FanDuel NFL 2021: Best lineup for Week 3

Flex: RB Saquon Barkley, New York Giants vs. Atlanta Falcons ($6,000)

In his second game back from a torn ACL, Barkley showed a sign he might be all the way back with a 41-yard run against Washington in Week 2. Otherwise he struggled, but perhaps more importantly he played 84 percent of the snaps in the game and ran 27 pass routes. A rebound performance is in the offing for Week 3.

The Falcons are in the bottom half of the league in fantasy points allowed to running backs. Miles Sanders had over 100 total yards against them in Week 1, and Leonard Fournette put up 76 total  yards on them in Week 2. With 15-20 touches assured to come his way, Barkley is in line for (at  least) a similar outing this week.

If Barkley is going to show signs he’s all the way back at this point in the season, extra time between a Thursday night game in Week 2 and a favorable matchup in Week 3 puts him in a prime spot to do it. I couldn’t turn away from the value here.

Team Defense: Denver Broncos ($5,000)

The Broncos have allowed 13 points in each of their first two games, with multiple sacks/takeaways in each contest. In Week 2, they stifled Jaguars rookie quarterback Trevor Lawrence after a promising opening drive (118 passing yards, two interceptions overall). Week 3 is set to be even better, even without Bradley Chubb (ankle surgery).

The New York Jets have scored just 20 points over the first two games this season. Rookie quarterback Zach Wilson has been sacked 10 times total, and he threw four interceptions in Week 2 against the Patriots. Broncos head coach Vic Fangio is a top-end defensive coach, and he will have something for the second straight rookie signal caller he’s game planning against.

Denver is the most expensive defense on FanDuel this week, as a nod to their matchup. Sometimes it’s ok to not to try to be cute.