Week 3 of the NFL season is underway, and there are seven enticing matchups in the early Sunday window.
DraftKings is offering an early slate DFS contest for the chance to win $100,000. I’ve gone through all the games and highlighted three under-the-radar options that can help give you a pivotal edge.
Set your DraftKings fantasy football lineups here: NFL $300K Early Only Rush [$100K to 1st] (Early Only)
DraftKings Value Picks
D’Andre Swift ($5,600)
Just as sharp DFS players take defenses against putrid quarterbacks, I’m taking every running back that faces this Indy front seven.
Colts‘ defensive coordinator Gus Bradley has faced ridicule for his painfully vanilla play calling and for putting his players in a position to fail. In the season opener, Bradley’s unit allowed 159 yards on the ground to a historically inefficient Joe Mixon. Despite Malik Willis being under center a week later, Bradley failed to adjust his approach, and the Packers tallied 261 rushing yards as a team en route to an upset victory.
D’Andre Swift hovers around mediocrity in the running back hierarchy. He is super shifty in the open field, but his lack of physicality is detrimental when going north or south. As long as he is in the backfield on Sunday, his shortcomings won’t matter when he can burst through gaping holes. With this value and the immediate upside, he is one of my favorite plays of the weekend, so you can stash cash and save for a few premier superstars.
Rashid Shaheed ($5,300)
Klint Kubiak has transformed the Saints offense from a Fiat to a Bentley. Derek Carr struggled to throw the ball consistently beyond 20 yards a year ago and is now a modern gunslinger. His new favorite target? Rashid Shaheed.
The third-year pro has scorching speed on the outside and has developed into one of the best deep threats in the NFL. Safeties can’t keep up on crossers, and it looks like pitch and catch when he’s out there, creating ample separation. He’s a dynamic playmaker who just needs the ball to create magic. It’s not hyperbolic to think Shaheed has a litttlllle Tyreek Hill in his game.
This week, he squares off against a reeling Eagles squad that is 2-7 across Jalen Hurts’ last nine starts. Jayden Reed and Darnell Mooney have skillsets similar to Shaheed’s, and they torched the dreadful Philadelphia secondary. He can be overly reliant on finding the endzone, but there are no signs that his hot streak will slow down anytime soon. At his pricetag, he offers a viable floor with tantalizing potential.
Devaughn Vele ($3,400)
The Denver passing attack has been a disaster, to say the least. Bo Nix has been abysmal across the board: shaky accuracy, appalling decision-making, and an inability to finish drives. The former Oregon Duck has been a check-down artist who has struggled to push the ball beyond five yards downfield.
Nix has shown very few glimmers of hope but has mostly looked like a rookie who isn’t ready to lead a franchise. There are some reasons to be optimistic—the sample size has only been his debut and a matchup against one of the best defenses in the sport without his security blanket, Devaughn Vele.
The 235th pick in the draft had eight catches for 39 yards in the season opener before suffering a rib injury. Vele is slated as the Broncos‘ WR3 on the depth chart, but if Courtland Sutton continues to be invisible, his potential for more significant opportunity will only increase. Against the Buccaneers, who like to give cushion and keep everything in front of them, he will see a volume share far exceeding his assigned salary.
Set your DraftKings fantasy football lineups here: NFL $300K Early Only Rush [$100K to 1st] (Early Only)
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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is xaiver-aguiar and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.
