The Fantasy Football schedule for Week 3 is here and heading into the weekend some free agent sleeper pickups include Knile Davis, Stepfan Taylor, Stevan Ridley, Chris Ivory, Alfred Blue, Jonathan Stewart and Pierre Thomas, as those players and their teams are dealing with injuries or other circumstances and at RB they have the chance to step up and score points for fantasy owners.
Knile Davis is easily the top pick up after what he did last week against the Broncos and with Jamaal Charles out of the lineup most likely, he should get the chance to put up starter numbers. The Chiefs run the ball and Davis also is adept at catching passes out of the backfield, making him very valuable in PPR leagues. Stepfan Taylor is a bit untested, but with Jonathan Dwyer getting hit with domestic violence charges, he is done for the time being and now Taylor slides in with Andre Ellington as the top two backs.
Stevan Ridley had a big game on Sunday and he could be back near the top of the pecking order for the Patriots along with Stevan Ridley. The Patriots want to rush the ball and if Ridley can get over his ball control issues, he should be a prime option for fantasy football owners. Alfred Blue could get a boost with Arian Foster dealing with a hamstring injury and the same goes for Chris Ivory, as the Jets want to be a strong rushing team this season.
Jamaal Charles is one of the best RBs in football and he likely was the number one pick for many fantasy owners and that is why Davis is a prime pickup. Charles had a phenomenal year last season with 1287 yards and 12 touchdowns while also going for 70 catches for nearly 700 yards and seven more scores and now he could be out for a little bit with an ankle injury. While Andy Reid said it wasn't serious, Charles could be limited for a bit going forward and that makes Davis a smart start option.
Davis comes in after having a big game last week and he ended up with over 100 yards and two touchdowns while coming in for Charles. Davis also has seven catches for 29 yards on the season and he is a good start option this week, as he has averaged over 20 carries and five catches with 100 yards in the games he has played in for Charles. Taylor has not done much this season behind Ellington, but he should get his shot now that Dwyer is out of the mix and that could be big for fantasy owners.
Some other names to keep an eye on include Jerick McKinnon, Matt Asiata, Bobby Rainey and Mike James, as those players are behind starters with injuries and other issues. Adrian Peterson is out for the near future and that makes Asiata a solid pickup, while McKinnon also could get more carries now. Martin is banged up and that gives Bobby Rainey and Mike James a chance to play and for fantasy owners with Martin, Rainey is the better pick up option.