Best NFL DFS Picks Today: Top Value Plays for Sunday’s Slate

Week 3 of the 2026 NFL season rolls out a stacked Sunday slate, and it’s shaping up as one of the more interesting weeks for lineup builders. There’s a mix of undefeated teams trying to stay unbeaten, backup quarterbacks settling into bigger roles, and a handful of workhorse backs who have already made their salaries look outdated after huge starts to the year. With Cincinnati at Pittsburgh, New England on the road at Jacksonville, and Arizona traveling to face a stingy San Francisco defense, there’s plenty for DFS players to dig into before setting lineups.

Our approach for building a Sunday NFL DFS lineup this week leans on players who have shown a clear, uncontested role through two games rather than chasing name value. Volume and target share tend to be more predictive early in the season than name recognition, so we’re targeting a mix of a workhorse running back at the top of the price range, a quarterback with real rushing equity, a tight end who’s already the focal point of his passing game, and a couple of value plays who can anchor cash game and GPP lineups alike.

Jonathan Taylor, RB — Indianapolis Colts

Jonathan Taylor has been the best running back in football through two weeks, and it isn’t close. He opened the season with 19 carries for 98 yards and two touchdowns against Baltimore, then followed it up with 24 carries for 92 yards and two more scores in an overtime loss to Kansas City. That’s 43 carries, 190 yards, and four total touchdowns across his first two games, plus seven catches for 63 yards through the air.

Taylor led the league in rushing touchdowns a year ago with 18, and he’s picking up right where he left off — averaging 4.4 yards per carry with 30.2% of his carries going for first downs. He’s also seeing enough receiving work (three or four targets a week) to keep his floor high even in games that get away from Indianapolis. Anyone building a DraftKings lineup this week should have Taylor near the top of the running back pool given the touch volume and goal-line role he’s carved out.

Trey McBride, TE — Arizona Cardinals

Trey McBride has quietly turned into one of the most heavily used pass catchers at any position, and Week 2 was the clearest example yet. He hauled in nine of 13 targets for 95 yards and a touchdown, giving him a target share that leads all tight ends through the first two weeks of the season. Quarterback Jacoby Brissett has made McBride his clear first read in the short-to-intermediate passing game, and that kind of target volume at tight end is exactly the profile DFS players should be hunting for cash game picks.

McBride now heads into a Week 3 road trip against San Francisco, a game where Arizona is a sizable underdog. That’s actually a plus for McBride’s DFS outlook — trailing teams tend to throw more, and check-down volume for a tight end who already leads his position in targets only helps his floor. Given his eight-catch, 95-yard week already on the books, he’s a strong building block for both cash game picks and GPP lineups.

Drake Maye, QB — New England Patriots

Drake Maye hasn’t put up gaudy passing numbers yet — 178 yards with a touchdown and three interceptions in Week 1, then 208 yards with no touchdowns in a Week 2 win over Pittsburgh — but the rushing equity keeps his fantasy floor respectable even on off nights through the air. He added 47 rushing yards on seven carries in the opener, and dual-threat quarterbacks with a run-game safety net remain some of the most stable weekly plays in NFL DFS.

New England’s receiving corps took a hit when A.J. Brown went down with an ankle injury expected to keep him out roughly six weeks, but Romeo Doubs stepped into a bigger role in Week 2 and caught passes for 96 of Maye’s 208 yards. With the passing volume likely to keep climbing as Maye and his supporting cast build chemistry, and a Week 3 road matchup against Jacksonville on the schedule, Maye is worth a look as a value quarterback play for those building around a pricier running back or receiver.

Chase Brown, RB — Cincinnati Bengals

Chase Brown has been the unquestioned lead back in Cincinnati’s offense to open the season, piling up 36 carries and 11 targets across his first two games. In Week 2 alone he carried 16 times for 56 yards and a touchdown while adding five catches for 22 yards, giving him a real receiving role on top of his workhorse rushing volume.

That two-way usage is what makes Brown such a reliable cash game piece — even on a night where the yards-per-carry number doesn’t pop, the catches and goal-line work keep the points coming. He now draws a tough Week 3 test on the road against Pittsburgh’s defense, but with Cincinnati’s offense clicking behind Joe Burrow, Brown’s overall touch share is high enough that he should still see plenty of chances to find the end zone or pick up a handful of extra catches out of the backfield.

Bijan Robinson, RB — Atlanta Falcons

Bijan Robinson has been about as busy as any running back in the league, totaling 37 carries for 155 yards through two games plus 11 catches for 99 yards and a receiving touchdown. His workload has been enormous — 22 carries and three catches in Week 2 alone against Pittsburgh — and that kind of touch count makes him a strong flex option even in weeks where the yards-per-carry average doesn’t jump off the page.

Robinson’s per-game scrimmage yardage (over 140 yards from scrimmage in each of his first two games) marks one of the best starts to a season in franchise history. He’s shouldering a workload that all but guarantees volume-based fantasy production regardless of matchup, which makes him a strong flex or RB2 option for lineups already committed to a pricier player elsewhere in the build.

Building Your Lineup

The clearest path to a strong cash game lineup this week is stacking touch volume: Jonathan Taylor and Trey McBride both lead their respective positions in usage, and that kind of role rarely disappoints even in a tough matchup. For GPP lineups, pairing Chase Brown or Bijan Robinson with a value quarterback like Drake Maye leaves salary cap room to pay up elsewhere while still rostering players with a real chance at 20-plus fantasy points on volume alone.

Keep an eye on the injury report as game day approaches — Wednesday and Thursday practice designations can shift a player’s role significantly, especially at receiver, where a downgrade can open up extra targets for a cheaper teammate. Rostering a workhorse back and a high-target tight end gives a lineup a stable floor, while the flex and value spots are where the ownership leverage and tournament upside usually come from. Building around confirmed roles rather than name value remains the most repeatable way to attack a Sunday NFL DFS slate.