NFL DFS Preseason Week 3 Thursday Picks: Target Rams And Patriots WRs

We're starting off our last week of NFL Preseason DFS with a four-game DraftKings main slate here on this Thursday night. We can expect some teams to roll out their starters a little more this week in what will be their last preseason game before the regular season starts. This slate seems to contradict that, however, as most starters are going to be sidelined, giving us a lot to dive into and figure out playing time. Let's get into it!

Quarterback Picks On Thursday's NFL DFS Preseason Slate On DraftKings

Starting off at QB, the San Francisco 49ers are going to be without Brock Purdy, as no starters will play here. Kurtis Rourke has been sidelined with a rib injury and will also be out. This leaves Mac Jones and Adrian Martinez. We didn't see Jones in Week 1, and just a bit of him in Week 2. It is expected that he will get a few drives or so tonight, but there is definitely a risk he could fully DNP. This leaves Martinez, who is the overall best projecting QB of the slate. He will get a minimum of a half, most likely getting way more. There is even a chance that he gets the entire game if Jones is held out. Make sure to check for news on that closer to game time

The Buffalo Bills have two active QBs for Thursday, each projected to play a half. They are Kyle Allen and Shane Buechele. Josh Allen will not play in preseason Week 3. Both Allen and Buechele look great here, with a slight lean to Buechele.

One more QB to point out here is Trey Lance. The starters for the Chargers are going to play just a drive or two here, taking Justin Herbert out of the equation quickly. This leaves Lance and DJ Uiagalelei. Both are in play, but Lance stands out here with his running upside, currently projecting as a top-5 QB on the slate.

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Running Back Picks On Thursday's NFL DFS Preseason Slate

The New England Patriots look to be potentially very short-handed at RB. Starters won't play in Week 3, so that rules out Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson. Jam Miller has been banged up and limited in practice, and it is expected that he won't be able to play here. Lan Larison was in a non-contact jersey at practice. It seems more likely that he won't play, but if he does he would be firmly in play and in a spot to get a good workload. The two pieces we’re looking at here, assuming Miller and Larison are out, are Hassan Haskins and Jamycal Hasty. These would be the only two active running backs in this case, and would look like the clear two best RB plays of the slate.

The Buffalo Bills will have just 3 RBs here vs. the Steelers. James Cook should be out as HC Joe Brady said some starters won't play, and Ty Johnson is dealing with an ankle injury and won't suit up. This leaves Frank Gore Jr., Ian Wheeler and Ray Davis. The snap share between these three should be relatively spread out, leaving all three firmly in play.

Cleveland may also have just three RBs suiting up against the Patriots. Quinshon Judkins has been hurt and should sit out here, and Dylan Sampson does not have an injury, but was held out of last week's contest. It is possible that we do see a little of him here. The three RBs we know will play are Raheim Sanders, Ahmani Marshall and Davon Booth. Sanders and Marshall stand out as the two best options here for the Browns, followed by Booth.

Wide Receiver Picks On Thursday's NFL DFS Preseason Slate

The New England Patriots have been a team to target here at WR in the preseason thus far, and Week 3 looks to be the same. Starters are ruled out again here, taking their top-4 WRs off the board. Kyle Williams, Efton Chism III, and Nick Degennaro are the top-3 options for tonight's matchup vs the Browns. All three have looked great so far in preseason and are getting a ton of looks. Chism stands out as the best here.

Similar to the Patriots, the Los Angeles Rams have been a team to target, and they are still really short-handed at WR. There are just six WRs projected to play, and that is if Xavier Smith does, in fact, get in. He was held out as a healthy DNP last week, in a game where he projected to be one of the best players of the Week 2 DFS slate. Let's be cautious on him here, as there is a chance he does not play again. The best options for the Rams here are CJ Daniels, Brennan Presley, Alex Bachman and Tyler Scott. These four should continue to see the field at a very high rate, and are the best WR room to target for Thursday night.

The 49ers are the final team to talk about. Starters are ruled out for Week 3, and they are dealing with a ton of injuries. They project to have seven WRs active, however, one stands out as the potential best overall play of the slate. That is Jordan Watkins. He has been on the field an absurd amount, leading the team in snaps and routes. Assuming he continues to stay on the field at this rate, he looks like an great play, and should pair well with Martinez at QB.

Tight End Targets On Thursday's NFL DFS Preseason Slate

Tight end is always a hard position to project in preseason, as their targets are the least secure of any position, but there are a few teams here who look to have some good options. First the Raiders. We have seen Albert Okwuegbunam and Ian Thomas get almost all of the work here thus far for Las Vegas in the preseason. Both look good.

The Los Angeles Rams have been giving Max Klare a ton of looks here thus far in preseason. He has also been getting targets as well. Assuming that he does play here, he looks like the safest TE play of the slate. He caught an absurd 7 passes for 37 yards in Week 1, and 4 passes for 12 yards in Week 2.

One more tight end to point out here is Oronde Gadsden II. For a starter in the preseason, he has been seeing more snaps than we have seen from any of the others at his position. With the skill that he has, and the potential targets he can see while out there, he stands out as another safe option at TE.

This slate gives us a ton of enticing pieces to build around, with a lot of players in position to get a ton of playing time tonight. This makes for a fun build that we can expect to be a little more high scoring than we've seen thus far in preseason, which we love to see. Good luck tonight and make sure to check on team news as we get closer to game time!