Fantasy Football Week 3 Rankings: Updated Positional Breakdown for Flex and PPR
2016 may be the year of the all-purpose running back.
Even in points-per-reception (PPR) leagues, two of the top three producers through two weeks are running backs, per FantasyPros.
DeAngelo Williams and Matt Forte are churning up yardage on the way to the end zone for their respective teams. And after the points from Week 3 are tallied up, LeGarrette Blount may be joining them.
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The New England Patriots dismantled of the Houston Texans on Thursday night, and Blount's bruising running style set the tone. He rolled to 105 yards and two rushing touchdowns. Even without many points from receptions, Blount was the game's top fantasy producer in both standard and PPR formats.
As we move into the meat of Week 3's games look for more big games from the league's top backs. The top 10 from that spot, as well as those from every other fantasy position, are ranked and broken down below.
| Denver Broncos | Cincinnati Bengals | 1 p.m. | CBS |
| Arizona Cardinals | Buffalo Bills | 1 p.m. | Fox |
| Oakland Raiders | Tennessee Titans | 1 p.m. | CBS |
| Cleveland Browns | Miami Dolphins | 1 p.m. | CBS |
| Baltimore Ravens | Jacksonville Jaguars | 1 p.m. | CBS |
| Detroit Lions | Green Bay Packers | 1 p.m. | Fox |
| Minnesota Vikings | Carolina Panthers | 1 p.m. | Fox |
| Washington Redskins | New York Giants | 1 p.m. | Fox |
| Los Angeles Rams | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 4:05 p.m. | Fox |
| San Francisco 49ers | Seattle Seahawks | 4:05 p.m. | Fox |
| New York Jets | Kansas City Chiefs | 4:25 p.m. | CBS |
| San Diego Chargers | Indianapolis Colts | 4:25 p.m. | CBS |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | Philadelphia Eagles | 4:25 p.m. | CBS |
| Chicago Bears | Dallas Cowboys | 8:30 p.m. | NBC |
| Atlanta Falcons | New Orleans Saints | 8:30 p.m. (Monday) | ESPN |
Quarterback
For the most part, quarterbacks have performed as expected this season.
Matt Ryan, Cam Newton, Derek Carr, Drew Brees and Andrew Luck make up the top five. One mild surprise may be Aaron Rodgers coming in at No. 9.
But even with his relatively slow start, experts are forecasting a bounce-back for Rodgers in Week 3.
| 1 | Drew Brees NO vs. ATL |
| 2 | Cam Newton CAR vs. MIN |
| 3 | Aaron Rodgers GB vs. DET |
| 4 | Andrew Luck IND vs. SD |
| 5 | Matt Ryan ATL at NO |
| 6 | Ben Roethlisberger PIT at PHI |
| 7 | Philip Rivers SD at IND |
| 8 | Carson Palmer ARI at BUF |
| 9 | Eli Manning NYG vs. WAS |
| 10 | Russell Wilson SEA vs. SF |
Matt Ryan, ATL
The expert consensus at FantasyPros may have Drew Brees ranked first this week, but his counterpart on Sunday may have the better matchup.
Matt Ryan has scored more fantasy points than any other quarterback this season. According to numberFire's Tyler Buecher, he was the top passer in the league in Week 2:
"Ryan has been on an absolute tear to start the season and outperformed expectations on the road this week against the Oakland Raiders. Ryan completed 26 of 34 drop backs for 396 yards. He found the end zone three times and threw one pick. He led all quarterbacks with a 96 performance rating, per numberFire Live.
"
In Week 3, Ryan faces a New Orleans Saints defense that has given up 672 passing yards in two games. New Orleans' prospects for slowing down Ryan's hot streak don't look strong.
Running Back
In standard leagues, three running backs—Williams, Forte and C.J. Anderson—are averaging over 20 fantasy points per game. No receivers are at that level.
In PPR leagues, the running backs aren't too far behind. Six running backs, compared to nine wide receivers, are above the 20-point-per-game threshold.
Some of the backs who have gotten a bump from the PPR format in the first two weeks include DeMarco Murray, Spencer Ware and Theo Riddick.
| 1 | David Johnson ARI at BUF |
| 2 | DeAngelo Williams PIT at PHI |
| 3 | Ezekiel Elliott DAL vs. CHI |
| 4 | C.J. Anderson DEN at CIN |
| 5 | Melvin Gordon SD at IND |
| 6 | Matt Forte NYJ at KC |
| 7 | Lamar Miller HOU at NE |
| 8 | DeMarco Murray TEN vs. OAK |
| 9 | Mark Ingram NO vs. ATL |
| 10 | Todd Gurley LA at TB |
David Johnson, ARI
Regardless of what format your league uses for scoring, the Arizona Cardinals' David Johnson is going to stack points on points.
But if you're lucky enough to have him in a PPR league, you're really in business.
“I was getting recruited to play receiver in college,” Johnson said, per Arizona Sports' Craig Grialou. “So I was already getting used to that feeling of catching the ball, tucking it, running routes and stuff. I’m glad I’m able to do it here.”
Evidence of Johnson's knack for receiving can be found in the discrepancy between his scoring in standard and PPR leagues. In the former, he's averaging 16.8 points. In the latter, he's at 20.3.
Wide Receiver
While there have certainly been some strong showings from running backs around the league, passing is still the name of the game for the most high-powered offenses.
| 1 | Antonio Brown PIT at PHI |
| 2 | Julio Jones ATL at NO |
| 3 | Odell Beckham, Jr. NYG vs. WAS |
| 4 | Allen Robinson JAC vs. BAL |
| 5 | Brandin Cooks NO vs. ATL |
| 6 | DeAndre Hopkins HOU at NE |
| 7 | Mike Evans TB vs. LA |
| 8 | Amari Cooper OAK at TEN |
| 9 | Dez Bryant DAL vs. CHI |
| 10 | Alshon Jeffery CHI at DAL |
Kelvin Benjamin, CAR
He may not be in the above forecast from FantasyPros, but Kelvin Benjamin has been completely unstoppable through two games this season.
The monster receiver (6'5", 245 lbs) is averaging 19.0 points in standard leagues and 25.5 in PPR. That leads all wideouts in both formats.
And even though Benjamin faces a stout Minnesota Vikings defense this week, ESPN 1500's Matthew Coller still thinks he should be feared:
"Newton loves to throw the ball deep because, well, he’s Cam Newton and he can. But he loves to throw it deep to Benjamin because his monster truck-size pass catcher can bring it down even when he’s double covered. In 2014 as a rookie, he had seven catches of more than 20 yards. Because of his length and skill for tracking the ball in the air, the secondary can do everything right and still come away giving up a huge gain.
"
It won't matter if the inexperienced Trae Waynes or the 38-year-old Terence Newman is tasked with covering Benjamin. Either one will be outmatched.
Tight End
With Rob Gronkowski slowly but surely working his way back from injury this season, the tight end position hasn't been quite as explosive.
One noteworthy development, though, is the resurgence of Julius Thomas. After struggling in his first post-Peyton Manning season in 2015, Thomas is averaging over 14 fantasy points through two weeks in 2016.
| 1 | Jordan Reed WAS at NYG |
| 2 | Greg Olsen CAR vs. MIN |
| 3 | Delanie Walker TEN vs. OAK |
| 4 | Travis Kelce KC vs. NYJ |
| 5 | Julius Thomas JAC vs. BAL |
| 6 | Dennis Pitta BAL at JAC |
| 7 | Rob Gronkowski NE vs. HOU |
| 8 | Dwayne Allen IND vs. SD |
| 9 | Jason Witten DAL vs. CHI |
| 10 | Eric Ebron DET at GB |
Travis Kelce, KC
Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce is on pace for another solid season in terms of receptions and receiving yards, but he's yet to find the end zone.
On Sunday, Kelce will face the New York Jets, and only six teams in the league have given up more passing touchdowns than that defense.
Flex
| 1 | Antonio Brown PIT at PHI |
| 2 | David Johnson ARI at BUF |
| 3 | DeAngelo Williams PIT at PHI |
| 4 | Julio Jones ATL at NO |
| 5 | Odell Beckham, Jr. NYG vs. WAS |
| 6 | Ezekiel Elliott DAL vs. CHI |
| 7 | Melvin Gordon SD at IND |
| 8 | DeAndre Hopkins HOU at NE |
| 9 | C.J. Anderson DEN at CIN |
| 10 | Brandin Cooks NO vs. ATL |
Defense/Special Teams
Big points from a defense in fantasy football is found money.
And the New England Patriots defense, which is still unowned in over 30 percent of ESPN fantasy leagues, found plenty on Thursday.
Bill Belichick's ever-soul-crushing defensive unit racked up 18 points in a shutout of the Houston Texans.
| 1 | Seattle Seahawks vs. SF |
| 2 | Carolina Panthers vs. MIN |
| 3 | Denver Broncos at CIN |
| 4 | Arizona Cardinals at BUF |
| 5 | Miami Dolphins vs. CLE |
| 6 | Houston Texans at NE |
| 7 | Cincinnati Bengals vs. DEN |
| 8 | New England Patriots vs. HOU |
| 9 | Pittsburgh Steelers at PHI |
| 10 | Kansas City Chiefs vs. NYJ |
Denver Broncos
The Minnesota Vikings defense is averaging nearly as many points (17.5) as the total tallied by New England on Thursday, but they face an explosive Carolina Panthers squad. Look for that average to come back down to earth.
A team that should continue to dominate that side of the ball is the Denver Broncos. They face a Cincinnati Bengals squad that ranks ninth in yards per offensive play, but also leads the league with eight sacks allowed.
Against the Broncos' ferocious pass rush led by linebacker Von Miller, that's trouble. The pass protection will start to break down against Miller by the third quarter, and everything else will start to break down with it.
Kicker
As is the case with most positions, it's too early to get a great feel for who's reliable. That's especially true of kickers.
As the season wears on, we'll be able to predict which teams are more likely to settle for field goals.
| 1 | Adam Vinatieri IND vs. SD |
| 2 | Dan Bailey DAL vs. CHI |
| 3 | Justin Tucker BAL at JAC |
| 4 | Chandler Catanzaro ARI at BUF |
| 5 | Stephen Gostkowski NE vs. HOU |
| 6 | Steven Hauschka SEA vs. SF |
| 7 | Mason Crosby GB vs. DET |
| 8 | Matt Bryant ATL at NO |
| 9 | Graham Gano CAR vs. MIN |
| 10 | Josh Brown NYG vs. WAS |
Dan Bailey, DAL
Since the Dallas Cowboys' Dan Bailey entered the league in 2011, 39 kickers have attempted at least 50 field goals. Bailey's field-goal percentage of 90.9 ranks first in that group. Over his last 18 games, he's at 94.7 percent.
With rookie quarterback Dak Prescott still struggling to turn decent drives into touchdowns, expect Bailey to get plenty of attempts this season.
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