FanDuel Daily Fantasy Football Preseason Helper: Week 3, Saturday

Typically, in Week 3 of the preseason, teams consider this week to be the "dress rehearsal" week. Teams will usually play their starters for the first half and, in some cases, longer. However, that's not always the case, so it's necessary to sift through the news and figure out which players may project for high volume.

FanDuel's Saturday preseason NFL slate gives us six games. Since every player on the slate has the same price tag, salary cap is not an issue.

With that said, let's look at several players who stand to benefit from injury situations and/or project to play a lot of snaps.

Quarterbacks

Chad Kelly – The Indianapolis Colts have ruled out both Andrew Luck and Jacoby Brissett. It could be the Chad Kelly show as the Colts may limit Phillip Walker's playing time behind center. Kelly was solid in the team’s second preseason game as he completed 12 of 17 passes for 115 yards and one touchdown.

Jimmy Garoppolo – Last week, Jimmy G was brutal in his first game action since tearing his ACL. He completed one pass for zero yards along with tossing an interception. Coach Kyle Shanahan would like to play his franchise quarterback for the entire first half, per reports, but it sounds like Shanahan has a specific play count in mind. Garoppolo attempted 19 passes in the third game of the preseason in 2018. It would make sense for Garoppolo to have a similar passing volume tonight as he tries to shake off the rust.

Russell Wilson – Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll stated everyone’s going to play, but he didn’t disclose the length of time. In the third week of the preseason in 2017 and 2018, Carroll has typically played his starters until halftime. In 2017, Wilson threw for 200 yards and one touchdown on 19 pass attempts in this game. In 2018, he threw for 118 yards on 21 pass attempts. If he plays a full half again, he could have a similar performance.

Others to consider: Joe Webb, Chase Daniel, Tyler Bray, Sam Darnold, Taysom Hill, Patrick Mahomes, Geno Smith

Running Backs

Kerrith Whyte Jr. – The speedy back out of Florida Atlantic has scored a touchdown in both preseason games. With the Chicago Bears expected to sit their starters in tonight’s game, expect plenty of snaps from the seventh-round draft pick.

Darrell Henderson – The former Memphis standout is receiving plenty of run this preseason as he played 34% of the offensive snaps in the first preseason game and 42% of the offensive snaps in the second preseason game. Through two preseason games, Henderson has 12 carries for 29 yards and seven receptions for 33 yards. With the Los Angeles Rams content on keeping their starters in bubble-wrap until the regular season, look for Henderson to receive plenty of opportunities.

Ty Montgomery – Montgomery has had a great training camp and preseason. He’s taken advantage of an increased workload with Le'Veon Bell sitting out of the preseason games. Last week, Montgomery converted seven carries into 36 rush yards and one touchdown. He should play at least one and half quarters as the team’s starting running back tonight.

Others to consider: Tony Pollard, Ryan Nall, Aca’Cedric Ware, Dwayne Washington, Darwin Thompson, Chris Carson, Troymaine Pope, Detrez Newsome, Alvin Kamara, Jeff Wilson

Wide Receivers

Deon Cain – Cain caught seven passes for 80 yards on nine targets in last week’s preseason game while playing 46% of the Colts’ offensive snaps. The second-year receiver should be busy tonight as the Colts are opting to bench a majority of their starters.

Artavis Scott – The former Clemson product led all Los Angeles Chargers’ receivers in snaps played in each of the first two preseason games (42 in Week 1 and 41 in Week 2). With Keenan Allen still sidelined, Scott should continue to play plenty of snaps as he fights for a roster spot. He’ll look to build off his four-catch. 64-yard effort in last week’s game.

Dante Pettis – The young pass catcher realizes he still has plenty to prove to the San Francisco 49ers’ coaching staff. Pettis was lined up at receiver for all 11 of Jimmy Garoppolo’s snaps in last week’s preseason game. With Garoppolo slated to play the majority of the first half, we can expect to see plenty of Dante Pettis.

Others to consider: Tyron Johnson, Vyncint Smith, Jon’Vea Johnson, Reggie Davis, Devin Smith, Riley Ridley, Javon Wims, Emmanuel Butler, Michael Thomas, Deebo Samuel, Mecole Hardman, Tyreek Hill, Fred Brown, Andre Patton, Robby Anderson, Jamison Crowder

Tight Ends

Hale Hentges – After hauling in four passes for 34 yards in last week’s preseason loss, Hentges received high praise from Indy's starting tight end, Jack Doyle. As a roster spot potentially hangs in the balance, Hentges should receive ample playing time with many of the Colts' starters receiving the night off.

Marcus Lucas – This is strictly based on potential playing time. Besides Jason Witten (who figures to play very little, if at all), Lucas may be the lone healthy tight end to suit up for the Dallas Cowboys. The former Missouri player caught four passes for 20 yards on four targets in the team’s second preseason game.

Johnny Mundt – Like Lucas, this is strictly based on anticipated playing time. In the Rams’ first preseason game, Mundt caught one pass for 23 yards on four targets and played 56% of the team’s offensive snaps. In the Rams’ second preseason affair, he caught one pass for seven yards on two targets and played 49% of the team’s offensive snaps. The Rams have scored only 13 points in two preseason games, so if the offense wakes up, Mundt could post a solid fantasy outing.

Others to consider: Travis Kelce, Kaden Smith, Troy Fumagalli, Jordan Thomas

Matthew Hiatt is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Matthew Hiatt also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username easternmh. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his/her personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in his articles are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.