Week 3 PPR Rankings For 2021 Fantasy Football

Does football ever disappoint? In Week 2 ,we had multiple primetime games decided by one point, three down-to-the-wire afternoon games that finished within minutes of each other, and some electric individual player performances. Now, though, it is time to turn our attention to Week 3. The best way to do so? Well, I am glad you asked; Week 3 PPR Rankings! Every week, I’ll be providing you with my personal PPR rankings for every position, including defense and kicker. Who’s positioned to do some damage this week? Who might not be the ideal player to start this week? We’ll answer all of that here with my Week 3 PPR rankings!

Stats + Expected Fantasy Points via Pro Football Focus

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Week 3 Positional Notes

Quarterback

• Maintain faith in Justin Herbert. The gap between his expected fantasy total and his actual fantasy total can be attributed to a putrid red-zone offense that I don’t anticipate continuing to hamper them. In what will be a shootout against the Chiefs, he remains a top-8 quarterback in my Week 3 PPR rankings.
• How about those rookie quarterbacks? Mac Jones has been a non-fantasy asset as expected, but Trevor Lawrence and Zach Wilson are struggling mightily both in terms of accuracy and turnovers; the underlying numbers aren’t pretty.
• On the other hand, rookie quarterback Justin Fields might have his chance to start this week. With 10 designed runs in half a game for him in Week 2, there’s a path to him finishing in the top ten this week, where he’ll rank closer to in future weeks.
• Daniel Jones, who is grading out very well from PFF and is performing as a dual-threat quarterback, needs to be rostered right away. So does Teddy Bridgewater, who has raised his average depth of target to 9.9 this season, allowing for significantly more big plays through the air.
• Jared Goff as a fantasy asset? Hey, he’s now had over 20 expected fantasy points in back-to-back games. Sadly, the Ravens likely won’t allow him to have as many pass attempts, but he might be the ultimate garbage-time beneficiary.
• Will the Raiders continue to pass the ball at such a high frequency? Considering they were losing to the Ravens and were facing the #1 run defense in the Steelers, I have some doubts, but I hope so for Derek Carr’s sake.
• Meanwhile, a matchup vs Pittsburgh is hopefully what the Bengals need to start to let Joe Burrow pass the ball at a high rate again. Without that, he, and the team’s receivers, aren’t in a great fantasy position.

Running Back

• With Darrell Henderson likely a game-time decision due to injury, Sony Michel could see his stock rise, though the Rams will likely pass the ball often against the Bucs.
• In Las Vegas, Josh Jacobs is trending towards being out again, paving the way for Kenyan Drake to be a low-end RB2/high-end RB3
• An injury and touchdown called back hurt Elijah Mitchell’s stat line, but he’s still the clear top back in San Francisco, while Ty’Son Williams also is the Ravens running back to start on a weekly basis. Both have favorable matchups this week.
• A surprise in my Week 3 PPR rankings? Saquon Barkley’s return to being a top-10 running back. His snap rate was over 80% in Week 2, and a matchup against the Falcons is much better than the Broncos or Washington Football Team. This could be the week it all comes together for him.
• Meanwhile, James Robinson took over as the clear lead running back in Jacksonville, and we’re hoping that can sustain.
• I’d be buying low on both Barkley and Robinson, as well as Mike Davis. Based on my expected fantasy points based on weighted touches (targets being more valuable than carries), no running back has seen a greater disparity between their actual production and expected production. If Matt Ryan isn’t trusting his offensive line and is satisfied checking it down to his running backs, Davis will benefit.
• Tony Pollard had an electric stat line in Week 2, yet snap rates are still far off from Ezekiel Elliot. For this reason, consider Pollard a high-upside FLEX more than someone who has to be in your lineup.
• If Antonio Gibson still doesn’t have the receiving role in Washington, his path to being an “RB1” gets tougher, and the same goes for Jonathan Taylor with Marlon Mack now back in the mix.
• The Bills were more run-heavy with a lead, but don’t expect Devin Singletary to be someone you want to start moving forward. In such a pass-oriented offense, he and Zack Moss take away too much from one another.
• Volume will be there for Mark Ingram III, but Houston’s offense is not shaping out well at all on Thursday Night Football with Tyrod Taylor out with a hamstring injury.
• Leonard Fournette has clearly outpaced Ronald Jones to this point, and I think it’s time we start to reflect that more in our rankings, as I am in my Week 3 PPR rankings.
• I am excited by an increased role for Jets rookie Michael Carter, which included double-digit touches and a carry inside the five-yard line. This isn’t the week to start him, but grab him on waivers right away.

Wide Receiver

• More three-receiver sets in Minnesota hurt Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen, as they face more competition for targets.
• Keenan Allen is being used down the field more now while Mike Williams is thriving in an X-receiver role. Both have such high target shares for a productive offense, and I’d be ecstatic to have them on my team. Allen remains a clear “WR1”, while Williams, in my opinion, is a clear “WR2” moving forward.
• DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett benefitted from the Seahawks running more plays in Week 2. They rank dead-last in time of possession, but the pace of their offense is fine; it’s mainly stemming from them producing chunk plays. Well, if that’s the case, then both of these receivers will continue to feast moving forward. I’d be buying low on Metcalf and selling high on Lockett, though.
• Cooper Kupp is THE top receiver for the Rams, but Robert Woods also saw an improved role with more routes and targets in Week 2. The Rams should adopt a pass-heavy game script against the Bucs, allowing both to be productive this week.
• If Justin Fields starts, what will the Bears’ target share look like? He clearly favored Darnell Mooney, but Allen Robinson also could be stretched down the field more and officially have his talent optimized in the way we’ve been waiting. I’m excited to watch Chicago this week.
• In a week where their offensive numbers will be down facing a better offense with a strong defense, I’m not recommending figuring out the pecking order for the Bucs’ receiving corps in Week 3.
• Marvin Jones Jr. is trending well in Jacksonville as the team’s top receiver in targets and air yards. I am comfortable considering him a top-30 receiver moving forward.
• On the other end, I cannot say the same for Juju Smith-Schuster. In an inefficient Steelers passing attack, there may only be one consistently fantasy-viable receiver, and that’s Diontae Johnson. 
• Kenny Golladay should continue to get more factored into the Giants’ offense over time, and this is a great time to buy-low on him.
• Michael Pittman Jr. won us all over again with 11 targets in Week 2 and could thrive against the Titans in Week 3. The problem? Carson Wentz’s injury leading to Jacob Eason as the likely starter.
• Odell Beckham Jr. appears to be back healthy for the Browns. Even with the long lay-off, I assume part of the reason he missed the first two weeks was to guarantee full health, and the Browns’ receiving corps is in trouble without Jarvis Landry Jr. I would recommend starting him this week, even with the risk.
• We now have an extended sample of Marquise Brown thriving for the Ravens, starting halfway through last year. His target share is strong right now and it looks like we might have been too unfair in our criticisms of him in the pre-draft process.
• Is this the week Marquez Callaway lives up to the preseason hype? He’s still the Saints’ #1 receiver in terms of targets, but the team has yet to play a normal game script. Maybe this is the week?
• Air yards are in Marquez Valdes-Scantling’s favor, but will the results be? It’s hard to start him, though his enticing underlying numbers are exactly why he’s a tremendous pick for best-ball formats.

Tight Ends

• Mike Gesicki saw more work in the passing game, yet that was likely mainly due to game script (more one-tight end sets), and the return of Will Fuller V won’t help his target share.
• My Week 3 PPR rankings are the time to anoint TJ Hockenson as the third-best tight end for fantasy football. He has 19 targets through the first two games, and there are no signs of that number coming down anytime soon.
• I still trust Hunter Henry, with a much higher average depth of target and red-zone prowess, over Jonnu Smith in New England, yet this situation is complicated.
• Cleveland continues to rotate their tight ends, though in a more favorable way for Austin Hooper in Week 2. Furthermore, David Njoku is benefitting from this rotation currently enough to make a deep-league stash.
• After being optimistic about Adam Trautman, it’s time to realize Juwan Johnson is the tight end to roster in New Orleans. He ran more of the routes and should continue to be arguably their top passing option in the red zone.
• Dan Arnold is rotating with the team’s other tight ends, yet his targets are still acceptable enough, especially with him working exclusively down the field.
• The new-look offense with a higher average depth of target in Chicago likely isn’t great news for Cole Kmet, as we saw in Week 2.
• Jack Doyle saw a majority of the work in terms of routes run in Indianapolis, though his ceiling is very limited as someone used in the shallower depths of the field.
• With more four-receiver sets, Dawson Knox probably won’t have as enticing of a role moving forward for the Bills.
• Pat Freiermuth, based on targets and snaps, is starting to win the tight end job from Eric Ebron, so he might be worth a deep-league bench stash. An improved role could set him up as a top-20 tight end, at the very least.

Defense/Special Teams

• The Patriots facing Jameis Winston? Yes please!
• The Cardinals and Panthers are the top defenses to grab off the waiver wire this week.
• In deeper leagues, the Titans and Raiders are strong streaming options based on the current outlook of their respective opponents’ quarterback room.

Kicker

• Tristan Vizcaino rates out well in my expected kicker points score and has now had back-to-back top-15 finishes.
• I’d remain confident Jason Myers sees more opportunities soon for a productive offense with a conservative head coach; Seattle’s big-play success has been tremendous, but likely unsustainable.
• Matt Prater is the perfect blend of kicker usage and being in a great offense.
• The Carolina kicker situation, based on their consistent lack of red-zone success and conservativeness, is a favorable one, and they play the Texans this week. That’s great news for Zane Gonzalez.
• Randy Bullock (TEN) and Greg Joseph (MIN) are two other kickers in favorable situations right now.
• Nick Folk has been used often for the Patriots, but I expect the team’s red-zone numbers to regress positively in a major way.

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Week 3 PPR Rankings

More Week 3 Rankings: QB | RB | WR | TE | PPR | Flex

• QB

• RB

• WR

• TE

• K

• DEF

If you liked Justin’s Week 3 PPR Rankings, be sure to check out the rest of our Week 2 Rankings and Analysis!

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