Fantasy Football Rankings: Week 3 Matchups to Consider
Believe it or not, Week 3 is 20% of the way through the fantasy regular season. Whether your fantasy team is flying high with a perfect record or needs a reboot to get back on the right track to the playoffs, this can be the week to get some positive momentum for that championship run!
To get the most out of your lineup each week, paying attention to crucial matchups at each position can be the difference in your weekly outcome! Let’s walk through a few players to consider before getting those final lineups submitted this week!
Always make sure to use the Ballers’ weekly rankings before finalizing your lineup each week!
Also, utilize the Ultimate Dashboard to see what Andy, Mike, and Jason would suggest you do with your roster to make it its absolute best!
Quarterbacks
Justin Herbert
QB - LAC
It’s been as hot a start as anyone could have imagined for Justin Herbert, currently third in passing in the league among QBs. Herbert and the Chargers have the second-highest yards per attempt in the league, averaging 9.2 yards per pass through their first two games. For fantasy, the results have only turned into one useful performance for fantasy managers, with a QB2 and QB18 finish to start the year for Herbert. What’s encouraging for fantasy managers going forward with Big Herb is the five combined TDs for Herbert to start the season, especially when you consider the Chargers have surprisingly not scored a rushing TD yet this year.
Continuing his hot start may be difficult for Herbert this week with a tough matchup against the Broncos on tap. Denver’s defense is regarded as one of the worst matchups for fantasy managers to go up against early in the season. In their first two games, though, the Broncos have allowed the QB32 and QB6, so it’s been a bit of a mixed bag for fantasy production. It’s worth noting, though, that the Broncos have only allowed one passing TD this season, so Herbert may have a capped ceiling with such a difficult matchup.
Caleb Williams
QB - CHI
The high hopes of having Ben Johnson join the Bears would immediately turn around the fantasy prospects of Caleb Williams have fallen flat through two weeks. While Williams did put in a QB9 finish in his season-opener, he came back down to Earth last week against the Lions, finishing as the QB20. What’s more concerning is that Williams hasn’t completed more than 63% of his passes in either game this season. A bright spot is that there has been more of a rushing baseline for Williams to start the year, where he’s averaging 42 yards per game.
Williams has a prime matchup to get back into the good graces of fantasy managers this week, taking on the Cowboys. Dallas’ defense has lived up (or down, depending on how you see it) to expectations to start the year. Through their first two games, the Cowboys’ defense has allowed the third-most passing yards and a top-8 QB finish in each game. With the second-highest expected point total on the season, Williams may be a solid streaming option for fantasy managers this week.
Running Backs
Jacory Croskey-Merritt
RB - WAS
It may officially be BILL season in Washington after the season-ending injury to Austin Ekeler last week. The hype around Jacory Croskey-Merritt to be a contributor in the Commanders’ backfield got off on the right foot, with JCM finishing as the RB11 in his NFL debut behind 82 rushing yards and a TD. The follow-up performance left a lot to be desired for fantasy managers, though, leaving a tough decision to be made going forward.
While the Raiders have traditionally been a team to target with RBs for fantasy, 2025 has been a bit different through two weeks. Las Vegas’ defense is one of just two teams in the league to have allowed fewer than 150 total rushing yards and zero rushing TDs – the other team is the Green Bay defense. With the questions around the health of QB Jayden Daniels and his availability for Week 3, Bill may be limited to a FLEX play who is fantasy productive solely off of volume for this week.
Isiah Pacheco
RB - DET
The hopes that there would be a return to form for Isiah Pacheco as the bellcow RB in the Chiefs’ offense may be coming up short. Through two weeks, Pacheco has seen only 52% of the RB carries in Kansas City and has managed a combined 47 rushing yards. To make matters worse, Pacheco is actually tied with Kareem Hunt in rushing production, along with two more carries. Overall, the alarm bells should be going off for fantasy managers who invested in Pacheco during draft season.
If there’s a team to get a running game going against, the Giants should be at the top of the list. While New York has a great defensive line, through their first two games, they have allowed the most rushing yards and rushing TDs in the league. In their first two games, the Giants have allowed at least 23.9 fantasy points to opposing teams’ RBs. While there’s a chance Pacheco gets the engines turning this week, fantasy managers shouldn’t start him with anything more than a FLEX play in mind.
Tyler Allgeier
RB - ARI
Plenty of attention has gone to the early-season success of Bijan Robinson in the Falcons’ offense, but Tyler Allgeier should be a player on fantasy managers’ radars this week. After a slow Week 1, Allgeier played a big role in Atlanta’s win over the Vikings on Sunday night, turning in an RB16 finish behind 76 rushing yards and a TD. Over their first two games, the Falcons have the fourth-most rushing attempts in the league, so there should continue to be plenty of work for Allgeier in the right game script.
The right game script may be served up for Allgeier this week against the Panthers. Carolina’s defense has allowed the 7th-most rushing yards through the first two weeks of the season. That’s translated into two top-25 RB finishes, including the RB3 finish in Week. While it may feel risky putting a backup RB into your starting lineup, Allgeier could easily be a waiver pickup that gets slotted into a low-end RB2 type of play this week for fantasy managers in a pinch.
Wide Receivers
Tee Higgins
WR - CIN
The excitement around the Bengals’ offense feels like it’s completely gone with the injury to Joe Burrow last week, and the receiving options outside of Ja’Marr Chase, like Tee Higgins, may be the fantasy options that take the biggest hit. While Higgins had a solid fantasy outing in Week 2, he still didn’t finish as a top-24 WR despite catching a TD on the day. With Jake Browning taking over at QB for the injured Burrow, there’s plenty of uncertainty as to what the distribution of targets will be going forward. In the small sample size that we have from Browning’s starts from Weeks 12-18 of the 2023 season, Higgins averaged just three receptions for 65 yards per game.
If the Bengals are going to keep their passing attack rolling, they will have a tough matchup in Week 3 against a tough Vikings defense. Through two weeks, Minnesota’s defense is just one of two defenses to have allowed only four passing plays of 20+ yards and one passing TD on the year – the other is the Broncos defense. It’s likely that most fantasy managers can’t afford to keep Higgins out of their lineups this week based on where they had to draft him, but expectations should be limited.
Wan'Dale Robinson
WR - TEN
It’s been the hottest start of hot starts for Wan’Dale Robinson in the Giants’ offense. Through the first two weeks of the season, Robinson is sitting at 6th in the league in receiving yards after a combined 18 targets, after logging just his second 100-yard receiving game with a career-high 142 yards last week. Robinson’s 10 targets ranked him 13th in the league in targets per route run rate, just behind his teammate Malik Nabers.
For fantasy managers having to make the decision about following the hot hand with Robinson this week, they will have a tough call to make with a tricky matchup against the Chiefs on Sunday night. Kansas City improved against the pass last week in a matchup with the Eagles, but that came after allowing 51 points to Chargers WRs in Week 1. While the potential for big receiving games seems like a possibility against the Chiefs, betting on the Giants’ offense to have another explosive day in the passing game might be too much for most fantasy managers.
Michael Pittman Jr.
WR - PIT
It’s nice to finally hear that Starship drop again, with Michael Pittman producing in the Colts offense to start the season. Pittman got off to a hot start in Week 1, finishing as the WR10 behind 80 receiving yards and a TD. While Pittman couldn’t give fantasy managers a repeat performance last week against a tough Broncos defense, he was still plenty involved; he was still second on the team in targets and managed a red zone target as well.
Pittman has a real chance to get back into fantasy relevance in Week 3 with a matchup against the Titans in Nashville. Tennessee’s defense has been one to target with fantasy WRs to start the year. Through their first two games, the Titans have allowed three top-15 WR finishes, giving up two top-10 WR games just last week. With the Colts finally playing a road game, getting Pittman into lineups as a FLEX play with upside could be a solid decision this week.
Tight Ends
Sam LaPorta
TE - DET
The new-look Lions offense has left a lot of questions for the fantasy assets in Detroit, and Sam LaPorta has been right in the thick of the changes. While the fantasy community did a mild freak out after Week 1, that’s actually when the fantasy results were the best for LaPorta, finishing as the TE6 on the week behind six receptions and 79 yards. Last week, though, LaPorta managed just 4.1 fantasy points despite the Lions scoring 52 points and the TE TD on the day going to Brock Wright.
Things should line up for LaPorta to get back on track for fantasy managers this week, though, with a strong Monday night matchup against the Ravens ahead. As impressive as Baltimore has been to open the season, their defense has allowed plenty of points to opposing TEs. In Week 1, Baltimore allowed the TE2 overall finish to Dalton Kincaid, and last week, the duo of Harold Fannin and David Njoku combined for nine receptions and 88 receiving yards. With LaPorta seeing 20% of the Lions’ targets and the only game this week with an expected point total over 50, fantasy managers should be playing LaPorta with confidence this week.
Juwan Johnson
TE - NO
It’s been the hottest of hot starts for Juwan Johnson in the new Saints offense for fantasy. In his first two games, Johnson has finished as the TE4 and TE3, seeing 27% of the targets in New Orleans. Johnson’s 20 targets lead all TEs in the league and seem to be a priority in the Kellen Moore offense going forward.
For Johnson to keep rolling for fantasy managers, he will have another strong matchup against the Seahawks. As good as Seattle’s defense has been, allowing just 17 points per game to start the year, they’ve given up 16.4 fantasy points per game to opposing teams’ TEs. That’s translated into back-to-back TE8 finishes. With Johnson being highly involved in the Saints’ passing attack, fantasy managers should play him with confidence again in Week 3.