Daily Fantasy Football Week 3: DraftKings, FanDuel Top Picks, Best Value Plays

The DraftKings' Week 2 Millionaire Maker winner JEREMYHEIN won the top prize thanks to a monster Kansas City Chiefs stack involving quarterback Patrick Mahomes, tight end Travis Kelce, running back Kareem Hunt and wideout Sammy Watkins.

What will Week 3's winning lineups look like? Will they feature numerous players from the New Orleans Saints at Atlanta Falcons game, or will the Chiefs be involved yet again? Will some this week's obvious value plays be on lineups, or will fading the chalk be the optimal strategy?

Until we find out, here's a look at the top picks and best value plays for Week 3 on DraftKings and FanDuel.

DraftKings Top Picks

Atlanta Falcons WR Julio Jones ($7,900) vs. New Orleans Saints

Who would be surprised if Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones is the top scorer on the Week 3 slate? He's playing at home against the New Orleans Saints, who have given up four touchdown passes of 36 yards or more in two weeks.

Jones' salary is simply too cheap compared to other top stars: Of note, Saints running back Alvin Kamara is the leader at $9,500. Jones is almost a plug-and-play on DraftKings at that price. 

Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes ($7,000) vs. San Francisco 49ers

We're not getting a discount on Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes anymore, as his salary rose $900 to $7,000 this week, making him the second-most expensive signal-caller on DraftKings. It's for good reason, though, as the Chiefs have an implied team total of 31 points, per OddsShark.

Mahomes, who has 10 touchdowns through two games, could be involved in another offensive onslaught, making him worth the price.

DraftKings Best Value Plays

Philadelphia Eagles RB Corey Clement ($4,300) vs. Indianapolis Colts

Philadelphia Eagles running backs Jay Ajayi and Darren Sproles didn't practice on Thursday, and that in turn could make Corey Clement a busy man on Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts.

Clement showcased what he can do in Super Bowl LII, as he caught four passes for 100 yards and a touchdown. Those numbers would be hard to reach Sunday, but he could see 20-plus touches with the Eagles backfield missing key players.

Indianapolis Colts WR Ryan Grant ($4,100) at Philadelphia Eagles

This pick is contingent on the status of numerous Indianapolis Colts starters. Tight end Jack Doyle and wideout T.Y. Hilton sat out of Thursday practice with injuries. If one or both of them can't go, then other players will assuredly assume more volume.

One of those could be Ryan Grant, who would step into the No. 1 wide receiver role. If that's the case, he's a bargain at a $4,100 salary. He saw nine targets in Week 1 and could see something similar in Week 3 sans Hilton and Doyle.

FanDuel Top Picks

New Orleans Saints RB Alvin Kamara ($8,700) at Atlanta Falcons

Kamara isn't great value on DraftKings, but he's a solid one on FanDuel. He's priced below Los Angeles Rams running back Todd Gurley and teammate Michael Thomas, which is a bit odd considering that Kamara could easily surpass both players' fantasy totals Sunday.

The second-year pro was No. 1 in defense-adjusted value over average among running backs last year, per Football Outsiders, and he's continued his stellar play into this season.

New York Giants RB Saquon Barkley ($8,000) at Houston Texans

Yes, New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley is getting hit behind the line of scrimmage frequently as his offensive line struggles, but the G-Men keep feeding him the ball, and that leads to a steady accumulation of points.

With the pass game stalling last Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys, the Giants used Barkley for checkdown after checkdown, leading to 14 catches. Barkley can also break one at any time, much like when he ran for a 68-yard touchdown versus the Jacksonville Jaguars. 

FanDuel Best Value Plays

Washington Redskins RB Chris Thompson ($6,500)

The Colts led the Washington Redskins 14-3 midway through the second quarter on Sunday. From that point forward, 'Skins quarterback Alex Smith targeted running back Chris Thompson 14 times as the team tried to fight its way back.

That didn't happen, as the Colts won 21-9, but if Washington finds itself down against the Green Bay Packers (the Pack are three-point favorites, per OddsShark), then look for Thompson to amass a bunch of targets yet again. That would make him a great FanDuel play at his $6,500 salary.

Cincinnati Bengals WR Tyler Boyd ($4,700)

The minimum price for wide receivers on FanDuel is $4,500. The players on that bottom level include those on injured reserve, Sunday's inactive lists and free agents.

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tyler Boyd is just $200 more than the minimum, and that could be the bargain of the week industry wide. Not only is he second on the team's depth chart, but he's coming off a week where he caught six passes for 91 yards and a touchdown.

The Bengals offense has also accounted for 61 of the team's 68 points in two weeks, and Cincinnati's Week 3 opponent (the Carolina Panthers) may find themselves pre-occupied with stopping No. 1 wideout A.J. Green. That could leave Boyd with a lot of room to roam.

Ultimately, Boyd doesn't need much to pay off the value on his salary.