Fantasy Football Week 3 WR Rankings and Picks feat. Ja'Marr Chase, Amon-Ra St. Brown, and Rashid Shaheed
We're just two weeks into the fantasy football season, but we've already experienced a season full of injuries to our favorite fantasy wideouts. Puka Nacua, Cooper Kupp, Deebo Samuel, A.J. Brown, Tee Higgins, and Jordan Addison have or will miss time heading into Week 3 action, and we're left to pick up the pieces. The fantasy gods even dared to take Justin Jefferson and Amon-Ra St. Brown away from us as both stars were banged up during their Week 2 matchups last Sunday. Both receivers avoided long-term injuries and will play this week, barring last-minute developments.
As we head into Week 3, here's a look at the top WRs projected to wreak havoc. The list below showcases the top WR1s and WR2s for Half-PPR leagues in Week 3.
Fantasy Football Week 3 WR rankings
Fantasy Football WR picks: Best plays of the Week
1] Ja'Marr Chase vs Washington Commanders
We all love a get-right game for our fantasy stars, and there's no better time for Ja'Marr Chase to face the Washington Commanders on Monday Night Football. After two games, the Commanders' defense remains one of the worst pass defenses in football despite hiring a defensive-minded head coach in Dan Quinn.
Starting up front, Washington has struggled to pressure the quarterback despite blitzing a league-most 45% of its defensive snaps. Quinn's unit is 16th in pressure rate (30%) and 20th in quarterback hits percentage (13.3%) after two games. If Quinn's uber-aggressive playcalling style fails to disrupt the offense's timing, it leaves the backend of the defense vulnerable in pass coverage.
Unsurprisingly, Washington has given the most touchdowns to receivers this season (6) and is third in yards per route run allowed (7.8). Opposing receivers are averaging 11.7 yards per reception against Washington's secondary while allowing 286 yards after the catch (YAC) — third worst in the league. YAC is Chase's speciality, as he ranked 10th in all pass catchers last year with 541 yards after the catch. The All-Pro hasn't gotten on track with just 97 receiving yards in two games, but 40 of his total yardage has come from YAC this season.
If the Bengals offensive line can weather the constant pressure from Washington and keep Burrow clean in the pocket, then Chase could be in line for a massive day on Monday night. So far, the Bengals have done just that as opposing defenses have pressured Burrow on 25.4% of his 71 dropbacks - the 10th best in the league in pressure rate allowed.
2] Amon-Ra St. Brown vs Arizona
The Cardinals were the most advantageous pass defense to attack in fantasy football last year, but it has had a Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde start to its season. Josh Allen's 33.2 fantasy points in the opening weekend against Arizona was the league's best, as he completed 78.3% of his passes for four total touchdowns. But in Week 2, the Cardinals bounced back against a banged-up Los Angeles Rams offense and restricted Matthew Stafford to 8.6 fantasy points, while Demarcus Robinson led all Rams pass catchers with 50 receiving yards.
Jonathan Gannon's defensive unit still has much to prove before we consider them a respectable defense. The Cardinals are second-worst in the league in yards per target (7.9), fifth-worst in yards per reception (12.1), and second-worst in yards per route run (7.9). Amon-Ra St. Brown had the best performance of the season last week by turning 19 targets into 11 catches, 119 receiving yards, and 22.9 fantasy points.
Detroit's offensive line has been protecting Jared Goff through two games and allowed a 22.1% pressure rate, good for fourth-best in the league. The Cardinals are 24th in the league in pressure rate and have the fifth-worst time-to-pressure rate at 2.6 seconds per play. If Goff has time to throw, expect another massive day for St. Brown in the desert.
3] Rashid Shaheed vs Philadelphia
The most impressive performance of the season came last week when Derek Carr and the New Orleans Saints blasted one of the best pass defenses in the league. The Cowboys finished seventh in defensive passing DVOA last season and came off a dominant performance against Cleveland's Deshaun Watson in Week 1. Dallas picked Watson off twice, holding him to a 53.3% completion percentage and 10.7 fantasy points in the season opener.
It was an entirely different story in Week 2 as Carr picked apart a formidable Dallas defense for an 82.6% completion percentage in a game where the Saints put up 35 points by halftime. Carr had only 200 yards passing on the day, but a negative game script played a role in New Orleans working the clock in the second half.
Carr and Co. will have a favorable matchup with a receiver-friendly Philadelphia defensive unit that has struggled through two games this season. The Eagles defense was embarrassed on Monday Night Football last week as they gave up an improbable game-winning touchdown in the final moments to Kirk Cousins and Drake London at home.
The Eagles have generated a 23.9% pressure rate through two games, which ranks 20th, while only achieving a 10.4% quarterback hit rate (26th). With a lack of a consistent pass rush, the Eagles have given up the third-most touchdowns to wide receivers (4) and the second-most yards per reception (13.5).
Philadelphia has been susceptible to big plays this season, with the third-highest completions of 20-plus yards (5). The Saints are one of the hottest offensive units in the league right now, facing an Eagles defense that has given up the second-most fantasy points to wide receivers (148.7). The Saints have three pass catchers averaging at least 10 yards per reception this season: Rashid Shaheed (24.1!), Chris Olave (15.3), and Alvin Kamara (13.1).
Philadelphia cornerback Avonte Maddox has played 100% of his snaps in the slot this season and allowed the most yards against per route covered in the entire league at 2.14. Shaheed has lined up in the slot 46.7% of his snaps this season and will have one of the best matchups by any receiver in fantasy football on Sunday. Fire up all your Saints this weekend.