Bender's Favorite NFL DFS Pickem Picks: Week 3

Fri Sep 19 2:22pm ET
By HOWARD BENDER
Fantasy Writer

NFL Week 3 is here, which means more opportunities to win some money playing DFS Pickem contests. I won’t rehash what happened in Week 2 – I chalk it up to a learning experience. The data from Week 1 is always difficult to interpret and the second week of the season always has some things go sideways. In this season’s case, we saw a bunch of quarterback injuries, and unexpected game scripts. It happens.

We actually opened the week with some picks I published for the Thursday Night game between the Buffalo Bills and the Miami Dolphins. We hit with my pick on James Cook’s rushing yards and De’Von Achane’s receptions, but lost on the full parlay when Josh Allen failed to find the end zone. He was super-close, but opted to hand the ball off to Cook, which was a major disappointment. We’ll get it back this week.

If you are new to the DFS Pickem format, allow me to help you along because it’s really quite easy. All you do is make your picks for players to produce more or less than their designated stat-line and if you are right, you can earn up to 40 times your wager (minimum wager of $1). Pick correctly for two players and you will 3x your money. Three correct picks will get you a 6x return, four is 10x and so on, up to 40x for six correct picks. You should give a look at the full contest rules, but that’s the gist of it for how to play.

Again, since I’m going to be taking down that top prize in the Beat Howard Bender Best Ball Tournament, I thought I’d give back to the community each week with some DFS Pickem picks. I do a substantial amount of the NFL betting content and a lot of DFS content on Fantasy Alarm, so I am always diving into the match-ups and player stat lines. Why not turn that into some cold, hard cash so you can afford to play me in season-long contests again next year?

Before we jump into my plays, be sure to take advantage of the current promotional pick being offered by RT Sports.

Patrick Mahomes, QB KC – MORE than 0.5 passing + rushing yards

Another “gimme pick” always makes it nice for those playing, especially those who might be new to the contests. Mahomes against the Giants was easy-picking as it was, so this just makes the decision easier for where we want to go this week.

Pick of the Week:

Calvin Ridley, WR TEN -- MORE than 51.5 receiving yards

Take advantage of the recent line movement at some of the books because right now, the line is set at 54.5 receiving yards in most places. We’ll invest, even with a rookie QB under center. Everyone is loving on Elic Ayomanor, but it is Ridley who leads this Titans team in targets through the first two weeks. What I love about this matchup most is how Ridley, who runs routes on 92 percent of the quarterback dropbacks, dominates against zone coverage and sees a 33.3 percent target share when facing zone. Colts defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo runs zone coverage about 70 percent of the time, so we’ll look for Ridley to find the open pockets and drop in for a few catches.

Other Favorite Week 3 Picks:

Nico Collins, WR HOU – MORE than 68.5 receiving yards
Drake London, WR ATL – LESS than 64.5 receiving yards
D.K. Metcalf, WR PIT – MORE than 0.5 rush + rec TD

If you have never signed up or deposited here at Real Time Fantasy Sports, do yourself a favor and head over to rtsports.com/bender and get a 50% match on your first deposit, up to $500.

If you’re looking to tail my picks in a parlay, you can find them in the DFS Pickem Lobby on the right-hand side of the page.

Bender's Favorite NFL DFS Pickem Picks: Week 3

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