Fantasy football: Sleepers in Week 3

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“If you ain’t first, you’re last.”

Not entirely true in DFS, but if you’re not playing for first place, why are you playing? At the end of the day, you play to win the game. Don’t let them off the hook by not taking advantage of some of the sleepers available on the cheap this week. With the recent rash of injuries in Week 2, these guys by themselves could provide the boost you need for your DFS lineup to be the best.

Let’s get to the sleepers.

Okay, now the sleepers in fantasy this week.

Sleepers

QB - Dak Prescott at $7,100

I’m not sure there’s a better value at quarterback based on the matchup that Dak and the Cowboys have this week: the hapless and helpless Chicago Bears. Yes, it’s still relatively early in the week, but look at all of the injuries the Bears are facing:

The Bears are so desperate for help in the secondary that Josh Sitton—all 300+ lbs. of him—might get some reps on the back end of the defense. A name that isn’t even on this list is Pernell McPhee, perhaps the best defensive talent the Bears have on their roster, who started the season on the PUP and won’t be back until after Week 6.

As for Dak, the rookie quarterback looked like he made some adjustments and showed improvement in Week 2. He was much more accurate against Washington last week, going 22-for-30 for 292 yards. His only touchdown this season so far came on his single carry last week, but I expect Dak to break out against a depleted Bears defense in Week 3 and get into the end zone a couple of times.

RB - Theo Riddick at $6,400

With the loss of Ameer Abdullah, Theo Riddick is going to see an uptick in not only snaps, but opportunities as well. It matters how much a player is on the field, absolutely, but given how often Stafford has been targeting his running backs this season—7.5 targets per game—almost a fifth of Stafford’s pass attempts are going in the direction of his backfield. Riddick has experienced success like he never has so far running the football, carrying the ball for over 4 yards per rushing attempt. The Packers defense has been especially tough against the run this season. In fact, Green Bay’s rushing defense is first in DVOA, but something tells me Riddick will be relied on heavily in the passing game this week as the Packers’ pass defense ranks 16th in DVOA.

WR - Michael Thomas at $5,200

Brandin Cooks and Willie Snead—oh man, Willie freaking Snead—have received a lot of publicity and attention for their fantasy contributions for two weeks, but it’s only a matter of time until the Saints’ second-round pick in 2016 finally has a breakout game. That breakout game is going to happen this week. The Saints play a division rival in the Atlanta Falcons, but the Falcons cannot defend the pass. No, they’re really bad at keeping other teams from passing the football against them. Like, super bad at it. The Falcons have surrendered 290 yards of passing per game, but along with the Oakland Raiders, no team has given up more passing touchdowns (7) so far in 2016.

TE - Jared Cook at $5,000

Ugh, whatever. You all know why. Do I need to explain any further? At $5,000, you shouldn’t even think twice about this.

K - Josh Lambo at $4,500

There isn’t a kicker in DFS that’s cheaper than Josh Lambo and he’s playing inside of a dome. He hasn’t converted on a field goal over 30 yards this season, but he’s only had one opportunity, which was a miss from 54 yards against Kansas City in Week 1.

Defense - Miami Dolphins at $4,600

Since the Los Angeles Rams are playing a defense that has actually played much worse than their own, and produced very little in terms of fantasy points, let’s pick on the team that is going on their third quarterback in as many weeks.

Good luck, Cody.