Fantasy Football Week 3 Rankings: Matchups We Love and Player Stat Projections

Strictly playing the NFL matchups would have helped many fantasy football managers avoid a subpar showing from a star quarterback.

Respectively facing the Jacksonville Jaguars, Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears, Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers and Russell Wilson all posted tame fantasy lines. Of course, it's far easier in hindsight to say someone should have benched a championship-winning quarterback for Blake Bortles, Andy Dalton or Ryan Fitzpatrick.

In a landscape where a dozen signal-callers just eclipsed 300 passing yards, it's rarely advisable to settle for a bad matchup under center. Luckily, there are plenty of trustworthy performers set to face a beatable adversary, so Philip Rivers at the Los Angeles Rams becomes an easy sit while a returning Carson Wentz fails to crack Week 3's top-12 rankings.

Let's examine one notable player from each position poised to capitalize on a vulnerable opponent. These rankings are tailored to non-point-per-reception scoring.

Quarterback

1. Tom Brady, NE (at DET)

2. Drew Brees, NO (at ATL)

3. Patrick Mahomes, SF (at KC)

4. Aaron Rodgers, GB (at WAS)

5. Kirk Cousins, MIN (vs. BUF)

6. Cam Newton, CAR (vs. CIN)

7. Jimmy Garoppolo, SF (vs. KC)

8. Matthew Stafford, DET (vs. NE)

9. Deshaun Watson, HOU (vs. NYG)

10. Ben Roethlisberger, PIT (at TB)

11. Ryan Fitzpatrick, TB (vs. PIT)

12. Russell Wilson, SEA (vs. DAL)

Top Matchup: Kirk Cousins, Minnesota Vikings (vs. Buffalo Bills)

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Nobody should need much assistance reaching this conclusion, but the Buffalo Bills are bad.

Making their early bid for the No. 1 pick, the Bills relinquished three passing touchdowns apiece to Joe Flacco and Philip Rivers. That duo combined to complete 49 of 65 passes for 492 yards and a 128.7 quarterback rating.

Kirk Cousins, meanwhile, tossed 425 passing yards and four touchdowns in a Week 2 tie with the Green Bay Packers. He made the most of his new supporting cast by connecting with Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs for a combined 21 catches, 259 yards and three scores.

How good can the Washington passer become alongside his new wideouts? An AFC assistant coach suggested a lofty ceiling typically not associated with Cousins to Bleacher Report's Mike Freeman. 

"You see what happens when you put him in a real organization with all-around good players," the coach said. "He could tear our league apart."

Perhaps that's setting the bar too high, but a ripe matchup makes Cousins a safe starting quarterback whose Week 3 upside is only capped by the Vikings, favored by 16.5 points according to OddsShark, gaining too huge a lead too early.

Projections: 26-of-33, 285 passing yards, 3 TDs

Running Back

1. Todd Gurley, LAR (vs. LAC)

2. Alvin Kamara, NO (at ATL)

3. Ezekiel Elliott, DAL (at SEA)

4. Saquon Barkley, NYG (at HOU)

5. Melvin Gordon, LAC (at LAR)

6. James Conner, PIT (at TB)

7. Kareem Hunt, KC (vs. SF)

8. Christian McCaffrey, CAR (vs. CIN)

9. Latavius Murray, MIN (at BUF)

10. Jordan Howard, CHI (at ARI)

11. Tevin Coleman, ATL (v. NO)

12. Leonard Fournette, JAC (vs. TEN)

13. Kenyan Drake, MIA (vs. OAK)

14. David Johnson, ARI (vs. CHI)

15. Lamar Miller, HOU (vs. NYG)

16. Giovani Bernard, CIN (at CIN)

17. Corey Clement, PHI (vs. IND)

18. Chris Thompson, WAS (vs. GB)

19. Alex Collins, BAL (vs. DEN)

20. Matt Breida, SF (at KC)

21. Dion Lewis, TEN (at JAC)

22. Phillip Lindsay, SEA (vs. DAL)

23. Marshawn Lynch, OAK (at MIA)

24. Adrian Peterson, WAS (vs. GB)

25. Jamaal Williams, GB (at WAS)

Top Matchup: Kenyan Drake, Miami Dolphins (vs. Oakland Raiders)

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It may seem like a stretch to consider Kenyan Drake a borderline RB1 this weekend. Caught in a timeshare with Frank Gore, he has seen just 25 carries compared to his teammate's 18. 

There should be enough opportunities for both Miami Dolphins running backs to excel this weekend.

A home matchup against the 0-2 Oakland Raiders bodes well for the duo. Oakland has relinquished 5.7 yards per carry and the second-most rushing yards (308) ahead of the Detroit Lions. 

And yes, one of those games was against Todd Gurley. In the other bout, Phillip Lindsay stormed to 107 rushing yards while Royce Freeman punched in a one-yard score.

Not stuck in a straight committee, Drake has played 40 more snaps (84) than Gore this season, according to Pro Football Reference. He also handled both of Miami's Week 2 red-zone handoffs—one of which he turned into a six-yard score—and has received four targets in each game. He could play the Lindsay role while hopefully not also relinquishing the goal-line score.

Projection: 15 carries, 85 yards, 1 Rushing TD, 3 Catches, 15 Yards

Wide Receiver

1. Antonio Brown, PIT (at TB)

2. Michael Thomas, NO (at ATL)

3. DeAndre Hopkins, HOU (vs. NYG)

4. Julio Jones, ATL (vs. NO)

5. Odell Beckham Jr., NYG (at HOU)

6. Stefon Diggs, MIN (vs. BUF)

7. Tyreek Hill, KC (vs. SF)

8. Mike Evans, TB (vs. PIT)

9. A.J. Green, CIN (at CAR)

10. Adam Thielen, MIN (vs. BUF)

11. Davante Adams, GB (at WAS)

12. Keenan Allen, LAC (at LAR)

13. JuJu Smith-Schuster, PIT (at TB)

14. T.Y. Hilton, IND (at PHI)

15. Golden Tate, DET (vs. NE)

16. Emmanuel Sanders, DEN (at BAL)

17. Nelson Agholor, PHI (vs. IND)

18. Amari Cooper, OAK (at MIA)

19. Chris Hogan, NE (at DET)

20. Brandin Cooks, LAR (vs. LAC)

21. Allen Robinson, CHI (at ARI)

22. Demaryius Thomas, DEN (at BAL)

23. Larry Fitzgerald, ARI (vs. CHI)

24. Kenny Golladay, DET (vs. NE)

25. Marvin Jones, DET (vs. NE)

Top Matchup: Chris Hogan, New England Patriots (at Detroit Lions)

Sam Greenwood/Getty Images

Chris Hogan investors received little time to celebrate his two-touchdown outing against a stellar Jacksonville Jaguars secondary. If four receptions and Julian Edelman's looming return didn't quell long-term excitement, the New England Patriots sparked panic by acquiring Josh Gordon from the Cleveland Browns.

Hogan mustered four catches for 53 yards in two combined games as Tom Brady's top wideout. Drafters are rightfully afraid of the popular breakout pick getting lost in the shuffle:

Don't assume he vanishes immediately. Edelman has two more games left on his suspension, and Gordon—who made his practice debut on Wednesday—is a long shot to immediately learn a new playbook and contribute on Sunday night.

The 29-year-old Hogan has at least one more chance to shine against the Detroit Lions, who have allowed 8.6 yards per pass attempt. A terrible defense might get far worse, as top cornerback Darius Slay left Week 2's game with a concussion.

Some will instead see this as an opportunity to roll the dice on Gordon, but Hogan is a safer bet to find pay dirt. More importantly, he's far more likely to log regular snaps.

A huge Week 3 could then provide one last chance to sell him for a respectable return.

Projections: 7 Targets, 5 Catches, 80 Yards, 1 TD

Tight End

1. Rob Gronkowski, NE (at DET)

2. Travis Kelce, KC (vs. SF)

3. Zach Ertz, PHI (vs. IND)

4. George Kittle, SF (at KC)

5. Jordan Reed, WAS (vs. GB)

6. Evan Engram, NYG (at HOU)

7. Jimmy Graham, GB (at WAS)

8. Kyle Rudolph, MIN (vs. BUF)

9. Eric Ebron, IND (at PHI)

10. Trey Burton, CHI (at ARI)

11. Jared Cook, OAK (at MIA)

12. O.J. Howard, TB (vs. PIT)

Top Matchup: George Kittle, San Francisco 49ers (at Kansas City Chiefs)

Michael Zagaris/Getty Images

George Kittle also looked poised to break out last Sunday. He caught two of four targets for 22 yards.

Perhaps it's stubbornness preserving his top-five status this weekend. Or maybe it's just because there's no reliable tight end outside the top three.

Chief among the reasons to rank him fourth: The Kansas City Chiefs, much like Bill Murray, don't play defense.

Philip Rivers and Ben Roethlisberger each gashed them for more than 400 passing yards in losing efforts. They would tie the Bills for the most passing touchdowns allowed if not for their quarterback throwing six against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

While an elderly Antonio Gates didn't join the party, tight end Jesse James turned five targets into 138 yards and a touchdown.

Kittle's deep presence establishes an immense ceiling in another likely shootout. Per NFL's Next Gen Stats, he leads the San Francisco 49ers with 24.8 percent of Jimmy Garoppolo's targeted air yards. He dropped a potential big play in Week 1, but most other tight ends are check-down options and/or entirely reliant on touchdowns.

Projections: 6 Targets, 5 Receptions, 70 Yards, 1 TD