Fantasy Football Rankings: Week 3 Matchups to Consider

Making it through the first two weeks of the fantasy season is tough, especially when your roster could be dealt big blows to injuries, but that means getting your lineup set just right is more important than ever! Right on cue, I’m here to walk you through the Ballers’ rankings for Week 3 and take a look at a couple of players at each position that could be worth considering before setting that final roster!

As always, make sure to use the personalized Fantasy Footballers Rankings ahead of game time to get the best look at what Andy, Mike, and Jason think!

Quarterbacks

Derek Carr (NO) vs Philadelphia

Just like we all thought, Derek Carr is absolutely on fire to start the season for New Orleans. Through two weeks, Carr is leading the league in TD passes (five) and yards per pass attempt (11.4). What’s more exciting for fantasy is that Carr’s QB6 and QB3 finishes to start the season is a mark he’s only hit three times over his last three seasons. Carr is currently PFF’s highest-rated passer which may not be sustainable but is worth fantasy managers noting since his on-field success is translating to fantasy success to start the season.

It makes sense for fantasy managers to be skeptical about using Carr as a streaming option in their lineup, but he’s got another favorable matchup in Week 3 against Philadelphia. The Eagles have allowed the seventh-most passing yards and fifth-most passing TDs on the season while giving up a top-12 QB finish in both weeks. New Orleans has put points on the board every drive that Carr has been on the field, so he should be worth a streaming play this week for fantasy managers.

Kurt would play Carr over: QB13 – Anthony Richardson vs Chicago.

Kirk Cousins (ATL) vs Kansas City

All of the excitement for the Atlanta passing attack and Kirk Cousins has had some cold water thrown on it to start the year, especially from a fantasy perspective. Cousins hasn’t been bad but given all the fantasy-relevant players in the Falcons’ arsenal, there were maybe unrealistic expectations for the QB to step in and give the fantasy community the type of production they’ve been waiting for from Drake London and Kyle Pitts. The biggest concern for fantasy managers relying on Cousins to bring Atlanta’s offense along has been the pass blocking, which is currently rated 27th in the league by PFF. 

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Cousins will have a chance to continue his top-12 QB trend against the Chiefs in Week 3. Kansas City’s defense has allowed a top-12 QB in both of their games this season and is one of just nine teams who haven’t recorded an interception yet this year. The Falcons have allowed defensive pressure on Cousins on 25 of his 59 dropbacks so far this season, which could be concerning if Atlanta gets behind in this game. Cousins and the Falcons offense has plenty of talent to produce for fantasy but his upside may be capped until more TDs come his way. Still, I’d consider Cousins one of the best streaming options this week.

Kurt would play Cousins over: QB15 – Geno Smith vs Miami.

Running Backs

Zach Charbonnet (SEA) vs Miami

Stepping into the starting role for the first time this season proved to be productive for Zach Charbonnet last week with an RB15 finish. Charbonnet was on the field a ton Sunday and wasn’t great on the ground for the Seahawks, but displayed the pass-catching ability that made fantasy managers swoon over him during the pre-draft process last season with five receptions on the day. To be fair, the Patriots have allowed the second-fewest rushing yards in the league this season, so Charbonnet’s poor day on the ground could have been more matchup-based than anything. Overall though, it’s looking likely that he’ll get another chance to be the main RB in a Seattle offense that looks like it’s taken steps forward from a disappointing 2023.

The Seahawks will have another tough test on the ground this week with the Dolphins coming to town. Miami is ranked as PFF’s top run defense through two weeks but is coming off allowing James Cook to finish as the RB2 last week behind 95 total yards and three TDs. What will be interesting to see is if the Seahawks can get something going on the ground with Charbonnet since the Dolphins have allowed just five receptions for 64 yards through two games to the RB position.

Kurt would prefer to play: RB19 – Zack Moss vs Washington.

D’Andre Swift (CHI) at Indianapolis

The big offseason addition of D’Andre Swift to the Bears’ backfield has not paid dividends just yet for fantasy purposes. Through two games, Swift has a total of 52 yards of offense and hasn’t been a factor at all in the Chicago passing attack where he excels the most. While the Bears’ offense as a whole has struggled with rookie QB Caleb Williams still adapting to the NFL game, fantasy managers who invested in Swift during draft season were hoping he’d be a piece of the puzzle to getting the top pick in the 2024 NFL Draft more comfortable in running this new offense. The problem is that through two games, the Bears have rushed for the fifth-fewest yards in the league and are averaging just 3.5 yards per carry. 

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If there’s a prescription for helping a bad rushing offense, the Colts may be the best bet for fixing that problem in 2024. Through two games, the Colts have allowed the most rushing yards in the league and back-to-back RBs to accumulate 150+ yards on the ground. For fantasy, that’s translated into the RB2 and RB12 with just one rushing TD between those two players. The Bears may not be a ground-and-pound type of offense, but Week 3 presents their best chance to get things moving in the right direction with their offense and might be Swift’s last hope at sticking on fantasy managers’ radar as a flex option. Any endorsement from this article you may glean for playing Swift is purely based on the matchup and not Swift’s play so far this season.

Kurt would play Swift over: RB28 – Devin Singletary at Cleveland.

Ezekiel Elliott (DAL) vs Baltimore

Any encouraging signs of life from Ezekiel Elliott from Week 1 were thrown to the curb last week. Elliott saw fewer carries and targets in the Cowboys’ Week 2 loss than Rico Dowdle, who also out-produced him. What’s worse for Elliott is that he’s graded poorly as a runner through his first two games. Of RBs with at least 15 carries this season, Elliott’s 49.1 PFF run grade is the second-worst, only above Zamir White. If Elliott continues to lose opportunities to a more efficient Dowdle, he could see his chances for fantasy relevance dwindle quickly.

For the Dallas rushing attack to get on track, they’ll have a tough time this week with Baltimore visiting. The Ravens have allowed the fewest rushing yards (99) and yards per carry (2.7) in the league this season. While Baltimore has still allowed three rushing TDs on the year, they haven’t allowed a single RB to total over 50 rushing yards in a game. If Zeke is going to be relevant this week as a flex option, it may be completely TD-dependent so fantasy managers beware.

Kurt would prefer to play:  RB30 – Samaje Perine at Atlanta.

Wide Receivers

Tank Dell (HOU) at Minnesota

It hasn’t been the best start of the season for believers in Tank Dell’s role in Houston’s offense. After playing just 63% of snaps in Week 1, Dell saw an increase last week against the Bears, but that resulted in fewer targets and a total of just 13 yards on the day. Dell played just 43 snaps on Sunday night, and 34 of them were pass plays. When you compare that to Nico Collins and Stefon Diggs, they’re on the field more for non-pass plays which could become an indicator for defenses when Dell is on the field. If Dell can’t carve out more of a role in the passing game, he will be a disappointment for fantasy managers going forward.

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While Dell’s involvement in Houston’s passing attack hasn’t been especially great for fantasy yet this season, a matchup with Minnesota could provide an avenue for them to get him more involved. The Vikings’ defense has given up the fifth-most passing yards through the first two weeks of the season but has only allowed one passing TD so far. With RB Joe Mixon’s status up in the air for this week and a tough rush defense in Minnesota, it could be a chance to get right for Dell this week or it may be panic time for his fantasy stock.

Kurt would play Dell over: WR27 – Amari Cooper vs NY Giants.

Demarcus Robinson (LAR) vs San Francisco

Opportunity is the name of the game for Demarcus Robinson’s fantasy relevance heading into Week 3. With both Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua looking like they’ll be out this week, Robinson could step into the top receiving option role for the Rams and should have been nabbed on waivers if he wasn’t already on a roster. While Robinson hasn’t been able to take advantage of his increased opportunity so far this season, fantasy managers would do well to remember the four straight weeks he finished inside the top 24 on the backstretch of the 2023 season. Of course, those games came with both Puka and Kupp on the field, so it’s still to be seen if he can produce as the main option in this passing attack.

While the San Francisco defense is one of the best in the league, we saw just last week that they’re beatable through the air given the right matchup. Through two games, the 49ers have allowed the third-most passing TDs and have given up a top-six WR in each game this season. The challenge for fantasy managers will be deciding if they’re willing to play Robinson as a flex option against PFF’s third-ranked coverage team on a Rams offense that has struggled to protect Matthew Stafford this season.

Kurt would prefer to play: WR37 – Jerry Jeudy vs NY Giants.

Andrei Iosivas (CIN) vs Washington

The sage of WRs in Cincinnati has allowed Andrei Iosivas a chance to emerge as a real flex option for fantasy managers in need. Iosivas took advantage of his opportunity with Tee Higgins out again last week and put together one of the more puzzling stat lines so far this season: two receptions, seven yards, and two TDs. While it was good enough to finish as the WR21 last week, fantasy managers will want to see more activity in the Bengals’ offense before feeling overly confident about putting Iosivas into their lineups this week.

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If there’s a defense to target with a roll of the dice at WR, the Commanders’ defense is the one fantasy managers should be looking for. Washington’s defense has allowed a league-high six passing TDs so far this season. For fantasy, that’s translated to five top-30 WR finishes in their first two games, including three finishes of WR11 or better. With plenty of injuries taking high-end fantasy options off the board this week, fantasy managers could do worse than gambling on Iosivas as a flex option in Week 3 on Monday night.

Kurt would play Iosivas over: WR40 – Ladd McConkey at Pittsburgh.

Tight Ends

Travis Kelce (KC) at Atlanta

Despite what felt like a great value in his draft cost, Travis Kelce has been a disappointment for fantasy managers so far this season. Over his first two games, Kelce has just four receptions for 39 yards and is averaging 0.72 yards per route run. If there’s anything encouraging about Kelce’s usage in the Chiefs’ offense, he’s being split out wide at one of the highest rates for a TE in the league, lining up there on 23.1% of his snaps. While the Chiefs may still be finding their groove with the new weapons in the offense, the loss of Isiah Pacheco could push Mahomes to need to throw the ball more and could see Kelce be the beneficiary.

While there could be a shift in the offense for Kansas City, taking on the Falcons may not be the necessary fix for getting Kelce more involved in the game plan. Through their first two games, Atlanta’s defense has allowed just 28.9% of passing yards to opposing TEs and hasn’t given up a TD to the position yet. It’s hard to prescribe sitting Kelce because fantasy managers have seen him be so good for so long, but unless things take a turn in the right direction, it may be a decision that has to be made for fantasy managers.

Kurt would prefer to play: TE9 – Dallas Goedert at New Orleans.

Jonnu Smith (MIA) at Seattle

Jonnu Smith very quietly turned in a TE7 performance in Week 2 and it’s time to take a look at him being a streaming option for fantasy lineups. Smith hasn’t been on the field a ton for Miami, but when he’s on the field, he’s running a route 96% of the time through two games. What may change things in the Miami offense is the injury to Tua Tagovailoa and Skylar Thompson taking over as starter. Thompson has thrown just two passing TDs in his nine NFL appearances, so there isn’t much optimism that the Dolphins’ offense will be what we were expecting it to be. There’s a chance that Smith could be a good safety blanket for the QB.

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It’s tough to find TEs with much target upside outside of the big-name players, but following the trend of matchups like the Seahawks is a good direction to go. Seattle’s defense just allowed the largest TE point total without a TD of the season to Hunter Henry who finished with eight receptions for 109 yards and an average depth of target of 5.7 yards. Jonnu’s Week 2 performance lines up similarly and could be worth chasing for fantasy managers hunting for a TE replacement this week.

Kurt would play Smith over: TE17 – Dalton Schultz at Minnesota.