Fantasy Football Week 3: Updated Rankings for Sunday's Action

Nothing in fantasy football is given. Owners learned that in Week 2 as a myriad of players left the field, were late scratches or simply laid an egg while lining up on every play.

Luckily, the season continues and players can come into Week 3 slightly more prepared. Whether it was Knile Davis, Khiry Robinson or Mohamed Sanu, owners now feel they have struck waiver-wire gold.

Several tough matchups have made it nearly impossible to start specific players while others—we're looking at you, Indianapolis Colts—have easy tests this week. Tough decisions are ahead for owners, so we're here to help.

Here's a look at the updated rankings for Week 3 with Sunday's slate on the horizon.

Quarterbacks
Running Backs
Wide Receivers
Tight Ends
Kickers
Defense/Special Teams
Rank	Player	Team	Opponent
1	Drew Brees	NO	MIN
2	Andrew Luck	IND	@JAC
3	Aaron Rodgers	GB	@DET
4	Peyton Manning	DEN	@SEA
5	Matthew Stafford	DET	GB
6	Jay Cutler	CHI	@NYJ
7	Cam Newton	CAR	PIT
8	Tom Brady	NE	OAK
9	Nick Foles	PHI	WAS
10	Russell Wilson	SEA	DEN
Rank	Player	Team	Opponent
1	LeSean McCoy	PHI	WAS
2	Arian Foster	HOU	@NYG
3	DeMarco Murray	DAL	@STL
4	Giovani Bernard	CIN	TEN
5	Alfred Morris	WAS	@PHI
6	Marshawn Lynch	SEA	DEN
7	Matt Forte	CHI	@NYJ
8	Eddie Lacy	GB	@DET
9	Knile Davis	KC	@MIA
10	Le'Veon Bell	PIT	@CAR
Rank	Player	Team	Opponent
1	Calvin Johnson	DET	GB
2	Brandon Marshall	CHI	@NYJ
3	Jordy Nelson	GB	@DET
4	Dez Bryant	DAL	@STL
5	Demaryius Thomas	DEN	@SEA
6	Andre Johnson	HOU	@NYG
7	Alshon Jeffery	CHI	@NYJ
8	Cordarrelle Patterson	MIN	@NO
9	Randall Cobb	GB	@DET
10	Antonio Brown	PIT	@CAR
Rank	Player	Team	Opponent
1	Jimmy Graham	NO	MIN
2	Julius Thomas	DEN	@SEA
3	Rob Gronkowski	NE	OAK
4	Dennis Pitta	BAL	@CLE
5	Greg Olsen	CAR	PIT
6	Zach Ertz	PHI	WAS
7	Jordan Cameron	CLE	BAL
8	Vernon Davis	SF	@ARI
9	Charles Clay	MIA	KC
10	Antonio Gates	SD	@BUF
Rank	Player	Team	Opponent
1	Justin Tucker	BAL	@CLE
2	Stephen Gostkowski	NE	OAK
3	Steven Hauschka	SEA	DEN
4	Dan Bailey	DAL	@STL
5	Nick Novak	SD	@BUF
6	Mason Crosby	GB	@DET
7	Adam Vinatieri	IND	@JAC
8	Cody Parkey	PHI	WAS
9	Graham Gano	CAR	PIT
10	Shayne Graham	NO	MIN
Rank	Unit	Opponent
1	Patriots	Raiders
2	Bengals	Titans
3	Panthers	Steelers
4	49ers	Cardinals
5	Texans	Giants
6	Cardinals	49ers
7	Seahawks	Broncos
8	Broncos	Seahawks
9	Ravens	Browns
10	Colts	Jaguars

Breakdown of Rankings

It's never easy figuring out who to start, but matchups can help dictate those decisions.

For example, Andrew Luck is primed for a huge week against the Jacksonville Jaguars, as are Reggie Wayne and T.Y. Hilton. Hell, some owners might even utilize Trent Richardson against the porous defense. OK, sorry if that went too far.

Then again, some contests look like tough ones for premier players. That's when doing the research helps, like finding out that the New York Jets are surrendering 21.29 points to quarterbacks.

While Peyton Manning is still considered the top fantasy quarterback in the league, Jay Cutler is making waves with his early play. The Chicago Bears' official Twitter account notes how he compares to the 2013 NFL MVP:

Playing against the Jets helps, but owners are starting to believe in Cutler after a sensational performance against the San Francisco 49ers. Look for that to continue against New York.

One surprise on this list for knowledgeable fantasy players might be Knile Davis, who could be the starter for the Kansas City Chiefs. The status of Jamaal Charles is unknown with the ankle injury, so Davis should be expected to break out again.

As Herbie Teope of The Associated Press reports though, Charles was on the field during practice on Thursday:

That triggered this response from Seth Klein of FantasyPros.com:

Needless to say, this is still a fluid situation. Owners who currently have both—patting myself on the back right now—are simply waiting for the announcement pay dividends. If Davis starts, put him in your lineup. If Charles is in, tab him as an RB1 again. They're playing the Miami Dolphins, after all.

Another shocking name inside the top 10 at tight end is obviously Charles Clay. He hasn't put in a huge week thus far but should break out against a ravaged Chiefs defense.

Vinnie Iyer of Sporting News offered his take on the tight end, who he urges owners to start this week:

"

The Chiefs are struggling to cover tight ends with Derrick Johnson out and Eric Berry likely missing too. We haven’t seen real fantasy feats of Clay, who has been slowed by a knee injury and has only nine catches for 58 yards. As the Dolphins start to throw more this week, Clay turning in 60 yards and a short touchdown feels doable.

"

Iyer has a point, as the Chiefs have allowed an average of 14.20 fantasy points to tight ends this season. Kansas City ranks 27th in the league against the position, with Clay presenting a physical and athletic mismatch.

If he can simply exploit the middle of the field, expect a good performance from Clay. Both offenses will shine, but the focus for Miami should be on the tight end position this Sunday.

Fantasy statistics courtesy of NFL.com. 

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