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Darius Slayton’s totaled 13 targets in his past two games, including six-plus in each. Now, Kenny Golladay is a game-time decision for the Giants-Falcons game. Either way, the Falcons defense allowed eight [!] passing touchdowns in its first two games to start the season. While the implied point total sits at a lowly 47.5 points, the Falcons defense rank fourth-worst in Pass DVOA.

Zach Pascal’s totaled 11 targets and three touchdowns in his past two games, including five-plus in each. Newly-acquired QB Carson Wentz is active as well. Pascal faces off against the Titans this week – a pass defense that’s allowed six touchdowns in its first two games. The damage includes 36 receptions and 572 yards. The Titans defense rank 10th-worst in pass DVOA as well, while the Colts defense rank ninth-worst.

There are some key injuries at the running back position. And it looks as though Darrell Henderson is going to miss the game against the Bucs. Unfortunately, the Tampa Bay defense is one of the top units in stopping the run. Michel is a solid DFS option, but in seasonal leagues it might be wise to play the “wait and see” game. In Minnesota, Dalvin Cook is not expected to play, increasing the likelihood of this game becoming an aerial assault for the ages. Just an aside, get K.J. Osborn in those lineups!

If by chance Kenny Golladay were to sit, Darius Slayton becomes very interesting for DFS. For the Cardinals, DeAndre Hopkins seems likely to start but should he not go, bump up the other playmakers in that offense. If both Darnell Mooney and Marquise Goodwin miss Sunday’s game against the Browns, Damiere Byrd is an interesting option, particularly for daily fantasy.

Some good chalk I’m feeling this week includes rostering Kyler Murray at quarterback. It may seem like an obvious play because it is. He has been the QB2 and QB1 on back to back slates but projects as only the seventh-highest owned quarterback. Murray being the QB1 after two weeks isn’t as much a surprise as the way he’s put it together. It seems whether by matchup or game plan, the Cardinals have been willing to let Murray sling it.

The Podfather expects big things out of T.J. Hockenson this season and I’m expecting big things this week. Playing on a Lions team with fringe-NFL receiver talent has benefited Hockenson and given new teammate Jared Goff a reliable target. Goff has looked his his way often especially around the goal line, where Hockenson is tied for the second most Red Zone Targets among tight ends.

The key to finding receivers rostered in less than 50-percent of leagues with startable upside is to follow the Air Yards. This week is no different when it comes to my two start recommendations. Emmanuel Sanders has 235 (No. 12) Air Yards, with 145 (No. 7) being Unrealized Air Yards.

Regardless of whether Antonio Brown plays or not, Mike Evans is a sit for me in Week 3. Opposing tight ends are targeted 19 times in two games against the Rams’ defense. Moore leads the Jets with 173 (No. 32) Air Yards, with 134 (N0. 9) being Unrealized Air Yards. The Broncos defense, thanks to Callahan, take away the check-down options and allow an Average Target Distance of 10.8.

Through two games, Tony Pollard’s efficiency metrics are outstanding with top marks for True Yards Per Carry (6.9, No. 1), Yards Created Per Touch (5.22, No. 1), Juke Rate (47.8-percent, No. 4), and Evaded Tackles (11, No. 10). Pollard earns 12.09 Lifetime Value points to climbs six spots to RB24. Standalone value with immense upside, who doesn’t like that?

Jameis Winston’s metrics are nearly as bad as his Week 2 interceptions. Through two contests he has an Adjusted Yards Per Attempt mark of 5.8 (No. 26) with a 65.8 (No. 30) True Completion Percentage. Jameis has committed four (No. 8) Interceptable Passes and six (No. 9) Danger Plays with a lowly 6.6 (No. 31) Accuracy Rating . With the New England Patriots on tap and Taysom Hill waiting in the wings, Winston drops four spots in the dynasty rankings to QB28.

85.5 Receiving Yards is steep, but the 54.5 Over/Under suggests that there will be plenty of chances for Keenan Allen to rack up receiving yards. Allen has amassed 21 Targets (No. 5 among qualified wide receivers) and 239 Air Yards (No. 10), so he will have ample opportunity to compile yards against the Chiefs who have allowed the second most yards to offenses through Week 2.

The Law of the Conservation of Targets dictates that Kyle Pitts will see increased target volume with the absence of Russell Gage. Already, Pitts has seen an impressive 18.4-percent (No. 6) Target Share and the loss of Gage will do nothing but improve this volume. It’s hard to imagine Frank Darby or Tajae Sharpe siphoning targets from Pitts, which is why I’m confidently taking the OVER in a game with a decent over/under at 46.5.

Last week’s late-swap oriented strategy went belly up. But I think there is a case to go back to the well if the Dalvin Cook situation comes down to the wire. With only two strong game environments in the late window, many will steer clear of the Vikings backfield if we don’t have any clarity when people finalize their lineups. If this occurs, we can expect Cook or Alexander Mattison to be among the best projected plays on the slate and under-owned. Giving yourself the ability to take advantage either way is profiting from uncertainty.

It is fascinating to see which usage trends the market buys into and which they are selling after two weeks. Robert Woods has fallen behind Cooper Kupp in the Rams pecking order thus far, but his Week 2 usage was actually strong in a vacuum. He is now $1100 cheaper than Kupp, and projected for nearly half the ownership. Meanwhile, for Los Angeles’ other franchise, Mike Williams has looked every bit a co-alpha alongside Keenan Allen. Draftkings has responded, with only a $200 gap in salary. Nonetheless, ownership is projected to remain much heavier on Allen.

The matchup with Minnesota looks better for Russell Wilson at first glance. However, he has only scored 1.5 more points per game on DraftKings than Kirk Cousins. Now you have two quarterbacks more evenly matched. However, the pricing is not. Although Wilson might slightly have the edge in expected points score, the pricing is not. By pivoting down to Cousins you save $1,300, which is the difference between Cooper Kupp and Sammy Watkins or Christian Kirk: Massive. This makes Cousins an ideal quarterback for the DFS Week 3 matchups.

The Buccaneers/Rams may mirror the Cowboys/Chargers game from Week 2. Significant assumed point total, two underrated defenses, and two brilliant systems on both sides of the ball. However, I’m still attacking this game. From what we have seen so far, both secondaries seem to be the weaknesses of these teams. Carlton Davis and Jalen Ramsey are the only players who you don’t want to attack for this game in these DFS Week 3 matchups. However, predicting their roles in these games is difficult. 

Courtland Sutton exploded in Week 2, posting nine receptions for a 159 yards and finishing as the WR4 on the week. He saw 261 Air Yards, which is more than five times the amount he saw in Week 1 with Jerry Jeudy on the verge of a breakout. With Jeudy out of the lineup for the foreseeable future, Sutton is locked in as the Broncos go-to alpha receiver. At $6,00,0 he should be locked into cash lineups. However, with the Broncos and Jets unlikely to shoot out, he is best left out of your tournament lineups.

Emmanuel Sanders continued to have problems connecting with Josh Allen in Week 2, catching two of his six targets for 48 scoreless yards. Regardless, Sanders remains the downfield target of choice for Allen, remaining behind only Stefon Diggs in Air Yards on the Bills. He has a tough matchup against a Washington secondary, and for that reason, he is best suited as a tournament dart-throw this week. 

From the set of highest total games this week, Tom Brady makes the most sense as the QB for tournament lineups. He’s going against the “scariest” defense of the bunch and has virtually no rushing upside (half yard QB sneak TDs aside). As a result, he shouldn’t see a massive roster percentage. This week, our recommended pairing is Chris Godwin. He’s cheaper than Mike Evans while having a more consistent role in both games. He’s being featured in the slot (68 Slot Snaps ranks No. 5 among qualified wide receivers) and the red zone (his 5 Red Zone Targets rank No. 1) en route to 19 targets so far (No. 11).

Daniel Jones gives us all the ingredients we seek for tournament QBs. On top of all of that, he’s top three in QB carries and rushing yards so far. All that together has resulted in a top five fantasy QB this year. He gets the friendly Atlanta Falcons defense this week fresh off surrendering massive days to Jalen Hurts and Tom Brady. Sterling Shepard has seized the alpha role in New York. He leads the league in receptions with 16. He’s doing his damage out of the slot (his 75 Slot Snaps ranks No. 3) and near the line of scrimmage (his 9.4 Average Target Distance ranks No. 52).