Week 3 NFL DFS Smaller Field Tournaments

This post will focus on small and medium field tournament sizes ranging between 100-5,000 entries. The focus will be on some plays that might be overlooked, or could explode to win you the tournament. We are judging these players based on Draftkings scoring and pricing, but many could be viable options on other sites as well.

Quarterbacks:

-Brady, Allen, Murray, Mahomes and Stafford are all great options, but I think there are some interesting pivots to make. I will be fading the Justin Fields and Daniel Jones semi-chalk plays that are getting talked up.

Russell Wilson:

-Seattle and Wilson have been almost too efficient this season, so we don’t see 40+ attempt games. That seems to be keeping his ownership lower, despite the big total and a Vikings secondary that hasn’t played well this year. Wilson could easily score 30+ points in this game and comes with a little savings and ownership discount.

Justin Herbert:

-Herbert has not had a big fantasy game yet this season despite throwing at a high rate. The Chargers have been inefficient in converting drives to touchdowns, but the talent in this passing offense is clear. Herbert in a shootout type game, is a great way to get some leverage on the field.

Kirk Cousins:

-Cousins is in yet another high total game and for some reason he just won’t be owned this week. The Vikings passing offense has looked strong to start the year, and the Seahawks secondary is very much a question mark. With Dalvin Cook possibly out of this game, Minnesota could have to rely on Cousins even more this week. He’s a sneaky option for 30DK points and his ownership figures to be in the low single digits.

Teddy Bridgewater:

-If I need to get below $6K for my quarterback position, Bridgewater will be my choice. He’s looked really good this year and has another easy match-up this week versus Jacksonville. He’s probably not going to crack 30 DK points, but a 24-26 point game seems possible here.

Running backs:

-A lot of injury situations to watch with the Vikings and Lions. It appears like Derrick Henry, Mike Davis and Clyde Edwards-Helaire are going to be the highest owned players. They are definitely in the mix for me in this kind of tournament, but I’d like to find some ownership leverage as well.

Austin Ekler:

-Ekler got the passing work we expected a week ago with 9 targets and he’s getting the majority of the backfield carries as well. He’s 30 point potential any week, and that looks even more appealing this week vs the Chiefs. This is a high total game, but his ownership is clearly in the 2nd tier.

Ty’son Williams:

-Williams has gotten vultured for touchdowns by Lamar Jackson and Latavius Murray in the first two weeks, which has kept him from having a true breakout game. That could definitely change this week versus a Lions team that has been absolutely destroyed by running backs so far. With Jackson at less than 100%, you would think that Williams could see even more work this week. For whatever reason his ownership remains low, and that seems like a big mistake for smaller field contests.

Nick Chubb:

-It’s hard to get excited about Chubb in large field tournaments because he splits the backfield carries with Kareem Hunt. He’s still more limited in this passing game than you’d like to see given the price, but that doesn’t mean he’s not on our fantasy radar. Chubb is still running great and already has 3 TDs on the year. The Browns are big home favorites versus a team starting a rookie QB. If Cleveland is up late, they could be running quite a bit in the 2nd half of this game. Chubb offers a strong floor, but could hit the mid-20’s of DK scoring with 2 TDs and a hundred yards.

Michael Carter:

-This Jets offense is a mess right now, but Carter is in line to see a boost of usage with Tevin Coleman out. Carter will still split work with Ty Johnson, but he’s clearly the more explosive back and the better receiver out of the backfield. He’s a nice salary saver, and his ownership remains pretty low.

Antonio Gibson:

-Gibson is getting 60+% of the offensive snaps, and running the ball really well. The question is will Washington be trailing so much that he’s not on the field in this game. Vegas does project a big total for the Bills, but I still see a path here for Gibson to be fantasy relevant. Washington needs to try to get their playmaker going early, so I’d expect to see a good 1st half workload for Gibson. His pass game work is a bit more inconsistent, but Gibson is so explosive and is capable as a receiving option. Washington has to involve him in this offense, if they have any hope of upsetting Buffalo.

Wide Receivers:

-As always the top is filled with great receiving options, many are chalky and there is nothing wrong with having one or two of them. These players below are the guys to add for the 3rd spot and/or Flex, to help in ownership.

Mike Williams:

-Williams is really having a breakout start to this season. He’s always flashed some talent and big play ability, but he was highly inconsistent. This year he’s been getting open at a high frequency and quickly becoming a top Red Zone target. His ownership and price are both in a nice spot, and he gives access to a potential shootout.

Sterling Shepard:

-Shepard has emerged as the top option in this offense through two weeks and faces a great match-up versus the Falcons on Sunday. His price kicked up a little bit, which is probably keeping his ownership low. If you can fit him into your line-up he makes a lot of sense in smaller field tournaments since he has a good floor and a decent ceiling.

Stephon Diggs:

-The Bills passing offense hasn’t fully clicked so far, but Diggs still has 32 DK points through 2 weeks and 21 total targets. When this offense does start clicking, Diggs has 30+DK point potential, and this week could be that time. Washington’s corners have not looked great so far this season. Mike Williams and Keenan Allen both gave them fits week 1, and Sterling Shepard was running through the secondary in week 2. In both games Washington’s secondary would have looked even worse if not for multiple big time drops. Josh Allen and Diggs are a combination that could really exploit Washington this week, and Diggs comes at lower ownership.

Julio Jones:

-This could be another Derrick Henry game, but Julio Jones looked really good last week and is coming in under 5% ownership. The Colts have been torched this season so far by receivers, so I like taking a shot on Julio for another big game. It is a great leverage option off Henry and should make your line-up pretty unique.

Mike Evans:

-Despite coming off a 2 TD week and Antonio Brown all but ruled out, Evans’ ownership remains pretty low around the industry. I’m guessing that is the Jalen Ramsey effect, but Ramsey hasn’t been shadowing this year. Ramsey is one of the premier secondary talents in the league, but he figures to split his coverage between Evans, Godwin, and even Gronkowski. Tom Brady and Mike Evans are too good to ignore this play.

Jaylen Waddle:

-I don’t love relying on Jacoby Brissett, but Waddle has looked good so far this year. He’s an explosive playmaker facing off versus a below average secondary. If Miami has to throw a lot this game, Waddle offers upside, salary savings and low ownership.

Tight Ends:

–T.J. Hockenson, Travis Kelce and Darren Waller are all excellent plays, but they will also all see a lot of ownership. In the case of Waller and Kelce the price is pretty high as well. These are some TE pivots who will save some money and ownership as you build your line-ups.

Kyle Pitts:

-The breakout game is coming for Pitts. He already has 14 targets through two games and faces a Giants team that has given up pretty decent production to the TE position in two weeks. With Russell Gage out, Pitts could even see more work this week.

Noah Fant:

-Fant had a TD a week ago, and should remain one of Bridgewater’s top Red Zone options. The Jets defense is a mess, so I wouldn’t be shocked to see a big game here from Fant. He has 14 targets through two games, and 12-13 DK points in each one.

Logan Thomas:

-Thomas is probably going to be the number two option on this team behind Terry McLaurin. If the game is as high scoring as expected, Thomas should see 6-10 targets. If he can grab a TD you should end up with a low owned, mid-TE points play at a significant price savings from the top 3 guys.

Jared Cook:

-Cook burnt a lot of DFS owners a week ago, but if you watched the game he should have gotten there. He had a Red Zone TD called back on an Illegal motion penalty. The Chargers players all feel under owned this week, and Cook is another guy in a great spot. Is he going to put up 25-30 DK points? No, but he could get 15-17 at half the cost of Waller or Kelce.