Having trouble with those difficult fantasy start 'em/sit 'em decisions for Week 3? Don’t worry, the Decider is back again with his midweek dose of lineup advice on who to start and avoid based on talent, matchups and other factors.
Trades, injuries, and workloads are factoring heavily into this week's biggest question marks, including Josh Gordon and LeSean McCoy. Let's get to it.
Week 3 Rankings:
Quarterback | Running Back | Wide Receiver | Tight End | D/ST | Kicker
Fantasy Football Week 3 Start 'Em: Quarterbacks
Regular starts
Aaron Rodgers, Packers (at WAS), Tom Brady, Patriots (at DET), Deshaun Watson, Texans (vs. NYG), Cam Newton, Panthers (vs. CIN), Drew Brees, Saints (at ATL), Kirk Cousins, Vikings (vs. BUF). Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs (vs. SF)
Strong starts
Carson Wentz, Eagles (vs. IND). If he’s good enough to play and start for them, that should be good enough for you to roll him out against an ideal matchup against the Colts’ secondary.
Jimmy Garoppolo, 49ers (at KC). He’s fired up as their franchise dude again, and he’ll play the role of Big Ben vs. Pat Mahomes and the Chiefs this week.
Ryan Fitzpatrick, Buccaneers (vs. PIT). Get in on the hot streak while you still can. FItzpatrick should continue to produce with volume against a bad Steelers defense at home.
Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers (at TB). This seems like a bit of a road trap given his history away from Heinz Field, but there’s nothing daunting about the Bucs’ pass defense.
Matt Ryan, Falcons (vs. NO). There will be a ton of passing in this game. Ryan's at home and the Saints’ defense isn’t as good as we thought it might be.
Matthew Stafford, Lions (vs. NE). He will rack up some Motor City garbage on a team that has good three-wide sets and will be throwing a ton with no running game and no defense while trying to play catchup to Brady.
Two deep: Alex Smith, Redskins (vs. GB), Joe Flacco, Ravens (vs. DEN)
Fantasy Football Week 3 Sit 'Em: Quarterbacks
Weak starts
Russell Wilson, Seahawks (vs. DAL). He still is finding a way to produce something in a horrible offense, but the bar has been raised with the overall QB scoring boom and he’s not a top-12 guy this week.
Philip Rivers, Chargers (at LAR). The Rams’ pass defense is looking absolutely nasty right now, so Rivers may struggle even if it’s a short road trip and he's fired up (isnt' he always?) and on fire.
Jared Goff, Rams (vs. LAC). Goff will lean a lot again on Todd Gurley and the yards and points won’t come quite as easily against the tricky D from the other L.A. team.
Andrew Luck, Colts (at PHI). The Eagles’ defense will rebound nicely here by pressuring him well and limiting his upside with good knowledge of Frank Reich’s game plan.
Andy Dalton, Bengals (vs. CAR). He’s off to a hot start but the Panthers’ defense, especially at home, can make it rough.
Blake Bortles, Jaguars (at TEN). Leonard Fournette is likely to return this week and this time at home they won’t need to be as aggressive passing to knock off the banged-up Titans.
Two deep: Mitchell Trubisky, Bears (at ARI), Joe Flacco, Ravens (vs. DEN)
WEEK 3 DFS CASH LINEUPS: Yahoo | FanDuel | DraftKings
Fantasy Football Week 3 Start 'Em: Running backs
Regular starts
Todd Gurley, Rams (vs. LAC), Ezekiel Elliott, Cowboys (at SEA), David Johnson, Cardinals (vs. CHI), Leonard Fournette, Jaguars (if healthy vs. TEN), Alvin Kamara, Saints (at ATL), Saquon Barkley, Giants (at HOU), Melvin Gordon, Chargers (at LAR), Kareem Hunt, Chiefs (vs. SF), Tevin Coleman, Falcons (vs. NO), Jordan Howard, Bears (at ARI), Christian McCaffrey, Panthers (vs. CIN), Dalvin Cook, Vikings (vs. BUF), Jay Ajayi, Eagles (if healthy vs. IND), Dion Lewis, Titans (at JAX), Alex Collins, Ravens (vs. DEN), Kenyan Drake, Dolphins (vs. OAK), James Conner, Steelers (at TB). Lamar Miller, Texans (vs. NYG), Chris Thompson, Redskins (vs. GB)
Strong starts
Marshawn Lynch, Raiders (at MIA). Lynch is running hard and well with Doug Martin as a limited threat to him, and game flow should keep Jalen Richard parked. He also had one of his best games in Miami last season.
Corey Clement, Eagles (vs. IND). Ajayi is no certainty to go with his back injury and Darren Sproles is hamstrung. Clement looked like the ’17 rookie spark against the Bucs and the Colts can’t cover backs in the passing game.
Matt Breida, 49ers (at KC). The NFL’s leading rusher is still getting out-touched by Alfred Morris, but game flow says the Chiefs are giving up a receiving ton to backs and he’ll see more second-half snaps and touches.
Sony Michel, Patriots (at DET). This could be a big breakout game for the rookie after the Lions let Breida run all over them last week. Michel is also a candidate to reel off a long TD with more positive game flow.
Three deep: Theo Riddick, Lions (vs. NE), Latavius Murray, Vikings (vs. BUF), Peyton Barber (vs. PIT)
Fantasy Football Week 3 Sit 'Em: Running backs
Weak starts
LeSean McCoy, Bills (at MIN). His ribs are hurt, the offense is horrendous, and the matchup is even worse.
Phillip Lindsay and Royce Freeman, Broncos (at BAL). Freeman is the easier call, but the entire Denver running game won’t do much against the Ravens’ front.
Rex Burkhead and James White, Patriots (vs. DET). Burkhead is banged up again and in for a iffy role while game flow and game plan won’t call for White as much.
Giovani Bernard, Bengals (at CAR). The Panthers did struggle against the run last week, but they tend to play better at home. Bernard is a big dropoff from Joe Mixon and also may share work with the recently signed Thomas Rawls and/or rookie Mark Walton.
Adrian Peterson, Redskins (vs. GB). He had his monster game, struggled in a good Week 2 spot, and now faces a very good run defense.
Derrick Henry, Titans (vs. JAX). Tennessee’s offensive line concerns hurt him a lot more than Lewis, who can create and be of use in the passing game.
Kerryon Johnson and LeGarrette Blount, Lions (vs. NE). Johnson is starting to flash as a rookie, but he won’t get going much as the Patriots are weaker against the pass and that also means no “revenge” production for Blount.
Three deep: Austin Ekeler, Chargers (at LAR), All Colts (at PHI), All Seahawks (vs. DAL)
WEEK 3 DFS GPP LINEUPS: Yahoo | FanDuel | DraftKingsFantasy Football Week 3 Start 'Em: Wide receivers
Regular starts
Antonio Brown and JuJu Smith-Schuster, Steelers (at TB), DeAndre Hopkins and Will Fuller, Texans (vs. NYG), Julio Jones, Falcons (vs. NO), Odell Beckham Jr., Giants (at HOU), Michael Thomas, Saints (at ATL), Davante Adams, Packers (at WAS), A.J. Green, Bengals (at CAR), Keenan Allen, Chargers (at LAR), Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen, Vikings (vs. BUF), Mike Evans, Buccaneers (vs. PIT), T.Y. Hilton, Colts (at PHI), Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders, Broncos (at BAL), Marvin Jones and Golden Tate, Lions (vs. NE), Tyreek Hill, Chiefs (vs. SF), Brandin Cooks, Rams (vs. LAC), Larry Fitzgerald, Cardinals (vs. CHI), Jarvis Landry, Browns (vs. NYJ), Amari Cooper, Raiders (at MIA), Chris Hogan (at DET).
Strong starts
Allen Robinson, Bears (at ARI). He’s had some good connections with Trubisky, but the downfield play or TD has been missing. He’ll get one of those to help him have his best day yet as a Bear.
Nelson Agholor, Eagles (vs. IND). He’ll take advantage of the slot deficiency for the Colts, unlike anybody on the Bengals or Redskins could.
Josh Gordon, Patriots (at DET). This one is tricky because the trade just happened and the game is on Sunday night, but if there's an indication that he's practicing and traveling with the team with signs point to playing, you should go for it. He doesn't need many snaps or targets to deliver a big scoring play on a Lions secondary likely minus Darius Slay.
Pierre Garcon, 49ers (at KC). You can reach for Marquise Goodwin if he returns or Dante Pettis, but Garcon will have the better matchup to exploit with the easiest volume.
Kenny Golladay, Lions (vs. NE). He’ll get the cushy outside matchup away from Stephon Gilmore and keep up his strong start with heavy targets.
Sammy Watkins, Chiefs (vs. SF). Welcome to the Pat party, pal.
Randall Cobb, Packers (at WAS). He’s got a much shot to produce from the slot this week, closer to his Week 1 production than what he did in Week 2.
Three deep: DeSean Jackson, Buccaneers (vs. PIT), D.J Moore, Panthers (vs. CIN), Calvin Ridley, Falcons (vs. NO)
Fantasy Football Week 3 Sit 'Em: Wide receivers
Weak starts
Robert Woods, Rams (vs. LAC). He’ll probably get saddled outside with the Casey Hayward matchup. Cooper Kupp is someone you can also sit if you have better alternatives.
Devin Funchess, Panthers (vs. CIN). The Bengals’ secondary is rather good and struggles more with smaller, faster, quicker guys.
Keelan Cole, Jaguars (vs. TEN). He was terrific when needed last week, but it goes back to a running game and defense domination against the Titans at home with limited passing volume.
Corey Davis, Titans (at JAX). You’ll hope for Chris Hogan-like garbage late against this secondary, but there may be no hope for that if Marcus Mariota doesn’t play.
Kenny Stills, Dolphins (vs. OAK). He had a clunker against the Jets and Rashaan Melvin keeps him down again.
John Brown, Ravens (vs. DEN). Not feeling him getting loose as easily vs. this secondary, as Flacco goes more for Michael Crabtree and his tight ends.
Three deep: Tyler Lockett, Seahawks (vs. DAL), Geronimo Allison, Packers (at WAS), Mike Williams, Chargers (at LAR)
More Week 3 DFS: Values | Stacks | Lineup Builder
Fantasy Football Week 3 Start 'Em: Tight ends
Regular starts
Rob Gronkowski, Patriots (at DET), Travis Kelce, Chiefs (vs. SF), Zach Ertz, Eagles (vs. IND), Evan Engram, Giants (at HOU), Jordan Reed, Redskins (vs. GB), Kyle Rudolph, Vikings (vs. BUF), Jimmy Graham, Packers (at WAS).
Strong starts
George Kittle, 49ers (at KC). Eric Berry might come back this week to help, but the Chiefs had no answers for the Steelers’ tight ends last week.
Trey Burton, Bears (at ARI). They let Reed and Tyler Higbee dent the end zone on short passes and Burton can do the same.
Jared Cook, Raiders (at MIA). We expected a lot more coming off that huge game against the Rams, but that was typical Cook. The Dolphins struggled to cover Delanie Walker in Week 1, so Cook figures to bounce back to viability.
O.J. Howard, Buccaneers (vs. PIT). He’s feeling it with Fitzpatrick and the Steelers couldn’t stop Kelce last week and should have yielded a TD to David Njoku in Week 1.
Eric Ebron, Colts (at PHI). He keeps creating mismatches and has proved he can make big plays with limited usage, so keep rolling with him until he cools off and the Eagles did allow Howard to burn them big downfield.
Will Dissly, Seahawks (vs. DAL). He’s locked into an integral part of their passing game on short balls and the Cowboys just forgot to cover Evan Engram often.
Fantasy Football Week 3 Sit 'Em: Tight ends
Weak starts
Jack Doyle, Colts (at PHI). He’s looking not all that good in comparison to Ebron early.
Benjamin Watson, Saints (at ATL). The Falcons have been pretty good against the position even without Deion Jones and Keanu Neal and Watson hasn’t been involved enough to trust with Thomas doing it all in the red zone.
Austin Hooper, Falcons (vs. NO). He could be a lot more useful soon with more confidence in the offense of late, but the Saints have made the position a non-factor early.
Tyler Eifert, Bengals (at CAR). The Panthers can give some up to the position, but Eifert is caught in a committee with C.J. Uzomah and Tyler Kroft for now.
Vance McDonald and Jessie James, Steelers (at TB). It would be nice if you could totally trust one guy or the other, but sharing targets there in an offense that has three fine wideouts make it tough to find reliable production.
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Fantasy Football Week 3 Start 'Em: Defense/special teams
Regular starts
Jaguars (vs. TEN), Ravens (vs. DEN), Rams (vs. LAC), Vikings (vs. BUF), Bears (at ARI)
Strong starts
Cowboys (at SEA). Their defensive front is for real and the secondary isn’t bad either. They're primed to take advantage of weak pass protection and high takeaway rate for the Seahawks.
Texans (vs. NYG). Their big pass-rushing studs will pick up where the Cowboys left off in Texas in taking it to Eli Manning.
Eagles (vs. IND). The Colts have been a bit sloppy with the ball and still give up sacks, so Philly can be special for you at home.
Panthers (vs. CIN). They looked lost away from Carolina last week, but they cool off Dalton and friends at home with some big plays.
Fantasy Football Week 3 Sit 'Em: Defense/special teams
Weak starts
Chargers (at LAR). They are missing Joey Bosa and they aren't a good idea against that Rams offense.
Patriots (at DET). The numbers suggest maybe yes but your head should say no as the Lions can move the ball on them.
Dolphins (vs. OAK). Don’t fall into this trap because the Raiders can own them up front.
Broncos (at BAL). The Ravens are typically better ball protectors at home.
Saints (at ATL). They were much improved from that Buccaneers debacle against the Browns, but still not anything to trust against a fixed Falcons offense.