Daily Fantasy Football Week 3: Winners, Losers and Best Picks

We're two weeks in, but the world of DFS is already in midseason form. 

Expected dominance from Antonio Brown and Rob Gronkowski—six combined touchdowns!—and shocking breakouts by Travis Benjamin and Marcus Mariota have only been the appetizer to a DraftKings season full of potential winnings. Various Week 2 hits and misses have shed light on where to go from here as we break down below the week that was—and the Week 3 that will be.

Week 2 Reflection Time

What Worked

Darron Cummings/Associated Press/Associated Press

T.Y. Hilton ended up playing for the Indianapolis Colts, but it didn't take anything away from our Week 2 sleeper. Donte Moncrief blasted his $4,600 salary out of the water with seven grabs for 122 yards and a score, going for 28.2 DK points. He'll continue to evolve with Hilton hobbled and in more of a decoy role.

Our slotting Randall Cobb as the top-dollar wideout at $7,400 paid off—literally. He went for 116 yards on eight grabs with his reliability as Aaron Rodgers' best remaining target paying dividends.

Piggybacking off Terrance Williams' 18.4-point day for the Cowboys, our three receivers put up well over 65 combined points on just over $16,000 salary.

What Didn't Work

Jimmy Graham's Week 1 outburst of 17.1 points wasn't a sign of things to come, as he was held to one catch for 11 yards against Green Bay. A Graham-to-Seattle move that looked so good on paper is now falling apart fast, as Bleacher Report's Mike Freeman reported Graham is frustrated with his role and a lack of touches.

Tight ends didn't explode across the board like they did in Week 1, but any number of mid-range options would have easily outdone Graham. 

Tweets of the Week

Check out the million dollar-winning lineup for Week 2, provided by DraftKings, along with a breakdown of Packers wideout James Jones' torrid start to 2015:

"

WR James Jones has 3 TD's in five quarters w/@packers this season. Had 3 TD's the entire 2013 season with GB (14 games). #GBvsSEA #Packers

— B/R Insights (@BR_Insights) September 21, 2015"

Fast Forward to Week 3 

L.G. Patterson/Associated Press/Associated Press

Must-Have Sleeper

Doug Baldwin falls under the stigma of Seattle receivers at his $4,000 price tag, but is outplaying it after a 92-yard, one-touchdown performance against a much-improved Green Bay defense. His 17 targets through two games makes him Russell Wilson's favorite option.

At 0-2, the Seahawks will be looking to pound the Bears into submission Sunday, meaning Wilson should take it to an oft-torched Chicago secondary. Baldwin is the best bet to be on the receiving end of that.

Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

Time for a Turnaround

Those expecting DeMarco Murray-in-2014 numbers from Joseph Randle need to temper their expectations, but the Cowboys' featured rusher should break out for the first time this year on Sunday. Randle's 34 carries have shown Dallas' investment in him, and he should torch a Falcons defense that has already given up two rushing scores and 137 ground yards—especially without Tony Romo and Dez Bryant.

Andrew Luck's start to 2015 has probably been the most forgettable among top-tier DFS players, but he's in for a Week 3 respite. The Colts' offensive issues should fade against a Titans squad that Luck threw for six touchdowns and one interception against last season.

Question of the Week

How much of my salary should be committed to stacking a QB-WR tandem?

This is the way to separate your DFS lineup from the rest.

While a wide sample of players from various matches is a must to guarantee success, stacking two players who commonly connect will double their production—which will be massive if you pick the right duo.

Our stacking of Matt Ryan and Julio Jones in Week 1 wasn't cheap, but it produced nearly 60 fantasy points alone and carried our lineup to opening-weekend winnings. The 30 percent of salary it ate up seemed like a bargain after the fact.

If it's a reliable tandem that can guarantee production and threaten to explode, 25-30 percent of your $50,000 salary isn't too steep of a price to pay for the right duo. 

My Lineup

DraftKings.com

Our road to DFS formidability in Week 3 runs straight through the Music City on the back of a newfound connection between Luck and Moncrief.

The Colts may be 0-2 with a struggling offense, but their trip to face the Tennessee Titans will put that to bed. Luck is unbeaten against the Titans in his career and went for 393 yards and four touchdowns in his 2014 trip to Nashville.

We like Moncrief for a second straight week, this time stretching out the Titans defense like Travis Benjamin did last week. Stacking him with Luck is a relatively cheap option ($13,700).

Le'Veon Bell returns from suspension to face the Rams, who have already let up a league-worst 275 rushing yards through two games. Pittsburgh is committed to returning the backfield to Bell, as Bob Labriola of Steelers.com reported:

Any DFS lineup without Rob Gronkowski is one doomed to fail, and we aren't intent on going down that path. Gronk should pad his touchdown total (already at four) Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars, making good on his immense salary.

From there on, expect Doug Baldwin (22.2 points in Week 2) to gash the Bears and Jarvis Landry to continue his PPR dominance (16 catches already) to round out a Week 3 lineup destined for winnings.

Follow Steven Cook on Twitter for more NFL and DraftKings advice, and reach out to him with questions for upcoming DFS columns. 

---

DraftKings is paying out millions of dollars in prizes during Week 3 of the NFL season. Use this knowledge to help you win some of that cash. Play now for FREE at DraftKings.com.