Filling in for my good friend Tim Riley this week, I’m here to bring you some of my favorite starts and sits this week that you might be struggling to choose between, as well as some guys you may be sleeping on in Week 3. Let’s jump right in!
Week 3 Starts – Quarterbacks
Geno Smith – Seattle Seahawks
Vs. Carolina Panthers
Geno bounced back after a lackluster Week 1, posting over 300 yards and a pair of touchdowns against a seemingly tougher Detroit defense. This week, Geno draws the Carolina Panthers, a subpar unit overall that is now missing their best player in Jaycee Horn. Geno is a smash QB2 and a low-end QB1 for Week 3.
Kenny Pickett – Pittsburgh Steelers
Vs. Las Vegas Raiders
The Las Vegas Raiders might have the worst defense in the entire league, so you can expect to see more than a couple Steelers on this week’s start/sit. Pickett is off to a very bad start this season, but I expect him to bounce back in a favorable primetime matchup. He’s a low-upside, low-end QB2 for Week 3, but I expect him to outproduce his projections, thus landing him on this list.
Kirk Cousins – Minnesota Vikings
Vs. Los Angeles Chargers
Rounding off our trifecta of juicy matchups is Kirk Cousins, who is actually the QB1 in fantasy at the moment and should see his string of strong performances continue against the Chargers. The Chargers have a high-powered offense paired with a bottom-5 secondary, which should make for some fireworks in this matchup against the 3-headed monster that is Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, and T.J. Hockenson. Expect Cousins to eat once again.Â
Justin Fields – Chicago Bears
Vs. Kansas City Chiefs
The Justin Fields paranoia has swept across the Twitterverse. I can’t even say it’s fully unwarranted, as he has looked like arguably the worst quarterback in the league so far. However, I expect Fields to bounce back fantasy-wise against Kansas City due to increased rushing attempts in an effort to keep up with the high-powered KC offense and keep Patrick Mahomes off the field. Fire up JF1 as a QB1 this week.
Week 3 Sits – Quarterbacks
C.J. Stroud – Houston Texans
Vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
Stroud’s NFL career is off to a very impressive start, leading all rookies in most major passing categories. However, Jacksonville boasts an imposing defense, including arguably the best front 7 in the NFL, backed by a respectable secondary. I’m definitely concerned about Stroud throwing behind the worst offensive line in the league, trying to deal with the likes of Travon Walker, who is in the midst of a sophomore breakout. I would strongly recommend finding an alternative if you have that luxury.
Russell Wilson – Denver Broncos
Vs. Miami Dolphins
Russ is off to a more-than-solid start this season, especially compared to last year. Currently the fantasy QB5, I’m unfortunately not projecting Russ’s early success this season to continue. Miami’s defense has looked about as strong as was promised, and Denver’s stable of offensive weapons has failed to meet expectations thus far other than Marvin Mims‘ splash plays last week against Washington. Be wary of slotting Russ in as your QB2 this week.
Week 3 Starts – Running Backs
Javonte Williams – Denver Broncos
Vs. Miami Dolphins
Conversely to his quarterback, I see Javonte Williams finding a decent amount of success against Miami. While the Dolphins’ defense is solid overall, their linebacking core is fairly exploitable, and teams like the Chargers in Week 1 have found success on the ground. I expect Sean Payton to see this and attack this weakness as well, which should lead to a good week for Javonte.
Joshua Kelley – Los Angeles Chargers
Vs. Minnesota Vikings
Kelley disappointed last week in what seemed to be a good opportunity with the incumbent Austin Ekeler out with injury. Ekeler is likely to miss Week 3 as well, if not be extremely limited, and Kelley now runs up against a Minnesota Vikings defense that struggled mightily against the run last week. Don’t expect a D’Andre Swift-level performance this week, but Kelley is an excellent FLEX option/low-end RB2.
Najee Harris – Pittsburgh Steelers
Vs. Las Vegas Raiders
Najee is off to an atrocious start in 2023, but I’d expect this trend to break against the aforementioned terrible defense that Pittsburgh will run up against on Sunday night. Simply, there’s no way Harris has a bad night against the Raiders, and if he does, there’s truly no hope left. If you can’t slot Najee in at your RB2 or FLEX slot this week, you may as well drop him now.
Kendre Miller – New Orleans Saints
Vs. Green Bay Packers
Finally practicing in full this past Thursday, the opportunity presents itself for Kendre to prove his Day 2 draft capital, with Jamaal Williams trending towards missing this matchup against Green Bay. Kendre is a risky start at either RB slot but is worth FLEX consideration in deeper leagues and should see enough volume to provide a reasonably safe floor.
Week 3 Sits – Running Backs
Jerome Ford – Cleveland Browns
Vs. Tennessee Titans
Ford looked great in the absence of Nick Chubb last week. However, it’s tough to project whether that production will continue against a stout Tennessee defense that has been excellent against the run this year. I’d be cautious about slotting Ford in at your RB2 spot if you have a better option.
Breece Hall – New York Jets
Vs. New England Patriots
Breece’s huge dud in Week 2 is certainly an outlier but is also an indicator of the direction in which this New York Jets offense is heading. The Jets are going to struggle overall to gain yards and score points, especially against New England’s defense, and until further notice, Breece is an extremely risky play at the RB1 spot you drafted him to fill.
Zack Moss – Indianapolis Colts
Vs. Baltimore Ravens
With Anthony Richardson now confirmed to be missing Week 3, Zach Moss is not a startable running back in what I expect to be one of the bigger blowouts of this Sunday’s slate. Richardson’s ability to pull defenders from gaps is his biggest contribution to the run game, and with that missing, Moss is unlikely to repeat his big Week 2 against a much better Baltimore defense. Granted, Moss was successful without Richardson last week, but I don’t see that trend continuing.
Week 3 Starts – Wide Receivers
Drake London – Atlanta Falcons
Vs. Detroit Lions
London finally pumped out some production last week to pay off his high price tag this offseason. I’d predict him to build on that momentum in a Week 3 matchup against a high-powered offense in the Detroit Lions that has a glaring weakness at outside corner. I see the Lions struggling to match up with London. However, they should be able to stand fairly strong against the run, meaning we should see more passing in this game from Atlanta and a potentially solid day for London volume-wise. Fire him up as an admittedly risky WR2 with WR1 upside.
Puka Nacua – Los Angeles Rams
Vs. Cincinnati Bengals
Puka’s hot streak will continue against the Bengals, who, similarly to Detroit, are stout against the run but struggle on the back end defensively. Puka has dominated the Rams’ target share, which should at least continue for the next two weeks. In a game that should hopefully feature a lot of offense (if Cincy can get their sh*t together), Puka is an easy WR2 with WR1 upside once again.
Jordan Addison – Minnesota Vikings
Vs. Los Angeles Chargers
Addison is going to eat the Chargers secondary alive this week. Frankly, I wouldn’t be shocked if Kirk goes for over 400 yards this week and could easily see both Justin Jefferson and Addison clearing the century mark receiving. Look for Addison to hit on one or more splash plays this week, as he will likely have some highly favorable one-on-ones with the Chargers keying their subpar secondary on Jefferson. He’s an easy WR3 slot with high-end WR2 upside.
Rashod Bateman – Baltimore Ravens
Vs. Indianapolis Colts
For my deeper cut at WR, I think Rashod Bateman could be a sneakily good play this week against Indianapolis. While he’s struggled to command targets so far this season, O’Dell Beckham Jr. will likely miss Week 3 in a favorable matchup against the Colts, who have allowed the most points per game to opposing wide receivers by a solid margin. My fingers are crossed that Bateman can hit some big plays this game and re-establish himself as a true threat in this Baltimore offense that is gearing up to take off very soon, and I’m rolling the dice with him in my FLEX spot in a number of leagues.
Week 3 Sits – Wide Receivers
Garrett Wilson – New York Jets
Vs. New England Patriots
If you’re in a position to bench Garrett Wilson, which is extremely unlikely, I suggest you do so. If you’re not, I’m here to warn you that a huge dud week could be inbound, and you need to prepare yourself mentally. Wilson faces Christian Gonzalez, PFF’s #3 corner in 2023, in what will likely be the biggest defensive battle of the season. If not for a big splash play last week, Wilson likely would’ve dudded then as well.
D.J. Moore – Chicago Bears
Vs. Kansas City Chiefs
I’m not totally averse to Moore this week, coming off a solid performance against Tampa, but I’m expecting a lot of running from Justin Fields and have some concerns about the passing game volume. Moore remains a high-risk, high-reward play as a WR3/FLEX.
Week 3 Starts – Tight Ends
Sam LaPorta – Detroit Lions
Vs. Atlanta Falcons
LaPorta is off to a hot start in the NFL, something you don’t see often from rookie TEs. I expect his top-6 production to continue against Atlanta, who don’t have much to match up with LaPorta defensively. With Amon-Ra St. Brown dealing with a nagging injury, LaPorta’s respectable target volume should continue, and he’s an easy set-and-forget TE until further notice.
Dalton Kincaid – Buffalo Bills
Vs. Washington Commanders
Kincaid has been about as involved as I expected him to be at this point in the season and should continue to see a gradual increase in usage over the course of the year. Fire him up as a solid option outside the elite tier of TEs.
Pat Freiermuth – Pittsburgh Steelers
Vs. Las Vegas Raiders
Rounding off our trifecta of Steelers worth playing this week, Muth is another slow-starting Steeler I project to have a solid day against the Raiders. There are a good amount of better options out there, but if you drafted Muth as your TE1 and don’t have a viable replacement, I’m here to tell you you should feel good about rolling him out this week.
Week 3 Sits – Tight Ends
Adam Trautman – Denver Broncos
Vs. Miami Dolphins
Traut saw a big opportunity to splash in Week 2 but was a total non-factor. With Dulcich still out, Trautman is projected to produce in Week 3. However, I’m not confident rolling Trautman over roughly 20-30 TEs against a strong Miami defense.
Cole Kmet – Chicago Bears
Vs. Kansas City Chiefs
Similarly to D.J. Moore, I’m not totally opposed to Kmet in this matchup against KC, but there’s just a ton of risk for low passing volume leading to a dud from Kmet. I’m concerned that he could see less than 4 or 5 targets in this game, so I feel there are many better alternatives to Kmet in most leagues.
Thanks for reading! I hope you were able to learn something, or at the very least found this piece entertaining. You can find me @bwinknfl on Twitter/X and Tik Tok, where you can see my day-to-day content as well as short videos. Subscribe to the DFF YouTube channel and check out some other recent articles to dominate your leagues! #DFFArmy
