NFL DFS game by game breakdown: Week 3
By Joe Metz
NFL DFS: Pittsburgh Steelers @ San Francisco 49ers
Pittsburgh Steelers
Without Ben Roethlisberger, this offense is going to rely on Mason Rudolph to lead them to victory. He immediately stepped into relief last week and threw a pair of touchdown passes to tight end Vance McDonald, who was a massive disappointment in week 1. He could be used as a safety blanket for Rudolph, heightening his floor from a fantasy perspective.
James Conner left the game with a knee injury last week but said he is “good to go” for week 3. If he’s fully healthy, it’s safe to expect a massive workload without Big Ben. The 49ers allowed the 10th most fantasy points to running backs last season and while they bottled up Joe Mixon and the Tampa Bay running backs, none of them have the workload Conner could expect. Due to the uncertainty around his health, I’ll reserve him for GPPs, but the upside is insane.
Many thought once Rudolph stepped in that Juju Smith-Schuster would see a massive dip in production, but he actually produced most of his yardage after the QB change. While I don’t expect that to be a trend going forward, he still has enough upside to warrant GPP consideration.
Cash Plays: McDonald
GPP Plays: Conner, Smith-Schuster
San Francisco 49ers
One of the early-season surprises, the 49ers have been hanging a ton of points on the board, led primarily by a dynamic committee of running backs. I highlighted the usage of the committee during the game last week and it’s outlined again below;
GIF aside, there’s a ton of production, albeit fantasy frustration here. Matt Breida should continue to serve as the primary option and frankly, he’s the most dynamic of the trio. The only issue is that the 49ers coaching staff has come out and said that Jeff Wilson is going to be the red-zone option. On top of that, Raheem Mostert is the clear passing down option, taking away even more opportunity. Pittsburgh has given up the 8th most fantasy points to RBs this season, so they all have upside, but none have a safe enough floor for cash games.
Deebo Samuel burst onto the scene as the preferred target for Jimmy Garoppolo, amassing 7 targets as the only receiver that had a target share over 10% last week. I still see George Kittle as the primary option here as he’s posted an overall 27.27% target share through the first two weeks. The Steelers ranked in the bottom half of the league against tight ends last season, so we could finally see the breakout game here.
Cash Plays: 49ers D/ST
GPP Plays: Samuel, Kittle, Breida