2023 fantasy football flex rankings: Top 150 RB/WR/TE options in Week 3

Pondering some tough flex choices for your fantasy lineup? Adam Rank sorts through the running backs, receivers and tight ends to present his top 150 flex options each week for the 2023 fantasy football season, with some useful nuggets of analysis sprinkled in. The ranking is based on a 0.5 PPR scoring format.

NOTE: In a typical week, this ranking will be posted on Tuesday. Injury designations will be added, adjusted or removed as teams’ official injury reports are made available. The following three designations will be reflected:

• (Q) — Player is listed as questionable on their team’s official injury report.
• (D) — Player is listed as doubtful on their team’s official injury report.
• (OUT) — Player has been ruled out on their team’s official injury report.

Jump to:

• Nos. 51-100
• Nos. 101-150

FLEX RANKINGS: 1-50

• It was a rough weekend for running backs. Saquon Barkley has a sprained ankle and is considered week to week. Giants head coach Brian Daboll has not ruled Barkley out of Thursday night’s game against the 49ers as of this writing, but I’m not including him in my rankings this week given the uncertainty about his status. (EDITOR’S UPDATE: Barkley has been ruled out for Thursday’s game.) Nick Chubb is expected to be sidelined for the rest of the season after suffering a knee injury Monday night. Chargers coach Brandon Staley said there is no timeline for the return of Austin Ekeler. (EDITOR’S UPDATE: Ekeler has been ruled out for Sunday’s game.) It’s Week 3 and you’re already starting Roschon Johnson and Tyjae Spears at running back. I’ll do my best to help guide you through this maze.
• Let’s turn to some happy news: Puka Nacua is HIM. I kept Nacua on the bench in a few leagues in Week 2, fearing the matchup with the 49ers — but damn, he had 20 targets. TWENTY. There is no way I’m sitting him against the Bengals on Monday. Which means, oh man, he’s going to let us down, isn’t he? Just kidding. He’s going to be great.
• Tony Pollard had 32 touches in Week 2, the most by a Cowboys running back since Ezekiel Elliott in 2019. Dallas’ Week 3 opponent, Arizona, has allowed 20+ touches and 1+ touchdown to a running back in both of its games this season.
• Bijan Robinson leads the league with seven runs of 10+ yards. He leads all running backs with 10 receptions. He’s scored 20+ fantasy points in each game. And now he has a matchup with the Lions, who allowed two rushing TDs to Kenneth Walker III last week.
• CeeDee Lamb has a 55.3 percent team receiving yards share this season, which is the highest in the NFL. His 11 receptions last week tied a career high.
• Tyreek Hill leads the NFL with three receiving touchdowns. Also, he’s the first Dolphins player in history to join the Madden 99 Club.
• I’m looking for Ja’Marr Chase to bounce back this week against the Rams. He had four red zone targets in Week 2 (after not having any in the opener). I mean, the Bengals can’t be this bad, can they? Oh, and I know that we don’t really cover QBs much in this space. If you’re freaking out about Joe Burrow‘s status, pick up Matthew Stafford off waivers (if he’s available) so you can have some insurance.
• Keenan Allen was amazing in Week 2. He was targeted 10 times and hauled in eight receptions for 111 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He scored the most fantasy points he’s had in a game since Week 11 of the 2020 season.
• Raheem Mostert has shown flashes of being the guy for years. It was good to see that again in prime time on Sunday (18 carries, 121 rushing yards, two rushing TDs). In Week 3, he’ll face a Broncos team that was just torched by Brian Robinson Jr. I’m in for Mostert.
• Josh Jacobs has yet to break 50 rushing yards in a game this season. Which isn’t great. I don’t know, maybe training camp is important. But he did log six targets with five receptions and 51 yards against the Bills — that was the second-highest receiving yardage total on the Raiders. Jacobs could be a bigger factor in the passing game if injuries to Davante Adams and Jakobi Meyers linger.
• I’ll admit, I wasn’t big on Brian Robinson Jr. coming into the season. I sort of favored Antonio Gibson. But Gibson doesn’t fancy holding on to the football (fumbled in Week 1) and he’s been outplayed by Robinson. Robinson has 40 touches this season, while Gibson has just nine. Clearly, Robinson is the running back to start here. This week the Commanders host the Bills, who bottled up Josh Jacobs last week, but I still like Robinson at No. 30 in my rankings.
• A lot of people passed on Mike Evans in fantasy drafts this year with the Bucs going from Tom Brady to Baker Mayfield at quarterback. It seemed like Evans was washed as far as fantasy managers were concerned. Well, he’s definitely not washed. He’s one of just three receivers with at least 18+ fantasy points in each game this season.
• Brandon Aiyuk is dealing with a shoulder injury. Kyle Shanahan expressed confidence after Sunday’s game that Aiyuk was going to be just fine, but on Monday he said, “it’s too early to have all the answers for the injuries yet.” Aiyuk, meanwhile, was marked as “did not practice” on the team’s estimated injury report. Aiyuk’s status bears watching on a short week.
• T.J. Hockenson led all tight ends with 25.6 fantasy points against the Eagles in Week 2. The most striking thing about his performance: He led the Vikings in red zone targets.
• I’d been saying all year — all two weeks of it — that Christian Kirk is too good to be kept down. And after a forgettable Week 1, he put up a strong performance (11 catches for 110 yards) against the Chiefs.
• Garrett Wilson has scored a touchdown in every game this season! I know — it’s just two. He needed that one huge pop to save his fantasy contest on Sunday. But think about this: It was against the Cowboys. He was still targeted eight times. He’s going to be fine. He might not be the top-five guy we thought he’d be back when Aaron Rodgers was going to be his quarterback, but he’ll be a solid option.
• Breece Hall recorded just four rushes for 9 yards and two targets with no receptions. But I’m still starting him when he faces New England this week, motivated by the promise of what Mostert just accomplished against the Patriots’ defense.

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FLEX RANKINGS: 51-100

• Skyy Moore doesn’t necessarily deserve the benefit of the doubt that Christian Kirk should have been shown as an established veteran. And a lot of Moore’s Chiefs teammates logged targets in Week 2. But I’m all about Kansas City receivers this week against the Bears. The Bears fan in me hates saying that, but it’s the truth. (Of course, the Bears fan in me is also thinking about the possibility that Chicago could have a bounce-back game, like what happened against the Patriots last year, when everyone was counting the Bears out.)
• Nico Collins has been great this season. He’s one of just four players with at least 6 receptions and 80 receiving yards in each game. No team has dropped back to pass more than the Texans this season, which has done WONDERS for the Dameon Pierce shares I have this year. Seriously, this is killing me. But it’s not hurting Nico. I love it for him. 
• Let’s not ignore what James Conner is doing for the Cardinals. He’s had 37 rushing attempts this year, which is fourth-most in the NFL. He has just 8 receiving yards, however. If Arizona were to stop giving all the targets to Zach Ertz and make room for Conner in the pass-catching game, Conner would be something special for your fantasy squad.
• Jaylen Warren has surpassed Najee Harris in my rankings. One drive on Monday night really drove the point home for me. Warren broke through contact on third-and-10 to earn a first down that set up George Pickens‘ touchdown against the Browns. On the previous two plays, Harris had a dropped pass and a run for no gain. He then fumbled on the failed two-point conversion attempt. I’ve wanted Harris to return to the Pro Bowl form he showed as a rookie and he did lead the Steelers with 43 rushing yards against Cleveland, but I can’t continue to rank him ahead of Warren, who has 104 yards from scrimmage to Harris’ 76.

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FLEX RANKINGS: 101-150

• Lions RB Craig Reynolds could be a player to add this week. He and Jahmyr Gibbs both saw carries after David Montgomery sustained a thigh bruise on Sunday. Oh, shoot. I forgot to mention Montgomery earlier. He’s another big-time running back who was injured in Week 2. I’m not entirely sure how the workload will be divvied up if Montgomery is out, but if you miss out on your initial waiver wire adds, try Reynolds.
• Hey, remember Zach Ertz? He has 18 targets (most among tight ends) and 12 receptions (second most among TEs) this season. He’s still good! Am I ready to launch Kyle Pitts into the sun and start playing Ertz? I’m not not considering it.

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