Weekly Winners for Fantasy Football – Week 3

Each week, I break down every NFL matchup and determine who will thrive in Fantasy Football within them. This involves looking at player trends, player usage, player production, Fantasy PPG (points per game) allowed by defenses, yards allowed by defenses, and other variables. There is a lot that goes into this series, but it is truly my pride and joy. I give you my best plays with the intention to help YOU “Play 2 Win”. Let’s dominate Week 3!

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Weekly Winners for Fantasy Football – Week 3

Kyler Murray vs. TB

11 snaps into Kyler Murray’s debut, he suffered a concussion that sidelined him for Week 2. Murray is set to return now for Week 3. Murray started his Vikings tenure 3/5 (60%) for 18 yards with an interception. Murray also rushed twice for nine yards, showing he still has that piece of his game in the bag. Add Murray’s historical Fantasy Football production with the likes of Justin Jefferson, TJ Hockenson, and Jordan Addison for good days to come. Starting in Week 3.

Murray will face a Buccaneers defense in Week 3 that just allowed Deshaun Watson to finish with 238 passing yards, two passing touchdowns, and 22 rushing yards just last week. A good day for Watson and the Browns’ weapons just last week should make us excited for Murray and his weapons for Week 3. Especially with the running back room not at full strength, which adds more pressure on Murray to produce.

CJ Stroud vs. IND

Cj Stroud is coming off of a massive 353-yard passing yard week against the Bengals, in game he threw the ball 55 times. Stroud also rushed for a season-high 29 yards. Stroud did pass for two touchdowns in Week 1 and has yet to turn the ball over through the air. With Nico Collins out last week, Stroud completed passes to eight different targets.

Up next for Stroud is a Colts defense that allowed Patrick Mahomes to throw for 382 yards and three touchdowns last week, and Lamar Jackson to produce 324 yards and a touchdown through the air in Week 1. Stroud did finish one of his two games last season against Indy with 276 passing yards. Collins is likely going to miss Week 3, but even without him, there is plenty of passing upside potential here.

Ashton Jeanty vs NO

Ashton Jeanty is coming off of a down 10.3 Fantasy Football week, after scoring a massive 32.7 points in Week 1. Jeanty in Week 10 rushed for 102 yards and caught six balls for 45 yards and two touchdowns. 29 touches in Week 1 and 25 touches in Week 2 is consistent, workhorse volume that should mean more good than bad moving forward. Week 3 sets up Jeanty for a bounce-back game for Fantasy.

Jeanty will face a Saints defense in Week 3 that allowed Derrick Henry to rush for 68 yards and a touchdown in Week 2 and Jahmyr Gibbs to rush for 156 yards and two touchdowns in Week 1. Solid production from two of the better backs in the game, but Jeanty is working towards being in that same category. With the consistency of volume given to Jeanty, I trust this matchup is one he can capitalize on for Week 3.

Chase Brown vs. PIT

Chase Brown regressed to 11.2 Fantasy Points in Week 2 after scoring 18.8 in Week 1, but Week 3 presents a good bounce-back opportunity. Brown has finished with 21 then 23 touches across the opening two weeks, which is great volume in a solid offense. Brown is locked in for plenty of rushing opportunities, but even more encouraging is the 11 targets across the first two games with Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins on the field.

Brown will face a Steelers defense in Week 3 that allowed TreVeyon Henderson to rush for 76 yards and a touchdown in Week 2, Rhamondre Stevenson to add 43 rushing yards to Hendo’s total, and Bijan Robinson to total 173 yards and two scores in Week 1. The Bengals defense just held the Texans to six points in Week 2, so if they stay strong in Week 3, it can enhance the rushing script for Brown in a good matchup. Brown dropped 108, then 99 rushing yards on Pittsburgh last season.

Quinshon Judkins vs. CAR

Quinshon Judkins has been off to a rough start this season, averaging 2.8 / 1.8 yards per carry across the 12 rushing attempts he has had in the first two weeks. Judkins has yet to score 10 Fantasy Points. Encouraging is that Judkins played 65%+ of the snaps in both games, finished Week 2 with five receptions, and the trend is toward 15 to 17 touches. We saw the flashes last season as a rookie before the injury, and we know his rushing upside profile, so better days are to come.

Judkins will face a Panthers defense in Week 3 that allowed Bijan Robinson to rush for 72 yards (4.5 YPA) in Week 2, D’Andre Swift to rush for 124 yards (6.9 YPA) and three touchdowns in Week 1, and Kyle Monangai to rush for 100 yards (10 YPA) and a touchdown in Week 1. Caleb Williams also punched in two rushing touchdowns in Week 1. That is a lot of rushing production through two games, which could mean Judkins has his first productive rushing day of the year.

Emmett Johnson vs. MIA

Emmett Johnson has flashed his explosive dual-threat qualities that were in his prospect profile in a few ways so far in his rookie season. Johnson took two catches for 44 yards in Week 1, then another two balls for 20 yards in Week 2. Johnson rushed just twice in Week 3, but averaged 7.5 yards on those carries. In Week 1, despite being the clear RB2 for KC, Johnson totaled 10 touches. Coach Andy Reid said on Monday that Johnson could carve out a bigger role on offense as well, which makes sense when preserving Kenneth Walker III, who has looked like a star.

Johnson will face a Dolphins defense in Week 3 that allowed Brock Purdy to rush for a touchdown in Week 2, Christian McCaffrey to score two rushing touchdowns in Week 2, Ashton Jeanty to total 147 scrimmage yards and two receiving touchdowns in Week 1, and Mike Washington Jr. to rush seven times for 41 yards in Week 1. This game script could allow Johnson to have a season-high in touches, especially in garbage time if the Chiefs take care of the Dolphins early. Sleeper plug if you are desperate at running back.

Garrett Wilson vs. DET

Garrett Wilson has trended up from 13.9 to 16.7 Fantasy Points across the last two weeks. 79 receiving yards in Week 1 and a touchdown in Week 2 are encouraging notes for Wilson, who has earned seven targets in each game. Also encouraging for Wilson is the fact that Geno Smith completed 79.2% of his passes in Week 1 and then finished with 41 attempts and 247 passing yards in Week 2. Wilson might just have the most competent quarterback play he has had in the NFL in 2026.

Wilson will face a Lions defense that allowed Dalton Kincaid to produce 95 yards and a touchdown in Week 2, Keon Coleman to produce another 65 receiving yards on top of that, Chris Olave to drop 182 yards in Week 1, and Devaughn Vele to produce 69 yards and a touchdown in Week 1. Geno threw the ball a ton last week, and Detroit will force him to do the same in Week 3, which could translate to a season-high in targets for Wilson.

Josh Downs vs. HOU

Josh Downs is coming off a productive Week 2, where he caught seven of his nine targets for 72 yards, which was 14.2 Fantasy Points. Downs led the team in all receiving categories in Week 2 as he took a solid usage leap from Week 1. Downs’ nine targets are encouraging, especially with Alec Pierce set to miss extended time and hit the IR. Downs should continue operating as Daniel Jones’ WR1.

Downs will face a Texans defense that allowed Tee Higgins to produce 95 yards in Week 2, Ja’Marr Chase to produce 75 yards and two touchdowns in Week 2, and DJ Moore to rack up 100 yards and score a touchdown in Week 1. Downs finished with 44 and then 61 receiving yards in this matchup last season, but I expect much bigger production in Week 3. Jones has attempted 31 passes in both opening games, and the game script of Week 3 should follow this pattern as well.

Ladd McConkey vs. BUF

Ladd McConkey had a quiet Week 2, catching just three balls for 35 yards, in a week when he was coming off an injury scare. We did see upside potential in Week 1 from Ladd, when he caught five of his seven targets for 82 yards and a touchdown for 19.2 Fantasy Points. That production all came before McConkey got hurt in the third quarter, so that could have been an even bigger week. McConkey will be a vital piece of the offensive game plan this week, with the Chargers fighting to avoid going 0-3 to start the year.

McConkey will face a Bills defense in Week 3 that allowed Amon-Ra St. Brown to rack up 142 yards and two touchdowns in Week 2 and Nico Collins to produce 75 yards and a touchdown against them in Week 1. As long as Justin Herbert’s protection is not nonexistent in Week 3, this game is one we could see Herbert throwing 30+ times, with a hefty amount of those targets going to McConkey.

Tetairoa McMillan vs. CLE

Tetairoa McMillan opened up his sophomore season in the shadow of Jalen Coker due to his explosive day, despite Tet finishing with a productive five catches for a 75-yard stat line. McMillan stepped it up a notch in Week 2, catching five of his 10 targets for 101 yards, which was 15.1 Fantasy Points. This trend in targets and yards production is encouraging to see for last year’s Offensive Rookie of the Year. Bryce Young has also started the year hot, with both games resulting in 287+ passing yards and three passing touchdowns, which is another positive for McMillan.

McMillan faces a Cleveland defense in Week 3 that allowed a 49-yard catch to Tez Johnson in Week 2, 46 yards to Chris Godwin in Week 2, a receiving touchdown to Emeka Egbuka in Week 2, 83 yards and a touchdown to Parker Washington in Week 1, and four receiving touchdowns in general to the Jaguars in Week 1. Look for trends in Fantasy Football and look for players heating up. That is McMillan, and this is a good matchup against a Browns team that is coming off an upset win in Week 2.

Check out all of our Week 3 Rankings: Flex Rankings | QB Rankings | RB Rankings | WR Rankings | TE Rankings | MOP Rankings

Deebo Samuel vs. ARI

Deebo Samuel is a sneaky FLEX play for Week 3, especially with Head Coach Kyle Shanahan stating that Mike Evans has “to be managed this week” with his current hip injury. Deebo caught six of his seven targets in Week 1 for 48 yards and a touchdown for 18 Fantasy Points. Then Deebo went quiet against the Dolphins, a team the 49ers beat by multiple scores. Samuel has finished with a rushing attempt in each of his games back with the 49ers, just like the old days. He took one of those rushes for 12 yards.

Samuel will face a Cardinals defense in Week 3 that allowed Jaxon Smith-Njigba to explode for 155 yards and three touchdowns in Week 2 and Ladd McConkey to produce 82 yards and a touchdown in Week 1. If Evans happens to miss or is even limited in this matchup, I expect Deebo’s role to take a big bump, especially with the state of the 49ers’ wide receiver room. The Cardinals upset the Chargers in Week 1, so this game may be more competitive than you think.

Dalton Schultz vs. IND

With Nico Collins sidelined in Week 2, Dalton Schultz stepped up as CJ Stroud’s go-to target. Schultz caught 12 of his 14 targets for 140 yards, which was 26 Fantasy Points. Huge volume resulted in huge production. Schultz was targeted eight times in Week 1 as well, so he continues to be a very reliable outlet for Stroud.

Schultz faces a Colts defense in Week 3 that allowed Travis Kelce to take 9 catches for 101 yards and a touchdown in Week 2 and Mark Andrews to produce 49 yards on four catches. If I had to guess, Nico Collins is going to miss Week 3. Even if Collins plays, I expect Schultz to have a huge role in this matchup and again be fed targets from Stroud.

Kenyon Sadiq vs. DET

Kenyon Sadiq is a sneaky streaming option for Fantasy Football in Week 3. Outside of a rushing touchdown, Sadiq has not done much across two weeks of football on six total targets. While Sadiq was a first-round investment by New York in 2026, he had to build himself back up and earn his role following a hernia issue. Mason Taylor’s thumb injury can pave the way for Sadiq to play a season-high in snaps, which would up his usage.

Sadiq will face a Lions defense in Week 3 that allowed Dalton Kincaid to produce 95 yards and a touchdown in Week 2, Juwan Johnson to produce 54 yards and a touchdown in Week 1, and Noah Fant to also score in Week 1. Geno Smith attempted 41 passes in Week 2, and Week 3 against a solid Lions offense presents the same type of game script, which would benefit a breakout Sadiq week.

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