Week 3 of the NFL season is primed and ready, and I’m back to walk you through one of the biggest games you can play on Underdog Fantasy, the Battle Royale. The Battle Royale is a 6-person, 6-round fantasy draft. There are no bench spots, and you must start 1 QB, 1 RB, 2 WR, 1 TE, and 1 Flex spot.
Your goal is to pick the best combination of six high-scoring players, with the weekly grand prize available of $50,000 to the ultimate drafter. If you’ve never played on Underdog before, try it out! Click this link and sign up for Underdog Fantasy. Play $5, get $50 in bonus funds to use on other games and drafts. If you want to join in the fun, read on to see my favorite plays to target in Week 3.
Balance Your Start
The first two rounds this week is comprised entirely of running backs and wide receivers by ADP, which honestly feels pretty fair to me. There are a few prices on players I’m not as enthused about, but overall I like how the ADP is lined up in Round 1 and 2. Looking at the collection of guys available, to me it feels good to go for a balanced approach through 2, with six running backss and six wide receivers being the top 12 guys in the rankings.
You certainly can go two wide receivers or two running backs, but to me that limits your flexibility in the later rounds and limits how you approach your scrolling choices. I think CMC should be the 1.01, and he’s my automatic click whenever available in Round 1. In Round 2, I don’t understand why Puka isn’t the first receiver off the board at this point. The fact he goes in the second. Take Puka whenever you can as well, especially in the late first if the top four running backs are off the board.
Tight End U
Rounds 3 and 4 are all about the onesy positions, but chiefly the tight ends, as there are four guys going from pick 14 to pick 22. I like all four guys (McBride, Bowers, Kraft, and Warren in order), and I don’t blame you for choosing one in this range. However, I will also say that this does present a fantastic opportunity to scroll down past these four and get unique with your tight end selection, which as we’ve talked about all season, is the best way to win money in this contest.
Only one quarterback, Jalen Hurts, goes in the first four rounds of the Battle Royale in Week 3. He currently has zero passing touchdowns on the season, but faces a team in the Rams that could easily push their offense to finally have to try hard and score points. I actually really like Hurts in this spot, because his ceiling is just so high with his rushing touchdown upside.
One particular player I’d like to mention in this range is Drake London. It’s been a disappointing start, but London is still far and away the lead target earner of the Falcons, and he still has 30+ point game upside very easily in his range of outcomes. Folks are locked in on the belief that the Falcons are going to run the ball down Carolina’s throat, but if they don’t or they can’t, Drake London is the key to it all. I would be overweight on him in any kind of BR portfolio personally.
The Scrolliest Week Yet
Is scrolliest a word? It is now! With only 1 quarterback taken in the first four rounds, that means the world is your oyster when it comes to choosing who you want to hitch your wagon to at the position for Week 3. Guys I love: Caleb Williams, Daniel Jones, and Drake Maye.
As far as position players go, there are some very intriguing guys that I think could easily win you lots of money if they just regress back to the mean on some of the more variable stats so far this season. I love Brian Thomas Jr. in the 6th. He has 19 targets through two weeks, the receptions will follow soon enough. Same with Garrett Wilson, even if it’s Tyrod Taylor instead of Justin Fields.
At running back, Kyren Williams feels far too low simply because he faces the Eagles defense. James Conner is also a high upside player with a solid floor, and I still personally believe in Omarion Hampton as well from a talent and offense perspective.
Who to Target
So who should you take? I’ll tell you who my targets are at each position, keeping in mind the idea of balancing good projectable volume with understanding how the field may build their lineups.
Quarterbacks – Expensive | Mid-Range | Free
Jalen Hurts | Caleb Williams | Trevor Lawrence
Running Backs – Expensive | Mid-Range | Free
Christian McCaffrey | Ashton Jeanty | Kyren Williams
Wide Receivers – Expensive | Mid-Range | Free
Puka Nacua | Drake London | Travis Hunter
Tight Ends – Expensive | Mid-Range | Free
Tucker Kraft | Kyle Pitts | Chig Okonkwo
Flex – Expensive | Mid-Range | Free
Ladd McConkey | Brian Thomas Jr. | James Conner
