Three things stand out about the Week 3 main slate on FanDuel:
First, there is a lack of high-end quarterback options. Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson are off the main slate. So are Patrick Mahomes II and Jared Goff. Jayden Daniels and Joe Burrow would have been top options, but both are injured. Maybe you can talk yourself into Jalen Hurts, but he has not been throwing the ball enough to truly qualify as an elite fantasy option in my book. Most tournament entries are going to feature a relatively inexpensive quarterback.
Second, only one game has a total above 46 points. That game is Cowboys-Bears, and it features two affordable quarterbacks. Caleb Williams ($7,100) and Dak Prescott ($7,300) will both be popular plays, especially since there are no elite options at the position. Each has clear stacking partners and obvious bring-back targets, which should make that game the focal point of a large percentage of lineups. Early in the week, before digging into research or ownership projections, my first hand-built lineup featured Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, Jake Ferguson, and Rome Odunze. The problem is that many others will land on very similar Cowboys-Bears stacks.
Third, there are major values at running back due to injuries. Both Minnesota and Seattle had been rotating backs the first two weeks, and salaries reflected that. With Aaron Jones Sr. and Zach Charbonnet now sidelined, Jordan Mason ($5,800) and Ken Walker III ($6,600) are expected to handle much larger workloads in favorable matchups. Both should be very popular. Their low salaries also make it easier to fit in high-priced stars like Christian McCaffrey and Bijan Robinson, which will push ownership higher on those players as well.
The rest of this article will go position by position, with recommendations split into two categories: Good Chalk and Others to Consider. You always want to be mindful of avoiding lineups that are too chalky, but it is especially important this week, which is why we focused so much on the big-picture dynamics of this slate Both hand-builders and those who use optimizers are likely to generate very similar lineups around the same dozen or so obvious plays. As you read on, think carefully about which chalk you cannot pass up, and just as importantly, how you will pivot off the chalk in certain spots to differentiate your lineup from the rest of the field.
Matchups and Slate Overview
One way to spot potential value is to compare each team's implied total from oddsmakers to how many points per game they average. With only two weeks under our belts in 2025, this metric is less useful than it is later in the season. However, we can compare Week 3 Team Totals to how each team performed in 2024. This gives us an early sense of which offenses are expected to exceed or fall short of their 2024 scoring pace. The tables below highlight the best matchups (teams projected to score above last year's average) and the worst matchups (teams projected below it).
Best Matchups
Here are the teams expected to outperform versus their 2024 scoring averages in Week 3. This will be due to a combination of offseason changes for the offense and the defense they will face in Week 3.
- The Bears and Cowboys stand out as the two teams with the most favorable matchups. No teams have given up more fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks than these two defenses this season. Expect game stacks targeting this matchup to be extremely popular.
- Seattle stands out as being in a great spot as a home favorite with two players who should dominate the touches, Ken Walker III and Jaxon Smith-Njigba.