These weeks are flying by. Already, we are onto week 3! It feels like forever waiting for the season to begin and when it finally comes around, it always comes thick and fast and we try constantly to get that price right.

Reviewing week 2, there were some standout performances. Some of which we recommended! There were also some poor showings. That’s often the nature of the beast in Fantasy sports, unfortunately. Those we expect big things from can often disappoint. Then we have the players we feel we are taking risks on and they come up trumps.

Remember the Titans

Ryan Tannehill and Jonnu Smith, take a bow fellas! The Titans looked like throwing it away against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Had they lost the game, it would not have been the fault of their QB Ryan Tannehill who threw 4 Touchdown passes in last Sunday’s contest. Of the 4 Touchdowns thrown, 2 found their way into the hands of his Tight End, Jonnu Smith. Smith was priced at $4,200 last week and he made a mockery of that price tag. He is now priced at $5,200 this week. Very telling. If you had either or both of these players, you probably had a great weekend!

Running Back hangovers

Of all the players recommended last week, I least expected to be talking about the Running Backs as misses on the week. The goal-line carries for J.K. Dobbins were non-existent. Mark Ingram featured much more than he did in week 1 and had succeeded in doing so. Even Gus Edwards got some touches. The muddy waters in the Baltimore backfield show no signs of becoming clean anytime soon.

David Johnson was priced reasonably for a feature back of his talent. However, he also had a tough week. I did say the match up wasn’t great, but at the price, he was still worth a punt. He only amassed 34 yards on the ground, and he wasn’t a factor in the passing game. Again, I point to the match up. David Johnson won’t face the Baltimore Ravens every week, so expect to see him recommended again throughout the season. Especially if the price stays modest.

The aim as always will be to seek out those players at a bargain price. The players who are potentially underpriced but could over-perform their price tag. A squad of Lamar Jackson, Aaron Jones, Michael Thomas, Travis Kelce sounds perfect. However, it isn’t realistic. We need to find those players who will bring your DFS team success at a lower cost.

As was the case in previous weeks, player prices will reflect Draft Kings prices. The points scored will also reflect Draft Kings point-scoring, which differs slightly from standard Fantasy points.

QB – Philip Rivers ($6,000) vs New York Jets

The Jets have arguably had one of the toughest starts match up wise. They travelled to Buffalo week 1 and then hosted the reigning NFC champions, San Francisco, in week 2. It’s difficult to say how bad the Jets are at this stage because as expected, they are 0-2. The reason I’m happy to recommend Rivers here is off the back of what we saw Jimmy Garoppolo do. Before his injury, he was enjoying his outing against the Jets with 2 Touchdowns on 14 of 16 passing attempts. Delve deeper, and San Francisco was without almost all of their star weapons on offence. Rivers should get the yards through the air in this game, and the emergence of Jonathan Taylor in the run game last week should keep the Jets Defense honest.

RB – Jerrick Mckinnon ($4,900) @ New York Giants

I am honestly shocked by this price. Raheem Mostert is out, Tevin Coleman is questionable. This opens a pathway for Mckinnon to take up lead-back duties this week against the Giants. Mckinnon’s strength is his explosiveness, and his ability to contribute in both the passing and rushing Offense. San Francisco’s offence is built around running the football, so I fully expect Jerrick Mckinnon to pick up a large share of the snaps this week. If Jimmy Garoppolo also misses out, I expect to see San Francisco looking to their ground game even more. Their Injury list is long, but it hugely benefits Mckinnon this week.

RB – Melvin Gordon (5,800) vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Another team’s offence ravaged by injuries this past week was the Denver Broncos. Drew Lock looks to be out for a few weeks. Courtland Sutton is done for the season. Phillip Lindsay is also sidelined for a few weeks. Step up to the plate, Melvin Gordon. Thus far in the young season, Tampa Bay has struggled with running backs. They have given up 3 rushing and 1 passing touchdown to Running Backs through 2 weeks. Granted, this has come against two of the League’s best in Alvin Kamara and Christian McCaffrey. Melvin Gordon isn’t quite in that tier of Running Back, but he is efficient. He averages 4.4 YPC so far this season with 1 rushing and 1 receiving Touchdown. Denver should lean on their Running back in the coming weeks, starting this weekend against the Bucs.

WR – CeeDee Lamb ($5,400) @ Seattle Seahawks

He was in this column last week, and he’s here again! Reason being, Seattle has looked poor so far defending balls in the air. They have allowed 731 yards against wide receivers this season. That’s at least 200 more than the next team, the Atlanta Falcons. This is a game I see Seattle winning, which again means Dallas is going to have to throw the ball to keep themselves alive as the clock ticks. Lamb hauled in 106 yards on 6 receptions (9 targets) last week. That’s an increase on his week 1 activity. Lamb is becoming more and more accustomed in this offence, another big week could be on the cards for the rookie Receiver.

WR – Marquez Valdes-Scantling ($4,900) and Allen Lazard ($4,800) @ New Orleans

Derek Carr had himself a day against this defence, with 3 Touchdowns and 282 yards. Aaron Rodgers is a better quarterback than Derek Carr. I’ll be honest, I’m not wholly convinced by this pick. However, Davante Adams is out. In his absence, you would expect to see more balls going to Valdes-Scantling and Lazard. I have included them both here, as they’re both a very similar price. It comes down to preference here. I honestly think you can’t go wrong with either. I feel Lazard is a more consistent target for Rodgers, but Valdes-Scantling has that “big-play” ability. At their prices, both should be in consideration.

WR – Terry McLaurin (5,900) @ Cleveland Browns

Cleveland is another team who hasn’t been great against Wide Receivers through 2 weeks. They have allowed 381 yards and 3 passing Touchdowns to opposition Receivers. Terry McLaurin is coming off a big performance against Arizona. He hauled in 7 catches on 10 targets, for 125 yards and a score. He is the Washington Football Team’s clear go-to target and I love the price here!

TE – Austin Hooper ($4,400) vs Washington Football Team

The contract Austin Hooper signed isn’t one he’s quite lived up to yet. He has a chance to announce his arrival in Cleveland this week though when he faces Washington. They’ve been relatively kind to Tight Ends so far, allowing 145 yards and 2 touchdowns. Granted, the majority of these yards and both touchdowns came against the Philadelphia Eagles. We know the talent they possess at Tight End. Hooper began the season sharing work with David Njoku, but with Njoku now on injured reserve, Hooper should get the chance to be more involved in his team’s offence. Despite underwhelming through 2 weeks, this may just be worth the punt based on the price if you need the budget for other positions.

D/ST – Ravens ($3,100) vs Kansas City Chiefs

I know what you’re thinking. Why am I recommending a look at the Ravens when they host the Chiefs, one of the League’s best offences. Simple really. Firstly, the price at $3,100 is so enticing for the top-ranked defence in the League. Secondly, they currently average 15 Draft King points per game. That’s better than the next best team by almost 5 points. The Chiefs didn’t look great despite grinding a result against their divisional rival, the Los Angeles Chargers last week. This game could be a shoot out. Then again, it could be a game where two great teams, aspiring to reach the big dance in February, essentially cancel each other out. The Ravens may give up points here, but they still can notch up sacks and turnovers. Hard to ignore at the price, despite the opposition!

Best of luck in week 3 Rush Nation, and we will meet again in week 4!

-Nick Owen (@nickofwigan)