NFL Preseason DFS Week 3 Breakdown: Saturday and Sunday Slate

Aug 24, 2019

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Sunday Showdown Slate Breakdown

It looks as though both teams starters will play at least a few series, though with everything that transpired last night (Lamar Miller injury/Andrew Luck retirement) that could be amended. As always you should have a heavy dose of both defensive units because they have a good chance of getting at least some points, plus they can accrue points for four quarters. Ben Roethlisberger, James Conner, and JuJu Smith-Schuster can definitely return value in two or three series. Jaylen Samuels and James Washington ran pretty exclusively with the twos. My favorite reserves from the Steelers are Diontae Johnson and Benny Snell. The Steelers are currently carrying two kickers, which makes it difficult to have confidence in rostering one of them.

The Titans starters will have to be monitored up to lock. Marcus Mariota, Corey Davis, Delanie Walker, and Adam Humphries could be played sparingly if they are going to get a few series. Walker looked great last week and Humphries is good for a few receptions. DIon Lewis and Jeremy McNichols would be the two running backs I would target from the Titans also. Ryan Tannehill makes sense to roster with receivers like Khalif Raymond and Darius Jennings or tight end Cole Wick. The Titans also have two place kickers, which makes it difficult to have confidence in them.

As a strategy, just make sure your roster construction makes sense. If you have the Steelers defense in the captain spot, don't load up on Titans offensive players. If you have Joshua Dobbs in the captain spot, make sure you're rostering him with reserve offensive players like Diontae Johnson. Correlation is important in Showdown too. I've seen a lot of multiple quarterback lineups, which is fine, but know the upside there is capped. A 75-yard touchdown pass awards seven points to the quarterback and 14.5 points to the receiver. It's better to hit on the top quarterback and the receivers he throws to rather than jamming in all the quarterbacks.

Week 3 of this Preseason NFL DFS slate is a monster. If you're looking for Showdown advice for the 1:00 pm game, you can find it at the bottom of yesterday's preseason article. I'm going to switch the format up a little bit due to the number of games on this slate. Normally when there are between two and five games on a preseason slate, I breakdown each offense, but with 14 teams on this slate, I am going to simply highlight my favorite players. It's important to keep in mind that nearly every player on every team has a shot at getting on the field in these preseason games, so anyone can post a useable fantasy day on as little as one touch. The object of this article is to discover who is going to be on the field the most, and of those players, who has the best chance of fantasy success.

Very few snaps if any at all: Chargers, Colts, Bears, Broncos, Rams

Potential for two quarters or more: Jets, Chiefs, 49ers

Unknown: Texans, Cowboys, Seahawks, Saints

Quarterback

Patrick Mahomes

Andy Reid hoodwinked us last week saying the ones would play the entire half, as he pulled them midway through the first. He has again iterated the starters will play two quarters, with a potential for more. I think we have an opportunity to leverage the Chiefs offense being underowned this week because of what happened last week. Even if Mahomes comes in at 20% ownership, that number would be much higher had he not been pulled early last week amidst promises of grandeur.

Chad Kelly

Swag Kelly needs no introduction. He was a preseason favorite last year and has played well when he's been on the field this year. Frank Reich said he's going to go against tradition and not trot his first-team squad out for the third preseason game. That means Kelly and Phillip Walker will get all the run at Lucas Oil Field on Saturday. He threw for 115 yards and a touchdown last week and although he didn't use his legs, he certainly has the ability to scramble for fantasy points.

Sam Darnold

Darnold has looked sharp in two exhibition games, throwing for just over 100 yards and a touchdown in very limited action. According to beat writers, Adam Gase informed the Jets starters they could play into the third quarter. If Darnold is as sharp in two quarters of action as he has been on two series this preseason, he's in for a top performance.

Other QBs to consider: Joe Webb, Taysom Hill