Geoff Ulrich details his top high-upside DFS targets for NFL Week 3 on DraftKings.

GPPs are not won by using a lineup with all of the most popular players on the slate. Being a contrarian in a big-field event in your roster construction can help separate your lineup and gain you leverage over the field when some of the more popular names bust.

Hence, the goal of this article won’t be to just highlight the popular “play-it-safe” names. We won’t avoid all the chalky names, because good players are still good players most of the time. However, highlighting contrarian roster constructions and ways to make your lineup unique while maximizing upside will be the goal.

Remember, in most cases, the person who finishes in 10,000th place and the person who finishes in 1,269th place receive the same amount of money in many of these larger field contests, so there is no reason to simply follow the crowd to feel comfortable.

Let’s dive into Week 3 of the 2025 NFL season.

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Top DFS Contrarian Stack

Game Stack: Los Angeles Chargers vs. Denver Broncos

Justin Herbert ($6,200) – Keenan Allen ($4,700) – Ladd McConkey ($6,800)

Despite featuring two of the league’s elite defenses, this game does have some solid blowup potential for fantasy. At 46 points it’s technically the second largest total on the Sunday main slate and features the best passing offense in EPA per play and success rate through two weeks in the Chargers. It also features one of the games emerging QBs in Justin Herbert, who is fifth among all QBs in fantasy points so far on the year.

Part of Herbert’s success is that this Chargers’ offense is simply built different than in years past. Los Angeles leads the league in PROE (pass rate over expectation) and have been efficient in hitting plays thanks in large part to its revamped receiving core, which features a rejuvenated Keenan Allen.

While it’s been Quentin Johnston who has led the Chargers in big plays this season (3 TDs in two games), this spot against the Broncos is one where I’d look for Los Angeles to lean on its two versatile slot-hybrids instead, specifically Ladd McConkey. The second-year WR has started the year slow, but still leads the Chargers in snaps played and route rate. Moreover, he’s taken 64% of his snaps from the slots this season, which should allow him to avoid primary coverage from CB Patrick Surtain II on many plays. McConkey caught all six of his targets vs. the Broncos last season for 87 yards and should be a player the Chargers look to use more this week with Denver having an elite outside corner. I view this as an underrated breakout spot for him and one most people will likely overlook given the matchup.

The same could be said for Allen, who remains a great value at $4,700 and has a history of beating up this Broncos team. He’s scored 10 touchdowns vs. Denver in 15 career meetings and often plays from the slot. He’s posted up in the slot in 30 of 72 snaps played this season. Either way, with Allen playing on a higher number of three wide receiver sets and moving around the formation, he and McConkey seem likely to be the names Herbert gravitates to in this spot given the matchup Johnston will see on the outside.

If that holds true than a Herbert, Allen and McConkey stack could hone the market on Chargers scoring given how ineffective they have been running the ball. Add in the fact many people won’t be gravitating toward this game given the elite defenses, and you have a solid contrarian stack to use this Sunday.

Quarterback

Jake Browning ($5,500)

We’ve seen Browning come into this relief role for the Bengals before and have success. In 2023, he threw for 266 yards per game over seven starts while averaging 1.5 touchdowns. It’s not superstar numbers, but working with Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins is going to give Browning some chances for big spike weeks the rest of the way, and to outperform these sorts of cheaper sub-6k salaries.

The Vikings may not look like the greatest matchup, but they enter this game as one of the most injured units in the league. Both Harrison Smith (illness) and Jeff Okudah (concussion) missed last week’s game, while Andrew Van Ginkel was lost during the matchup with a concussion. Add in Jonathan Greenard (oblique), also starting the week on the injury report, and this could be a very limited defensive unit in Week 3. At just $5,500, pairing him with one or both of his elite wide receivers is a good way to pivot off of a Bears or Cowboys passing stack that will have heavy ownership in a lot of big contests this week.

Running Back

Higher End: Javonte Williams ($6,100)

The Javonte Williams story doesn’t look like it’s going to slow down anytime soon. The Cowboys’ lead RB has a 69% designed run rate to date and has played on 71% of the snaps through Week 2. He’s also taken 100% of the SDD (short down and distance) and inside the five carry attempts, and already has three touchdowns. That’s all just a fancy way of saying that he’s been used as a true bellcow back for the Cowboys, who don’t have much in the way of RB talent behind Williams to have us worried that this situation will change anytime soon.

While his price has risen to $6,100 on DraftKings for Week 3, it still hasn’t fully baked in this elite usage, or the fact that he has another A+ matchup this week vs. the Bears. Chicago has allowed the fourth-most FP thus far to opposing RBs and are 28th in yards per carry against at 5.3 YPC. At $6,100, Williams might still be the best value among the primary skill players involved in this game, and, at the very least, can be targeted as a way to get exposure to the Dallas side and gain leverage off of popular Dallas passing stacks.

Lower End: Chris Rodriguez Jr. ($4,100)

The Commanders are going to insert Chris Rodriguez Jr. into the lineup in Week 3 after Austin Ekeler (Achilles) was lost for the season last week vs. the Packers. At 5’11, 225 pounds, Rodriguez profiles as a great short down and distance option and has proven capable in the past when he’s received a bigger workload. For his career with the Commanders, in the four games where he’s received 10 or more carries, Rodriguez averages 59.75 rushing yards and 0.75 touchdowns per game.

It’s tough to say what his workload will be vs. the Raiders, but the potential for him to split the work with rookie Jacory Croskey-Merritt is at least on the table. With the Commanders set as 3.5-point home favorites, with a 23.75 ITT, there is certainly some upside lurking if that scenario comes to fruit. This is a pretty volatile play as it’s unknown exactly what Rodriguez’s role will be, but if you’re looking for a true sub-5% owned name to target, who could pay off with a big day, it’s hard to find a better RB to gamble on at this price.

Wide Receiver

Higher End: Nico Collins ($7,300)

The connection rate with Nico Collins and C.J. Stroud hasn’t been great to start the year (8 for 17 on targets converted into receptions), but I expect the duo to pick up in efficiency vs. the Jaguars. After a solid Week 1, we saw this Jaguars secondary collapse vs. the Bengals, whose backup QB threw for 241 yards and two touchdowns in limited action. Moreover, the Jaguars have proven to be a great punching bag for the Stroud-Collins duo in the past, with Stroud averaging 292 yards over his last four games vs. the Jaguars and Collins averaging 124 receiving yards over his last three games.

From a strategy perspective, the fact that Collins’ salary has yet to come down much should also act as a sort of built-in suppressant on his ownership in larger field GPPs, making him a solid leverage play off the cheaper and likely much heavier-owned WRs in the mid-6k range. Overall, this just seems like a great time to target him, given the negative sentiment and the fact that he’ll be one of the less chalky big-name WRs on the slate.

Lower End: Dontayvion Wicks ($3,700)

Dontayvion Wicks has progressed nicely over the first two weeks of the season. Coming off a calf injury from training camp, he had just a 39% route rate in Week 1, but still managed to convert two targets into two receptions and 30 yards. Then, in Week 2, after he got in a full week of practice and was taken off the injury report, he became one of the primary targets for Jordan Love, seeing a team-high six targets, while posting a respectable four receptions and 44 yards during a game that Tucker Kraft went berserk.

With Jayden Reed out, and Kraft now highly questionable, it’s hard to see Wicks not continuing to be a focal point of this offense. He’s taken the majority of his snaps out of the slot this season (more than any other Green Bay WR), and also posted a 22% target share vs. the Commanders, which led all Green Bay WRs. The Browns have also been a solid matchup for opposing WRs to date as well, allowing four touchdowns to opposing WRs this season already.

At $3,700, it’s hard not to like the upside with a primary target on a team that is projected to score 24.5 total points this week.

Tight End

Jonnu Smith ($3,600)

Jonnu Smith has already established himself as one of the primary targets for Aaron Rodgers this season. Through two weeks, he has a 17% target share, and leads the team with nine receptions. I expect he may extend that lead in Week 3. The Patriots have become a clear funnel to the pass defense under Mike Vrabel, ranking first in success rate vs. the run, while allowing the fourth fewest yards to opposing RBs this season.

Conversely, they’ve allowed the seventh-most receiving yards to opposing TEs, despite facing a Dolphins team in Week 2 that didn’t target the TE position once. Add in the fact that the Steelers have been inefficient in running the ball (22nd in success rate rushing on offense), and the spread being just two points. Smith is in a spot where he could pop for six or more receptions and challenge to be one of the biggest producers at his position for Week 3.

Defense/Special Teams

Atlanta Falcons ($3,200)

It’s hard not to love this spot for the Falcons DST. Through two weeks, they’re first in EPA per play defensively, and have been extremely tough to pass on, ranking third in EPA per play vs. the pass. They’re also coming off a dominant performance on SNF, where they scored 21 DKFP and essentially broke the Vikings’ shiny new QB J.J. McCarthy, who is now out multiple weeks with an ankle injury. All that and now they get to face one of the most turnover-prone QBs in the league in Bryce Young.

Through two weeks, Young has already lost two fumbles and thrown for three INTs. Last week against the Cardinals, one of his turnovers led to a defensive score, allowing the Cardinals to rack up 13 DKFP on the day. Despite facing Young, there is a good chance the Falcons’ defense may not be that highly owned either. Historically, this hasn’t been a top defense, so fantasy players have been slow to come around to the idea of Atlanta as an elite target. Until we see them get ranked with the other top units, salary-wise, I’d keep targeting them at these prices vs. weak competition.