Who to start in fantasy football: Week 3 rankings, start-sit advice, sleepers for PPR leagues

Michael OHara

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Who to start in fantasy football: Week 3 rankings, start-sit advice, sleepers for PPR leagues image

It's only Week 3, and injuries are already starting to pile up. Star players are dropping like flies and it's forcing fantasy managers to get creative with their lineups. As long as you've been aggressive on the waiver wire and have a strong set of rankings, you should be alright for this week.

As you prepare for the third full Sunday of NFL football, we've got you covered with everything you need to set your fantasy football lineups. We have everything from positional rankings to sleepers and busts. Be sure to check back in often as our rankings will be updated regularly until kickoff on Sunday.

Click section headers for additional positional analysis

Week 3 Fantasy QB Rankings

These rankings are for four-point passing TD leagues, and players who have already played are in italics.

RANK	PLAYER NAME	TEAM	OPPONENT	CHANGE
1	Josh Allen	BUF	vs. JAC
2	Lamar Jackson	BAL	at DAL
3	Jalen Hurts	PHI	at NO
4	Patrick Mahomes II	KC	at ATL
5	Kyler Murray	ARI	vs. DET
6	Joe Burrow	CIN	vs. WAS	Up 4
7	C.J. Stroud	HOU	at MIN	Down 1
8	Anthony Richardson	IND	vs. CHI	Down 1
9	Derek Carr	NO	vs. PHI	Up 2
10	Jared Goff	DET	at ARI	Down 2
11	Jayden Daniels	WAS	at CIN	Down 2
12	Brock Purdy	SF	at LAR	Up 1
13	Dak Prescott	DAL	vs. BAL	Down 1
14	Gardner Minshew II	LV	vs. CAR	Up 1
15	Geno Smith	SEA	vs. MIA	Up 1
16	Baker Mayfield	TB	vs. DEN	Down 2
17	Justin Fields	PIT	vs. LAC	Up 1
18	Trevor Lawrence	JAC	at BUF	Up 1
19	Caleb Williams	CHI	at IND	Up 1
20	Kirk Cousins	ATL	vs. KC	Up 2
21	Matthew Stafford	LAR	vs. SF	Down 4
22	Sam Darnold	MIN	vs. HOU	Up 1
23	Justin Herbert	LAC	at PIT	Down 1
24	Aaron Rodgers	NYJ	vs. NE
25	Will Levis	TEN	vs. GB
26	Deshaun Watson	CLE	vs. NYG
27	Bo Nix	DEN	at TB
28	Skylar Thompson	MIA	at SEA
29	Malik Willis	GB	at TEN
30	Jacoby Brissett	NE	at NYJ
31	Daniel Jones	NYG	at CLE
32	Andy Dalton	CAR	at LV

Week 3 Fantasy RB Rankings (PPR)

Italicized players have already played this week.

RANK	PLAYER NAME	TEAM	OPPONENT	CHANGE
1	Bijan Robinson	ATL	vs. KC
2	Saquon Barkley	PHI	at NO
3	Jordan Mason	SF	at LAR
4	Breece Hall	NYJ	vs. NE
5	Jonathan Taylor	IND	vs. CHI	Down 1
6	Alvin Kamara	NO	vs. PHI	Up 1
7	De'Von Achane	MIA	at SEA	Down 1
8	Jahmyr Gibbs	DET	at ARI
9	Derrick Henry	BAL	at DAL
10	James Cook	BUF	vs. JAC
11	Josh Jacobs	GB	at TEN	Up 1
12	Zamir White	LV	vs. CAR	Up 7
13	Travis Etienne Jr.	JAC	at BUF	Up 3
14	Rhamondre Stevenson	NE	at NYJ
15	Zack Moss	CIN	vs. WAS	Up 11
16	James Conner	ARI	vs. DET	Down 5
17	Brian Robinson Jr.	WAS	at CIN	Down 3
18	Kyren Williams	LAR	vs. SF	Down 5
19	Rachaad White	TB	vs. DEN	Down 4
20	Tony Pollard	TEN	vs. GB	Up 3
21	Najee Harris	PIT	vs. LAC	Down 4
22	Zach Charbonnet	SEA	vs. MIA	Up 2
23	Aaron Jones	MIN	vs. HOU	Down 2
24	David Montgomery	DET	at ARI	Down 2
25	D'Andre Swift	CHI	at IND
26	J.K. Dobbins	LAC	at PIT	Up 1
27	Cam Akers	HOU	at MIN	Up 10
28	Devin Singletary	NYG	at CLE	Up 2
29	Javonte Williams	DEN	at TB	Up 2
30	Jerome Ford	CLE	vs. NYG	Down 1
31	Chuba Hubbard	CAR	at LV	Up 1
32	Austin Ekeler	WAS	at CIN
33	Jaylen Warren	PIT	vs. LAC	Up 1
34	Ezekiel Elliott	DAL	vs. BAL	Down 1
35	Carson Steele	KC	at ATL
36	Rico Dowdle	DAL	vs. BAL	Up 3
37	Tyjae Spears	TEN	vs. GB	Up 1
38	Bucky Irving	TB	vs. DEN	Up 7
39	D'Onta Foreman	CLE	vs. NYG	Up 8
40	Antonio Gibson	NE	at NYJ
41	Samaje Perine	KC	at ATL	Up 4
42	Jaleel McLaughlin	DEN	at TB	Down 6
43	Braelon Allen	NYJ	vs. NE
44	Jeff Wilson Jr.	MIA	at SEA	Down 2
45	Gus Edwards	LAC	at PIT	Down 2
46	Justice Hill	BAL	at DAL
47	Ray Davis	BUF	vs. JAC
48	Ty Chandler	MIN	vs. HOU
49	Tyler Allgeier	ATL	vs. KC	Up 1
50	Alexander Mattison	LV	vs. CAR	Down 1
51	Jamaal Williams	NO	vs. PHI	Down 4
52	Chase Brown	CIN	vs. WAS
53	Emanuel Wilson	GB	at TEN
54	Miles Sanders	CAR	at LV
55	Trey Benson	ARI	vs. DET
56	Khalil Herbert	CHI	at IND
57	Kenneth Gainwell	PHI	at NO
58	Tank Bigsby	JAC	at BUF
59	Isaac Guerendo	SF	at LAR
60	Cordarrelle Patterson	PIT	vs. LAC
61	Jaylen Wright	MIA	at SEA
62	Tyrone Tracy Jr.	NYG	at CLE
63	Emari Demercado	ARI	vs. DET
64	Blake Corum	LAR	vs. SF
65	D'Ernest Johnson	JAC	at BUF
66	Dare Ogunbowale	HOU	at MIN

Week 3 Fantasy WR Rankings (PPR)

Italicized players have already played this week.

RANK	PLAYER NAME	TEAM	OPPONENT	CHANGE
1	CeeDee Lamb	DAL	vs. BAL
2	Ja'Marr Chase	CIN	vs. WAS
3	Justin Jefferson	MIN	vs. HOU
4	Amon-Ra St. Brown	DET	at ARI
5	Tyreek Hill	MIA	at SEA
6	Davante Adams	LV	vs. CAR	Up 2
7	Rashee Rice	KC	at ATL	Up 2
8	Brandon Aiyuk	SF	at LAR	Up 3
9	Marvin Harrison Jr.	ARI	vs. DET	Down 3
10	Nico Collins	HOU	at MIN	Down 3
11	DeVonta Smith	PHI	at NO	Down 1
12	DJ Moore	CHI	at IND
13	Malik Nabers	NYG	at CLE
14	Zay Flowers	BAL	at DAL
15	Garrett Wilson	NYJ	vs. NE
16	Chris Olave	NO	vs. PHI
17	Chris Godwin	TB	vs. DEN
18	Amari Cooper	CLE	vs. NYG
19	Drake London	ATL	vs. KC
20	Mike Evans	TB	vs. DEN
21	Calvin Ridley	TEN	vs. GB	Up 2
22	DK Metcalf	SEA	vs. MIA	Down 1
23	Jameson Williams	DET	at ARI	Up 6
24	Courtland Sutton	DEN	at TB
25	George Pickens	PIT	vs. LAC	Up 2
26	Michael Pittman Jr.	IND	vs. CHI	Down 1
27	Jaxon Smith-Njigba	SEA	vs. MIA	Down 1
28	Rashid Shaheed	NO	vs. PHI	Up 3
29	Jaylen Waddle	MIA	at SEA	Down 7
30	Stefon Diggs	HOU	at MIN	Down 2
31	Brian Thomas Jr.	JAC	at BUF	Down 1
32	Terry McLaurin	WAS	at CIN
33	Tee Higgins	CIN	vs. WAS	N/R
34	Diontae Johnson	CAR	at LV	Up 4
35	Christian Kirk	JAC	at BUF	Down 1
36	Jerry Jeudy	CLE	vs. NYG	Down 1
37	Tank Dell	HOU	at MIN	Down 1
38	Demarcus Robinson	LAR	vs. SF	Down 5
39	Quentin Johnston	LAC	at PIT	Down 2
40	Khalil Shakir	BUF	vs. JAC	Down 1
41	Jayden Reed	GB	at TEN
42	Wan'Dale Robinson	NYG	at CLE	Up 1
43	Xavier Worthy	KC	at ATL	Down 3
44	Greg Dortch	ARI	vs. DET	Up 3
45	Ladd McConkey	LAC	at PIT	Down 3
46	Josh Downs	IND	vs. CHI	N/R
47	Darnell Mooney	ATL	vs. KC	Down 1
48	Christian Watson	GB	at TEN
49	Alec Pierce	IND	vs. CHI	Down 5
50	Brandin Cooks	DAL	vs. BAL	Down 1
51	Jakobi Meyers	LV	vs. CAR	Up 4
53	Romeo Doubs	GB	at TEN	Down 2
54	DeAndre Hopkins	TEN	vs. GB	Down 2
55	Andrei Iosivas	CIN	vs. WAS	Down 2
56	Josh Nailor	MIN	vs. HOU	Down 2
57	Tyler Johnson	LAR	vs. SF	Down 1
58	Jalen Tolbert	DAL	vs. BAL
59	Dontayvion Wicks	GB	at TEN	Down 2
60	Adam Thielen	CAR	at LV
61	Gabe Davis	JAC	at BUF	Down 2
62	Mike Williams	NYJ	vs. NE	Up 10
70	Rome Odunze	CHI	at IND	Down 6
63	Keon Coleman	BUF	vs. JAC	Down 2
64	Jordan Whittington	LAR	vs. SF	Up 5
65	Curtis Samuel	BUF	vs. JAC	Down 3
66	Jalen McMillan	TB	vs. DEN	Down 3
67	Elijah Moore	CLE	vs. NYG	Up 10
68	Tyler Lockett	SEA	vs. MIA	Up 5
69	Jauan Jennings	SF	at LAR	Down 3
70	Xavier Legette	CAR	at LV
71	Noah Brown	WAS	at CIN	N/A
72	Ja'Lynn Polk	NE	at NYJ	Down 6
73	Darius Slayton	NYG	at CLE	Down 5
74	Allen Lazard	NYJ	vs. NE	Down 3
75	Jahan Dotson	PHI	at NO	Down 3
76	Michael Wilson	ARI	vs. DET	Down 1
77	Luke McCaffrey	WAS	at CIN	Down 1
78	Tyler Boyd	TEN	vs. GB	Down 1
79	K.J. Osborn	NE	at NYJ	Down 1
80	Rashod Bateman	BAL	at DAL
81	Tyquan Thornton	NE	at NYJ
82	Jonathan Mingo	CAR	at LV
83	Tre Tucker	LV	vs. CAR
84	Josh Reynolds	DEN	at TB
85	Nelson Agholor	BAL	at DAL
86	Adonai Mitchell	IND	vs. CHI

Week 3 Fantasy Rankings TE (PPR)

Italicized players have already played this week.

RANK	PLAYER NAME	TEAM	OPPONENT	CHANGE
1	Sam LaPorta	DET	at ARI	Down 1
2	Travis Kelce	KC	at ATL	Down 1
3	Trey McBride	ARI	vs. DET	Down 1
4	Brock Bowers	LV	vs. CAR	Up 1
5	Mark Andrews	BAL	at DAL	Up 1
6	Jake Feguson	DAL	vs. BAL	NR
7	Hunter Henry	NE	at NYJ
8	Dalton Kincaid	BUF	vs. JAC	Up 2
9	Kyle Pitts	ATL	vs. KC	Down 4
10	Colby Parkinson	LAR	vs. SF	Up 1
11	Isaiah Likely	BAL	at DAL	Up 2
12	Mike Gesicki	CIN	vs. WAS	Up 12
13	Dalton Schultz	HOU	at MIN	Down 1
14	Dallas Goedert	PHI	at NO	Down 2
15	Jonnu Smith	MIA	at SEA	Up 14
16	Zach Ertz	WAS	at CIN	Down 1
17	Pat Freiermuth	PIT	vs. LAC	Down 2
18	Juwan Johnson	NO	vs. PHI	Down 2
19	Eric Saubert	SF	at LAR	NR
20	Noah Fant	SEA	vs. MIA	Down 2
21	Chigoziem Okonkwo	TEN	vs. GB	Down 2
22	Greg Dulcich	DEN	at TB	Down 7
23	Cole Kmet	CHI	at IND	Up 9
24	Cade Otton	TB	vs. DEN	Down 3
25	Tyler Conklin	NYJ	vs. NE
26	Tucker Kraft	GB	at TEN	Down 2
27	Will Dissly	LAC	at PIT	Down 2
28	Austin Hooper	NE	at NYJ	Down 2
29	Luke Musgrave	GB	at TEN	Down 2
30	Gerald Everett	CHI	at IND
31	Ja'Tavion Sanders	CAR	at LV
32	Daniel Bellinger	NYG	at CLE
33	Johnny Mundt	MIN	vs. HOU
34	Michael Mayer	LV	vs. CAR
35	Kylen Granson	IND	vs. CHI
36	Hayden Hurst	LAC	at PIT
37	Dawson Knox	BUF	vs. JAC
38	Josh Oliver	MIN	vs. HOU
39	Theo Johnson	NYG	at CLE
40	Ben Sinnott	WAS	at CIN

Week 3 Fantasy Defense Rankings

Italicized teams have already played this week.

TEAM	OPPONENT	CHANGE
Pittsburgh Steelers	vs. LAC	Up 2
San Francisco 49ers	at LAR	Up 19
Cleveland Browns	vs. NYG	Down 2
Los Angeles Chargers	at PIT
Las Vegas Raiders	vs. CAR
New York Jets	vs. NE
Seattle Seahawks	vs. MIA
Chicago Bears	at IND
Buffalo Bills	vs. JAC
New England Patriots	at NYJ
Green Bay Packers	at TEN
Kansas City Chiefs	at ATL
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	vs. DEN
Cincinnati Bengals	vs. WAS
Minnesota Vikings	vs. HOU
Tennessee Titans	vs. GB
Houston Texans	at MIN
Denver Broncos	at TB
Indianapolis Colts	vs. CHI
Detroit Lions	at ARI
Philadelphia Eagles	at NO
New York Giants	at CLE
Baltimore Ravens	at DAL
Jacksonville Jaguars	at BUF
Dallas Cowboys	vs. BAL
Arizona Cardinals	vs. DET
New Orleans Saints	vs. PHI
Washington Commanders	at CIN
Atlanta Falcons	vs. KC
Miami Dolphins	at SEA
Los Angeles Rams	vs. SF
Carolina Panthers	at LV

Week 3 Fantasy Kicker Rankings

Italicized teams have already played this week.

RANK	PLAYER	TEAM	OPPONENT
1	Brandon Aubrey	DAL	vs. BAL
2	Jake Bates	DET	at ARI
3	Harrison Butker	KC	at ATL
4	Blake Grupe	NO	vs. PHI
5	Ka'imi Fairbairn	HOU	at MIN
6	Jake Moody	SF	at LAR
7	Tyler Bass	BUF	vs. JAC
8	Evan McPherson	CIN	vs. WAS
9	Justin Tucker	BAL	at DAL
10	Jason Myers	SEA	vs. MIA
11	Chris Boswell	PIT	vs. LAC
12	Cameron Dicker	LAC	at PIT
13	Jake Elliott	PHI	at NO
14	Daniel Carlson	LVR	vs. CAR
15	Younghoe Koo	ATL	vs. KC
16	Greg Zuerlein	NYJ	vs. NE
17	Cairo Santos	CHI	at IND
18	Matt Prater	ARI	vs. DET
19	Joshua Karty	LAR	vs. SF
20	Chase McLaughlin	TB	vs. DEN
21	Matt Gay	IND	vs. CHI
22	Brayden Narveson	GB	vs. IND
23	Dustin Hopkins	CLE	vs. NYG
24	Will Reichard	MIN	vs. HOU
25	Wil Lutz	DEN	at TB
26	Cam Little	JAC	at BUF
27	Austin Seibert	WAS	at CIN
28	Nick Folk	TEN	vs. GB
29	Jason Sanders	MIA	at SEA
30	Joey Slye	NE	at NYJ
31	Eddy Pineiro	CAR	at LV
32	Greg Joseph	NYG	at CLE

Michael OHara

Michael O'Hara is a Fantasy Sports Intern at The Sporting News, with a focus on fantasy football. Michael has been a fan of the NFL since childhood and began writing for fantasy football websites as a student at Ohio State University, including the Roto Street Journal and Fantasy Football Today.

Edition

Who to start in fantasy football: Week 3 rankings, start-sit advice, sleepers for PPR leagues

Week 3 Fantasy QB Rankings

Week 3 Fantasy RB Rankings (PPR)

Week 3 Fantasy WR Rankings (PPR)

Week 3 Fantasy Rankings TE (PPR)

Week 3 Fantasy Defense Rankings

Week 3 Fantasy Kicker Rankings

Michael OHara