Week 3 Sunday Night Football Preview: Broncos vs. Rams

Bo Nix and the Broncos play host to the Los Angeles Rams. Puka Nacua is expected to miss another game, opening the door for another Davante Adams masterclass. You probably have questions about the rest of the players in this game, though. Who can you trust in your fantasy football lineup on Sunday Night Football in Week 3?

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Sunday Night Football Preview

Los Angeles Rams (-2.5) at Denver Broncos O/U: 44.5

Clear Starts: Davante Adams, Kyren Williams, Jaylen Waddle

Matthew Stafford – QB, Los Angeles Rams

We have seen two different Staffords this season. Week 1 was a struggle during a game in Australia, but Week 2 was classic Stafford. Who will we see this time? The Denver Broncos have allowed the 10th fewest fantasy points to QBs this year. They also rank 10th in passing DVOA and 9th in EPA/play.

Last year, Stafford recorded a passing TD in every single game of the season. Even in matchups against the Texans, Seahawks, and Eagles- top-10 in DVOA pass defense – Stafford did not dip below 14.5 fantasy points. The one knock against the Rams offense this week is that Puka Nacua is doubtful to play and has not practiced all week. Davante Adams scored 2 TDs and nearly had 200 receiving yards despite being the main focus of this offense. Adams will be turning 34 this year but clearly has something left in the tank. Denver’s defense may be able to stop him, but for how long?

Stafford is a solid starter this season. While the expected loss of Puka Nacua could allow Denver to focus on Davante Adams, Stafford has overcome difficult matchups in the past. This is also not the same situation as Week 1 where the Rams may have been affected by the long flight and time change. Don’t go in expecting a repeat of last week’s 4-TD performance. However, if you want to trust a veteran

Bo Nix – QB, Denver Broncos

Last season, Nix ranked 12th amongst QBs in fantasy points per game. While he rarely showed an elite ceiling, Nix always had a solid floor. The Broncos signal caller had nine games of 18 or more fantasy points and never went below 9 fantasy points. While a single-digit performance is a disappointment for a QB, Nix has a rock-solid floor. We haven’t seen the rushing upside fully materialize yet either. In his first two years, Nix has 786 rushing yards and 9 rushing TDs. This year he only has 8 rushing yards. However, passing could increase with the Broncos bringing in WR Jaylen Waddle.

Nix ranks second-worst in the league in PFF grade when pressured, and has the second-highest turnover-worthy play percentage this season. The Rams do not generate pressure very often. Per Pro Football Reference, Los Angeles has only pressured opposing QBs on 18.6% of dropbacks, 6th lowest in the league. They will also be without last year’s DPOY Myles Garrett for at least a few games.

The Rams have allowed the 7th fewest points to opposing QBs. However, context matters. Brock Purdy scored 24 points in Week 1, but Jameis Winston was suddenly thrust into action without WR Malik Nabers last week. Brock Purdy is already a starter with a mostly healthy skill position group. Los Angeles has struggled to generate pressure, and Nix never truly destroys your week. Nix is a low-end starter but could struggle if Los Angeles is able to consistently pressure him.

J.K. Dobbins and RJ Harvey – RB, Denver Broncos

Jonah Coleman is on IR, which opens the door for us to see what this backfield split truly looks like. J.K. Dobbins and RJ Harvey both popped up on the injury report as well, but they logged full practices on Thursday and Friday.

Dobbins should dominate the rushing work with Coleman out for a while. While Harvey and Tyler Badie are mainly used as receivers, they have a combined four carries this year. In Harvey’s rookie season last year, he only averaged 5 carries per game to Dobbins’ 15.3. It was only when Dobbins got hurt and missed the rest of the season that Harvey saw an increased rushing workload. Expect Dobbins to handle the bulk of carries in this one. He is averaging 0.57 rushing yards over expected per attempt per NFL Next Gen Stats – 13th best amongst RBs.

Harvey ranked 4th on the Broncos in targets last year with 58. In the first 10 weeks of 2025, before Dobbins went down, Harvey averaged 9.99 PPR points per game, good for 32nd best at RB. That may not sound great, but that’s a low-end RB3. In a 10- or 12-team league, that type of production may not do much barring an injury, but he does offer FLEX appeal. In deeper leagues, Harvey is a legitimate starter. While he may not reach much upside without an injury to Dobbins, his work in the receiving game offers a good floor.

Start Dobbins as a low-end RB2. Harvey can also be started as an RB2 in deep leagues, or as a FLEX fill-in. Dobbins will have more upside with the bulk of the rushing work, but Harvey should have a better floor with the receiving work.

Tyler Badie is also an interesting name to watch. If you have the bench space, he is worth a speculative add. While the 26-year-old back is unlikely to do much as a rusher, he was targeted 31 times last season. An injury to Harvey would make for a much bigger workload, though. Unless you are in a very deep league, he isn’t worth starting.

Blake Corum – RB, Los Angeles Rams

Through two games this season, Blake Corum only has one fewer carry than Kyren Williams but 7 more rushing yards. While Kyren continues to dominate both receiving and red zone work – which are incredibly valuable for fantasy football – there’s no reason that both backs can’t coexist. It’s still early, but Corum has seen his snap percentage rise from 29% in 2025 to 34% in 2026. This week, he draws a Broncos team that allows over 157 rushing yards per game, 4th highest in the league. Kenneth Walker III did most of that damage in Week 1, but even in DVOA, which adjusts for opponents, they rank 5th worst against the run.

It will always be hard to trust Corum in your starting lineup while Kyren Williams is healthy. While Corum has had double-digit carries in both of his games this season, he only has a single target and no goal-line work. That’s not a surprise, as Corum has struggled to carve out a role in either of those two areas in his previous two seasons. However, Corum is getting much more rushing work, up from 8.5 to 11 carries per game. He has also been very efficient, averaging 6 yards per carry which ranks 3rd amongst RBs this year. This is a limited sample size, but Corum averaged 5.1 yards per carry on 145 attempts last year.

Just by his volume and rushing efficiency, Corum is a decent deep league play at RB or FLEX. The lack of receiving work will continue to limit Corum’s upside, especially in half- and full-PPR leagues, but he could easily rush for 40+ yards and score a TD. While any RB could theoretically do that, Corum is getting double-digit volume as an RB2. As long as that continues, there is a logical path to fantasy points. For most fantasy football leagues, Corum is a great handcuff who can fill in for an injury or bye week.

Puka Nacua – WR, Los Angeles Rams

At the time of writing, Puka Nacua is doubtful to play on Sunday Night Football. Nacua has not logged a practice all week after missing last week’s game against the Giants. Fantasy football managers should work under the assumption that Nacua will not play this week. Unfortunately, the doubtful tag mixed with no practice makes this a better-safe-than-sorry situation.

The Rams condensed their targets last week, with Davante Adams and Terrance Ferguson accounting for 19 of 30 targets. No other Ram eclipsed two targets in the win over the Giants. It’s unlikely that you can bank on a replacement like Xavier Smith or Konata Mumpfield to pick up the slack. Leave Nacua on the bench in Week 3 unless reports change on Sunday morning.

Courtland Sutton – WR, Denver Broncos

Father time may finally be catching up to Sutton. The 30-year-old WR has turned his 9 targets into 5 receptions for 36 yards. That’s the worst two-week span for Sutton since the 2023-24 season. Sutton led Denver’s WRs in snaps played and routes run in Week 2 per PFF. While that turned into some targets, it just isn’t enough at the moment.

Bringing in Jaylen Waddle seems to have hurt Sutton’s volume. Sutton regularly had an aDOT in the double digits but Waddle seems to have taken over that medium-to-deep work. Sutton is currently drawing a career-low 7.9 aDOT. If fantasy managers can’t bank on deeper work and big plays, they will need to hope for TDs. Sutton has already been targeted twice in the red zone, though, so we could see some classic Sutton sooner rather than later.

While Sutton’s play-time and target numbers inspire confidence, his efficiency does not. Without scoring TDs, it is hard to see a path towards fantasy relevancy for Sutton in Week 3 and for the entire season. Sutton is a sit this week unless you’re hurting for a decent floor.

Colby Parkinson and Terrance Ferguson – TE, Los Angeles Rams

Last week without Puka Nacua, Terrance Ferguson stepped up. Ferguson ranked second on the team in targets with 9, just behind Davante Adams. Assuming Nacua is out again, Ferguson should step up as the de facto WR2 on the team. You can stream him with relative confidence. Fantasy managers should not expect these performances every week, but usage should remain steady.

Parkinson is a dart throw who you can sit. While the veteran plays on over 70% of the team’s offensive snaps, the targets have been lacking. Parkinson is a red zone threat on a great offense, but the tough matchup and low point total make him an uninspiring streamer. The Broncos have allowed the 9th fewest points to opposing TEs. Travis Kelce did have 71 yards against them in Week 1, but 59 of those came from a single catch. Ferguson could also struggle, but he has lined up in the slot or out wide on 24 of his 67 offensive snaps. For comparison, Parkinson has only done that 8 times on 91 offensive snaps. Additionally, Ferguson should get significantly more targets to make up for a bad matchup.

Evan Engram – TE, Denver Broncos

The Rams have been brutal to opposing TEs thus far. Isaiah Likely was targeted 10 times last week but only managed 5 catches for 33 yards. That’s a solid floor, but we have to remember that Likely also led the Giants in targets the week before. Malik Nabers went down early in this contest, so Likely was operating like the team’s WR1. In Week 1, George Kittle was held to 2 catches for 12 yards on 5 targets. That game was a blowout, and Kittle was returning from injury, but Kittle caught all four of his passes for 80 yards and a TD the following week.

Engram has been targeted at a solid rate with the Broncos, but so far he is not being used like in years past. With both the Giants and Jaguars, Engram had multiple seasons of 98+ targets. Last year with the Broncos, the veteran TE had just 76. Engram has only scored three TDs going back to the 2024 season. While the 32-year-old may just be getting old, he has also been used significantly less in Denver. In Engram’s worst season with the Giants, he played 67% of offensive snaps but regularly played around 80% of the time. In Jacksonville, he was over 70% in all three seasons. With the Broncos, he played 42% of offensive snaps despite playing 16 games.

There is still a lack of data this early in the season, but Engram is unlikely to reach his ceiling this week. If you need a decent floor, you can start him in shallow fantasy football leagues in Week 3.

Make sure to check out all of our Week 3 Fantasy Football Rankings and Analysis!