Fantasy Football Week 3 Rankings: Matchups We Love and Player Stat Projections

Sometimes the unexpected matchup allows a fantasy football owner to reap all the benefits and win a week.

Look no further than the Week 3 Thursday Night Football encounter between the Houston Texans and New England Patriots. There, Jacoby Brissett played in place of both Tom Brady and Jimmy Garoppolo and scored 14 points.

It's not the most impressive number in the world, but the guy was a third-string quarterback. When it comes to the situation and matchup, though, few would have played Brissett—he's owned in 1.3 percent of leagues.

While somewhat productive, owners stand a better chance at playing the best possible matchups. Week 3 still has plenty, even if Brissett stole some of the thunder.

Week 3 Schedule

Sunday, September 25	Time (ET)
Monday, September 26
Minnesota at Carolina	1 p.m.
Detroit at Green Bay	1 p.m.
Baltimore at Jacksonville	1 p.m.
Arizona at Buffalo	1 p.m.
Oakland at Tennessee	1 p.m.
Cleveland at Miami	1 p.m.
Washington at N.Y. Giants	1 p.m.
Denver at Cincinnati	1 p.m.
San Francisco at Seattle	4:05 p.m.
L.A. Rams at Tampa Bay	4:05 p.m.
N.Y. Jets at Kansas City	4:25 p.m
San Diego at Indianapolis	4:25 p.m
Pittsburgh at Philadelphia	4:25 p.m
Chicago at Dallas	8:30 p.m.
Atlanta at New Orleans	8:30 p.m.

Quarterbacks

Rank	Player	Projected Points
1	Cam Newton	25
2	Aaron Rodgers	24
3	Drew Brees	19
4	Joe Flacco	19
5	Philip Rivers	18
6	Blake Bortles	18
7	Matt Ryan	17
8	Andrew Luck*	17
9	Matthew Stafford	17
10	Ben Roethlisberger	16
11	Eli Manning	14
12	Russell Wilson	13
13	Carson Palmer	12
14	Ryan Fitzpatrick	12
15	Ryan Tannehill	12

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees looks like money yet again.

Brees torched the Oakland Raiders for four scores and 30 points to start the season, then had a predictable 14-point hiccup on the road against the New York Giants.

Hitting close to 30 shouldn't land far out of the question when Brees welcomes the Atlanta Falcons to town this weekend. He scored 16 points apiece in two games against the rival last year, but Atlanta seems worse for wear this season after allowing a silly seven touchdown passes through two games.

Joe Flacco of the Baltimore Ravens isn't the first guy owners think about in terms of elite production at the position. He should come close to topping the list thanks to a clash with the Jacksonville Jaguars, though.

While it's fair to say Flacco hasn't impressed yet with 12 and 16 points, he has Steve Smith and Dennis Pitta back with Mike Wallace looking great going against a team that has allowed a minimum of 22 points and six total touchdown passes through a pair of contests.

Running Backs

Rank	Player	Projected Points
1	DeAngelo Williams	15
2	C.J. Anderson	15
3	Todd Gurley	15
4	Matt Forte	14
5	David Johnson	14
6	LeSean McCoy	14
7	Ezekiel Elliott	14
8	Mark Ingram	13
9	Melvin Gordon	13
10	Spencer Ware	12
11	Frank Gore	12
12	Eddie Lacy	12
13	Theo Riddick	11
14	Charles Sims	11
15	Devonta Freeman	11
16	DeMarco Murray	10
17	Isaiah Crowell	10
18	Jay Ajayi	`0
19	Jerick McKinnon	9
20	Latavius Murray	9
21	Christine Michael	8
22	Justin Forsett	8
23	Thomas Rawls*	8
24	Rashad Jennings*	8
25	Tevin Coleman	7
26	Matt Jones	7
27	Shane Vereen	7
28	Jeremy Hill	6
29	Jeremy Langford	6
30	T.J. Yeldon	6

Los Angeles Rams running back Todd Gurley might be fantasy football's most disappointing player to start 2016.

In what looked like a solid matchup against the San Francisco 49ers to start the season, the sophomore posted four points. He followed with six the week after.

There isn't much to explain it other than the rest of the team around him stinks, but it is still tough to back away from him in a great matchup. He has it this weekend against a Tampa Bay Buccaneers team that has already coughed up totals of 15 and 24 points to backs.

Matt Forte of the New York Jets seems the opposite, as perhaps the surest thing of the week. The veteran in a new locale sits second in scoring at the position by all of four points after dropping 28 and three touchdowns on the Buffalo Bills last week.

Nobody should have thought Forte would fall off the fantasy map, but he seems better than usual in a locale that actually has other strengths defenses have to worry about. He'll feast this weekend against the Kansas City Chiefs, too, a defense that has already coughed up 45 points to opposing backs.

If San Diego Chargers back Melvin Gordon can hang 17 points with two scores on the Chiefs like he did in Week 1, Forte shouldn't fall far behind, if at all.

Wide Receivers

Rank	Player	Projected Points
1	Julio Jones*	21
2	Antonio Brown	19
3	Odell Beckham Jr.	18
4	Larry Fitzgerald	16
5	Jordy Nelson	15
6	Allen Robinson	15
7	Alshon Jeffery*	15
8	Marvin Jones	14
9	A.J. Green	12
10	T.Y. Hilton*	12
11	Amari Cooper	10
12	Jeremy Maclin	10
13	Brandon Marshall*	10
14	Travis Benjamin	10
15	Brandin Cooks	9
16	Jarvis Landry	9
17	Jordan Matthews	8
18	Willie Snead*	8
19	Dez Bryant	8
20	Randall Cobb	8
21	Eric Decker*	8
22	Mike Evans	8
23	Tyrell Williams]	8
24	Stefon Diggs	8
25	Doug Baldwin	7
26	Kelvin Benjamin	7
27	Michael Floyd	7
28	Sammy Watkins*	7
29	Terrelle Pryor	7
30	Sterling Shepard	7
31	Golden Tate	7
32	DeSean Jackson*	6
33	Michael Crabtree	6
34	Tyler Lockett	6
35	DeVante Parker*	6

So much for the guy some speculated might retire.

Larry Fitzgerald of the Arizona Cardinals is a man on a mission this year, with the fantasy stats backing it up. The veteran has scored 20 and 13 points. The first came via eight catches for 81 yards and two scores against the Patriots with the second by way of five for 77 and one TD against the Buccaneers.

Perhaps a machine, Fitzgerald will now bully the Bills through the air considering the unit has allowed 22- and 39-point outbursts to opposing wideouts. Jets receivers marched around to the tune of 364 yards and 39 points a week ago.

Meanwhile, it has been Marvin Jones who stepped up for the Detroit Lions at wideout, not Golden Tate.

Jones has 19 points on the year but hasn't seen the best matchups. That changes on the road against the Green Bay Packers this weekend in what could devolve into a shootout—especially with the host's corner Sam Shields looking like he'll miss the game with an injury, according to Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

With the Packers also needing to worry about Tate and Theo Riddick out of the backfield, Jones should hit on the much-anticipated breakout game. 

Tight Ends

Rank	Player	Projected Points
1	Jordan Reed	11
2	Greg Olsen	11
3	Jacob Tamme	10
4	Eric Ebron*	10
5	Delanie Walker	9
6	Travis Kelce	8
7	Dennis Pitta	8
8	Julius Thomas	8
9	Jason Witten	7
10	Coby Fleener	7
11	Dwayne Allen	6
12	Kyle Rudolph	6

The tight end game has missed Rob Gronkowski, to say the least.

Eric Ebron is another name worth keeping a close eye on in the Green Bay-Detroit dance.

Ebron has 15 points through two games, steady production given the volatile nature of the position. The Packers have already shown a serious weakness against the spot, allowing a touchdown to tight ends in each game of the year so far.

Delanie Walker of the Tennessee Titans sits in a similar spot. Currently tied for fourth in scoring at the position, the veteran gets to exploit the Raiders, a perennially bad team against tight ends.

Those Raiders allowed 10 grabs for 180 yards and a score—23 points—to tight ends last week. If New Orleans had had a decent threat at the spot in Week 1, the total would be even higher. Walker will help in that regard.

Defense/Special Teams

Rank	Unit	Projected Points
1	Broncos	10
2	Bengals	9
3	Seahawks	9
4	Dolphins	9
5	Steelers	8
6	Cardinals	7
7	Vikings	7
8	Buccaneers	6
9	Panthers	6
10	Giants	6

Ndamukong Suh and the Miami Dolphins seem to have one of the better matchups of the week.

The unit started the year off hot by posting 11 points on the road against the Seattle Seahawks by way of an interception and forced fumble while only coughing up 12 points.

Miami then became a bit of a punchline by going for minus-two points on the road against New England and a backup quarterback—something the intro proves isn't as damning as it seemed at the time.

Now the Dolphins welcome the Cleveland Browns to town, which is about all that needs said. Both opposing defenses to play the Browns have scored in double digits this year and the offense will start rookie Cody Kessler.

Kickers

Rank	Player	Projected Points
1	Dan Bailey	8
2	Steven Hauschka	8
3	Adam Vinatieri	8
4	Mason Crosby	8
5	Matt Bryant	8
6	Josh Brown	7
7	Roberto Aguayo	7
8	Justin Tucker	7
9	Jason Myers	7
10	Graham Gano	6

It doesn't get much better for Dallas Cowboys kicker Dan Bailey.

After scoring a silly 17 points in Week 1 and following with nine a week ago, the veteran could find himself back in double-digit territory this weekend thanks to hosting the miserable Chicago Bears.

Even without Tony Romo under center, Dallas should present Bailey with plenty of scoring opportunities on field goals and extra points. The Chicago defense has already allowed three field goals to both opposing kickers, who went on to score 11 and 13 points.

It is another simple day at the office for one of fantasy's most consistent players.

All scoring info courtesy of ESPN.com standard leagues, as are points-against info and ownership stats.

Follow Chris Roling (@Chris_Roling) on Twitter.