Ten Things We Learned in Week 3 (Fantasy Football)
We’re only through three weeks of the NFL season, and it already feels like we’re midway through a marathon. It’s still early, and there’s still so much to be sorted out that we can’t make any rash decisions, yet. But with the multitude of injuries that have occurred over the past two weeks and what we saw out of some teams this week, we should ready our alarm bells, at least.
It was a wild week of NFL action with so much information to sort through. So much knowledge to soak in, and this is a good place to start. And make sure to listen to The Fantasy Footballers podcast daily and stay up to date with all the articles and news coming from our staff!
Here is what we learned in Week 3 of the 2025 NFL season:
Eagles’ Passing Attack Soars
As an A.J. Brown manager, I was admittedly worried after the first two weeks of the season. But Brown, along with DeVonta Smith, reminded us how important they are when the Eagles actually need to put the ball in the air. It’s been so easy for Philadelphia to run on opponents with Saquon Barkley and Jalen Hurts that Brown and Smith have been frustrating for fantasy managers. In Week 3 Hurts dropped back 37 times, and in the past whenever he drops back that much Brown and Smith understandably average significantly more fantasy points. I think the way to approach the passing attack in Philly is to start Brown, Smith, and even Dallas Goedert with confidence in matchups that could be close, like against Tampa Bay and Denver the next two weeks. When Philadelphia is heavily favored, like against the Giants twice in the next few weeks, temper expectations for the WRs.
Patriots Fumble Away Win
Rhamondre Stevenson can’t get out of his own way. Coming off a solid Week 2 performance, the Patriots put the ball in Stevenson’s hands early and often on Sunday, and he was helping move the offense. But like clockwork, he fumbled the ball twice, including at the goal line, where the Patriots were inches away from scoring. Antonio Gibson promptly replaced him in the backfield after the second fumble and fumbled himself, making way for rookie TreVeyon Henderson to handle the bulk of the workload in the second half. After the game, Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel gave Stevenson a vote of confidence, stating his importance to the team, but Stevenson himself told reporters that he can’t help the team if he continues to have ball security concerns. Post-game comments suggest that Vrabel and the coaching staff are going to continue giving Stevenson opportunities, but this might be the start of Henderson’s gradual takeover of the backfield.
#Patriots RB Rhamondre Stevenson on HC Mike Vrabel saying the team needs him:
“I appreciate it but I gotta hold onto the ball to have value… If I can’t hold the ball they don’t need me.”
Stevenson says he used heavier footballs this offseason to work on his fumbling problem. pic.twitter.com/3o9clWhafG
— Carlos A. Lopez (@LosTalksPats) September 21, 2025
Who is in Command of Commanders’ Backfield?
Another backfield that’s gotten a lot of attention in the offseason and now three weeks into the year is Washington’s. First, Brian Robinson was traded, and the Jacory Croskey-Merritt hype train started picking up steam. Chris Rodriguez was a healthy scratch the first two weeks, and then Austin Ekeler suffered a season-ending injury in Week 2. Does the door seem to be opening for Bill to have a feature role and weekly RB2 status? Well, in Week 3, it was a full-blown three-way rotation between Rodriguez, Bill, and Jeremy McNichols. Rodriguez got the start and saw 48% of the backfield carries compared to Bill’s 35% of carries. But it was Bill and McNichols who scored, the latter on an impressive 60-yard run where he broke several tackles. The RB situation in Washington is turning out to be a mess and not very trustworthy. Bill is rostered in the majority of leagues, and Rodriguez will probably be a popular waiver add this week, but neither player feels like a confident start for now.
Olave Emerging as PPR Threat
The box score doesn’t look spectacular for Chris Olave through three weeks of football. He accumulated 54 receiving yards in both Week 1 and Week 2 and 57 yards in Week 3. While those numbers aren’t great, his target share has been elite. Olave has had double-digit targets in all three games and is currently fourth in the league in target share (32%). Spencer Rattler and the Saints aren’t going to win many games this year, but at least the offense looks competent. With the amount of opportunities Olave is getting, he feels like a buy-low candidate who can be a borderline WR2 who continues to rack up receptions.
Seattle’s Defense Dominating
Like Andy said on the show in recent weeks, Seattle’s defense has the personnel to be a top-5 or top-10 defense. The claim turned into a bit on the show about the difference between a top-5 and top-10 defense, but Andy’s prediction looks spot on — Seattle’s defense is elite. I think they might be top 3 the rest of the season. I understand that this week’s opponent, the Saints, won’t set the barometer for how a defense is playing, but through three weeks, the Seahawks’ defense has racked up five INTs, six sacks, and has scored double-digit fantasy points twice. With matchups against the Jaguars, Texans, and two against the Cardinals in the next six weeks, Seattle’s DST is an every-week option for fantasy lineups.
Prepare for Injuries
It’s something we know all too well, but it’s worth noting that injuries are going to shake things up every week. Week 1 came and went without too many significant injuries, but they started to pile up in Week 2, and in Week 3, disaster struck. Several key players, including CeeDee Lamb, Mike Evans, Najee Harris, and James Conner, left Week 3 without returning, with Harris and Conner’s seasons unfortunately coming to an end. It’s a stark reminder that football is a physical and violent sport, and as a fantasy manager, we have to prepare for the worst. That’s why it’s so important to keep a watchful eye and make the right moves on the waiver and in trades to have enough backup options on your roster.
Sean Payton Tricks Us Again
When are we going to learn not to buy into anything Sean Payton does on a week-to-week basis? It wasn’t only Jason who bought into Troy Franklin‘s usage in Week 2. The second-year WR was a popular waiver wire add this week after he logged eight catches for 89 yards and a TD on nine targets. Franklin still saw 79% of offensive snaps in Week 3, second on the team and significantly higher than Marvin Mims, but only saw four targets even with Evan Engram out. We can’t let Payton keep up this ruse. For redraft purposes, the only Denver receiver that’s startable is Courtland Sutton. If you roster Franklin or Mims or Pat Bryant in dynasty formats, that’s fine, or if you want to play them in DFS formats, that works, but for your average redraft leagues, it’s Sutton and no one else.
Bengals’ Bungled Offense
If Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Vikings is any indication, it’s going to be tough sledding for any and all Bengals players until Joe Burrow returns. Minnesota’s defense is one of the better units in the league, but it won’t get any easier for Cincinnati with the Broncos, Lions, and Packers on deck. It’s a very tough spot for fantasy managers who figured they would bank on Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and Chase Brown as elite options this year. You can’t possibly bench Chase or Brown or even Higgins, but you’re going to have weeks like this one where they return little to no fantasy value.
Problems for Penix
Last year, we had a small three-game sample size to analyze Michael Penix‘s play and estimate what he would do for the value of Drake London and Atlanta’s other pass-catchers. It looked as if he’d be able to support London as a WR1 and even give a bump to Kyle Pitts. But we have another three-game sample size now, the first three weeks of the season, and it’s looking like the excitement we had for Penix and the Atlanta offense was not warranted. Penix has completed just 58% of his passes this year and has thrown just one TD to two INTs. He was benched late Sunday in the Falcons’ blowout loss to the Panthers. This is very concerning for London managers and even for Bijan Robinson. Penix’s limitations are going to limit the potential of this offense.
Mason Makes Most of Workhorse Role
Jordan Mason was a favorite late-RB target for many, including Mike, because he was destined to see a split in Minnesota alongside Aaron Jones, even with both players healthy. But if Jones were to get hurt, like he did in Week 2, Mason would vault into the RB1 category. Sunday was proof that Mason is the bell cow in Minnesota with Jones on IR, as he saw upwards of 75% of the backfield rushing share (before he was subbed out in the fourth quarter of a blowout) and got all three of the carries in the 10-zone. Mason doesn’t see much volume in the passing game (he wasn’t targeted on Sunday), but he’s going to get so much work on the ground on a good offense that he possesses top-1o upside weekly.
Comments
Bengals need to trade for Jameis Winston to save my fantasy season
The Henderson situation is so frustrating. I also have Cam Skattebo in redraft. I think I will be playing Cam as my RB2 until we see the change without it happening midgame because of fumbles.