Welcome to Week 3!

Well… it turns out we were spoiled with one of the most explosive scoring weeks in NFL history to kick off the season. Because Week 2 was U-G-L-Y! 6 teams failed to score a touchdown last week including 5 in the early window on Sunday. Fantasy points were hard to come by in matchups impacted by weather, including windy and rainy games in Chicago, New York, and Tampa Bay. But if you managed to get the W in fantasy — whether it was pretty or ugly — then it’s all moot. And if you’re 0-2 and looking to get things back on track this week, you’re in the right place!

Week 3 has some quiet optimism to it — other than the Baltimore / Dallas game in the afternoon slate with a 52.5-point O/U, the slate looks mediocre at first glance. 6 games feature teams favored by 5 or more points. But there are interesting storylines across the board for fantasy: can the Chargers show any sign of life on the road against Buffalo? Is Carolina’s offense for real for real? Does Houston correct course on the road against a divisional opponent? Is LA/DEN going to be a defensive battle or a shootout?

For fantasy purposes, we are dealing with A LOT of injuries to skill position players. The QB position has gotten bit particularly bad by the injury bug: Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, and Jaxson Dart are all likely to miss time. And even if you’ve been mostly spared, you may be feeling the residual impact of a player’s support arm going down (i.e., the entire Commanders receiving room takes a hit with Daniels’ injury). So, strap in and be ready to stream where necessary. Leagues aren’t won at your draft. If you need any trade advice or bespoke start/sit decisions, my full weekly rankings, rest-of-season rankings, and trade calculator are available on grankfantasyfootball.com.

P.S. — the below rankings in my newsletter are half-PPR by default. The website will always have my full PPR and standard scoring rankings as well.

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Week 3 Rankings

QB:

Favorite Plays: Tyler Shough has proved he belongs in the QB1 conversation on a weekly basis and can be started with confidence against the Raiders. With Case Keenum possibly starting for Chicago on Monday night, I think Jalen Hurts has a great game with the Eagles dominating time-of-possession. You also can’t go wrong starting Brock Purdy just about every single week; oh, and he gets the Arizona Cardinals at home.

Leave on the Bench: Bo Nix against the L.A. Rams is a big no from me, unless you are absolutely desperate. I don’t really like Baker Mayfield against Minnesota or Matthew Stafford against Denver either. Jared Goff could be a fine play against the Jets, but I fear the game script will favor the run and make him pretty TD-or-bust.

Sleepers: He’s hardly a sleeper anymore, but Bryce Young is my QB14 against the Browns and someone I’d be fine starting this week. On the other side of the football, Deshaun Watson might not be a horrendous play if you’re truly in a bind. Check your waiver wire for Kyler Murray as well who may have been dropped with the concussion last week.

RB:

Favorite Plays: Your usual suspects populate the top of this list with Kenneth Walker against the Dolphins as a top 2 play this week. Breece Hall is a sneaky fantastic choice against a Lions’ defense that’s given up 72 points through 2 weeks. With Jonathon Brooks going on IR, Chuba Hubbard cracks the top 15 for me this week against the Browns.

Leave on the Bench: No one on the Packers at running back is worth starting at this point, IMO. I also worry about Jacory Croskey-Merritt and Rachaad White: a split backfield with a backup QB is a recipe for disaster at the RB position. Jeremiyah Love is still someone who goes into your lineup, but the outlook is muted for me rest-of-season given Allgeier’s involvement to-date and the offense’s lethargy against the Seahawks.

Sleepers: I don’t have a ton of guys here who you wouldn’t obviously start. Tony Pollard could be an OK play against the Giants if he goes, but he’s questionable with an ankle injury. If Pollard were to miss, I’d be fine throwing Spears into my flex (but he’s dealing with a sore ankle as well). If you’re in a super deep league, the Chiefs could be beating the Dolphins so that Emmett Johnson actually gets some garbage time work too.

WR:

Favorite Plays: Chris Olave is a set-it and forget-it WR at this point. Lock him in against the Raiders. With a high O/U against the Ravens, I think this is George Pickens’ “get right” game — if he posts another dud, I’ll start to worry. Tetairoa McMillan has looked good through 2 weeks but has yet to find the endzone. I think that changes this week against the Browns, and Bryce Young stays on a hot streak throwing the football.

Leave on the Bench: Anyone on Tennessee or Washington is going to be hard for me to play. I’m fine if Diggs or McLaurin make it into your flex spot, but the outlook is lower for the time-being. Same thing with the Bears: I’m not starting Rome Odunze or Luther Burden this week unless I’m super desperate.

Sleepers: Don’t let the Falcons’ stinker distract you from what the Bears did to the Panthers’ defense (59 points)! I think you can play Denzel Boston in the flex this week if you snagged him off waivers. Matthew Golden could also be a great play for TNF — with Jayden Reed set to miss time, I expect him to command an even greater percentage of the team’s targets, and he’s been super involved through 2 weeks.

TE:

Favorite Plays: I’m hoping this is FINALLY the week you can put Brock Bowers back into your lineup. If he plays, you play him. George Kittle is a weekly TE1 from here on out, and Dalton Kincaid is moving up my board after 2 weeks of heavy involvement in the Bills’ passing game. Don’t forget about Travis Kelce who caught 9 passes for 101 yards and a touchdown against the Colts. There’s a real shot he leads that team in receptions this year.

Leave on the Bench: As much as it pains me, it’s going to be hard to start Colston Loveland this week: he has 1 catch through 2 weeks and probably gets the Bears’ 3rd string QB on Monday night. There are better options. Oronde Gadsden might have some life with Njoku and Kolar getting hurt, but I’d let him wait a week before cracking your lineup.

Sleepers: Dalton Schultz finished as the TE2 last week, and with Nico Collins not practicing Wednesday, he could be an auto start for me against the Colts. I hate to say it, but Kyle Pitts might not be a horrible play with Penix back in the lineup. I suspect the Falcons get back to throwing the ball more and can run some semblance of an offense, so if you’re in need of a play, he’s not the absolute worst start in week 3.

G-RANK Game of the Week for Fantasy

I always like to pick a game that isn’t on everyone’s radar, so let’s roll with the Las Vegas Raiders at the New Orleans Saints. These teams surprisingly come into this matchup with a combined 3-1 record and are proving to be rather electric offenses. Tyler Shough leads the NFL in passing yards through 2 weeks, and the Raiders just pulled off an upset win over the Chargers without key cog Brock Bowers. While the 43.5 O/U doesn’t project this one to be one of the highest scoring outings of the week, I expect a lot of fantasy relevance in this game between Kellen Moore’s fast-paced offense, Ashton Jeanty’s ability to carve up mediocre defenses, and the potential return of Bowers to the lineup.

G-RANK Weekly Sleeper Pick

Through 2 weeks, we have 1 stud sleeper pick and 1 dud. Given I’m taking pure shots in the dark, I’d be happy if I finished the season with a 50% hit rate. With Dallas Goedert sidelined for the next few weeks, I expect the Eagles to continue to rely heavily on their WRs, and Dontayvion Wicks is a guy who isn’t getting enough love. With 10 targets and 147 receiving yards through 2 games, it’s clear he’s an important part of the offense as Makai Lemon is still getting up the proverbial rookie learning curve. In a deeper league, I’m fine with rolling Wicks out in your flex or WR2 spot if you need a start in Week 3.

Thanks for reading this week! G-RANK has you covered for full top 200 rankings (half-PPR, full-PPR, standard) for this week and the rest-of-season. Be sure to also leverage the start / sit tool, trade calculator, and more for decisions specific to your league!