NFL DraftKings Picks Week 3
Everybody knows the elite plays. You don’t need another article telling you Ja’Marr Chase or Jahmyr Gibbs belong in your lineup this week, and paying up for them usually means scraping the bottom of the salary barrel everywhere else to make it work.
The players who actually decide whether your lineup cashes are the ones sitting in that middle price tier, the guys good enough to produce like a much more expensive option but priced like a bench piece because the public hasn’t caught on yet. That’s the entire idea behind this piece.
Every name below is chosen specifically because of where they sit on the salary sheet, not just what they might do on the field. Some are workhorses who haven’t been priced for their role yet, some are role players stepping into a bigger opportunity this week, and a couple are just flat-out mispriced relative to what they’ve already shown through two games. Used right, these are the pieces that free up cap room for the stars everyone else is paying full price for, in cash games and tournaments alike.
DK Salary: $5,600
Young has been one of the best quarterbacks in football through two weeks, not just a good story at a discount. He’s tied for the league lead in touchdown passes with six and sits second in passing yards, and Carolina is 2-0 after handing Atlanta a 34-3 blowout in Week 2. At $5,600, he’s priced like a game manager and playing like a top-five option. This is a strong cash play with real tournament upside if the Panthers keep leaning on him the way they have been.
DK Salary: $6,300
Goff and the Lions took their Week 2 loss to Buffalo on Thursday night, and while the result wasn’t there, Goff still threw for four touchdowns in that shootout. The silver lining is the extra rest that comes with playing on a short week, since Detroit has had ten days instead of the usual seven to get ready for the Jets on Sunday. New York’s defense is a beatable matchup for a Lions offense that’s shown it can put points on the board in bunches, and Goff at $6,300 is playable in both cash and GPP builds this week.
DK Salary: $6,600
Brown has been the workhorse Cincinnati’s offense needed, piling up 20 carries for 80 yards in a Week 2 win over Houston that pushed the Bengals to 2-0. The passing-game role hasn’t shown up much the last two weeks, so treat him as a pure rushing volume play rather than a checkdown merchant right now, but 20 carries a week is 20 carries a week. He draws Pittsburgh in Week 3, and that kind of workload on a winning team is worth the price in cash games even without the receiving work as a bonus.
DK Salary: $5,100
White signed with Washington in the offseason and has quietly carved out the clear third-down role in that backfield. He converted four third downs in Week 2 against Dallas, including a 10-yard reception, and finished with 83 total yards from scrimmage on 13 touches. Washington’s starting quarterback situation is up in the air with Jayden Daniels dealing with an elbow injury, which could mean more checkdowns and safety-valve work for White regardless of who’s throwing it. At $5,100, he’s a cheap way to fill an RB2 or flex spot without giving up much receiving-game equity, and this week’s matchup against Seattle doesn’t scare anybody off that plan.
DK Salary: $4,500
Boston has been one of the most mispriced rookies on the board through two weeks. Cleveland’s second-round pick out of Washington caught 5 of 7 targets for 95 yards and a touchdown in Week 2, and he’s found the end zone in each of his first two NFL games. At $4,500, that’s a starter-level receiver priced like a desperation punt, and he gets a Carolina defense at home in Week 3 that hasn’t shown much ability to slow anybody down through the air yet. Great bang for the buck in either format.
DK Salary: $6,000
Washington has become Jacksonville’s most trusted receiver in critical personnel packages, ahead of higher-profile names like Brian Thomas Jr. and Travis Hunter on certain snaps. He opened the season with 5 catches on 6 targets for 83 yards and a touchdown in a win over Cleveland. The target competition in that receiving room is real, so this isn’t a bell-cow price, but $6,000 for the Jaguars’ most efficient route runner against New England is one of the better tier-two values on the slate.
DK Salary: $4,200
The Texans have already ruled out Nico Collins for Week 3 against the Colts with a hamstring injury, and that hands Schultz a clear runway to lead Houston’s target share at tight end. Even in full health, Schultz has been a consistent target earner in this offense, and with the top receiver out entirely rather than just banged up, this is about as clean a price-to-opportunity gap as the position offers this week. A strong cash play at a position that’s usually thin on value.
