Fantasy Football Week 3 Rankings: Updated Positional Breakdown for Flex and PPR

Expectations can change for NFL players in the first few weeks of a new season. And that's crucial when evaluating your fantasy football lineup.

It's likely that your fantasy lineup doesn't look exactly the way you thought it would on draft day. Whether that's because of injuries, players underperforming or breakout players emerging, you've probably had to tinker with your lineup at least once or twice through the first two weeks of the NFL season.

Choosing the right players to fill in your lineup, particularly in the flex spot, can be the difference between winning your league's championship and falling short.

Here's a look at this week's fantasy football rankings for the three eligible flex positions (running backs, wide receivers and tight ends) along with ESPN's projected points for each player in Week 3, per points-per-reception scoring.

Top 15 Running Backs

1. Carolina Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey (at Arizona Cardinals): 23.5 projected fantasy points

2. Dallas Cowboys RB Ezekiel Elliott (vs. Miami Dolphins): 23.4

3. New York Giants RB Saquon Barkley (at Tampa Bay Buccaneers): 20.7

4. New Orleans Saints RB Alvin Kamara (at Seattle Seahawks): 19.3

5. Minnesota Vikings RB Dalvin Cook (vs. Oakland Raiders): 18.8

6. New York Jets RB Le'Veon Bell (at New England Patriots): 18.8

7. Los Angeles Chargers RB Austin Ekeler (vs. Houston Texans): 18.6

8. Arizona Cardinals RB David Johnson (vs. Carolina Panthers): 18.3

9. Cleveland Browns RB Nick Chubb (vs. Los Angeles Rams): 17.8

10. Green Bay Packers RB Aaron Jones (vs. Denver Broncos): 16.9

11. Seattle Seahawks RB Chris Carson (vs. New Orleans Saints): 15.4

12. Los Angeles Rams RB Todd Gurley (at Cleveland Browns): 14.9

13. Pittsburgh Steelers RB James Conner (at San Francisco 49ers): 14.6

14. New England Patriots RB Sony Michel (vs. New York Jets): 14.2

15. Indianapolis Colts RB Marlon Mack (vs. Atlanta Falcons): 14

Among the top running backs, McCaffrey and Elliott could be in for big weeks. McCaffrey will likely be heavily relied upon with quarterback Cam Newton out and Kyle Allen making his second career start. Elliott has a favorable matchup against a struggling Dolphins defense.

Like McCaffrey, Kamara could also have a heavy workload, as the Saints will be without quarterback Drew Brees.

As for running backs lower in the projections who could have big weeks, keep an eye on Sony Michel. The Patriots are playing a struggling Jets team, and without Antonio Brown, whom they released on Friday, they'll likely get several of their running backs involved, and mostly Michel.

Michel had a strong showing against the Dolphins last week, tallying 83 yards and his first touchdown of the season, and he could be poised for an even bigger game on Sunday.

Top 25 Wide Receivers

1. Cleveland Browns WR Odell Beckham Jr. (vs. Los Angeles Rams): 18.4 projected fantasy points

2. Atlanta Falcons WR Julio Jones (at Indianapolis Colts): 17.3

3. New Orleans Saints WR Michael Thomas (at Seattle Seahawks): 17.2

4. Los Angeles Chargers WR Keenan Allen (vs. Houston Texans): 17.1

5. Houston Texans WR DeAndre Hopkins (at Los Angeles Chargers): 17.1

6. Green Bay Packers WR Davante Adams (vs. Denver Broncos): 16.1

7. Pittsburgh Steelers WR JuJu Smith-Schuster (at San Francisco 49ers): 15

8. Kansas City Chiefs WR Sammy Watkins (vs. Baltimore Ravens): 15

9. Detroit Lions WR Kenny Golladay (at Philadelphia Eagles): 14.7

10. New England Patriots WR Julian Edelman (vs. New York Jets): 14.3

11. Minnesota Vikings WR Adam Thielen (vs. Oakland Raiders): 14.3

12. Los Angeles Rams WR Cooper Kupp (at Cleveland Browns): 14

13. Dallas Cowboys WR Amari Cooper (vs. Miami Dolphins): 13.8

14. Cincinnati Bengals WR Tyler Boyd (at Buffalo Bills): 13.5

15. Tampa Bay Buccaneers WR Mike Evans (vs. New York Giants): 13.5

16. Tampa Bay Buccaneers WR Chris Godwin (vs. New York Giants): 13.5

17. Arizona Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald (vs. Carolina Panthers): 13.3

18. Indianapolis Colts WR T.Y. Hilton (vs. Atlanta Falcons): 13.3

19. Denver Broncos WR Emmanuel Sanders (at Green Bay Packers): 13.1

20. Oakland Raiders WR Tyrell Williams (at Minnesota Vikings): 13.1

21. Seattle Seahawks WR Tyler Lockett (vs. New Orleans Saints): 13

22. Baltimore Ravens WR Marquise Brown (at Kansas City Chiefs): 13

23. Los Angeles Rams WR Brandin Cooks (at Cleveland Browns): 12.9

24. Los Angeles Rams WR Robert Woods (at Cleveland Browns): 12.9

25. Carolina Panthers WR D.J. Moore (at Arizona Cardinals): 12.8

Beckham is coming off a huge Monday night game against the Jets, as he showed exactly what he'll bring to the Browns offense. He had six receptions for 161 yards, which included an 89-yard touchdown catch, his first score since joining Cleveland.

So, it's no surprise that Beckham is the clear top projected receiver in Week 3 as he and the Browns host the Rams in a matchup that could feature a good bit of offense on both sides.

Both of the Buccaneers' top two receivers should also be strong plays this week as they look to build off their first win of the season, which came during the Week 2 Thursday night game against the Panthers. Tampa Bay has a favorable matchup against the Giants on Sunday, and it will be playing on 10 days of rest.

There should be plenty of opportunities for both Evans and Godwin to get involved, and it seems likely that both could find the end zone against the Giants defense.

Top 10 Tight Ends

1. Kansas City Chiefs TE Travis Kelce (vs. Baltimore Ravens): 18.3 projected fantasy points

2. San Francisco 49ers TE George Kittle (vs. Pittsburgh Steelers): 14.1

3. Philadelphia Eagles TE Zach Ertz (vs. Detroit Lions): 13.5

4. Baltimore Ravens TE Mark Andrews (at Kansas City Chiefs): 12.7

5. New York Giants TE Evan Engram (at Tampa Bay Buccaneers): 12

6. Oakland Raiders TE Darren Waller (at Minnesota Vikings): 10.7

7. Carolina Panthers TE Greg Olsen (at Arizona Cardinals): 9.9

8. Pittsburgh Steelers TE Vance McDonald (at San Francisco 49ers): 9.7

9. Atlanta Falcons TE Austin Hooper (at Indianapolis Colts): 9.4

10. Detroit Lions TE T.J. Hockenson (at Philadelphia Eagles): 9.1

Through two weeks, Andrews is on pace to total far more yards than he did last year in his rookie season. After he had 552 receiving yards last year, he already has 220 in the Ravens' first two games.

There should be plenty of offense in Sunday's Ravens-Chiefs game, and Andrews is quickly becoming a reliable target for second-year quarterback Lamar Jackson. So, in a game that could be very competitive and require the winning team to score a lot of points, expect Andrews to continue his impressive start.

Hockenson is another young tight end who could get a lot of targets this week. He had six receptions for 131 yards and a touchdown in his NFL debut in Week 1 against the Cardinals, but he had only one reception for seven yards last week against the Chargers.

The Lions will likely want to get Hockenson back on track this week, and he should have a chance at having a solid showing against the Eagles defense.