Week 3 fantasy football playbook

Studs, duds, sneaky DFS picks and more for each position (that matters) on your Week 3 fantasy football squad.

Thanks again for being a loyal reader and subscriber! Keep reading for the latest fantasy football rankings, injury news, players trending up and down, and more. Best of luck in Week 3!

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EDITOR’S NOTES

Rankings: For the positional Half-PPR rankings, if reading from your email, clicking on the image will open the rankings up in a new window. There are also links to the full rankings at the end of each individual chart.

Best/worst matchups: These are inspired by The Athletic’s Jake Ciely’s matchup rankings, which include his homemade metric, Adjusted Points Allowed (APA). Only use these as guidance for a tough start/sit decision.

DFS values: These charts are courtesy of dailyfantasyfuel.com, and the main metric to consider is “Value,” which projects how much return on investment a player will deliver, taking into account the player’s salary.

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Week 3 playbook: Quarterbacks

🤕 Pain index

• 🚫 Nope: Joe Burrow, CIN; Jayden Daniels, WAS; Justin Fields, NYJ; J.J. McCarthy, MIN;

• 🫤 Looking iffy: Brock Purdy, SF

Purdy now has "a chance [to play]," according to his coach. It’ll likely be a game-time position …

View latest NFL injury report

↕️ Matchup breakdown

Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18). (Photo by Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire)

💪 Stud potential: Caleb Williams, CHI (vs. DAL) — Williams hasn’t been flawless for the Bears, but he’s been rock-solid for fantasy managers, topping 20 points in each of his first two starts. His rushing output (42.5 yards per game) gives him a reliable floor, and Week 3 brings a juicy matchup against a struggling Cowboys defense that has already been picked apart by Russell Wilson and Jalen Hurts. With a high-scoring game environment on tap, Williams easily profiles as a top-10 quarterback play.