an ADP of 15 or so in the recent drafts at Underdog. I decided to go against the grain with a Mike Evans/Baker Mayfield stack. The Jets’ defense gave up 30 points in back-to-back games, showing they have less Sauce to pass coverage than expected.

I’m looking for a bounce-back game from Terry McLaurin (rated high by me this week) and D.J. Moore. I was considering Brian Thomas, but I went with the better passing matchup for the Bears’ passing attack.

I expect to detour my passing and receiving plan in my next couple of Underdog drafts.

This week’s contest (Battle Royale) at Underdog Fantasy has an entry fee of $7, with 55,992 entries. First prize is worth $50,000, followed by $25,000, $15,000, and $10,000 for second, third, and fourth finishes.