The Thursday Night Football matchup between the New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers may be without some of the fantasy football titans from these two teams for their Week 3 showdown.
With Saquon Barkley and Brandon Aiyuk both dealing with injuries, who are some DFS picks that can help you win some money on DraftKings from Thursday’s game? Let’s take a closer look.
Looking to make a trade in your fantasy football league? Having trouble deciding who to start and who to sit? Check out PFN’s Free Fantasy Football Trade Analyzer and Start/Sit Optimizer to help you make the right decision!
Giants vs. 49ers Top TNF DFS Picks on DraftKings
George Kittle, TE, San Francisco 49ers ($9,900) – Captain
The injury to Aiyuk on a short week doesn’t bode well for him seeing a huge role against the Giants.
If Aiyuk is unable to go on Thursday Night Football, his average of seven targets and five receptions per game through the first two weeks opens up a sizable role for a 49ers pass catcher.
Coming off of a week where George Kittle only saw three targets, it feels like Kittle would be the best bet to see an expanded role in the passing game against the Giants.
MORE: Fantasy Football Updated Rest-of-Season Rankings Week 3
Not to mention, the Giants defense gave up eight receptions for 88 yards to the Arizona Cardinals tight end duo of Zach Ertz and Trey McBride.
Kittle feels due for a big game and likely won’t be a captain in many of these DraftKings Showdown contests.
Christian McCaffrey, RB, San Francisco 49ers ($13,200)
In a game that is unlikely to have Barkley available for the Giants, it’s hard to make a case for not having Christian McCaffrey in your lineup.
His healthy average of 152 total yards and a touchdown per game shout that he is a chalk pick for your DFS lineup for this prime-time showdown. If you want to make him the captain of your squad, you won’t hear an argument from me.
Brock Purdy, QB, San Francisco 49ers ($9,400)
Brock Purdy’s streak of six straight multi-score regular season games through the air finally came to an end against the Los Angeles Rams.
In fact, he failed to throw for a single touchdown in a regular season game for the first time in his entire career. However, Deebo Samuel’s score on a screen play barely went down as a run because the throw ever so slightly went backward — which technically counts as a lateral — to rob him of a passing score.
While the injury to Aiyuk doesn’t exactly improve his outlook heading into Week 3, I can see the Niners’ defense getting the ball back into Purdy’s hands quite often in the first half if the Giants can’t sustain drives.
The point is, I see Purdy having a bounce-back week and the far more favorable matchup of the two quarterbacks available in this contest.
Jauan Jennings, WR, San Francisco 49ers ($5,800)
This pick comes with a bit of an asterisk. If Aiyuk is active, then I don’t really want to put Jauan Jennings in any of my lineups.
However, if Aiyuk is unavailable, I could see an expanded role for Jennings in this contest.
There haven’t been many opportunities for Jennings to have a huge role in this Niners offense during his career, but he does have a six-reception, 94-yard, two-touchdown performance on his NFL résumé from back on Jan. 9, 2022, against the Rams.
If there is an under-the-radar 49ers pass catcher option I want for this slate, it’s Jennings.
San Francisco 49ers Defense ($5,800)
The Giants offense failed to score a single point through the first six quarters of the 2023 NFL season.
We also saw the New York offense put a goose egg up on the scoreboard in Week 1 against the Dallas Cowboys.
MORE: Fantasy Football’s Week 3 Burning Start/Sit Questions
The Niners’ defense is a very formidable group that has logged four interceptions and six sacks through the first two games.
If the Giants are without Barkley in Week 3, the Giants are going to have to call upon quarterback Daniel Jones to drop back and try to win the game with his arm — which will create a lot of opportunities for the San Francisco defense to generate sacks and turnovers.
Jalin Hyatt, WR, New York Giants ($5,200)
If there is a player capable of getting behind this Niners secondary for a long score, it would be Jalin Hyatt.
Hyatt led the Giants in receiving yards against the Cardinals with two chunk plays down the football field. Unfortunately, Jones had a chance to take a couple of other deep shots to Hyatt in that game that didn’t materialize.
If you want to invest in another deep threat with a larger snap count in the Giants’ offense, feel free to go with Darius Slayton. However, Hyatt feels like the far more dynamic option who could see his role continue to expand after an encouraging performance in Week 2.