NFL is finally back on Saturday and I love to attack these small 3 game slates. With it being a smaller slate, I will breakdown each game individually and how I see each game shaking out.

MIN (18.75) @ CIN (21.75) // 40.5

Just as we all predicted 6 weeks ago, Nick Mullens vs Jake Browning. This game showcases two balanced offenses with the lowest total on this slate. I am expecting Mattison to be out and Jefferson ($8.1k) to be active. The loss of Mattison elevates to Ty Chandler ($5.3k) to the lead back roll. If Jefferson plays, we have to assume he is fully healthy. The return of Jefferson is a slight downgrade to Hockenson, but I am not too worried. Hockenson should still see near the top of targets for TEs on this slate. And the narrative of Mullens loving his TEs makes Hock more interesting as Mullens was responsible for George Kittle’s career season with the Niners. Outside of Chandler, Jefferson, Hockenson, I’m not sure I will get to any other MIN skill players. Lowest total offense, we need to take advantage of the condensed target share.

Jake Browning ($5.7k) has looked solid in his starts so far this season, and the Bengals don’t mind letting him sling it around. The game script sets up for a lot of touches for Joe Mixon ($6.6k). Chase Brown ($4.8k) has shown some flashes but I am not concerned with him eating into Mixon’s share. Obviously, Jamarr Chase ($7.6k) carries this receiving corps that is fully healthy. Higgins ($5.9k) has a nice price and should be lower owned so I like adding him as a pivot off Chase or a second WR in a Browning stack.

PIT (20.5) @ IND (22) // 42.5

Another average total here between the Steelers and the Colts. But both of these teams play fast so that should allow for more opportunities. Pittsburgh offense has been anemic at best. Mitch Trubisky ($5.3k) is no worse than Pickett in my eyes and provides some upside on the ground. The Steelers should be trailing so he’s not the worst option at low ownership . The PIT RBs are so frustrating to try to decipher. To me, Jaylen Warren ($5.2k) and Najee Harris ($5.1k) are basically the same fantasy player. These guys are cheaper than Ty Chandler so they make for a good pivot, but take your best guess on which of the two to grab. The receiving options for PIT, Diontae Johnson ($5.2k), George Pickens ($4.8k), and Pat Freiermuth ($3.9k), are solid players in a vacuum but this offense does not put up enough passing yards to support all of them. Raw point wise, I prefer Johnson. Pickens price is dropping like crazy and he can turn 6 targets into a respectable game. Freiermuth would be my most likely to play due to his cheaper salary with respect to LaPorta and Hock.

The Colts make for a very condensed offense that makes building easier. Zack Moss ($6.2k) will be high owned but he continues to dominate usage in Taylor’s absence. I don’t care about the lack of fantasy points the last couple weeks, as he had a TD called back last week and gets all the carries inside the 10-yard line. Michael Pittman ($7.3k) is arguably the highest projected WR on this slate. We know what to expect with Gardner Minshew ($5.5k) to Pittman, and in the dome Pittman should continue to see 10+ targets. Josh Downs ($4.6k) could work to toss into a heavy IND stack but he tends to drop off in games the Colts are leading. No IND TEs for me. Yes, one of them may score on their 1 target, but with Hock, LaPorta, and Muth on this slate, we need real production from our TE.

DEN (21.5) @ DET (26) // 47.5

Russell Wilson ($6k) is coming in as the top projected owned QB on this slate as the underdog in the highest total game. The good thing about the Broncos is they have a pretty condensed offense with most of the work being contained to Javonte Williams ($5.9k), Courtland Sutton ($6.4k), and Jerry Jeudy ($4.7k). I think Williams flies under the radar here with his price being in between the top options, but above Chandler, Warren, and Najee. Sutton doesn’t get the targets that we see from these other top WRs but at $6.4k, his TD upside and 7 targets makes for a great play in Russ stacks. Jeudy has been incredibly disappointing so far this year but his price is at the point where he could easily pay off with his 5ish targets. But outside of Russ stacks, he is certainly a risky play.

Now for the good ole Lions. Jared Goff ($6.5k) as the highest priced QB on a slate is not something I expected to see, but Detroit is coming in with the highest team total. The problem with Goff is the two RBs eat up so much of the touchdown equity its going to be hard for him to really put up a GPP winning score. If you do run out a Detroit stack, I would prefer Jahmyr Gibbs ($6.7k) over David Montgomery ($6.4k). Gibbs can add to the receiving total within the game while Montgomery really needs his rushing TDs to pay off. Amon-Ra St. Brown ($7.9k) is a stud and should be considered in any lineup you make. I am not worried about his last 2 games. Sam LaPorta may come in slightly less owned than Hockenson due to his higher price so I like the pivot if you can afford it. Anyone else on that Lions is a flyer at best so might as well make sure that flyer has insane speed like Jameson Williams ($3.4k), assuming he can actually connect on his 1 target.

In general on this slate, I will likely do a QB+3 stack. None of these QBs have the rushing upside to get there on their own so I would expect them to carry a few teammates with them. So with that being said, every stack I discuss will be QB+3.

Russ + Williams + Sutton + Jeudy

I think this likely comes in as one of the higher owned stacks. So if I were to play it, I think I include Javonte as well. Russ + Sutton + Jeudy will be pretty popular. Also, 1 or 2 of Gibbs, St. Brown, and LaPorta make for great runbacks as this would likely be a high scoring game in this scenario.

Mullens + Chandler + Jefferson + Hockenson

All 3 of these skill players project well and should be decently owned in their own right. So if we like each piece individually, it makes sense to just fully commit and play Mullens as well.

Trubisky + 1 RB + Johnson + Pickens

I don’t know which RB to play between the two but either would be a fine option. I lean playing both WRs as I think Freiermuth will be a popular one off option for many teams, but he can certainly be included in this stack in place of a WR. The Steelers passing attack has been terrible so far this year, but the Steelers are underdogs in a dome so they have no better chance than now to show out. And I am assuming Trubisky will be low owned.

You can make a case for really anyone on this slate. It’s 3 games, anything can happen. On these slates, I like to include the RBs in my stacks. And I usually don’t end up dumpster diving for these random TDs from $3k WRs. We have enough mid price pieces to build a balanced lineup. Good luck and see you at the top!