Fantasy Football WR Rankings Week 3: Who to start, best sleepers at wide receiver

Nick Musial

Fantasy Football WR Rankings Week 3: Who to start, best sleepers at wide receiver image

We've already reached Week 3, and having a second data point at our disposal is an added bonus. While it's still early to draw concrete conclusions, we're gaining insights into how each team is utilizing its wide receiver corps, helping us shape our Week 3 fantasy WR rankings for standard leagues.

Beyond your set-and-forget fantasy studs, the eternal struggle for fantasy owners lies in choosing those fringe wide receivers. Do you ride the wave of red-hot rookies like Tank Dell, Jayden Reed, and Marvin Mims, fresh off breakout performances, or do you opt for a safer play with less flashy wide receivers in favorable matchups, such as Rashod Bateman (vs. Colts) Christian Kirk (vs.Texans), or Skyy Moore (vs. Bears)?

Before deciding which bubble WR to start, make use of our Week 3 WR rankings for standard leagues to assist in your decision-making process.

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Who are the best fantasy WRs Week 3?

In what should be another offensive-centric game to the delight of fantasy owners, Justin Jefferson (vs. Chargers) sits atop our Week 3 WR rankings. Tyreek Hill (vs. Broncos) isn’t far behind at No. 2, but there's a chance he's held in check for his standards against lockdown corner Patrick Surtain II. 

WEEK 3 STANDARD RANKINGS:
QBs | RBsTEs | D/STs | Kickers

We haven’t given up on Ja’Marr Chase (vs. Rams) just yet as a top-eight WR, as Week 3 looks to be his breakout week in a favorable matchup against an exploitable Rams secondary. We saw Tee Higgins get going last week, and it's only a matter of time before Chase gets his.

UPDATE: With Joe Burrow's calf injury, Chase's Week 3 fantasy outlook takes a hit should backup QB Jake Browning get the start on Monday night. Chase still remains a must-start regardless of who is under center, but his ceiling is undoubtedly capped should Browning start.

CeeDee Lamb (@ Cardinals) should feast against a subpar Cardinals defense, while Amon-Ra St. Brown (vs. Falcons) is always a safe bet to end the week with a top-10 fantasy point output among WRs as long as he stays healthy.

WEEK 3 PPR RANKINGS:
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Kickers

Who are the best fantasy WR sleepers, waiver pickups Week 3?

Detroit’s Josh Reynolds (vs. Falcons) looks like the team’s No. 2 wideout behind St. Brown, as the veteran wideout is a prime sleeper candidate moving forward, especially after his five-catch, 66-yard, two-touchdown effort against Seattle. 

While the potential return of fellow WR Christian Watson (hamstring) lowers his ceiling, Packers’ rookie Jayden Reed (vs. Saints) is worthy of a waiver claim, as he’s logged a high snap share through his first two weeks as a pro and turned that into a four-catch, 37-yard, two TD effort against Atlanta. All of Green Bay's WRs will be tough to start in this matchup, but Watson always has a high ceiling when he's active.

Texans rookie Tank Dell (@ Jaguars) is a trusted option of C.J. Stroud’s, and in a Houston offense that’s going to pass at a high rate in negative game scripts, Dell has major WR3/flex appeal. 

Other Week 3 waiver wire additions and sleepers include Josh Downs (@ Ravens), Marvin Mims (@ Dolphins), Tutu Atwell (@ Bengals), Kadarius Toney and Skyy Moore (vs. Bears), and Adam Thielen (@ Seahawks). Atwell and Moore are our favorites, but Toney has some appeal in deep leagues, too.

WEEK 3 FANTASY: Sleepers | Busts | Start 'em, sit 'em

Who are the biggest potential WR busts Week 3?

Among WRs on the start/sit bubble, we'd probably pass on starting Marquise Brown (vs. Cowboys), Treylon Burks (@ Browns), Romeo Doubs (vs. Saints), Rashid Shaheed (@ Packers), Allen Lazard (vs. Patriots), and JuJu Smith-Schuster (@ Jets) this week. 

Although Brown could see a high target share in a potential negative game script, the Cowboys' secondary is not a unit we want to face, ending Week 1 allowing the lowest dropback EPA (-0.507) before dominating the Jets outside of a busted coverage. While the elements played a factor in Cleveland's' Week 1 output, the Browns' defense surrendered the lowest dropback success rate (22.22 percent), consistently keeping the Bengals offense off-schedule. We could see more of the same against Tennessee in Week 3, thus limiting Burks and maybe even the disappointing (and banged-up) DeAndre Hopkins.

Doubs, Shaheed, Lazard, and Smith-Schuster also draw tough matchups against the league's better pass defenses, potentially leading to some "bust" performances this week. In Doubs' case, it also doesn't help that Christian Watson (hamstring) will likely make his season debut, cutting into his target share.

WEEK 3 DFS:
DK lineup | FD lineup | Best values | Best stacks

What are the biggest WR injuries Week 3?

We didn't see Watson (hamstring), Diontae Johnson (hamstring), Brandin Cooks (knee), and Jakobi Meyers (head) suit up in Week 2, but we expect Watson to make his season debut this week. That said, we've only left Johnson out of our Week 3 list but will update our rankings accordingly throughout the week.

As for new injuries to watch out for, we saw Davante Adams (head), Jaylen Waddle (head), Garrett Wilson (undisclosed), Odell Beckham Jr. (ankle), and Darnell Mooney (knee) exit their respective contests and fail to return to game action. We've kept Adams, Waddle, Wilson, and Mooney in our Week 3 rankings as there's a chance these wideouts suit up this week, but took out Beckham, as he's officially been ruled out.

As usual, we'll update these standard WR rankings throughout the week, so check back for the latest player movement and analysis.

Fantasy WR Rankings Week 3: Who to start, sit at wide receiver

Rankings based on standard, non-PPR scoring

Rank    Player
1    Justin Jefferson, Vikings vs. Chargers
2    Tyreek Hill, Dolphins vs. Broncos
3    Stefon Diggs, Bills @ Commanders
4    Davante Adams, Raiders vs. Steelers
5    CeeDee Lamb, Cowboys @ Cardinals
6    Amon-Ra St. Brown, Lions vs. Falcons
7    A.J. Brown, Eagles @ Buccaneers
8    Ja'Marr Chase, Bengals vs. Rams
9    Calvin Ridley, Jaguars vs. Texans
10    Chris Olave, Saints @ Packers
11    DeVonta Smith, Eagles @ Buccaneers
12    Deebo Samuel, 49ers vs. Giants
13    DK Metcalf, Seahawks vs. Panthers
14    Puka Nacua, Rams @ Bengals
15    Keenan Allen, Chargers @ Vikings
16    Mike Evans, Buccaneers vs. Eagles
17    Tee Higgins, Bengals vs. Rams
18    Mike Williams, Chargers @ Vikings
19    Garrett Wilson, Jets vs. Patriots
20    George Pickens, Steelers @ Raiders
21    Zay Flowers, Ravens vs. Colts
22    Tyler Lockett, Seahawks vs. Panthers
23    Terry McLaurin, Commanders vs. Bills
24    DeAndre Hopkins, Titans @ Browns
25    DJ Moore, Bears @ Chiefs
26    Michael Pittman Jr., Colts @ Ravens
27    Jerry Jeudy, Broncos @ Dolphins
28    Amari Cooper, Browns vs. Titans
29    Chris Godwin, Buccaneers vs. Eagles
30    Nico Collins, Texans @ Jaguars
31    Michael Thomas, Saints @ Packers
32    Jordan Addison, Vikings vs. Chargers
33    Drake London, Falcons @ Lions
34    Christian Kirk, Jaguars vs. Texans
35    Gabe Davis, Bills @ Commanders
36    Jahan Dotson, Commanders vs. Bills
37    Marquise Brown, Cardinals vs.Cowboys
38    Treylon Burks, Titans @ Browns
39    Courtland Sutton, Broncos @ Dolphins
40    Romeo Doubs, Packers vs. Saints
41    Jayden Reed, Packers vs. Saints
42    Jakobi Meyers, Raiders @ Bills
43    Elijah Moore, Browns vs. Titans
44    Tutu Atwell, Rams @ Bengals
45    Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Seahawks vs. Panthers
46    Tank Dell, Texans @ Jaguars
47    Rashid Shaheed, Saints @ Packers
48    Skyy Moore, Chiefs vs. Bears
49    Kadarius Toney, Chiefs vs. Bears
50    Kendrick Bourne, Patriots @ Jets
51    Josh Reynolds, Lions vs. Falcons
52    Adam Thielen, Panthers @ Seahawks
53    Braxton Berrios, Dolphins vs. Broncos
54    Tyler Boyd, Bengals vs. Rams
55    Rondale Moore, Cardinals vs. Cowboys
56    Curtis Samuel, Commanders vs. Bills
57    Michael Gallup, Cowboys @ Cardinals
58    Allen Lazard, Jets vs. Patriots
59    Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Chiefs vs. Bears
60    Robert Woods, Texans @ Jaguars
61    Darnell Mooney, Bears @ Chiefs
62    Donovan Peoples-Jones, Browns vs. Titans
63    Joshua Palmer, Chargers @ Vikings
64    Mack Hollins, Falcons @ Lions
65    K.J. Osborn, Vikings vs. Chargers
66    Brandin Cooks, Cowboys @ Cardinals
67    JuJu Smith-Schuster, Patriots @ Jets
68    Rashee Rice, Chiefs vs. Bears
69    Allen Robinson II, Steelers @ Raiders
70    Isaiah Hodgins, Giants @ 49ers
71    Van Jefferson, Rams @ Bengals
72    Rashod Bateman, Ravens vs. Colts
73    Josh Downs, Colts @ Ravens
74    Marvin Mims Jr., Broncos @ Dolphins
75    River Cracraft, Dolphins vs. Broncos
76    Darius Slayton, Giants @ 49ers
77    Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, Titans @ Browns
78    Cedrick Wilson, Dolphins vs. Broncos
79    Alec Pierce, Colts @ Ravens
80    Quentin Johnston, Chargers @ Vikings
81    Jonathan Mingo, Panthers @ Seahawks
82    DJ Chark, Panthers @ Falcons
83    Jalin Hyatt, Giants @ 49ers
84    Brandon Johnson, Broncos @ Dolphins
85    Calvin Austin III, Steelers @ Raiders
86    DeVante Parker, Patriots @ Jets
87    Michael Wilson, Cardinals vs. Cowboys

Week 3 WR fantasy projections, rankings from Draft Sharks

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Nick Musial

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Nick Musial is a Content Producer at The Sporting News. He recently joined the team after studying sport management and journalism at the University of Kansas. Nick’s an avid sports bettor who’s always looking for value.