Week 3 Fantasy Football Rankings: Breaking Down Each Position

The season is still young, but it is no longer in its infancy. 

After watching all of training camp and the preseason, we have now gotten at least an inkling of what most teams are capable of doing. It's still too early to draw any season-long conclusions—such as Ryan Fitzpatrick becoming an All-Pro quarterback—but we know that Fitzpatrick and Blake Bortles are better than we thought they were.

As the NFL season moves into Week 3, we provide our rankings at all four skill-positions as well as defenses and placekickers.

Quarterbacks

1. Kirk Cousins, Minnesota Vikings vs. Buffalo Bills
2. Tom Brady, New England Patriots @ Detroit Lions
3. Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs vs. San Francisco 49ers
4. Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers
5. Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers @ Washington Redskins
6. Carson Wentz, Philadelphia Eagles vs. Indianapolis Colts
7. Deshaun Watson, Houston Texans vs. New York Giants
8. Jared Goff, Los Angeles Rams vs. Los Angeles Chargers
9. Philip Rivers, Los Angeles Chargers @ Los Angeles Rams
10. Jimmy Garoppolo, San Francisco 49ers @ Kansas City Chiefs

The Minnesota Vikings brought in Kirk Cousins because they believed he could be the quarterback who leads them to the Super Bowl. Through his first two games, there is no reason to think that can't happen.

Cousins has completed 55 of 84 passes for 669 yards with six touchdowns and one interception. Cousins has a 108.7 passer rating in his first two games and he is averaging 8.0 yards per pass. In addition to those numbers, Cousins is unfailingly accurate. He proved that on a touchdown pass to Adam Thielen in the fourth quarter against the Packers that was threaded between defenders.

The Vikings came from behind to tie the Green Bay Packers in Week 2, and they get a much easier assignment this week against the Buffalo Bills at home. There's a chance that Cousins could have a monster game with four touchdowns or more, but Mike Zimmer could get his backups in early if the Vikings build a huge lead by halftime. 

Tom Brady and the New England Patriots are coming off a Week 2 loss to the Jaguars in Jacksonville, and they should be able to get back on track in Week 3 at Detroit. The Lions are coached by former Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia; don't expect Bill Belichick to have any sympathy for his former assistant.

Brady completed 24 of 35 passes for 234 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions against the Jaguars, and that's a solid effort. He should be prepared for a big game.

The Lions couldn't stop the Jets or the 49ers, and slowing down the Patriots and Brady is a much tougher assignment.

Running Backs

1. Todd Gurley, Rams vs. Chargers
2. Alvin Kamara, New Orleans Saints at Atlanta Falcons
3. Jordan Howard, Chicago Bears at Arizona Cardinals
4. Ezekiel Elliott, Dallas Cowboys at Seattle Seahawks
5. Saquon Barkley, Giants at Texans
6. Dalvin Cook, Vikings vs. Bills
7. Kareem Hunt, Chiefs vs. 49ers
8. David Johnson, Cardinals vs. Bears
9. Leonard Fournette, Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Tennessee Titans
10. Melvin Gordon, Chargers at Rams

The Rams have started the season with a couple of convincing victories over the Oakland Raiders and Arizona Cardinals, and Todd Gurley is a big part of the reason behind the team's success.

While he did not have a great statistical game against the Cardinals—just 19 carries for 42 yards—he did pound the ball into the end zone three times. This comes on the heels of his 108-yard effort in the season opener against the Rams.

This game is the first battle of Los Angeles between the Rams and the Chargers. Expect both teams to come with maximum effort and Melvin Gordon should be effective for the Chargers. However, Gurley is the best running back in the league at this point and he will dominate.

Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press/Associated Press

Wide Receivers

1. Antonio Brown, Steelers at Buccaneers
2. DeAndre Hopkins, Texans vs. Giants
3. Michael Thomas, Saints at Falcons
4. Odell Beckham Jr., Giants at Texans
5. Julio Jones, Falcons vs. Saints
6. Tyreek Hill, Chiefs vs. 49ers
7. Stefon Diggs, Vikings vs. Bills
8. A.J. Green, Cincinnati Bengals at Carolina Panthers
9. Mike Evans, Bucs vs. Steelers
10. Adam Thielen, Vikings vs. Bills

Things have gotten off to a bad start for the Steelers, as they are winless in their first two games. The team may not admit it, but the absence of Le'Veon Bell is hurting this team's balance. James Conner is doing a fine job of filling in for Bell to this point, but he does not have the same capabilities as Bell.

Antonio Brown has yet to have one of his explosive games at wide receiver, and the absence of Bell may have quite a bit to do with it. Instead of worrying about the best running back in the game and the best receiver, opposing defenses just have to worry about the pass catcher.

Brown is too good at his job to have three ordinary games in a row. Look for him to make one of two big plays early against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and then turn it on. He has caught 18 passes for 160 yards and one touchdown to this point, and look for at least a dozen catches for 145 yards or more in this game.

Tight Ends

1. Rob Gronkowski, Patriots at Lions
2. Travis Kelce, Chiefs vs. 49ers
3. Austin Seferian-Jenkins, Jaguars vs. Titans
4. Kyle Rudolph, Vikings vs. Bills
5. O.J. Howard, Buccaneers vs. Steelers
6. Zach Ertz, Eagles vs. Colts
7. Jimmy Graham, Packers at Redskins
8. George Kittle, 49ers at Rams
9. Jordan Reed, Redskins vs. Packers
10. Tyler Eifert, Bengals at Panthers

The Jacksonville Jaguars bottled up Rob Gronkowski and held him to two catches by doubling him in the Florida heat. However, the Jaguars have one of the best defensive teams in the league, and they were able to pressure Tom Brady and force him to get rid of the ball quickly.

Look for the Patriots offense to have a lot more success against the Detroit defense that has been attacked by the New York Jets and San Francisco 49ers during the first two weeks of the season. Brady should have much more time to operate against the Lions, and he will find his stellar tight end.

Placekickers

1. Justin Tucker, Ravens vs. Broncos
2. Stephen Gostkowski, Patriots @ Lions
3. Greg Zuerlein, Rams vs. Chargers
4. Jake Elliott, Eagles vs. Colts
5. Wil Lutz, Saints @ Falcons
6. Chris Boswell, Steelers @ Buccaneers
7. Dan Bailey, Vikings vs. Bills
8. Harrison Butker, Chiefs vs. 49ers
9. Matt Bryant, Falcons vs. Saints
10. Josh Lambo, Jaguars vs. Titans

Defense/Special Teams

1. Vikings vs. Bills
2. Jaguars vs. Titans
3. Eagles vs. Colts
4. Texans vs. Giants
5. Bears at Cardinals
6. Patriots at Lions
7. Broncos at Ravens
8. Rams vs. Chargers
9. Jets at Browns
10. Ravens vs. Broncos