Fantasy Football Rankings: Week 3 Big Board

Mark Zaleski/Associated Press

You thought you had a great draft. Yet, you are now staring at 0-2. If fantasy football was easy, we would all be millionaires in Las Vegas.

You just can't be sure of the NFL's outcomes, particularly when it comes to injury. With so many injuries (and suspensions) plaguing fantasy right now, isn't it ironic the once injury-prone DeMarco Murray has emerged as one of the game's stars through two weeks?

Many of you could have drafted Murray, but instead you might have picked Jamaal Charles (ankle), Adrian Peterson (team-imposed indefinite suspension), Matt Forte, Eddie Lacy, Marshawn Lynch, A.J. Green (toe) or perhaps even Doug Martin (knee). Ouch.

Fantasy is going to pay you back eventually, but it should remain a wildly productive ride for Murray in a contract year—which many of you are missing out on. We present Bleacher Report's Week 3 Big Board and project rebound weeks for those who picked Drew Brees and LeSean McCoy, even if we cannot count on Charles, Peterson or Green.

You can use these rankings to weigh your starting options or gear up for your daily fantasy football lineups, drafts and rosters. These rankings represent our prediction for the highest scorers by position—relative to their use, game plan, health and matchup.

David Richard/Associated Press

This hasn't been a great start for New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, who is accustomed to being near the top of fantasy's rankings. He is just the 11th-highest scoring signal-caller, per FFToday.com, through two weeks as the Saints have started 0-2.

He showed up higher on Philadelphia Eagles coach Chip Kelly's call sheet Monday night, according to Christopher Dabe of The Times-Picayune.

That's respect. We follow suit here.

Fantasy has a way of paying back the loyal and the patient. We have Brees as the No. 1 overall player for Week 3 as his Saints return home to face the Adrian Peterson-less Minnesota Vikings. Clearly, we don't believe the Vikings can maintain their No. 1 overall standing in fantasy against quarterbacks.

Vikings defensive-minded head coach Mike Zimmer might be good, but he's not that good. No one limits Brees at home, especially with his Saints staring down the barrel of the gun right now.

The Vikings compiled their No. 1 standing versus quarterbacks against backup Austin Davis, having knocked starter Shaun Hill from the game in Week 1. Then, last week, the New England Patriots got up early and used the running game to grind out the Vikings.

Brees is going to have one of his trademark 350-yard, four-touchdown days here, making him No. 1 in Bleacher Report's Top 100 this week: 

Week 3 Top 100 - Eric Mack

Rank	Flex Rankings	Team	Opponent	ECR	vs. ECR
1	Drew Brees	NO	vs. Min	1	0
2	Matthew Stafford	DET	vs. GB	3	+1
3	Andrew Luck	IND	at Jac	4	+1
4	LeSean McCoy	PHI	vs. Was	8	+4
5	DeMarco Murray	DAL	at StL	9	+4
6	Calvin Johnson	DET	vs. GB	15	+9
7	Dez Bryant	DAL	at StL	22	+15
8	Jimmy Graham	NO	vs. Min	24	+16
9	Julio Jones	ATL	vs. TB	26	+17
10	Brandon Marshall	CHI	at NYJ	31	+21
11	Jordy Nelson	GB	at Det	23	+12
12	Marshawn Lynch	SEA	vs. Den	17	+5
13	Alfred Morris	WAS	at Phi	28	+15
14	Aaron Rodgers	GB	at Det	2	-12
15	Peyton Manning	DEN	at Sea	5	-10
16	Arian Foster	HOU	at NYG	14	-2
17	Randall Cobb	GB	at Det	33	+16
18	Demaryius Thomas	DEN	at Sea	29	+11
19	Giovani Bernard	CIN	vs. Ten	18	-1
20	Julius Thomas	DEN	at Sea	41	+21
21	Antonio Brown	PIT	at Car	32	+11
22	Percy Harvin	SEA	vs. Den	38	+16
23	Le'Veon Bell	PIT	at Car	30	+7
24	Eddie Lacy	GB	at Det	27	+3
25	Matt Ryan	ATL	vs. TB	6	-19
26	Matt Forte	CHI	at NYJ	21	-5
27	Knile Davis	KC	at Mia	45	+18
28	Nick Foles	PHI	vs. Was	7	-21
29	Montee Ball	DEN	at Sea	39	+10
30	Stevan Ridley	NE	vs. Oak	60	+30
31	Russell Wilson	SEA	vs. Den	10	-21
32	Alshon Jeffery	CHI	at NYJ	46	+14
33	Keenan Allen	SD	at Buf	44	+11
34	Doug Martin	TB	at Atl	96	+62
35	Zac Stacy	STL	vs. Dal	36	+1
36	Rob Gronkowski	NE	vs. Oak	49	+13
37	Philip Rivers	SD	at Buf	16	-21
38	Antonio Gates	SD	at Buf	83	+45
39	Jay Cutler	CHI	at NYJ	12	-27
40	Andre Ellington	ARI	vs. SF	52	+12
41	Pierre Garcon	WAS	at Phi	47	+6
42	Tony Romo	DAL	at StL	19	-23
43	Frank Gore	SF	at Ari	65	+22
44	Cam Newton	CAR	vs. Pit	11	-33
45	Roddy White	ATL	vs. TB	51	+6
46	T.Y. Hilton	IND	at Jac	72	+26
47	C.J. Spiller	BUF	vs. SD	54	+7
48	Tom Brady	NE	vs. Oak	13	-35
49	Jeremy Maclin	PHI	vs. Was	56	+7
50	Shane Vereen	NE	vs. Oak	68	+18
51	Mike Wallace	MIA	vs. KC	53	+2
52	Reggie Bush	DET	vs. GB	74	+22
53	Greg Olsen	CAR	vs. Pit	67	+14
54	Ahmad Bradshaw	IND	at Jac	90	+36
55	Chris Johnson	NYJ	vs. Chi	79	+24
56	Victor Cruz	NYG	vs. Hou	81	+25
57	Zach Ertz	PHI	vs. Was	77	+20
58	Marques Colston	NO	vs. Min	69	+11
59	DeSean Jackson	WAS	at Phi	94	+35
60	Vincent Jackson	TB	at Atl	43	-17
61	Cordarrelle Patterson	MIN	at NO	48	-13
62	Delanie Walker	TEN	at Cin	106	+44
63	Rashad Jennings	NYG	vs. Hou	55	-8
64	Julian Edelman	NE	vs. Oak	50	-14
65	Terrance West	CLE	vs. Bal	75	+10
66	Lamar Miller	MIA	vs. KC	85	+19
67	Pierre Thomas	NO	vs. Min	86	+19
68	Andre Johnson	HOU	at NYG	42	-26
69	Reggie Wayne	IND	at Jac	70	+1
70	Bernard Pierce	BAL	at Cle	89	+19
71	Jason Witten	DAL	at StL	105	+34
72	Matt Asiata	MIN	at NO	152	+80
73	Michael Crabtree	SF	at Ari	63	-10
74	Michael Floyd	ARI	vs. SF	66	-8
75	Torrey Smith	BAL	at Cle	88	+13
76	Donald Brown	SD	at Buf	95	+19
77	Toby Gerhart	JAC	vs. Ind	100	+23
78	Darren Sproles	PHI	vs. Was	103	+25
79	Khiry Robinson	NO	vs. Min	117	+38
80	A.J. Green	CIN	vs. Ten	159	+79
81	Martellus Bennett	CHI	at NYJ	78	-3
82	Dennis Pitta	BAL	at Cle	87	+5
83	Chris Ivory	NYJ	vs. Chi	104	+21
84	Larry Fitzgerald	ARI	vs. SF	71	-13
85	Joique Bell	DET	vs. GB	59	-26
86	Sammy Watkins	BUF	vs. SD	82	-4
87	Kelvin Benjamin	CAR	vs. Pit	76	-11
88	Jeremy Hill	CIN	vs. Ten	127	+39
89	DeAndre Hopkins	HOU	at NYG	98	+9
90	Jordan Cameron	CLE	vs. Bal	126	+36
91	James Jones	OAK	at NE	110	+19
92	Kendall Wright	TEN	at Cin	84	-8
93	Vernon Davis	SF	at Ari	97	+4
94	Emmanuel Sanders	DEN	at Sea	61	-33
95	Eric Decker	NYJ	vs. Chi	99	+4
96	Steve Smith	BAL	at Cle	92	-4
97	Andy Dalton	CIN	vs. Ten	25	-72
98	Kirk Cousins	WAS	at Phi	35	-63
99	Mohamed Sanu	CIN	vs. Ten	113	+14
100	Golden Tate	DET	vs. GB	80	-20

 

Expert Consensus Rankings (ECR) from more than 100 experts provided by FantasyPros.

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson is just in his third season, but he clearly has developed a statistical trend we have to pay attention to in fantasy football: He is great with Seattle's 12th Man behind him—not so much on the road.

Wilson has compiled a 16-1 record at home to just 9-8 elsewhere in the regular season, according to the career splits at Pro-Football-Reference.com. The full-season numbers have been fairly consistent in his first two years—26 touchdowns with nine or 10 interceptions—but the discrepancy has been pronounced in Seattle (33-7) versus the road (23-12).

Credit the 12th Man or just the comforts of home, but Wilson is a must-start fantasy quarterback this week, as he usually is at home, especially coming off a loss. Wilson is facing a Super Bowl rematch against Peyton Manning and the Broncos, so expect everyone in their seats—or standing and cheering—to be plenty fired up behind Seattle's quarterback.

The Broncos are tired of chasing down a mobile quarterback like Wilson, as cornerback Chris Harris told The Denver Post's Mike Klis: "We've got to cover longer. We've played mobile quarterbacks every week. I can't wait till we get to the pocket quarterbacks. I'd rather go against a pocket passer, because you know he's not going to run. The ball is going to come out fast."

Head coach John Fox added, "It's a dimension, and that makes it a little tougher to corral and contain and can buy time and put stress on your pass defense. There's no doubt that our first three opponents—two we've already faced, one we're about to face—have that dimension."

Manning has a score to settle, so this game should be played at a fairly competitive level relative to the games that are usually blowouts in Seattle. We cautiously drop Manning to No. 5 among quarterbacks, while Wilson rises to the top eight.

Here are all the quarterbacks ranked by B/R this week: 

Expert Consensus Rankings (ECR) from more than 100 experts provided by FantasyPros.

If you were watching the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night as a LeSean McCoy owner, you had to be biting your lip. You drafted McCoy atop your draft, hoping Darren Sproles wouldn't be sucking up the points that were all McCoy's last season in Chip Kelly's uptempo attack.

Things sure didn't go your way, or McCoy's, in the rally over the Indianapolis Colts.

Sproles' seven catches for 152 yards made him the highest-scoring running back in fantasy last week, per CBSSports.com. McCoy was left to score most of his points on the ground and watch Sproles do the pass receiving.

We are undeterred. We keep McCoy No. 1 in our running back rankings this week.

This comes despite McCoy facing a matchup against the Washington Redskins, who have been No. 2 against fantasy running backs through two weeks, per FFToday.com. The Redskins haven't given up a touchdown to a running back. That streak ends here, perhaps with both of these dynamic backs.

Eagles center Jason Kelce told ESPN.com's Kevin Seifert:

Getting Sproles here gave us two very dynamic backs who at anytime can take a play that really doesn't have anything and make it into a strong run for us. To tell you the truth, I don't know who is back there. Both him and Shady [McCoy] are both guys who make people miss and have tremendous vision. There's not too much of a difference between them.

They both can do everything. I don't think we're limited to certain plays with either one of them back there.

That's tough for defenses to defend. They're both good at a lot of different things. Screens, runs, draws, pretty much anything, they can do. It's great to have both of them. We can spell Shady a little bit. He doesn't have to take so many carries and get tired out.

That's part of what this offense is built on—the ability to spread the width of the field and attack everything.

Even if McCoy manages to disappoint you as Sproles keeps vulturing points in the passing game, you should feel completely satisfied with your selection of McCoy early in your fantasy league. Looking on the bright side, you could have drafted Jamaal Charles (ankle), Adrian Peterson (indefinite suspension), Matt Forte (slow start) and Eddie Lacy (concussion/slow start).

You are going to be just fine with McCoy on your team. Don't dare sell low or buy full price on Sproles.

Here are B/R's running back rankings for Week 3:

Expert Consensus Rankings (ECR) from more than 100 experts provided by FantasyPros.

Mike McCarn/Associated Press

With the slow starts and injury troubles of the other top preseason picks, Calvin Johnson owners have to be smiling, thinking they made the right choice in the middle of Round 1. Those owners had options, potentially going in a few different directions (running back, Jimmy Graham, quarterback or a different wideout), but Megatron is the only player to be No. 1 at his position before drafts and through two weeks.

That was after a modest Week 2 performance in a tough matchup at the Carolina Panthers. Megatron was merely good for six catches for 83 yards.

His matchup back at home against the Green Bay Packers figures to be far more bountiful. This is a Packers team that just made Geno Smith look like an NFL quarterback.

We should ignore the fact the Packers have given up just the third-fewest receiving yards to wide receivers to date, per FFToday.com. Having faced the Seattle Seahawks and the New York Jets, the Packers haven't matched up against a receiver like Megatron.

Percy Harvin and Eric Decker are good but just not this unstoppable.

As we pine for the return of A.J. Green and ignore the Chicago Bears' sandbagging on the injury report with Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery, we keep Megatron is in his rightful home as B/R's No. 1 among receivers for Week 3:

Expert Consensus Rankings (ECR) from more than 100 experts provided by FantasyPros.

Gregory Bull/Associated Press

What do fantasy analysts know anyway? The Seattle Seahawks looked like a tough matchup for a fringe tight end like the 34-year-old Antonio Gates. 

It made him a popular "sit." It didn't keep him from going for seven receptions, 96 yards and three touchdowns, though.

Whoopsy!

Gates continues to flip a proverbial middle finger to his doomsayers, as he told Ricky Henne of the Chargers' official website:

One thing I've learned from being around is that outsiders tend to have their perspective about players. It never bothered me one time. If I can make this team, which is a very good football team, then obviously I had something left in the gas tank.

Coaches always believed in me, and I never really once thought about what someone had to say because I really don't know how you judge or make comments about a situation. I don't know what they go off of. Last year, I felt like I was able to do some things to help us win. So really, I'm not sure (what) critics or the professional experts are going off of, because when I looked at the stats last year, I was number three in the NFL at the tight end position.

Gates fell in drafts because of his age, his mere four TD receptions last year and the burgeoning star in backup tight end Ladarius Green. We forgot just how much Philip Rivers has made a career out of his connection with Gates, as Rivers told Henne:

He had a great game all the way around, not only the touchdown catches, but the big third down conversions and other catches. It doesn't surprise me, but I will say that the touchdown catches for the most part didn't come up exactly like they were drawn.

It's just two guys who have been together a long time. I read him. He felt probably what I was seeing and thinking. Those ones are really gratifying, when you make plays together like that. They're a little bit backyard. We ended up close to the spots we were trying to, but it was just kind of different based on better technique. They were obviously huge plays.

Clearly, we must keep Gates higher in the fantasy pecking order for as long as he stays healthy. He won't completely put to rest the doubts in that regard, but there is nothing keeping him from being the No. 4 tight end in B/R's Week 3 rankings:

Expert Consensus Rankings (ECR) from more than 100 experts provided by FantasyPros.

USA TODAY Sports

A good defense might get beaten in a given week. It just doesn't get beaten like a drum consistently like the New England Patriots did in Week 1 at Miami.

The Pats fixed their issues against the run last week in Minnesota, albeit partially aided by the absence of the suspended Adrian Peterson. They held the Vikings backup running backs to less than 100 total yards in a landslide victory that helped make their defense/special teams unit No. 1 in Week 2, per CBSSports.com.

That is precisely where we rank the Patriots for Week 3, atop B/R's D/ST charts.

The Oakland Raiders come to town, sporting the second-worst running game in football. This matchup should play right into Bill Belichick and the Patriots' hands in their home opener. FantasyPros.com's consensus is with us, too.

Rookie quarterback Derek Carr hasn't played that poorly yet, but he will here against a team coming off a four-interception day.

Expert Consensus Rankings (ECR) from more than 100 experts provided by FantasyPros.

Gail Burton/Associated Press

This is the last lineup deadline of full rosters for a few months, with the bye season upon us next week, as we wrote in B/R's Week 3 Insider Notebook on Tuesday. It might be a good time to make a preemptive change at kicker.

You don't want two kickers sucking up valuable roster spots during the byes, so consider making a move now for a kicker with a late bye week. The following kickers might be cut while idle next week:

1. Steven Hauschka, Seattle Seahawks
2. Mike Nugent, Cincinnati Bengals
3. Brandon McManus, Denver Broncos
4. Greg Zuerlein, St. Louis Rams
5. Chandler Catanzaro, Arizona Cardinals
6. Billy Cundiff, Cleveland Browns

There are some big names—if there is such a thing at kicker—on that pending bye list. If you're looking for long-term replacements to go with a week early, the following kickers have late bye weeks:

1. Graham Gano, Carolina Panthers (Week 12)
2. Shaun Suisham, Pittsburgh Steelers (Week 12)
3. Dan Bailey, Dallas Cowboys (Week 11)
4. Justin Tucker, Baltimore Ravens (Week 11)
5. Blair Walsh, Minnesota Vikings (Week 10)
6. Adam Vinatieri, Indianapolis Colts (Week 10)
7. Nick Novak, San Diego Chargers (Week 10)

After this week, you are going to be wishing you had one of those guys in that second list over those in the first one.

Here is B/R's complete list of kickers for Week 3:

Expert Consensus Rankings (ECR) from more than 100 experts provided by FantasyPros.