Fantasy Football Week 3 Rankings: Top 5 QBs, RBs and WRs

Fantasy Football Week 3 rankings are a little tricky this season. If you're anything like me, you probably get sick and tired of seeing the same fantasy football rankings week after week on some of the major fantasy football sites.

Ranking experts usually like to take the safe route and always sit Adrian Peterson atop their leaderboard, because a general consensus usually agrees he is always the safest play.

However, when I rank players I give it my best shot to actually choose who will score the most points at that position on that particular week. I take a little bit of the reliability and average points per week standpoint out of it, and I include more emphasis on who has the most upside when putting together my fantasy football Week 3 rankings.

While I still have some of the common studs listed in the Top 5 for Week 3, I've ranked some where you will probably be surprised and write me off as a looney. However, I will give you my reasoning for each and every pick.

Top 5 QBs:

1. Drew Brees (Saints) vs. Texans: Drew Brees had a bit of a turnover issue last season throwing for 22 interceptions during the 2010 season. This season it seems Brees has gotten over that problem. In the first two games of the season Brees has thrown for 689 yards, six touchdowns, and zero interceptions. Against this still improving Texan secondary, expect Brees to have his best game of the season so far.

2. Philip Rivers (Chargers) vs. Chiefs: This one is plain and simple. The Chiefs have looked absolutely horrendous this season, and they lost arguably their best defensive player, Eric Berry, for the season. With Jamaal Charles out for the season, we can expect the Chiefs to be even less effective.

So far the Chiefs have made Ryan Fitzpatrick and Matthew Stafford look like Pro Bowl starters, and I'm not saying these aren't two good quarterbacks but Rivers is better. The only thing that keeps Rivers from the No. 1 spot here is they probably won't be throwing much in the fourth quarter when they're winning by 40.

3. Tom Brady (Patriots) vs. Bills: The only explaining I have to do on this one is explaining why he's not No. 1 or No. 2. I just simply think Brees and Rivers have better match-ups this week. We all know Brady is going to get his no matter who he plays, and I am a little worried about having Brady this low but I'm going for it.

4. Aaron Rodgers (Packers) vs. Bears: Rodgers will have his hands full against a tough Chicago defense, but no matter who Rodgers is playing he has to be in the Top 5 each and every week. He can always find ways to get it done.

5. Matthew Stafford* (Lions) vs. Vikings: Stafford has looked tremendous during the first two games of the season, and it is what everyone expects if the kid can stay healthy. The biggest concern going into draft day was whether or not he could play through an entire season, but if you have him on your team enjoy Stafford while he lasts. The Vikings have been pretty good against the pass so far, but we can expect Stafford and the surprisingly explosive Lions to have success.

* I'd probably have Vick here at No. 5 if we knew for sure he would be playing this week simply because of the added rushing yards he manages each week.

Top 5 RBs:

1. Ray Rice (Ravens) vs. Rams: After seeing what Rice was able to do against the Steelers, I have no idea what to expect out of Rice in Week 3 against the Rams. Coming off an embarrassing loss against the Titans, the Ravens will have a little fire in their belly with Rice leading the pack.

2. Rashard Mendenhall (Steelers) vs. Colts: This is about as close to a guaranteed 100 yard, two touchdown game as you can get. The Colts don't play offense well without Peyton Manning while the Steelers defense is one of the best in the league. The Colts can't defend against the run, and the Steelers and Mendenhall are very good at running the ball. Mendenhall is going to have a huge day in this one.

3.Frank Gore (49ers) vs. Bengals: The San Francisco offense is built around Frank Gore more than any other team in the league builds their offense around a running back. He's not only a star running back but often targeted as a number one receiver in the passing game. The 49ers want to get Gore the ball as much as they possibly can, and he will see a lot of action in this one against the struggling Bengals defense.

4. Michael Turner (Falcons) vs. Buccaneers: The Falcons know where the Buccaneers are weak, and it is in their rushing defense department. The Falcons will be ramming it down the Bucs' throat with Turner and their consistent run game, which means Turner will be the beneficiary of a very productive fantasy day. Matt Ryan has struggled a little so far, but he started to look a little better in the second half of their last game against the Eagles. Expect the Falcons to rely on Turner and the ground game in this one.

5. Lesean McCoy (Eagles) vs. Giants: In most standard scoring leagues, McCoy is the number one scoring running back so far this season. He has been very involved in the offense, and the addition of Ronnie Brown has done nothing to hinder his fantasy value. The Giants looked pretty good against the run when they played the Rams on Monday night, but we can still expect McCoy to have another solid outing.

Top 5 WRs:

1. Andre Johnson (Texans) vs. Saints: We know Andre the Giant will always get his, but we can only imagine how much he will get during this shootout with the Saints.

2. Vincent Jackson (Chargers) vs. Chiefs: Once Rivers and V-Jax got on the same page this season it was safe to expect huge numbers out of Jackson for the year. It just so happens they got on the same page last week against the Patriots, and there won't be any slowing him down against the Chiefs this week.

3. Steve Smith (Panthers) vs. Jaguars: Am I too high on Steve Smith? I think not. We saw his monster 178 yard, two touchdown game against the Cardinals and said "Eh, that's the Cardinals." Then when he went for 156 yards against the defending champs, I said "Sign me up." There was never any question about Smith's ability, but rather the ability of his quarterback to get him the ball. Cam Newton has looked his way 24 times this season which ties for the most targets so far this season, and he has been successful so far. Oh yeah, and they are playing the Jags this week.

4. Calvin Johnson (Lions) vs. Vikings: Why is Megatron this low, you ask? There's only one thing that scares me about the Vikings so far from a fantasy perspective. They have been successful shutting down standout No. 1 wideouts so far this season. In Week 1 they held Vincent Jackson of the Chargers to only 31 yards, and in Week 2 they held Mike Williams from Tampa Bay to negative four yards. However, if anyone is going to end this trend it will be Megatron.

5. Brandon Marshall (Dolphins) vs. Browns: There's no one I am surprised more about this season than Brandon Marshall. I was expecting another mediocre season out of Marshall, but he and Henne look to finally be on the same page. It seems as if Marshall told Henne to throw it up in the air towards him, and he'll jump up and make an outstanding catch no matter where the ball is placed. The strategy has worked so far giving Marshall back-to-back 100 yard games. Henne, Marshall, and the Dolphins have kept it close with two of the most explosive teams in the league, and Marshall will do whatever it takes in this one to not let this win get away.