Fantasy Football: Week 3 QB Rankings
Kevin Hanson joins SI for the 2019 season. His fantasy rankings have placed him in the Top 20 in each of the past two seasons among all the industry experts tracked by FantasyPros.com, and he has been in the Top 25 in six of the past eight years.
Check out more of Kevin’s rankings: RB, WR, TE, flex, DST and kicker.
QB Start of the Week: Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys (vs. MIA)
In his first three years, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott finished as a top-11 fantasy quarterback every season—QB6 (2016), QB11 (2017) and QB10 (2018). Even so, most drafted Prescott to be their backup based on his average draft position (ADP) this summer.
Few were as bullish on Prescott’s outlook as I was (plus-4 compared to his average expert ranking), but he has even exceeded my expectations so far this season.
Through Week 2, Prescott leads the NFL in completion percentage (82.3) and yards per attempt (10.9). The fourth-year quarterback is averaging 337 passing yards per game with seven touchdowns to only one interception. One of the more mobile quarterbacks in the league, he has 81 rushing yards (9.0 per attempt).
As great as reigning MVP Patrick Mahomes (QB3) has played, he has been outscored by both Lamar Jackson (QB1) and Prescott (QB2).
Although they were divisional matchups, Prescott’s strong start has been aided by relatively easy competition and this week’s matchup could be the easiest of the year. Through two weeks, the Dolphins have allowed 102 points, a league-worst 11.9 Y/A and 79.6% completion rate. Favored by three-plus touchdowns, the Cowboys have the highest implied total based on Vegas odds this week.
Running back Ezekiel Elliott is the easy RB1 for the week, but Prescott is a top-three quarterback with legitimate QB1 upside as well.
QB Sit of the Week: Kirk Cousins, Minnesota Vikings (vs. OAK)
Favored by more than a touchdown, the Vikings host the Raiders this week and we could see a lot of Dalvin Cook—and not a lot of Kirk Cousins. With a commanding lead against the Falcons in Week 1, Cousins threw just 10 pass attempts. Ten!
Cousins was efficient as he completed eight of those attempts for 98 yards (9.8 Y/A) and a score, but that obviously didn’t cut it if he was your Week 1 starter.
Last week’s matchup was more difficult as the Vikings lost to the Packers and Cousins threw it more often (32 times), but he completed just 14 passes for 230 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.
These week’s matchup is more favorable, but the big concern is that the Vikings get out to an early lead and the team dials back the passing in a significant way. Despite a more favorable matchup in Week 3, keep Cousins on your bench.
Week 3 fantasy football quarterback rankings:
• QB1: Patrick Mahomes, KC vs BAL
• QB2: Dak Prescott, DAL vs MIA
• QB3: Lamar Jackson, BAL @ KC
• QB4: Tom Brady, NE vs NYJ
• QB5: Deshaun Watson, HOU @ LAC
• QB6: Matt Ryan, ATL @ IND
• QB7: Josh Allen, BUF vs CIN
• QB8: Russell Wilson, SEA vs NO
• QB9: Aaron Rodgers, GB vs DEN
• QB10: Kyler Murray, ARI vs CAR
• QB11: Carson Wentz, PHI vs DET
• QB12: Jameis Winston, TB vs NYG
• QB13: Baker Mayfield, CLE vs LAR
• QB14: Jared Goff, LAR @ CLE
• QB15: Jimmy Garoppolo, SF vs PIT
• QB16: Philip Rivers, LAC vs HOU
• QB17: Matthew Stafford, DET @ PHI
• QB18: Jacoby Brissett, IND vs ATL
• QB19: Kirk Cousins, MIN vs OAK
• QB20: Mitch Trubisky, CHI @ WAS
• QB21: Andy Dalton, CIN @ BUF
• QB22: Daniel Jones, NYG @ TB
• QB23: Mason Rudolph, PIT @ SF
• QB24: Marcus Mariota, TEN @ JAC
• QB25: Derek Carr, OAK @ MIN
• QB26: Kyle Allen, CAR @ ARI
• QB27: Gardner Minshew, JAC vs TEN
• QB28: Joe Flacco, DEN @ GB
• QB29: Case Keenum, WAS vs CHI
• QB30: Luke Falk, NYJ @ NE
• QB31: Teddy Bridgewater, NO @ SEA
• QB32: Josh Rosen, MIA @ DAL
• QB33: Taysom Hill, NO @ SEA
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