Welcome to The Fantasy Football Universe Week 3 Fantasy Football Matchup Guide. This column will not tell you specifically who you should start or sit with, rather it will show you which players have the best and worst matchups from there. This isn’t meant to convince you to sit your studs in favor of streaming options it’s intended to help you determine which lower-ranked players could be streaming options best on a favorable matchup and which studs could be in for a down week based on a bad matchup.
*The information above the player photo is that player’s last name and their opponent’s rank against that position. 1 indicates the best matchup, while 32 indicates the worst matchup. The information above the player photo is their opponent and how many points per game they are allowing to that position on average.*
Quarterback Matchups
Must Start: The matchups don’t get much better than this for Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals. If they can’t mount a sustained offense against the lowly Washington Commanders defense then they may be going to be a lost cause this season. The Commanders rank as the best matchup and are allowing 23.9 fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks, a stat made even juicier when you factor in that one of those quarterbacks was Daniel Jones.
Must Sit: It hasn’t been an ideal start to the season for Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers, and Week 3 figures to continue that trend of mediocre production. They face off with the Pittsburgh Steelers this week who rank as the 2nd toughest matchup for opposing quarterbacks and are allowing only 9.3 fantasy points per game to the position through two weeks. Jim Harbaugh appears to have his squad set firmly in run-first mode and are not throwing at a volume that will make Herbert startable in this one.
Running Back Matchups
Must Start: The season has started slowly for Derrick Henry. The Ravens have struggled and so has he. This week he will face off against the Dallas Cowboys who currently rank as the best matchup for opposing running backs, allowing 33.4 fantasy points per game to the position. The Cowboys were torched last week by the New Orleans Saints and make for a prime get-right spot for the struggling veteran.
Must Sit: This week James Conner has the unfortunate task of facing the Detroit Lions run defense. Over the past two years, the Lions have rarely allowed more than 50 yards rushing to an opposing running back and that has continued this year with Kyren Williams barely cracking that number. The Lions rank as the 2nd worst matchup for opposing running backs and are allowing only 9.8 fantasy points per game to the position. With a ceiling of 50 rushing yards for a Lions opponent, the chances of Conner returning a solid result this week are slim.
Wide Receiver Matchups
Must Start: The New Orleans Saints offense has been on fire to start the 2024 NFL season and that trend should continue into Week 3. Chris Olave has not been the focal point through two games, but this week he gets a matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles who have been the 2nd best matchup for opposing running backs this season after being awful last season. The Eagles are allowing 41.8 fantasy points per game to opposing receivers and seem primed to give up points in bunches to both Olave and underrated Rashid Shaheed.
Must Sit: The Pittsburgh Steelers offense has been heavily based on the ground game and is one of the most boring and conservative offenses in the league. Justin Fields will start again this week and is throwing for 150 yards on average. The way the Steelers win is with a solid rushing attack and that doesn’t allow for enough volume to make Pickens trustworthy this week. The Chargers haven’t been a great defense in 2024, but they have limited opposing receivers to 13.8 fantasy points per game while being a run funnel that allows tons of production on the ground.
Tight End Matchups
Must Start: If Brock Bowers isn’t the TE1 in your rankings, he should be very soon. Even with Gardner Minshew at quarterback and Davante Adams as the veteran on the roster, Bowers has managed to be the centerpiece of this Raider’s offense. After two solid performances, Bowers gets a Week 3 matchup with the Carolina Panthers who are a total mess and rank as the 2nd best matchup for opposing tight ends, allowing 15.7 fantasy points per game to the position.
Must Sit: Many fantasy managers assumed that the lack of reliable receiving options in Bill’s offense allowed Dalton Kincaid to fully break out. Through two games, he has been playable, but not nearly as good as many hoped. The sophomore tight end is going to struggle to produce once again as he locks up with the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 3. Jacksonville ranks as the 3rd worst matchup for tight ends and is allowing only 1.9 fantasy points per game to the position.
If you enjoyed our Week 3 Fantasy Football Matchup Guide, check out our weekly Sit & Start column to see all the players we are targeting and fading this week, and check out The FFU YouTube Channel for all of our daily content.
