Fantasy football preview: Week 3

Greetings, Falcoholics! The Atlanta Falcons are 0-2, facing an 0-3 start if they fold against the New York Giants on Sunday. Although we can’t help what the Falcons do, we can have our say in the fantasy football world as we prepare for this weekend’s game.

Throughout the season, every Friday, we will be previewing the fantasy matchups and who you may want to consider starting and also benching. Additionally, if you have any fantasy questions you’d like answered, you can submit them every week.

With that, let’s get started.

Falcons vs. Giants

If you continued to roll with quarterback Matt Ryan in Week 2, kudos to you for being brave and he definitely had a better fantasy day than Week 1. His 23.3 fantasy points was above his projection, but it’s worth keeping in mind going forward that Tampa’s pass defense has been one of the weakest in fantasy football this season. In Week 3, Ryan will face the Giants, who have been middle of the road this season against fantasy quarterbacks. The hope if you roll with Ryan this week is that the offense continues to build as they did from Weeks 1 to 2. If you’re starting Ryan on the road, I wouldn’t expect a huge day, but there’s no reason he can’t provide another 20-25 fantasy point week for team owners.

A very sneaky play this weak, if you’re desperate, is wide receiver Olamide Zaccheaus. Zaccheaus has displayed in the past that he’s talented, and now he’ll have an opportunity to remind folks as the team will be without wide receiver Russell Gage who has been ruled out for Sunday’s game. When Gage went down against the Buccaneers, Zaccheaus had 4 targets thrown his way. He’s available in nearly 99% of fantasy leagues, so he shouldn’t be hard to get if you’re feeling risky. I’m predicting 6 catches for 60 yards.

In the run game, I’m not giving up on Mike Davis who averaged 4+ yards per carry against Tampa. The Giants have allowed the 8th most fantasy points to running back’s this season, and this could be a solid game for Davis. Additionally, Cordarrelle Patterson has carved out a consistent role in the Falcons’ backfield. Doubling as both receiver and rusher, Patterson had 7 targets and 7 carries in Week 2. In Week 3, there’s no reason to think Patterson’s 33% of offensive snaps for both of the first two weeks should dissapear. Both should be in 12+ team fantasy league lineups.

Outside of that, you all know to keep rolling with Kyle Pitts and Calvin Ridley. They’re must starts every week going forward.

That about does it for the Week 3 fantasy football preview. Again, if you have any questions heading into next weekends game against the Washington Football Team, be sure to submit them on Twitter and I’ll be sure to include it in next week’s article.

As I say every year, when it comes to fantasy football – always go with your gut!