We're back for the Week 3 edition of DFS Superlatives.

Below, I'll hand out a handful of completely made-up awards as a vaguely creative vehicle for sharing my favorite DFS plays for both DraftKings salary cap teams and Underdog drafts.

Some of these plays will simply be the #bestplays, while others will go off the beaten path. The goal is to give you a variety of ideas for how to best attack the slate. For top-heavy tournaments, it's always best to utilize a mixture of the best plays with some low-owned gems that can differentiate your roster from the field. 

Btw, if you are new to drafting weekly teams on Underdog, I previously outlined five tips & tricks for the format.

Alright, without further adieu, the envelope please.

🏆 THE “DRAFTKINGS CAN'T KEEP UP WITH THE INJURIES" AWARD (49ERS)

For the most part, DraftKings salaries are very efficient. Whoever is twisting and turning the knobs behind the scenes over there does a great job. But what their Wizard of Oz can't account for is injuries. And the Deebo Samuel calf injury that is putting him on ice for a few weeks—hot on the (Achilles) heels of CMC—has made a trio of 49ers players the best values on the slate:

 

I couldn't even finish this piece without another Niners player getting injured, as Kittle is now expected to miss this game as well. Mason and Aiyuk now represent the entire Niiners offense and they get a busted Rams defense that just got torched by the Cardinals offense last week. 

The only issue here is that this will not be a secret by kickoff. Mason will be the most popular play on the slate at this rate, but I could see the field not fully trusting Aiyuk after a bumpy start.

So how to play it? Eat your chalk veggies with Mason where needed, but Purdy + Aiyuk (and maybe Jauan Jennings) could be nice. 

 

🏆 THE “PLAY IT BEFORE YOU SEE IT" JAM OF THE WEEK (Tank Dell)

This is a play for both DraftKings ($5200) and Underdog (ADP: 35) after Tank Dell flopped in Week 2 with only 2.3 fantasy points.

Couple that with Stefon Diggs getting the manufactured TD looks and Nico Collins looking like prime Julio Jones every time he touches the ball, and you have the perfect storm for Dell to go overlooked.

But as Dwain noted in his Utilization Report this week, Dell's usage is still stellar (86% route participation and a near-identical TPRR to Diggs at 17%). Had Stroud and Dell connected on this sheesh-worthy play that would have been a 67-yard TD, there would be much more fanfare surrounding Dell this week.

The Dell explosion is coming and I refuse to be a week late.

🏆 THE “VOMIT STACK OF THE WEEK” (Geno Smith + JSN & Noah Fant)

Last week we hit on the Danny Dimes vomit stack thanks to Malik Nabers going nuclear. Even with a Theo Johnson bagel yucking my yums, I was still able to finish Top 30 in a couple of GPPs with this stack. 

So let's see if we can keep the vomit magic flowing in Week 3 with another uber-cheap double stack:

Geno isn't nearly as gross as Dimes, so maybe it's too harsh to call this a vomit stack, but: 

1. A ton of the field is going to play Zach Charbonnet ($6000) 

2. Most Geno stacks will include DK Metcalf this week (a fine play, the he followed a Wednesday DNP with a hand injury with a full practice on Thursday). 

Instead, we are going to induce a slight gag reflex here by going down to Noah Fant.

I likely don't need to sell anyone on JSN (38% target share & 52% of the air yards in Week 2), but Fant should be a sneaky play here. Not only does he save salary, but he's more involved in the offense this year with Shane Waldron fortunately moving on to muddy the TE room in Chicago. 

Fant is an arbitrage on the Kittle thesis—an explosive TE who has the talent to make a big play happen after the catch. There will be duds, but the occasional spikes will win you tournaments.

🏆 THE “PLUG YOUR NOSE RUN” FUNNEL SPOTS (D'Andre Swift & Zamir White)

OK, now we are getting to the real vomit, but hear me out on two RBs who have a ton in common this week:

With Swift and White we have two lead backs on bad offenses who have not looked great through two weeks, but who get incredible matchups in Week 3. Check this out:

Colts in Week 1 vs. Joe Mixon: 30 carries for 159 yards and 1 TD

Colts in Week 2 vs. Josh Jacobs: 32 carries for 151 yards 

Panthers in Week 1 vs. Alvin Kamara: 110 total yards and 1 TD

Panthers in Week 2 vs. J.K. Dobbins: 131 yards and 1 TD

I get the sense that fantasy gamers are willing to bail on Swift and White quicker than their respective coaches are willing to bail, which means we can take advantage of both a very nice price and matchup. 

I prefer both of these guys on Underdog, where we are primarily TD-hunting vs. a full PPR site like DraftKings, but I don't mind sprinkling these guys in on DK this weekend as well.

For more Underdog draft strategy angles and hidden gems, I'll be posting a strategy video on the Deposit Kingdom channel every Friday evening. 

Good luck this week.