Week 3 Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Rankings: Ranking the Top Five Players at Each Position

Week 3 Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Rankings: Ranking the Top Five Players at Each Position

A lot has changed after two weeks in the NFL.

Some pre-season projections were correct, but many were also far from being accurate. Therefore, I listed the top five players in each position for fantasy football.

The players on this list should be started weekly regardless of their matchup. That's how much upside they bring to the table. I'll be using PPR scoring for these rankings. Let's get started.

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Top 5 Quarterbacks

• Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills
• Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
• Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens
• Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles
• Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals

All of these quarterbacks have something in common. All five are solid rushing quarterbacks who can get you yards on the ground and rushing touchdowns.

Josh Allen came into the season as the top quarterback in the league for fantasy football. He hasn't disappointed. Meanwhile, there were questions about Patrick Mahomes' ability without Tyreek Hill. Those questions have already been answered. He's fine.

Lamar Jackson and the Ravens might've lost to the Miami Dolphins. But it wasn't his fault. Jackson played out of his mind. If the defense continues to struggle, that just means more points and effort from Jackson.

I think we can all agree on Hurts. He looks like the most improved player. It's only two weeks, but I've been impressed. He's got some excellent targets and is running the ball extremely effectively.

Lastly, I chose Kyler Murray over Justin Herbert just because Herbert isn't going to be 100 percent healthy in the next couple of weeks. That's going to scare me off a little bit. Murray hasn't been great, but he's earning garbage-time touchdowns and comeback wins. That's helping his stats pad up a little bit.

Top 5 Running Backs

• Christian McCaffrey, Carolina Panthers
• Saquon Barkley, New York Giants
• Jonathan Taylor, Indianapolis Colts
• Dalvin Cook, Minnesota Vikings
• DeAndre Swift, Detroit Lions

Christian McCaffrey is still the best fantasy football running back. I sometimes worry about McCaffrey not finding the endzone enough in a bad offense like the Panthers. But he had 128 yards from scrimmage last week with four receptions.

Meanwhile, Saquon Barkley is playing nearly 90% of snaps through two games this season. His volume is also excellent, as he had 24 rushes last week. He's jumped Jonathan Taylor for the time being.

Next, Jonathan Taylor struggled in Week 2 against the Jaguars. He added just 54 yards of offense in a 24-0 loss. I'm not going to panic. But the Colts don't look very good this year through two games. I think things will get better, but it's something to monitor.

Like Taylor, I'm not going to give up on Dalvin Cook. The Vikings were down early and never really ran the football. Despite the loss to the Eagles, I'm still high on the Vikings this year and think Cook will get his carries this season.

If we're being honest, DeAndre Swift could easily be third on this list. But he has an ankle injury which has dropped him to five. Although he had lower usage on Sunday, he still rushed for 56 yards and caught two passes on five targets. The Lions are going to use their best player a lot. Just wait until he's fully healthy.

Top 5 Wide Receivers

• Justin Jefferson, Minnesota Vikings
• Cooper Kupp, Los Angeles Rams
• Stefon Diggs, Buffalo Bills
• Ja'Marr Chase, Cincinnati Bengals
• Amon-Ra St. Brown, Detroit Lions

Justin Jefferson and Cooper Kupp are still the two best receivers in the league. They will get consistent volume and will catch many passes this year. Jefferson only caught six passes for 48 yards, but, again, the volume was there. He'll have games like these here and there, but usually, he'll put together massive performances.

Diggs is the next tier. He had 14 targets and caught 12 balls for 148 yards against the Titans in Week 2. He could quickly join the first tier with a couple more of these performances.

Ja'Marr Chase had nine targets against the Cowboys last week. He only caught five of those balls for 54 yards, but knowing he had nine targets is enough for me. Chase will improve when the Bengals improve. It's coming!

Lastly, Amon-Ra St. Brown deserves the final spot. He's been such consistent catching footballs. He had nine catches on 12 targets and rushed the ball for 68 yards on two carries.

Top 5 Tight Ends

• Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs
• Mark Andrews, Baltimore Ravens
• Darren Waller, Las Vegas Raiders
• Dallas Goedert, Philadelphia Eagles
• Kyle Pitts, Atlanta Falcons

The two elite tight ends include Travis Kelce and Mark Andrews. They essentially put up wide receiver numbers. Kelce and Andrews will have many chances to earn touchdowns and breakout for big plays down the field thanks to their connections with their quarterbacks over the years.

On the other hand, Waller had 50 receiving yards with a touchdown last week against the Cardinals. He will still be a heavy volume target for Derek Carr and the Raiders offense.

With how things are going in Philadelphia, it looks like offense won't be a problem. Dallas Goedert should have success with Philly. Through two games, he has eight catches for 142 yards.

Finally, Kyle Pitts hasn't done much in the Atlanta offense. But once they use him more and realize he's a key to them winning games this season, Pitts will have a good season. Don't give up on him yet.

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