Today we wrap up Week 3 of the NFL preseason with a two-game slate at 4:00 pm ET. Vegas data courtesy of our Live Odds page.
- Cincinnati Bengals at Buffalo Bills (-2.5): Over/Under 41
- Arizona Cardinals (-3) at Dallas Cowboys: Over/Under 39.5
If you haven’t played preseason daily fantasy before, check out my five DFS guidelines for dominating the NFL preseason as well as the “Daily Fantasy Flex” episode in which I break down the secrets of the preseason schedule.
For more guidance, see our industry-leading Models, which contain preseason player projections for subscribers. If you’re a redraft player, check out our FREE standard and point-per-reception rankings as well as in-house oddsmaker Sean Koerner’s season-long player projections.
Be sure to keep an eye out for late-breaking news on player availability before lineups lock.
Quarterbacks
Josh Allen (Bills): Due to the injury to A.J. McCarron (shoulder), the strong-armed top-10 pick has taken most of the first team reps this week and will start. Because of the situations for the other teams, Allen probably has the most locked-in playing time of any quarterback today.
Cooper Rush (Cowboys): It appears that Dak Prescott will not play due to injuries to most of the starting offensive linemen. As a result, the backup Rush should play for much of the game (at least a half), and he’s been a preseason superstar to this point in his career.
- 2018: 21-of-32 passing, 182 yards, 1 touchdown, 0 interceptions, -1 yard rushing
- 2017: 38-of-51 passing, 398 yards, 6 touchdowns, 0 interceptions, 33 yards rushing
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Running Backs
Rod Smith (Cowboys): Like Dak, Ezekiel Elliott is unlikely to play because of the injuries to the offensive line. Additionally, seventh-round rookie Bo Scarbrough (hip) is unlikely to play, leaving most of the backfield work to Smith, who has three-down potential thanks to his size (6-feet-3, 235 pounds) and receiving ability (19-202-1 receiving on 23 targets last year). He’s already had a large workload this preseason (21 carries), and that should continue this week.
D.J. Foster (Cardinals): The running back position is thin for the slate, so pass-catching backs have extra value. Based on his preseason usage so far, David Johnson is unlikely to get much run, which could leave extra playing time for Foster. In his eight career preseason games, he has averaged four receptions per game, and now he should see significant action against the reserves for a Cowboys defense that last year was 28th in the passing game against running backs in Football Outsiders’ Defense-Adjusted Value Over Average.
Keith Ford (Bills): Ford has led the Bills backfield each of the past two weeks with 51 snaps total, and that should not change this week. Starter LeSean McCoy (hip/groin) is unlikely to play much if at all, and the team has little incentive to give extra reps to aging backups Chris Ivory (30) and Travaris Cadet (29). Ford could see more touches than the average of eight per game he’s gotten this preseason.
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Wide Receivers
John Ross (Bengals): As mentioned in Week 1, the Bengals want to give Ross lots of preseason action so he can be comfortable entering the season. He leads all Bengals skill-position players with 66 snaps and eight targets this preseason. Given his NFL-record speed (4.22-second 40 time) and productive history (1,252 yards and 19 all-purpose touchdowns in final college season), he has the potential to turn a few touches into a lot of fantasy points.
Corey Coleman (Bills): I highlighted Coleman last week: That didn’t work out. But he’s had another week to get better acquainted with the offense, and the Bills are thin at receiver. Coleman hasn’t done much in the NFL to this point, but in college he was a Biletnikoff Award-winning playmaker with elite speed (4.37-second 40 time). With Allen throwing him the ball, Coleman has a chance to leverage his explosiveness into a long touchdown.
Lance Lenoir (Cowboys): Lenoir has been a standout of Cowboys camp and something of a preseason star (9-122-3 receiving in past four games). He’s been so good in training camp that the Cowboys are talking about keeping seven receivers on the roster this year to make room for him. Although Lenoir is just an undrafted second-year free agent from a small school (Western Illinois), he did finish his college career with three straight 1,000-yard seasons.
Tight Ends
Rico Gathers (Cowboys): A former All-Big 12 basketball player, Rico can’t block at all, which limits his playing time and has dampened the team’s enthusiasm for him, but when he’s on the field all he does is make plays. He was a preseason star last year (7-106-2 receiving in two games) before suffering a season-ending concussion, and he’s been impressive again this preseason, winning contested catches on his way to a 3-41-0 line so far. Although he’s on a jumbled tight end depth chart, he’s team’s most talented player at the position.
Defense
Cardinals: The Cowboys offense is without almost all of its starters, which makes the Cardinals defense a must-play option in the small slate. Although the Cardinals opened as +3 underdogs, they are know -3 favorites, and the over/under has dropped from 43.5 points all the way to 39.5.
Showdowns: For the single-game showdown slates, all four defenses are great plays since they are the only “players” guaranteed to accrue stats for the entire game.
Photo credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports
Pictured above: Josh Allen
