Fantasy football strategy, rankings, and podcasts

Usually, by this time (after week 3) of an NFL season, we have seen some surprise performances and this year certainly does not disappoint. In a 'bizarro' week, plenty of teams suffered upsets and a lot of high fantasy point players were not familiar names or even rostered in most leagues. What does it all mean? We'll let you know what might stick and what you should disregard. 

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It's the end of another exciting week of football which means it's time to put your claims in for available free agents in your fantasy league to strengthen your team. I'll be going over who I think are the top five picks for you to target this week so don't miss out on them. Good luck!

Note: %owned is based on Yahoo! leagues at the time of publication.

5) Devin Funchess (CAR) - 20% owned - With Carolina losing Greg Olsen and Kelvin Benjamin most likely sitting out this week that doesn't leave them many passing options. Funchess isn't great, but he should end up seeing double digit targets against the Patriots, making him a viable WR3.

4) Jacksonville DST (MIA) - 43% owned - Jacksonville is the second best fantasy defense through three weeks and they look to stay hot playing against the New York Jets this week. Look for another strong performance.

3) Duke Johnson Jr. (CLE) - 51% owned - Johnson only has value in PPR formats given his primary role playing out of the slot, but if you are in a PPR league and he's available you should go after him. He'll continue to produce enough for FLEX value or to use as an upcoming bye-week replacement.

2) Jamaal Charles (DEN) - 33% owned - Charles is playing second fiddle to C.J. Anderson in the Denver backfield but his production per touch has been amazing, running at 5.1 yards per clip. I expect there to be a more even timeshare of carries as we move further along into the season so you should look to grab Charles now before that happens.

1) Wendell Smallwood (PHI) - 6% owned - Smallwood should be the biggest beneficiary of Darren Sproles' season ending injury by taking on passing down work and splitting early down carries with LeGarrette Blount. He is a must grab this week in all formats but particularly in PPR.