Two weeks of the NFL season are now in the books, giving Daily Fantasy players enough information to begin identifying genuine trends without completely abandoning our preseason expectations. Week 3 also brings one of my favourite elements of tournament DFS into sharper focus: building lineups around correlated game environments rather than simply selecting nine players we think will individually perform well.
There are several obvious stacking opportunities on the Monday morning Australian slate. Ravens @ Cowboys carries a massive 52.5-point total, while Buffalo's explosive offence hosts a Chargers team capable of providing a useful bring-back. Kansas City has started the season firing and offers an appealing stack without necessarily requiring a Miami player on the other side.
I'm also interested in looking beyond the market totals. Raiders @ Saints sits at only 43.5 points, but New Orleans enters Week 3 ranked second in passing offense at 305.5 yards per game, with Tyler Shough leading the NFL in passing yards and Chris Olave sitting among the league leaders in receptions.
This week, I'm looking to build lineups that tell a story.
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NFL 2026-27 Daily Fantasy Tips: Week 3
Quarterbacks
Josh Allen - $18,810
Josh Allen is the second most expensive quarterback on the slate, but his opening two weeks have provided very little reason to argue with the price. Allen has completed 40 of 60 passes for 582 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions, while adding another 92 rushing yards and four touchdowns on the ground.
His Week 2 demolition of Detroit was particularly impressive. Allen threw for 248 yards and three touchdowns, then added 69 rushing yards and another two scores as Buffalo put up 41 points.
The matchup with the Chargers is interesting because Los Angeles has started 0-2 but still possesses enough offensive talent to keep Buffalo aggressive. That's where the stack becomes particularly appealing.
Rather than playing Allen as an isolated premium quarterback, I'm interested in pairing him with Dalton Kincaid and even James Cook, then using Ladd McConkey as the Chargers bring-back. If Los Angeles can keep Buffalo scoring into the fourth quarter, that four-player combination has enormous upside.
Patrick Mahomes - $17,220
Kansas City's revamped offense has looked outstanding through two weeks, and Patrick Mahomes produced his first monster passing performance of the season against Indianapolis. He completed 32 of 47 attempts for 382 yards and three touchdowns as the Chiefs won 33-30 in overtime.
The addition of Kenneth Walker has given Kansas City something it hasn't consistently possessed in recent seasons: a genuinely explosive rushing threat alongside Mahomes. That doesn't necessarily reduce Mahomes' DFS appeal. Instead, it creates an offense capable of generating touchdowns in several different ways.
Miami has conceded 35 points in consecutive games to open the season, and this is a spot where I'm happy to build heavily around Kansas City.
Mahomes-Walker-Kelce is an unusual three-player stack because it combines quarterback, running back and tight end, but I'm comfortable with it here. Walker has demonstrated significant receiving involvement and Kelce remains Mahomes' most trusted target. Unlike Buffalo-LA, I don't believe we necessarily need a Miami bring-back if Kansas City controls the game.
QB Strategy
Quarterback is where the stacking philosophy begins this week. I'm less interested in choosing Allen or Mahomes based purely on which one projects marginally better and more interested in what each allows me to build around them.
Allen-Kincaid is the obvious Buffalo starting point, with Cook providing an onslaught option and McConkey an appealing bring-back. Mahomes can be paired with Walker and Kelce, effectively betting on Kansas City accounting for the overwhelming majority of offensive production in that matchup.
There are also stacks outside my featured quarterback selections worth considering. New Orleans is particularly intriguing given the market appears reluctant to fully buy into its early offensive production, while Lamar Jackson-led Baltimore stacks naturally fit the highest-total game on the slate.
Running Backs
Kenneth Walker III - $17,230
Kenneth Walker has been extraordinary since joining Kansas City. Through two games he has carried 47 times for 290 yards, an incredible 6.2 yards per attempt, while adding nine receptions for another 79 yards.
Most importantly, the workload is enormous. Walker carried 23 times for 173 yards against Denver before receiving another 24 carries against Indianapolis. He added six catches for 61 yards in Week 2, giving him 178 yards from scrimmage despite failing to score.
That receiving involvement makes the Mahomes-Walker combination much easier to justify than a traditional quarterback-running back pairing. Walker can score through receptions while Mahomes accumulates passing production, and both benefit if Kansas City generates repeated redzone opportunities.
Miami has been outscored 70-26 through two games, so game script also strongly favours Walker. At $17,230 we're paying a premium, but his current workload belongs among the elite backs on the slate.
James Cook III - $15,120
James Cook bounced back from a relatively quiet opener with 21 carries for 135 yards and a touchdown against Detroit, adding another reception as Buffalo scored 41 points.
Perhaps the most interesting development was that no other Buffalo running back recorded a touch in Week 2. Cook handled 41.5% of Buffalo's offensive touches and generated 87 rushing yards before contact, demonstrating just how effectively the Bills controlled the line of scrimmage.
Playing Cook alongside Allen might initially appear negatively correlated because Allen remains such a significant goal-line rushing threat. In a normal offense, I'd be more concerned. Buffalo isn't a normal offense.
If we're building around the Bills scoring four or five touchdowns against the Chargers, there is room for both players to produce. Adding Kincaid completes an aggressive Buffalo onslaught, while McConkey coming back on the other side gives the lineup a clear path to benefiting from a genuine shootout.
TreVeyon Henderson - $10,230
TreVeyon Henderson provides something very different from Walker and Cook. At $10,230, his primary attraction is what the salary allows us to construct elsewhere.
New England enters Week 3 against Jacksonville after an impressive 20-3 win over Pittsburgh, but Henderson remains part of a backfield where the workload isn't as secure as the premium options. That naturally introduces more volatility.
However, tournament lineups don't require every player to carry an elite floor. Henderson's explosiveness and receiving ability give him a route to a strong score without needing 25 touches, and the salary saving becomes particularly important if we're trying to jam Allen alongside Cook and Kincaid or build around another expensive stack.
This is where lineup construction matters. Henderson isn't being selected because I expect him to outscore Walker. He's attractive because a strong performance at $10,230 could unlock significantly more upside elsewhere.
RB Strategy
Running back provides two premium pieces that naturally fit the stacks we're already targeting. Walker belongs in Kansas City builds, while Cook can form part of the Buffalo onslaught.
That doesn't mean they must only be played alongside their quarterbacks, but correlation strengthens the case for paying their salaries.
Henderson then provides the opposite construction. Using him allows us to spend heavily at quarterback and receiver or fit multiple premium pieces from the same game. Rather than evaluating each running back purely on projected points, consider what the remaining salary enables.
Wide Receivers
Chris Olave - $16,170
Chris Olave is the centrepiece of my interest in New Orleans this week. Through two games, Olave has caught 18 passes for 268 yards and a touchdown. Only Amon-Ra St. Brown has more receptions, while New Orleans ranks second in passing offense and Tyler Shough leads the NFL with 662 passing yards.
Olave caught eight passes for 86 yards and the game-tying touchdown against Baltimore last week, continuing the connection with Shough that developed late last season. Yet Raiders-Saints carries only a 43.5-point total.
That's precisely why I'm interested. If the market is underestimating what this Saints passing attack has become, DFS ownership could follow that same thinking. Olave works perfectly as part of a Shough stack, and a Raiders bring-back can be added if desired.
This isn't simply an Olave play. It's a bet that New Orleans' early offensive improvement is real.
Tetairoa McMillan - $12,450
Tetairoa McMillan reminded everyone of his ceiling in Carolina's stunning 34-3 win over Atlanta, catching five passes for 101 yards as Bryce Young threw for 287 yards and three touchdowns.
McMillan's $12,450 salary sits in an extremely useful range. He's inexpensive enough to fit alongside the premium stacks but possesses genuine WR1 upside, making him much more than a pure salary-saving selection.
Carolina travels to Cleveland this week, where Denzel Boston provides an interesting opposing option. That creates the possibility of using McMillan as part of a small game correlation rather than simply dropping him randomly into a lineup.
The Panthers' passing game showed significant improvement last week, and McMillan remains the player most capable of turning moderate volume into a slate-changing receiving performance.
Denzel Boston - $8,730
Denzel Boston might be the most obvious salary that hasn't caught up with production. The rookie caught two passes for 59 yards and a touchdown in Week 1 before exploding for five receptions, 95 yards and another touchdown against Tampa Bay. That's 154 receiving yards and two scores through his first two NFL games, with gains of 46 and 55 yards already demonstrating his big-play ability.
At $8,730, we don't need enormous target volume if that downfield role continues.
Boston also fits the broader construction beautifully. Pairing him with McMillan creates a cheap mini-correlation in Panthers vs Browns, while using Boston alone provides enough salary relief to pay for one of the premium offensive stacks.
He's exactly the type of inexpensive player I'm looking for this week: not simply cheap, but cheap with a realistic ceiling.
WR Strategy
Receiver is where the lineup-building philosophy becomes particularly important.
Olave makes most sense when we're actively betting on the Saints passing game exceeding market expectations. McMillan and Boston can form an inexpensive opposing mini-stack, while McConkey, despite not being one of the three primary selections above, becomes especially valuable as the bring-back in Buffalo builds.
I'm not trying to find three unrelated receivers who each project well. I want receivers whose production either directly correlates with another roster spot or whose salary makes the larger stack possible.
Tight Ends
Dalton Kincaid - $11,570
Dalton Kincaid has finally begun producing like the elite receiving tight end Buffalo hoped it drafted. He opened the season with five catches for 130 yards against Houston before catching seven of eight targets for 95 yards and a touchdown against Detroit. Through two games, that's 12 receptions for 225 yards, and he led Buffalo in routes, targets, catches and receiving yards last week.
His efficiency has been exceptional, but it's the increased involvement that makes Kincaid particularly appealing.
At $11,570, he's expensive enough that I don't necessarily want to use him as a random standalone tight end. Alongside Allen, however, the salary makes much more sense. Add Cook and suddenly we're making a concentrated bet on Buffalo's offense; add McConkey and we're betting on the entire game environment.
That's exactly how I want to use him.
Darren Waller - $6,920
Darren Waller provides the salary-saving alternative after making his presence felt in Week 2.
Waller caught only three passes against Atlanta, but two went for touchdowns as Carolina repeatedly looked towards the 6-foot-6 veteran near the goal line. He now has five catches for 61 yards through two games and could easily have three touchdowns and six catches if not for a ticky-tack penalty in week 1.
The limited overall volume means there is obvious touchdown dependency here, but that's reflected in a $6,920 salary, meaning he can be used as a salary-saving tight end, or touchdown dependant FLX.
Waller also works nicely with McMillan if we want concentrated exposure to Carolina while spending heavily on another stack. We don't need eight catches at this price; a handful of targets with another redzone opportunity could be enough.
TE Strategy
Kincaid is the stacking option; Waller is the roster-construction option.
If I'm playing Allen, Kincaid is one of the first players I'm considering alongside him. If I'm spending heavily elsewhere, Waller provides the salary relief required without completely sacrificing touchdown upside.
Travis Kelce also deserves mention when constructing Mahomes teams. Mahomes-Walker-Kelce is expensive, but after Kelce caught nine passes for 101 yards and a touchdown last week, the correlation is obvious.
Defence / Special Teams
Seattle Seahawks - $7,160
Seattle has been outstanding defensively through two weeks and enters Week 3 after dismantling Arizona 31-7.
The Seahawks now face Washington, whose offense has already lost Jayden Daniels to a dislocated elbow suffered against Dallas.
That immediately changes the matchup. Seattle's ability to generate pressure becomes considerably more attractive against a Washington offense dealing with quarterback disruption, and the Seahawks have already demonstrated the ability to create game scripts where their pass rush can attack obvious passing situations.
The $7,160 salary isn't cheap, but the combination of defensive form and uncertainty at quarterback for Washington provides legitimate ceiling.
Cincinnati Bengals - $5,690
Cincinnati is the punt option and an important piece of the suggested lineup build.
The Bengals held Houston to six points last week and pressured C.J. Stroud on 43.5% of his dropbacks, with five different defenders recording at least four pressures.
Pittsburgh has its own protection concerns. Aaron Rodgers was pressured on 36.8% of his dropbacks against New England despite averaging only 2.58 seconds to throw, and the Steelers have struggled to generate explosive passing plays.
At only $5,690, Cincinnati doesn't need to dominate. The attraction is getting a defence with genuine pressure upside while preserving salary for the Buffalo stack.
D/ST Strategy
This is another position where the rest of the lineup dictates my preference.
Seattle offers the stronger standalone profile, particularly given Washington's quarterback situation. Cincinnati, however, fits the aggressive stacking builds considerably better.
If saving $1,470 at defence is what allows Allen-Cook-Kincaid-McConkey to fit, I'm perfectly comfortable taking Cincinnati and embracing the additional variance.
Slate Strategy & Roster Construction
This week I'm placing considerably more emphasis on building lineups around a central thesis.
The suggested lineup is the perfect example. Allen, Cook and Kincaid represent an aggressive three-player Buffalo stack, with McConkey coming back from the Chargers. For that lineup to reach its ceiling, we're essentially asking for Los Angeles to score enough to force Buffalo to remain aggressive, with Allen accounting for multiple touchdowns, Cook benefiting from Buffalo's overall scoring environment and Kincaid continuing his enormous start to the season.
McConkey doesn't need to outscore every receiver at his salary. His job within that lineup is to benefit from the same game script we're already betting on.
McMillan and Boston then create a secondary Carolina-Cleveland correlation, while Waller doubles down on Carolina's offense at a cheap salary. Cincinnati at $5,690 is the final piece that allows the expensive Buffalo core to fit.
There are several other constructions I like.
Kansas City can be attacked through Mahomes-Walker-Kelce without necessarily forcing a Miami bring-back. New Orleans offers the contrarian route through Shough-Olave and potentially another Saints receiver or a Raiders bring-back of Bowers or Tucker. Detroit can be attacked through Goff-Gibbs-St. Brown with Garrett Wilson coming back.
Then there's Baltimore-Dallas.
With a 52.5-point total, Lamar Jackson-Derrick Henry-Zay Flowers can be paired with CeeDee Lamb or George Pickens. It's expensive, but if that game turns into the shootout the market expects, concentrated exposure is preferable to having one random piece and hoping you picked the correct touchdown.
Not every lineup needs four players from one game. But every tournament lineup should have some logic connecting its pieces.
Final Thoughts
Week 3 is where I'm moving away from simply asking “Who are the best plays?” and towards “What needs to happen for this lineup to win?”
If Buffalo-LA shoots out, I want multiple players benefiting from it. If the market is underrating New Orleans, I want more than just Olave. If Baltimore-Dallas reaches or exceeds its enormous total, I want enough exposure that the game actually moves my lineup.
Value pieces such as Boston, Waller and Cincinnati are important because they make those concentrated bets possible.
There will always be room for strong standalone plays, but tournament DFS is ultimately about ceiling. Building around correlated outcomes gives us a chance to capture several ceiling performances at once.
Don't just pick nine players. Build a lineup that tells a story.
Suggested NFL Draftstars Lineup
