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NFL Fantasy Football Week 3: Start 'Em, Sit 'Em And FanDuel Picks

This is Mike's weekly spot to pick some over and underachievers in fantasy football plus some picks for your weekly FanDuel game.

Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

Welcome to the third week of NFL football and my start or sit column.

For normal leagues, I'll pick some players outside the top 10 and 15 who I think will play well as well as some higher rated players who I see underachieving using the ESPN rankings. I've got my FanDuel picks at the bottom.

Last week, I went 11-9 in underachievers and overachievers, and 12-7 in what was a successful week for me in FanDuel. Let's get to it.

Underachievers

  • New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees: He is banged up, going on the road and looking older by the week, there are better options.
  • Minnesota Vikings QB Teddy Bridgewater: He looks to be a game manager. Until it changes, stay away.
  • Detroit Lions QB Matthew Stafford: He continues to struggle against good teams.
  • Cincinnati Bengals RB Jeremy Hill: He has a few things going against him, playing a tough Baltimore Ravens run defense at their home. He was benched last week, but even before that he was underwhelming while his backup Gio Bernard has been great.
  • Denver Broncos RB C.J. Anderson: I am on DEFCON 4 and need to see production before I start him again.
  • Baltimore Ravens RB Justin Forsett: He seems to be in a job share. The lack of red zone carries is concerning.
  • Indianapolis Colts WR T.Y. Hilton: He still looked injured against the Jets. Even though it's a nice matchup against the Titans on Sunday, I see a more ball control kind of game this week.
  • New Orleans Saints WR Brandin Cooks He is putting up WR3 stats at best. Now, the Saints are on the road against a tough pass defense in Carolina. Stay away.
  • Chicago Bears WR Alshon Jeffrey: He has been in and out of practice and has to play in Seattle. There are better options.
  • Dallas Cowboys TE Jason Witten: He's struggling with numerous injuries, and I can see the defense focusing on him this week.

Overachievers

  • Carolina Panthers QB Cam Newton: He gets an awful defense against New Orleans at home. Throw in the rushing yards, and he is easily a top six QB.
  • Miami Dolphins QB Ryan Tannehill: He had a big fantasy week, and the Buffalo Bills have had some issues defending the pass.
  • San Francisco 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick: I expect them to be trailing and him having to throw late. He's completing 69% of his passes, so he could see numbers here.
  • Jacksonville Jaguars RB T.J Yeldon: The Patriots are weak against the run. With his pass catching and the Denard Robinson injury, Yeldon should get 20 touches.
  • Atlanta Falcons RB Devonta Freeman: He hasn't played well, but there's no one behind him, He too should get at least 20 touches.
  • San Diego Chargers RB Danny Woodhead: He is getting 15-18 touches a game, and the Vikings have not been good against running backs.
  • Tampa Bay Buccaneers WR Vincent Jackson: With TE Austin Seferian-Jenkins out, that opens up more targets in a pretty good matchup for VJax.
  • Dallas Cowboys WR Terrance Williams: I expect at least 10 targets again with the Witten injury.
  • Green Bay Packers WR James Jones: All he does is score touchdowns.
  • New York Giants TE Larry DonnellWashington have been strong, but they're giving up yards to the tight end.

Here are my FanDuel picks for the week where I will give some higher and lower salaries I like at each position. As you will see, I will be focusing on the worse defenses:

QB

  • Carolina Panthers QB Cam Newton, $7,900: The rushing yards plus playing the New Orleans Saints.
  • Buffalo Bills QB Tyrod Taylor, $7,000: He has been a top 10 QB this year.
  • St. Louis Rams QB Nick Foles, $6,500: The Rams are back at home, and the Steelers are a bottom five pass defense.

RB

  • Pittsburgh Steelers RB Le'Veon Bell, $8,800: The Rams have been a bottom five rush defense.
  • Buffalo Bills RB LeSean McCoy, $7,800: He looks healthy and gets an overrated Miami Dolphins.
  • Oakland Raiders RB Latavius Murray, $7,00: The Browns have not been stout against the run.
  • Atlanta Falcons RB Devonta Freeman, $6,500: He will get all the touches.
  • San Diego Chargers RB Danny Woodhead, $6,400: Just a great price for the touches he will get.
  • Houston Texans RB Chris Polk, $5,300: The best cheap option of the week at RB for a starter.

WR

  • Pittsburgh Steelers WR Antonio Brown, $9,200: I see double digit targets and a touchdown as always.
  • Atlanta Falcons WR Julio Jones, $9,000: Not sure why you shouldn't pick him.
  • New York Jets WR Brandon Marshall, $7,400: Playing his best ball in the last few years. Should soak up all the targets.
  • Dallas Cowboys WR Terrance Williams, $6,500: Great price for a WR1.
  • Indianapolis Colts WR Donte Moncrief, $6,000: QB Andrew Luck continues to pepper him with tons of targets.
  • Green Bay Packers WR James Jones, $5,700: Touchdowns all day, every game.
  • Cincinnati Bengals WR Marvin Jones, $5,000: My favorite cheap play at receiver.

TE

  • Baltimore Ravens TE Crockett Gillmore, $5,400: He should be the top target of QB Joe Flacco.

Thank you for reading and have a great week, feel free to ask any questions here or on Twitter.