Ok gang, I got the egg off my face and can now see my keyboard and screen. Some tough misses last week; most notable were Mark Andrews, who was my tight end “Start” write-up (insert “that’s a bold strategy, Cotton” gif), and Jared Goff, who received an “honorable mention” in the “Sit” category.
Andrews has seen his teammates at wide receiver get more involved. Four wide receivers earned targets behind lead dog Zay Flowers, who earned an impressive eleven. While the veteran tight end did garner two red-zone targets, they went for naught, and he was left with another one-catch game. The lack of targets is concerning. But because the offense is so good, I’m not in a rush to drop Andrews. He is droppable, however, if you need to make a move.
It appears that reports of the death of the Lions’ offense were greatly exaggerated. Jared “the house cat” Goff was in his element back at Ford Field, as he torched the Chicago Bears for 334 yards and five touchdowns. The Lions’ loss to the Packers in Week 1 can be largely attributed to the surging Green Bay defense, not the departure of Ben Johnson. Thoughts that perhaps their former offensive coordinator (the new Chicago head coach) would know how to defend his former quarterback quickly vanished as the difference in talent on the field became evident.
In the midst of navigating this data-gathering process, let’s dive into Week 3!
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Week 3 Fantasy Football Start/Sit
Quarterback
Start: Dak Prescott
Two weeks removed from being in the “Sit” column, I am recommending starting Dak Prescott. Even in Week 1, when the Eagles were able to keep in single digits regarding fantasy scoring, he looked good. Last week, Prescott and the Cowboys escaped a slug-fest with the New York Giants with a win. The veteran signal-caller dropped back 52 times in this one, hinting at the massive passing volume many expected from this offense in the summer. He finished with 361 yards and two touchdowns, producing 23.1 fantasy points.
This week, the Cowboys travel to Chicago to take on the reeling Bears. Aside from their Week 2 struggles versus the Lions, the Bears let rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy and the Vikings rally in the fourth quarter of their Week 1 matchup with three fourth-quarter touchdowns: two passing and one McCarthy rushing score. The Bears finished last year ranked first in the league in fantasy points allowed to quarterbacks. Yet this year, so far, they are dead last. That’s a big enough swing to warrant our attention.
Honorable Mention: Daniel Jones
Sit: Trevor Lawrence
Trevor Lawrence needs to step up this year, or this team will have a serious issue on its hands. The only problem is that in two weeks, we have yet to see it. He had a decent Week 2, compiling 271 yards and three touchdowns. But Lawrence still lacked in efficiency, completing only 24 of 42 attempts, with two interceptions sprinkled in. Watching the last couple of games, he doesn’t look comfortable. Could it be that it is just taking time to adapt to executing Liam Coen’s offense?
It’s hard for me to conceive that Week 3 will be the week it all comes together. The Jaguars will host division rivals, the Houston Texans, as part of the early slate of games this Sunday. Houston has been tough against opposing quarterbacks, allowing them 16.9 fantasy points per game in 2024. And they are keeping a similar pace this year, holding Matthew Stafford to 13.6 in Week 1. Last week, Baker Mayfield had to scratch and claw (and have at least one dropped interception, again) to get to 19.9 points. There was steady pressure throughout the game from Houston’s talented edge rushers, eliciting a riveting performance from the gunslinger quarterback. I’m not sure Lawrence has the escapability and, frankly, tenacity we saw from Mayfield last week against this defense. You have to scroll for a bit to find the Jags’ quarterback this week in our weekly rankings. I’m looking elsewhere for an option at quarterback.
Honorable Mention: Kyler Murray
Running Back
Start: Jordan Mason
Jordan Mason had an underwhelming stat line last week, just 11 touches for 38 yards, but hear me out. That Falcons defensive front was playing fast and furious last Sunday. The Vikings were only able to muster 78 rushing yards in total, and they ran only 46 offensive plays.
Jordan Mason Explosive Rating
This week’s opponent is the Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals allowed 139 rushing yards last week in their win against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Last year, Cincy allowed 21.5 fantasy points per game to opposing running backs.
Aside from the matchup, Mason is likely to have the backfield mostly to himself. Backfield mate Aaron Jones left the game late last week with a hamstring injury and is now on IR. Also set for action this week is backup quarterback Carson Wentz. While head coach Kevin O’Connell is not about to abandon the pass and suddenly adopt a run-heavy approach, it does stand to reason the Vikings will lean a bit more on running the ball. Due to his lack of pass-catching volume, he gets an even bigger bump in value in half-PPR and standard leagues. Regardless, I’m plugging Mason into my RB2 slot in all formats.
Honorable Mention: Jaylen Warren
Sit: J.K. Dobbins
J.K. Dobbins has looked good to start the 2025 season. In Weeks 1 and 2, he has averaged 3.94 and 5.43 yards per carry, respectively. This production has helped land him right on the fringe of RB2 territory at RB12 through two weeks, at approximately a 50% snap-share. To this point, Dobbins has kept rookie RJ Harvey at bay. Harvey has managed 93 yards on 13 touches, with 50 of those yards coming on a long run in Week 1 versus the Titans.
Week 3 pits the Broncos against the Los Angeles Chargers in LA. While the home-field advantage for the Chargers (and the Rams, for that matter) may not be as strong as it is for other teams, the matchup will still be a tough one for the Broncos.
Through two weeks, the Chargers have allowed just 12.8 fantasy points per game to opposing RBs and have yet to allow 100 yards rushing to an opponent. Dobbins could see the volume to be serviceable in a pinch, but really only as a flex option.
Honorable Mention: Cam Skattebo
Wide Receiver
Start: Jakobi Meyers
Would you believe me if I told you that, through two games, Jakobi Meyers has out-targeted star tight end Brock Bowers 22-16? While I still hold that Bowers is the most talented pass-catcher on the team, “volume is king,” and Meyers is getting it. He’s no slouch, either. In Week 1, he hauled in eight of ten targets for 97 yards. Week 2 was a slightly different story, as quarterback Geno Smith struggled to settle in, making several head-scratching decisions with the football. Meyers was still able to put up a passable 12.8 PPR points on six receptions from 12 scattered targets.
The Week 3 matchup appears, at first glance, to be a tough one, as the Raiders travel east to square off against the Commanders at FedEx Field. After two weeks of action, the Commanders’ defense currently sits at No. 8 versus the wide receiver position. But as I dug deeper into those two weeks, a couple of things became apparent. In a wacky Week 1, Washington played a discordant, hapless Giants squad, with quarterback Russell Wilson completing less than 50% of his pass attempts. Then, in Week 2, they came up against a Packers squad that only passed the ball 31 times. They ran the ball 30 times for 135 yards, and heavily featured their own emerging star tight end, Tucker Kraft.
This could mean that Brock Bowers is in for a great day, and we are obviously starting him in all formats, regardless of matchup. But there is meat on the bone here for Meyers, especially as the Las Vegas ground game tries to find some semblance of efficacy. The Las Vegas target leader is a fine WR3/flex play this week.
Honorable Mentions: Terry McLaurin, Jameson Williams
Sit: Stefon Diggs
The veteran wideout is taking a little while to get going this year, as may have been expected, coming off an ACL tear from Week 8 of last season. Though he exhibited an 11% increase in his snap share, from 41% to 52% in the first two weeks, I am still exercising caution.
In a neutral matchup versus Pittsburgh in Week 3, Stefon Diggs could look like an intriguing play. But quarterback Drake Maye has been very apt to spread the ball around, scattering his meager 23 targets across nine pass-catchers. I’ll wait to see if Diggs can establish himself a bit more before plugging him into my fantasy lineups.
Honorable Mentions: Jerry Jeudy, Marvin Harrison Jr.
Tight End
Start: Kyle Pitts
Kyle Pitts Athletic Profile
That’s right, folks, Kyle Pitts is a viable fantasy option for the first time (or at least it feels that way) since his rookie season! I know, he’s had a game here or there in the meantime, but you get my point. First off, he’s been on the field, which is helpful in fantasy football. He’s garnered snap-shares of 78% and 80% in the Falcons’ first two contests.
Pitts has also scored some points, ranking as the TE11 in Half-PPR through two weeks. After holding his own in two tough matchups, Pitts gets to feast on the Carolina Panthers’ defense in Week 3. Look for Pitts to maintain his 20.6% target share and help your team get the dub this week.
Honorable Mention: Juwan Johnson
Sit: Jake Ferguson
The Cowboys’ tight end is coming off an impressive Week 2 performance. Jake Ferguson finished with 16.8 PPR points, hauling in nine of his 12 targets for 78 yards. The late-round fantasy tight end target for many this draft season made the most of an incredibly wild and entertaining NFC East showdown in Week 2 that went five whole quarters.
In Week 3, the Cowboys travel to Chicago for another favorable matchup versus the Bears. This could seem like a tempting spot, and of course, Ferguson could pay off for managers willing to stick with him. But Chicago is middle-of-the-pack versus opposing tight ends this season, and they are dead last in points allowed to the wide receiver position. With two of their top defensive backs expected to miss another game, they are unlikely to climb the ranks this week. Look for Prescott to target CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens early and often in this one, leaving only scraps for the former Wisconsin Badger. I’m looking for a better option this week, if at all possible.
Honorable Mention: David Njoku
Wrapping Up
Those are my start and sit thoughts for Week 3. Thanks for reading! I’m excited to see which of these suspected trends we’re beginning to notice continue to take shape, and which vanish before our eyes, as we try to predict how these coaches and players attack their matchups week to week. Feel free to let me know how I’m doing on Bluesky or on Instagram.
Many successes!
Kyle Lesti (@klest.bsky.social)
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