Five NFL daily fantasy plays for Week 3, and the Chiefs’ pick of the week

Make sure you know what Chief needs to be in your daily fantasy lineups.

By Gary McKenzie Sep 22, 2018, 12:00pm CDT

NFL: Kansas City Chiefs at Pittsburgh Steelers

Below, you’ll find a list of players I have spotlighted for daily fantasy selections leading into the third week of the NFL season.

I use the following criteria to try and find players — NFL Vegas totals, NFL team stats, what the fantasy gurus are saying, and my GUT.

Let’s not wait any longer.

Let’s see who’s made my list of five players this week!

Kenny Golladay, WR Lions

The Lions will be playing a home game against the Patriots, and the total is a fairly high 51.5 points. Kenny Golladay already has 203 receiving after two games.

With the Lions likely needing to play catch up, the Patriots having an average passing defense, and such a large total — it’s likely Golladay could have a perfect storm to continue his streak of good numbers.

Eric Ebron, TE Colts

NFL: Indianapolis Colts at Washington Redskins

This game has a fairly high line, with the total sitting at 47.5 points.

But I’m not picking Eric Ebron just because of the line; it only plays a small role. The main reason is due to the Eagles allowing 7.5 NY/A on defense. Truth be told, the Eagles passing defense has not been that efficient at the start of the season.

To make matters more interesting, Carson Wentz has been cleared to play and I envision a game between Andrew Luck and Carson Wentz to have some scoring. Luck continues to settle in after an injury drought, and I look to see Luck connecting with Ebron against the Eagles.

Austin Hooper, WR Falcons

NFL: Atlanta Falcons at Jacksonville Jaguars

The Saints are giving up a terrible 10.7 NY/A on the young season. With Julio Jones likely costing an arm and a leg, it may be a good idea to invest some draft capital into Austin Hooper.

Hooper has been relatively quiet thus far in the season, but with the Saints likely pushing this game into a shootout, Hooper could see a boost in his targets. Over the course of the first two games Hooper saw nine targets and caught eight of them.

I’m thinking Hooper could be a cheap option for a team looking to flesh out the rest of their roster.

Peyton Barber, RB Buccaneers

NFL: Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Miami Dolphins

Look, I’m trying to find cheap options that could have a big impact on Sunday (or Monday in this case), and Peyton Barber should come pretty cheap.

The Steelers are giving up 4.8 yards per attempt which is the seventh-worst mark in the NFL. Add in the fact Vegas has the total for this game set at 53.5 points and there should be plenty of fantasy points to be had.

I’m hopeful Barber can be a cheap buy and turn his 2.6 yards per attempt average into a much better number after facing the Steelers defense, which has been very shaky at the start of the season. If the Bucs are able to hang around the goal line enough, Barber could get a touchdown.

Dante Pettis, WR 49ers

NFL: Detroit Lions at San Francisco 49ers

I saw Pettis play against the Vikings in the first week of the season and I came away impressed with Pettis’ skill set and he may cause the Chiefs some troubles.

I believe the 49ers are going to be involved in a shootout with the Chiefs and it’s no secret the Chiefs defense has had a number of issues stopping the pass. Pettis could be open down the field on a number of occasions on Sunday.

Add the fact the Chiefs are allowing 7.6 NY/A (bottom five in the NFL) and you have a favorable situation for Pettis to rack up some fantasy points, all the while being relatively cheap.

My Chiefs pick for last week was Sammy Watkins, and he fared pretty well, having six receptions for 100 yards receiving with another 31 yards rushing.

This week my player to watch for the Chiefs is...

Kareem Hunt

Hunt has been pretty quiet to start the season by his standards. Hunt has rushed for 124 yards on 34 attempts with a pedestrian 3.6 yards per attempt.

I think the Chiefs/49ers game may result in a blowout and with the Chiefs getting a big lead Kareem Hunt will be asked to run the ball in the fourth quarter. We all know if Hunt keeps getting carries he will eventually break a few tackles and rip off a huge run.

The 49ers have allowed 4.3 yards per rushing attempt in 2018, and that’s modestly below average — just another reason Hunt could be set up to have a good day.