NFL FanDuel DFS Week 3 Sunday Slate: Start Jordan Mason and Rome Odunze
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The weekend has arrived and that means one thing — Football. The Week 3 Sunday slate provides for another nice array of NFL games. Some players match up well, and some matchup poorly. Dark horses linger, and top end talent will flop. It is my job to identify them, and formulate a perfect Sunday DFS lineup. Here is our Sunday analysis along with a FanDuel Sunday Slate Tournament Lineup.
WEEK 3 NFL PREVIEW
The 1pm slate shows some matchups that may linger on the lower-end of the scoring spectrum. Not a single 1pm game has an over/under set any higher than 44.5 Points. I project that the Rams-Eagles may be the highest scoring potential of the early slate of games. I also project that this may be the biggest blowout, as the Eagles are dominant compared to nearly any NFL team.
I can see the Jets-Buccaneers provide some fantasy football value. The Jets defense can be suspect, and now with Emeka Egbuka seemingly ready to go, he may get some work as will Bucky Irving and Rachaad White. In a pass-script, also watch out for Garrett Wilson to have a sneaky solid game despite Tyrod Taylor at quarterback.
The Colts may continue to surge over the Titans. I like them alot again this week as 4.5-Point favorites.
Marcus Mariota will start for the Commanders this week, but I see little drop off. The Raiders are coming off a brutal Monday Night performance. This game can get away from Las Vegas.
The Falcons and Panthers may be a sneaky shootout game. AJ Terrell out leads Tetairoa McMillan into a good, high-volume matchup. Drake London will face Jaycee Horn, opening up Bijan Robinson for high opportunity in my estimation.
The Texans-Jaguars I project to be a defensive battle, potentially not exceeding 40 total points. I do not love many fantasy assets in this game. If anyone, it is actually Nick Chubb in volume.
The Packers could be a trap game of the week, although unlikely. They are off of two primetime slots, and the law of averages would trend that they regress at least slightly. The Browns sneaky have value between David Njoku and Harold Fannin Jr. Meanwhile, Josh Jacobs is likely to play, but with a toe injury, potentially regressing his ability. If Green Bay is forced to pass the ball, it can be a weird early slate game.
As for the late slate, the Seahawks may be my survivor pool pick of the week. The Saints travel to play the 12th man, and Mike Macdonald will look to make Spencer Rattler see ghosts. Josh Jobe has been fantastic, and he plus Tariq Woolen will shutdown the pass. Jaxon Smith-Njigba may have a high-upside day.
The Cardinals-Niners both matchup favorably on the ground. Look to nice days on both sides of the ball, opening up Marvin Harrison Jr, Ricky Pearsall, Jauan Jennings to also have good days. This could be a higher scoring affair.
America's Game of the Week is with the Cowboys-Bears. This is my shootout of the week. A defense battle could ensue, but I doubt it. Two dominant offensive minds with highly-explosive players on both sides. This is Christmas morning for Fantasy Football.
WEEK 2 DFS FANDUEL TOURNAMENT LINEUP (DAY SLATE)
QB - Daniel Jones ($7,800)
I cannot believe that I am running with Jones this week, but I am. They matchup great against an poor Titans defense. For a salary of $7,800, Jones has huge passing and rushing value. Even with the Giants, he was very fantasy viable. This is the best offense he has been with and with that, he is doing, and should continue to do well. His ownership projection also projects below 3%.
RB - Omarion Hampton ($6,000)
Buy low, I cannot emphasize that enough. The Chargers have gone pass heavy, thus exposing Hampton to box-stacks and bad blocking. This week, that should turn around. Denver has been exploited on the ground through two weeks, ranking a middling 17th versus the run. The Chargers do not have as high-leverage versus the Broncos secondary, thus projecton an early run-script with high-leverage strategizing. He is a very cheap, and I love it. I think Hampton finds his first NFL touchdown this week, and dare I say, multiple.
RB - Jordan Mason ($5,800)
A workhorse RB1 for $5,800 is a steal. Both the Vikings and Bengals are playing backup quarterbacks, thus meaning more run heavy, short pass offense. Mason is a very good running back, we saw that with the 49ers last year, and so I see Mason absolutely finding the endzone with many yards this week. He does project to be highly owned but for the price, we must use him. Even in the day slate, highly owned players are not that bad as he may still just be 15-20%.
WR - Jaxon Smith-Njigba ($8,000)
I love his matchup. Home versus and 0-2 bad Saints team. Smith-Njigba is also the most targeted player in the NFL through two weeks. I am sold.
WR - Rome Odunze ($6,400)
Another highly targeted player is Odunze. I would have played DJ Moore if cheaper, but he is only $100 cheaper. Caleb Williams has targeted Odunze almost 2x to Moore. The Cowboys rate as a bottom-tier pass defense through two weeks. The strength of this team with Brian Schottenheimer was never meant to be the defense.
WR - Tetairoa McMillan ($6,000)
The rookie is on my high-leverage WR/CB Week 2 matchups list. Without AJ Terrell, the Panthers have an opportunity to break-out McMillan. He has 19 targets through two games, as high on players salaried well over $8,000 today.
TE - TJ Hockenson ($5,800)
With Carson Wentz at quarterback today, the Vikings are very likely to play it simple on offense. That means some easy, quick routes to Hockenson. He is a player that is hard to get down, and they rate 18th in tackling, and 32nd in coverage.
FLEX - Christian McCaffrey ($9,100)
I found myself with extra salary, and so I am willing to lay it on McCaffrey. By far, I find the most value at the running back position in Week 3. I see only 2-3 receivers with high-probabilities of hitting 2X salary, whereas I have nearly double-digit running backs doing it. McCaffrey is a 2.3X salary projection with high upside in a game that can be high scoring aginst the Cardinals. The 49ers are at home, and McCaffrey is relatively healthy right now. If he plays all 17 games, he very well may lead the NFL in total touches.
DEF - Seattle Seahawks ($4,800)
I like chasing upside with defenses in DFS. Who has turnover ability? What opposing offense has the lowest projections? This is all Seattle. The Saints very likely will not eclipse 17 points. This Seahawks defense previewed to be a top-tier NFL unit, and they are. This will be their coming out party, mark my words.
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Thomas Carelli is a sportswriter based on Northern New Jersey. He is a massive New York Jets and Mets fan, but that is not where is sports fandom stops. He loves to watch and play golf, all things football, baseball, and much more. If he can watch it, he will. Thomas graduated from William Paterson University in 2018 with a Bachelor's Degree in Sport Management. He spent 4 years working at a local golf course, volunteered past PGA events, and spent some part-time experience with the New York Jets events team. His passions for sport runs deep and his articles show for it.