Fantasy Football Week 3 Rankings: Projections for Players with Matchups We Love

If you're off to a bad start in your fantasy football league, at least you can fall back on the fact that the New Orleans Saints are 0-2. Nobody's panicking about the Saints, are they?

It's way too early to begin seriously fretting about your team's performance if it has in fact underwhelmed through the first two weeks. The playoffs may come earlier in the fantasy realm than they do in reality, but plenty of time remains for everything to get back on track again.

Any good owner knows that you need to peruse the week's schedule and look for potential matchup advantages. You're not going to turn your season around otherwise.

For instance, Chad Henne generally doesn't command much fantasy attention, but with the Jacksonville Jaguars facing off with the Indianapolis Colts, he could be worth a start. The converse is somebody like Peyton Manning may underwhelm when playing against a tough, motivated Seattle Seahawks secondary.

The four players listed below aren't usually considered elite fantasy options on a weekly basis, but they should exploit very favorable matchups in Week 3.

Note: Players from Thursday night's game between the Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers were left off the rankings.

Quarterbacks

Rank	Player	Opponent	Projection
1	Drew Brees	Minnesota Vikings	350 yards, 4 TDs
2	Andrew Luck	Jacksonville Jaguars	321 yards, 3 TD
3	Aaron Rodgers	Detroit Lions	325 yards 2 TD
4	Nick Foles	Washington Redskins	310 yards, 2 TD
5	Peyton Manning	Seattle Seahawks	276 yards, 2 TD
6	Russell Wilson	Denver Broncos	See Below
7	Matthew Stafford	Green Bay Packers	302 yards, 1 TD
8	Jay Cutler	New York Jets	267 yards, 1 TD
9	Philip Rivers	Buffalo Bills	252 yards, 1 TD
10	Tony Romo	St. Louis Rams	245 yards 1 TD

Matchup We Love: Russell Wilson vs. Denver Broncos

Harry How/Getty Images

According to FFToday.com, the Broncos have allowed the most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks through the first two weeks (25.7). Giving up a boatload of points to Andrew Luck isn't that strong of an indictment, but Alex Smith throwing for 255 yards was to a certain extent.

In the Seahawks' Super Bowl win over Denver, Russell Wilson threw for 206 yards and two touchdowns, in addition to rushing for 26 yards on the ground. A similar showing would be a welcome sight for fantasy owners.

Seattle's offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell is doing his best to try and talk up the Denver defense, per ESPN.com's Terry Blount:

"

It’s a totally different team defensively. They’ve added really great players and they have [outside linebacker] Von Miller back. Now they have [defensive end] DeMarcus Ware, [strong safety] TJ Ward and [cornerback] Aqib Talib. 

The list goes on. They have really solid players. It’s completely different defense with the players that they have now, so there’s really no comparison.

"

While what Bevell said may be true, all signs point to Wilson having a strong fantasy day. The Seahawks will want to set the record straight after last week's loss to the San Diego Chargers, and the Broncos' so far shaky defense will open the door for Wilson to put up a strong performance.

Bleacher Report's fantasy expert Eric Mack also believes that playing at home will be a major boon to Wilson:

"

Like the aforementioned Drew Brees, Wilson is famously a great player at home versus an average fantasy quarterback on the road. In 17 career home games, roughly a full season, Wilson has 33 passing touchdowns to just seven interceptions, according to Pro-Football-Reference.com.

Wilson was basically a Peyton Manning at home. He is going to have to be, facing that same quarterback in a potentially bitter rematch of last February's Super Bowl.

"

Wilson won't put up prolific numbers through the air, but his fantasy potential is boosted by what he could do on the ground. If he can grab a rushing touchdown, an otherwise mediocre fantasy performance can become outstanding.

Prediction: 227 yards, 1 touchdown passing; 34 yards, 1 touchdown rushing

Running Backs

Ranking	Player	Opponent	Projection
1	LeSean McCoy	Washington Redskins	85 rush yards, 45 rec. yards, 1 rec. TD
2	Marshawn Lynch	Denver Broncos	96 yards, 1 TD
3	DeMarco Murray	St. Louis Rams	92 yards, 1 TD
4	Arian Foster	New York Giants	88 yards, 1 TD
5	Giovani Bernard	Tennessee Titans	57 rush yards, 1 TD, 49 rec. yards
6	Alfred Morris	Philadelphia Eagles	75 rush yards, 1 TD
7	Eddie Lacy	Detroit Lions	60 yards, 1 TD
8	Matt Forte	New York Jets	65 rush yards, 57 rec. yards
9	Stevan Ridley	Oakland Raiders	See Below
10	C.J. Spiller	San Diego Chargers	52 rush yards, 30 rec. yards

Matchup We Love: Stevan Ridley vs. Oakland Raiders

USA TODAY Sports

You knew that if Stevan Ridley could stop fumbling the ball, he'd become a consistent No. 1 fantasy running back again. He spent a ton of 2013 stuck in Bill Belichick's doghouse.

Ridley struggled against the Miami Dolphins in the opening week of the season, running for 21 yards on eight carries, but he came alive against the Minnesota Vikings, rushing for 101 yards and one touchdown on 25 carries.

The Boston Globe's Shalise Manza Young wrote that Ridley was stuck in first gear early in the game but eventually found his footing. Ridley agreed with that assessment:

"

No doubt, no doubt. That’s the smart play. Every back wants to go out there and take it the distance, but there’s going to be times that it’s going to be 2 yards, 3 yards, and you just have to keep plugging and you have to stay disciplined as a runner, just keep your legs pumping and keep it moving and always falling forward.

That’s what you have to do is take the tough yardage, eventually they’re going to break and you’ll get some big runs, and that’s what we all want. But until then, just be consistent, just be a smart player and keep the ball, and the offense will keep moving and the chains will keep rolling.

"

With the New England Patriots welcoming in the Oakland Raiders for their regular-season home-opener, you should expect big things from Ridley once again.

In their first two games, the Raiders have given up 400 rushing yards. Chris Ivory went for 102 and a touchdown in Week 1, and Arian Foster had 138 and a touchdown in Week 2.

Shane Vereen could potentially eat into Ridley's potential carries, but he was limited in practice on Thursday, per Ben Volin of The Boston Globe:

Tom Brady's gonna get his numbers, so it's a bit unrealistic to expect Ridley to run for 150 yards and two touchdowns. Don't be surprised if he cracks the century mark for the second week in a row, though.

Projection: 104 rushing yards

Wide Receivers

Rank	Player	Opponent	Projection
1	Dez Bryant	St. Louis Rams	7 rec., 121 yards, 2 TD
2	Brandon Marshall	New York Jets	8 rec., 113 yards, 1 TD
3	Jordy Nelson	Detroit Lions	10 rec., 105 yards, 1 TD
4	Calvin Johnson	Green Bay Packers	8 rec., 98 yards, 1 TD
5	Randall Cobb	Detroit Lions	8 rec., 84 yards, 1 TD
6	Alshon Jeffery	New York Jets	5 rec., 83 yards, 1 TD
7	Percy Harvin	Denver Broncos	5 rec., 71 yards, 1 TD, 23 rush yards
8	Andre Johnson	New York Giants	See Below
9	Keenan Allen	Buffalo Bills	5 rec., 75 yards, 1 D
10	Demaryius Thomas	Seattle Seahawks	4 rec., 67 yards, 1 TD

Matchup We Love: Andre Johnson vs. New York Giants

Ben Margot/Associated Press

Remember Andre Johnson? It feels like forever ago that he was considered one of the best fantasy wideouts around. His numbers were good last year, but they were off his fantasy peak from around 2008-10.

Through two games, Johnson has 12 receptions for 167 yards, which is even more impressive when you consider his quarterback is Ryan Fitzpatrick. Pro Football Focus rates him as the second-best wideout in the league so far.

The emphasis on Arian Foster and the running game is bound to limit Johnson's ceiling. David Nuno of ABC 13 in Houston talked to Johnson about taking a potentially smaller role in the offense, and he affirmed his main goal is simply to win games:

The Houston Texans might not be looking long to Johnson, but he's averaging the most yards per route, per PFF:

"

Through two games it's Andre Johnson who has the highest yards per route run in the league with 4.07. 2nd A.J. Green & 3rd Jordy Nelson

— Pro Football Focus (@PFF) September 15, 2014"

Of course, all of that would be rendered meaningless if Johnson was looking at a potential fantasy nightmare this weekend. Instead, the Texans travel to MetLife Stadium to meet the New York Giants.

According to Football Outsiders, the Giants rank 28th when it comes to defending the opposing team's No. 1 receiver. New York is surrendering an average of 7.9 passes and 72.7 yards per game to WR1s. Who can forget that time the Giants secondary left Calvin Johnson alone with what felt like 84 yards of space?

"

Here's how open Calvin Johnson was on that touchdown. WOW! #NYGvsDET #MNF pic.twitter.com/AS0LJ4fHDJ

— ESPN Monday Night (@ESPNMondayNight) September 8, 2014"

That's all good news for fantasy owners who are starting Johnson this week. His fantasy value is inevitably hampered by Foster and Fitzpatrick, but his numbers should see him crack the top 10 this week.

Projection: 7 receptions, 82 yards, 1 TD

Tight Ends

Rank	Player	Opponent	Projection
1	Rob Gronkowski	Oakland Raiders	85 yards, 1 TD
2	Jimmy Graham	Minnesota Vikings	76 yards, 1 TD
3	Julius Thomas	Seattle Seahawks	65 yards, 1 TD
4	Greg Olsen	Pittsburgh Steelers	62 yards, 1 TD
5	Zach Ertz	Washington Redskins	57 yards, 1 TD
6	Antonio Gates	Buffalo Bills	76 yards
7	Martellus Bennett	New York Jets	71 yards
8	Jason Witten	St. Louis Rams	60 yards
9	Dennis Pitta	Cleveland Browns	54 yards
10	Kyle Rudolph	New Orleans Saints	See Below

Matchup We Love: Kyle Rudolph vs. New Orleans Saints

Jeff Roberson/Associated Press

It's somewhat tough to consider any Vikings player a viable fantasy football candidate. That team's such a mess right now that almost everyone is toxic.

One player who looks mostly immune is Kyle Rudolph. The tight end is a reliable pair of hands who looks set to have a nice fantasy outing this weekend.

He salvaged an otherwise drab Week 1 performance with a touchdown reception and followed up with five receptions for 53 yards in Week 2. If he could just combine the two, he'd be in business.

What could open up some targets for Rudolph is an injury to Cordarrelle Patterson. He's reportedly suffering from a chest injury, per Matt Vensel of The Minneapolis Star Tribune:

The Vikings don't have a wealth of options in the passing game, and Matt Cassel will have to look somewhere. The absence of Patterson would make Rudolph one of Cassel's best targets.

It's worth noting that Rudolph was limited as well:

Much was expected of the Saints secondary after last year's defensive improvement. Instead, New Orleans has regressed in a big way, allowing quarterbacks to throw an average of 323.5 yards a game, worst in the league.

You do wonder when the Saints will awake from their slumber, and Week 3 looks as good a time as any to make a positive statement. That could have a knock-on effect for the Vikings offense, Rudolph included.

Don't plan on getting a banner day out of Rudolph as the Saints are looking to send a message after their winless start. He should easily crack the top 10, though.

Projection: 6 receptions, 50 yards