Fantasy Football Week 3 Rankings: Last-Minute Outlook for Flex Players

Fantasy owners have been faced with a ton of tough decisions to this point in the season due to injuries, and they won't get much easier in Week 3.

With so many elite players hampered by various ailments, many owners have to look toward their bench and choose a less-than-ideal flex play. Some of those players won't come through, but others have an opportunity to bust out in the right situation.

Here is a full breakdown of the top-100 running back and wide receiver plays for Week 3, as well as further analysis regarding some of the week's most-intriguing flex possibilities.

Rank	Player	Position	Team	Opponent
1	DeMarco Murray	RB	DAL	STL
2	LeSean McCoy	RB	PHI	WAS
3	Calvin Johnson	WR	DET	GB
4	Giovani Bernard	RB	CIN	TEN
5	Jordy Nelson	WR	GB	DET
6	Dez Bryant	WR	DAL	STL
7	Arian Foster	RB	HOU	NYG
8	Brandon Marshall	WR	CHI	NYJ
9	Randall Cobb	WR	GB	DET
10	Marshawn Lynch	RB	SEA	DEN
11	Matt Forte	RB	CHI	NYJ
12	Alfred Morris	RB	WAS	PHI
13	Joique Bell	RB	DET	GB
14	Demaryius Thomas	WR	DEN	SEA
15	Knile Davis	RB	KC	MIA
16	Rashad Jennings	RB	NYG	HOU
17	Eddie Lacy	RB	GB	DET
18	Percy Harvin	WR	SEA	DEN
19	Stevan Ridley	RB	NE	OAK
20	Antonio Brown	WR	PIT	CAR
21	Cordarrelle Patterson	WR	MIN	NO
22	Julian Edelman	WR	NE	OAK
23	Montee Ball	RB	DEN	SEA
24	Andre Johnson	WR	HOU	NYG
25	Alshon Jeffery	WR	CHI	NYJ
26	Mike Wallace	WR	MIA	KC
27	Zac Stacy	RB	STL	DAL
28	Larry Fitzgerald	WR	ARI	SF
29	Le'Veon Bell	RB	PIT	CAR
30	Darren Sproles	RB	PHI	WAS
31	Jeremy Maclin	WR	PHI	WAS
32	Pierre Thomas	RB	NO	MIN
33	Andre Ellington	RB	ARI	SF
34	Keenan Allen	WR	SD	BUF
35	T.Y. Hilton	WR	IND	JAC
36	Lamar Miller	RB	MIA	KC
37	Marques Colston	WR	NO	MIN
38	Reggie Bush	RB	DET	GB
39	C.J. Spiller	RB	BUF	SD
40	Ahmad Bradshaw	RB	IND	JAC
41	Danny Woodhead	RB	SD	BUF
42	Reggie Wayne	WR	IND	JAC
43	Michael Floyd	WR	ARI	SF
44	Shane Vereen	RB	NE	OAK
45	DeSean Jackson	WR	WAS	PHI
46	Frank Gore	RB	SF	ARI
47	Pierre Garcon	WR	WAS	PHI
48	Matt Asiata	RB	MIN	NO
49	Michael Crabtree	WR	SF	ARI
50	Chris Ivory	RB	NYJ	CHI
51	Emmanuel Sanders	WR	DEN	SEA
52	Bernard Pierce	RB	BAL	CLE
53	Sammy Watkins	WR	BUF	SD
54	Wes Welker	WR	DEN	SEA
55	Kendall Wright	WR	TEN	CIN
56	Toby Gerhart	RB	JAC	IND
57	Terrance West	RB	CLE	BAL
58	Eric Decker	WR	NYJ	CHI
59	Donald Brown	RB	SD	BUF
60	Brandin Cooks	WR	NO	MIN
61	Golden Tate	WR	DET	GB
62	Chris Johnson	RB	NYJ	CHI
63	Victor Cruz	WR	NYG	HOU
64	Torrey Smith	WR	BAL	CLE
65	Jeremy Hill	RB	CIN	TEN
66	Kelvin Benjamin	WR	CAR	PIT
67	Brian Quick	WR	STL	DAL
68	Steve Smith Sr.	WR	BAL	CLE
69	Anquan Boldin	WR	SF	ARI
70	Khiry Robinson	RB	NO	MIN
71	Justin Forsett	RB	BAL	CLE
72	Darren McFadden	RB	OAK	NE
73	Greg Jennings	WR	MIN	NO
74	Mohamed Sanu	WR	CIN	TEN
75	Trent Richardson	RB	IND	JAC
76	DeAndre Hopkins	WR	HOU	NYG
77	Shonn Greene	RB	TEN	CIN
78	Jonathan Stewart	RB	CAR	PIT
79	Cecil Shorts III	WR	JAC	IND
80	Jerick McKinnon	RB	MIN	NO
81	Andrew Hawkins	WR	CLE	BAL
82	Maurice Jones-Drew	RB	OAK	NE
83	Markus Wheaton	WR	PIT	CAR
84	Justin Hunter	WR	TEN	CIN
85	Isaiah Crowell	RB	CLE	BAL
86	James Jones	WR	OAK	NE
87	Bishop Sankey	RB	TEN	CIN
88	Benjamin Cunningham	RB	STL	DAL
89	Terrance Williams	WR	DAL	STL
90	Dwayne Bowe	WR	KC	MIA
91	Riley Cooper	WR	PHI	WAS
92	Carlos Hyde	RB	SF	ARI
93	LeGarrette Blount	RB	PIT	CAR
94	Jermaine Kearse	WR	SEA	DEN
95	Roy Helu	RB	WAS	PHI
96	Robert Turbin	RB	SEA	DEN
97	Rueben Randle	WR	NYG	HOU
98	Mike Williams	WR	BUF	SD
99	Stepfan Taylor	RB	ARI	SF
100	Andre Roberts	WR	WAS	PHI

Most Intriguing Flex Plays

Danny Woodhead

Running back Danny Woodhead has been an impactful player since entering the league, but he truly reached the next level in 2013. Woodhead was a major weapon for the San Diego Chargers last season as he totaled over 1,000 total yards, 76 receptions and eight touchdowns.

Woodhead did all of that despite playing second fiddle to Ryan Mathews for the most part. Things were made even more difficult on the diminutive scat-back this offseason when the Bolts brought in Donald Brown. Woodhead's production has been modest through two weeks, but it is almost guaranteed to see a significant uptick in Week 3.

Mathews suffered a sprained MCL last week, and he is expected to miss up to five weeks. With Mathews on the shelf, Woodhead and Brown will share the backfield duties. While Brown is more of a workhorse who will be utilized in short yardage, Woodhead will be superior from a fantasy standpoint.

The Chadron State product is especially dominant in point-per-reception leagues due to quarterback Philip Rivers' penchant for checking the ball down to him. As pointed out by John Middlekauff of 95.7 The Game in San Francisco, opposing defenses normally have no answer for Woodhead as a pass-catcher:

San Diego will have to deal with a tough Buffalo Bills defense on the road this week. The Bills are among the best teams in the NFL at stopping the run thus far, but they have proven susceptible to screens and short passes to running backs.

Chicago Bears back Matt Forte caught eight passes for 87 yards in Week 1, and it isn't outside the realm of possibility that Woodhead could post similar numbers. The Chargers are likely to be somewhat conservative against a dangerous Bills team, and that will benefit both Woodhead and his fantasy owners.

T.Y. Hilton

Andy Lyons/Getty Images

Many expected the Indianapolis Colts to boast one of the NFL's most explosive offenses in 2014. While the Andrew Luck-led unit has certainly shown flashes of dynamism, it has been far too inconsistent. One of the biggest issues has been the inability to get the ball in the hands of wide receiver T.Y. Hilton with regularity.

The 24-year-old speedster is coming off a breakout 2013 campaign that saw him top 1,000 yards receiving and score five touchdowns. It was clear entering the year that he would have to compete for targets with the returning Reggie Wayne and free-agent signing Hakeem Nicks, but there was still reason to believe his skill set would allow him to emerge as the No. 1 guy.

Hilton is averaging just over five catches and 50 yards per game through two weeks, but better days are on the horizon. One particularly encouraging sign is that head coach Chuck Pagano understands the importance of getting the ball in the hands of guys like Hilton, according to Jim Johnson of The Associated Press (h/t SFGate.com).

"I think we've got to get our playmakers involved," Pagano said. "And we've got to do a good job of trying to do that."

Week 3 represents a great opportunity to get Hilton going. Indy will face a reeling Jacksonville Jaguars team in what amounts to a must-win game. The Colts can't afford to drop to 0-3, so they will do everything possible to thrash the Jags.

Hilton averaged over seven catches and 100 yards per game in two contests against Jacksonville last season. The Jags don't have anyone capable of sticking with him down the field in their secondary, so this could be the week Hilton breaks free for a long score.

That is all it takes to have a great fantasy outing, so this certainly isn't the week to give up on Hilton.

Pierre Thomas

Chris Graythen/Getty Images

New Orleans Saints running back Pierre Thomas finds himself in a situation that is quite similar to Woodhead's. He was a huge part of the Saints' offense from a pass-catching standpoint last season, but his ceiling is limited by the fact that he resides in a crowded backfield.

The population got a bit less sparse in Week 2, though, when Mark Ingram suffered a broken hand. That leaves Thomas and Khiry Robinson to vie for touches in the coming weeks. Thomas only has 10 carries through two weeks, but he is averaging nearly five yards a pop. He should see more carries moving forward, but it wouldn't be surprising if Robinson gets the bulk of them.

With that said, Thomas has developed into a receiving fiend. Even with Darren Sproles in the picture last year, Thomas finished the season with 77 grabs. He already has nine through two weeks in 2014, and that number should continue to go up significantly in Week 3 and beyond.

Thomas has been with the Saints since 2007, and he has most definitely earned the trust of quarterback Drew Brees during that time. They have a great rapport, and there is little doubt Brees will look in his direction when he needs to get rid of the ball.

The Saints are 0-2 and will face a mediocre Minnesota Vikings defense at home on Sunday. That is perhaps the perfect storm for a blowout, which means there will be plenty of opportunities for Thomas to touch the ball and rack up fantasy points.

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