Week 3 Fantasy Football WR Report: Starts, Matchup Downgrades and the Consensus No. 1
Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports. Pictured: Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill (10) dives for the end zone during the second half against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field.
- The Action Network ranked fantasy football wide receivers across standard, PPR and half-point PPR leagues for Week 3.
- Here's a deeper dive on some WRs you should start, including Antonio Brown and Tyreek Hill -- plus one you should fade.
Which wide receivers have the most favorable fantasy matchups? Whom should you consider sitting?
Here's a breakdown of five notable wide receivers featured in Sean Koerner, Chris Raybon and Matthew Freedman's Week 3 fantasy football rankings.
The No. 1 WR
Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh Steelers
Brown tops the ranks in PPR, half-PPR and standard ranks for Week 3. The fact that Brown's nine-catch, 67-yard game was disappointing last week just goes to show how elite of a player he is.
He still saw an absurd amount of targets (17), and he leads receivers in floor, median and ceiling projections in the FantasyLabs Player Models.
The Most Favorable Matchups
Tyreek Hill, Kansas City Chiefs
Per Pro Football Focus, Hill's 5.40 yards per route run ranks first among receivers with at least 10 targets. Patrick Mahomes has targeted Hill 14 times this year, and he has converted that into 12 receptions for 259 yards and three touchdowns.
Additionally, through the first two weeks, the 49ers have allowed five passing touchdowns and the fifth-most passing yards, and the Chiefs lead the slate with a 31.25 implied team total.
Adam Thielen, Minnesota Vikings
The Bills have allowed the second-most passing touchdowns (six) and are allowing 7.1 net yards per attempt this year. Thielen will have the best matchup in the slot against Rafael Bush, who's allowing a passer rating of 153.5 when targeted this season.
The only thing that could cap Thielen's upside is the game script getting out of hand.
JuJu Smith-Schuster, Pittsburgh Steelers
JuJu Smith-Schuster and the Steelers have one of the best matchups on the board against a Buccaneers defense that has allowed 6.6 yards per play (third-worst) and 376.5 passing yards per game (the worst) this year.
Matchup Downgrade
Demaryius Thomas, Denver Broncos
Thomas leads the Broncos with 21 targets, but Case Keenum has struggled to get in rhythm with him, sporting a passer rating of 57.8 when targeting Thomas. Overall, Keenum has completed just 52.4% of his passes for 81 yards and one touchdown when throwing to Thomas.
He'll also run a lot of his routes against Brandon Carr, who has allowed a passer rating of 5.0 when targeted this year.
Koerner, Freedman and Raybon all have Thomas ranked outside the top 30.
Want another edge? Be sure to keep up with the week's news on FantasyLabs.
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