NFL Week 3 PPR Rankings: Seahawks Keep Soaring, Saquon Barkley Back in the Top Ten

The NFL is in full swing and Week 3 features some incredibly enticing matchups. The Colts and Titans face off in what should be a high-scoring, high-stakes divisional matchup, as do the Chiefs and Chargers and the Cowboys and Eagles. The Seahawks and Vikings play in what should be a fun offensive shootout. Aaron Rodgers and the Packers face a familiar foe in the 49ers on Sunday Night Football. The Rams and Buccaneers meet in the much-anticipated matchup of two of the top Super Bowl contenders. As always, hit me up on Twitter for any start-sit questions. Let’s take a look at how each position breaks down for fantasy football in Week 3.

NFL Week 3 Quarterback Rankings

The quarterback position is full of some elite options this week. Kyler Murray gets his easiest matchup of the season so far against the Jaguars and is firmly entrenched as the top fantasy option. Patrick Mahomes isn’t far behind, although the Chargers have a pretty solid defense on the other end. Justin Herbert makes it into the top ten again despite a slow start to the season. Josh Allen has also had a slow start to the season, and despite a tough matchup against Washington, I’m keeping him in my top five for now. Tom Brady and Matthew Stafford are difficult to evaluate as both have had excellent starts to the season but face each other and the stout defenses of the Rams and Buccaneers, respectively. Dak Prescott and Jalen Hurts are must-start quarterbacks in a projected high-scoring Monday night showdown. The two new introductions to the top twelve are two players who have had excellent starts to the season. Daniel Jones is surprisingly the QB5 so far this season and he checks in at QB11 in my rankings in a plus matchup against the Falcons. Teddy Bridgewater has played exceptional ball with his new team and is my QB12 this week against the Jets, precisely where he is ranked so far this season. Kirk Cousins remains a solid streaming option against the Seahawks and Russell Wilson is an elite option on the other side of that matchup.

NFL Week 3 Running Back Rankings

Christian McCaffrey might redefine what it means to be an elite fantasy football running back this week as he faces the Texans who allowed the most rushing yards in the NFL last season. I currently have McCaffrey projected for 10 more fantasy points than Dalvin Cook, my second-ranked running back. Cook has a great matchup of his own against the Seahawks who allowed Derrick Henry to register 47.7 PPR points last week. Henry remains entrenched as a top-five option for me this week and should run all over the Colts. Alvin Kamara carries some concern coming off a down week and heading into a matchup against the Patriots, but I think he will be involved enough in the passing game to maintain elite value in PPR scoring. It was great to see Aaron Jones bounce back last week as he finished with 41.5 PPR points, the second-most on the week. While the Niners provide more of a challenge than the Lions, he should still be considered a clear-cut top-ten guy. Austin Ekeler also bounced back in the receiving game with nine receptions after none in Week 1 and Ezekiel Elliott reclaimed a spot among the top ten running backs. Teammate Tony Pollard has firmly entered the flex conversation following a top five PPR finish last week. Jonathan Taylor had another down week in Week 2 with just 6.3 PPR points, but he should regain a spot in the top ten this week against Tennessee. Saquon Barkley is back in the top ten for me after he flashed some of his old ability last week – he takes on the Falcons in one of the easiest matchups possible. Joe Mixon and Najee Harris were both downgraded this week as they take on each other in what projects as a low-scoring divisional bout.

NFL Week 3 Wide Receiver Rankings

Through two gamems this season, the top five in wide receiver fantasy scoring leaders does not look like anyone expected – Cooper Kupp, Tyler Lockett, Deebo Samuel, and Adam Thielen with Amari Cooper and Mike Williams tied for the fifth spot. Kupp is firmly a top ten guy going forward with the chemistry he has shown with new quarterback Matthew Stafford. Tyler Lockett was underrated in drafts all offseason, and while I wouldn’t expect him to continue to outproduce DK Metcalf by such a stark amount, he’s been elite so far. Deebo Samuel has outproduced everyone’s expectations but faces a tough matchup against Green Bay’s Jaire Alexander. Thielen has continued doing what Thielen
does – scoring touchdowns. Williams has surprised everyone with the new Chargers’ coaching staff clealry emphasizing his involvement in the offense. Tyreek Hill is coming off a down game but is my WR1 this week agianst the Chargers. Stefon Diggs has disappointed as just the WR24 so far, but I have confidence in him even against a tough Washington defense. Davante Adams has yet to live up to his preseason billing but I love his matchup against a depleted San Francisco secondary this week. DeAndre Hopkins should expose a poor Jaguars defense while DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett are locked-and-loaded top ten receivers against Minnesota’s questionable pass defense. Marquise Brown is the WR8 so far this season and has steadily climbed up my rankings – this should be a huge week to see if the strong play continues in a matchup in which Baltimore likely won’t need to throw the ball very much. The Buccaneers’ wide receivers will be difficult to project all season as they won’t all have great games the same week but any are capable of an explosion against the Rams on Sunday.

NFL Week 3 Tight End Rankings

It’s not quite time to panic on George Kittle yet, but he’s just the TE12 so far this season and as a consensus top-three round draft pick he has far from lived up to expectations. He will look to bounce back against Green Bay. Travis Kelce, Darren Waller, and T.J. Hockenson have certainly lived up to expectations as three of the top four tight ends so far this season – consider yourself lucky if you have one of those guys on your team. Mark Andrews, like Kittle, has disappointed as just the TE17 so far this season. Noah Fant and Logan Thomas have emerged as every-week starters at the tight end position while Dallas Goedert should be locked into lineups as well. It was nice to see Robert Tonyan bounce back in Week 2 following a poor Week 1 and he’s just about a must-start at the position as well. Rob Gronkowski has been a surprise so far this season, and while I’m not projecting him to maintain a pace so far of 34 touchdowns over 17 games, he’s clearly one of the top options at a weak position overall. Maxx Williams is coming off a career game, but I’m not chasing the points with so many mouths to feed in Arizona. Jared Cook, Austin Hooper, and Jonnu Smith were all late-round picks or even undrafted in some leagues and all should be considered viable starters this week.