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Matt's wide receiver (WR) fantasy football start 'em, sit 'em picks for Week 3 of 2025. His WR lineups advice for Week 3 fantasy football start/sit decisions.
How are you holding up? The first two weeks of the NFL season are behind us, and we are onto Week 3. Some surprise pass catchers lurking in the top 20 for fantasy purposes, including Troy Franklin (11th), coming off a 24-point Week 2 performance, and Hunter Renfrow, who posted a 23.8-point performance against the Cardinals.
Conversely, Calvin Ridley, DeVonta Smith, and Josh Downs reside outside the top 50 in PPR scoring formats.
That said, we are here to help you make sense of it all with our RotoBaller Week 3 starts and sits at the wide receiver position and to provide a fantasy football wellness check.
Week 3 Starts - Fantasy Football Booms
DK Metcalf - WR, Pittsburgh Steelers at New England Patriots
Heading into Foxborough may be precisely what Metcalf needs to get himself right after being held to seven receptions on 13 targets through the season's first two weeks. In those two contests, Metcalf has been held to 103 receiving yards; however, he has averaged 14.7 yards per reception.
Last week, Metcalf's revenge game did not go as planned, as Cooper Kupp, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Tory Horton, Elijah Arroyo, and AJ Barner received more yards than Metcalf's 20. Let's give credit where credit is due. Both Riq Woolen and Josh Jobe did their job in coverage, so this week, it really comes down to whether or not Christian Gonzalez can suit up for a Patriots secondary that desperately needs him. If Gonzalez is once again sidelined, Metcalf is going to eat.
As for the Patriots, they surrendered 40.90 fantasy points to the Raiders' wide receivers in Week 1, which didn't include Brock Bowers, who had 103 yards in that contest. Then last week, Tyreek Hill had 109 receiving yards, and Jaylen Waddle added 68 yards and a touchdown, pushing the Dolphins' receivers to 49.80 fantasy points against New England. Add that up, and you get 424 yards, a pair of touchdowns for 45.35 fantasy points per game against, the second-most.
George Pickens - WR, Dallas Cowboys at Chicago Bears
After seeing just four targets in his Dallas Cowboys debut, Pickens played a much larger role in the Cowboys' offense last week when the Cowboys defeated the New York Giants in overtime.
In Pickens's second contest in the silver and blue, he would earn nine targets, hauling in five for 68 receiving yards, doubling his total from the previous week. While the yardage alone isn't enough to get fantasy managers excited, if you turn on the film, you'll see a receiver who has been drawing pass interference calls down the field. There's no bonus for pass interference yardage; however, those calls are a good sign that Pickens is getting open and being targeted, and it's only a matter of time.
This week, expect the deep ball to fly as the Cowboys face a Chicago Bears team that just surrendered four touchdowns and 266 yards receiving to the position against the Detroit Lions. The 65.20 fantasy points against were the second-most in Week 2. Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams eclipsed 100 yards receiving, with Williams accomplishing the feat on just two catches for 64 and 44 yards, respectively.
Rome Odunze - WR, Chicago Bears vs Dallas Cowboys
The only team in Week 2 that allowed more fantasy production in the wide receiver position than the Chicago Bears was the Dallas Cowboys. Dallas conceded 167 receiving yards and a pair of touchdowns to Malik Nabers while also surrendering 142 receiving yards on eight receptions to Wan'Dale Robinson. Add that up, and you end up with 74 fantasy points against the position a week after Dallas held Philadelphia Eagles receivers in check.
.@RomeOdunze makin' it look easy 😮💨
📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/S0IeKmW6M3
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) September 14, 2025
So, we need to ask ourselves which Dallas defense showed up for Week 3: the one that allowed 74 fantasy points to the Giants' pass catchers or the one that held A.J. Brown and Smith to 15.30 fantasy points and 83 total yards, most of which Jahan Dotson was responsible for.
Through Odunze's first two games this season, the second-year wideout has 13 receptions, 165 receiving yards (ninth-most), and three touchdown receptions, which leads the league. Odunze likely would be leading fantasy leagues in points if not for the aforementioned St. Brown and Nabers, who each posted fantasy weeks of 30.2 and 28.7, narrowly edging out Odunze's 24.8 performance against the Detroit Lions.
If Odunze sees similar usage as he did in Week 2, 100% snap share, 33% target share, and 59% air yardage share against the Cowboys secondary we all saw last week, Odunze could finish the week as the overall WR1 in fantasy and could be the top of the overall rankings after three weeks. Last season, Odunze's targets per route run were 16.3%, first down per route run was 6.0%, and yards per route run were 1.18. This season, those have already increased to 26.3% targets per route run, 11.8% first down per route run, and 2.17 yards per route run.
Week 3 Sits - Potential Fantasy Football Busts
Terry McLaurin - WR, Washington Commanders vs Las Vegas Raiders
We are heading into the third week of the NFL season, and McLaurin has seven receptions for 75 receiving yards (third on the team) and is still without a touchdown. While the targets (13) and yards per reception (10.7) are encouraging, missing much of camp due to contract negotiations has factored into McLaurin's early-season struggles.
Digging deeper into the data, McLauring's 18.1% target share in the first two weeks is down compared to the 23.1% target share he earned a season ago. Part of that may result from missing time, while some of that can be attributed to the upgrade from Dyami Brown playing opposite him in Deebo Samuel Sr., who has already earned a 25% target share. For the record, Brown has eight receptions for 108 yards and a touchdown down in Duval County.
Historically, receivers who have held out due to contract demands have slow starts to their seasons. In recent memory, we witnessed Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk go through the same thing. Eventually, McLaurin will return to his old self, but until then, it's best to wait until that happens before trusting him in your starting lineups.
Chris Olave - WR, New Orleans Saints at Seattle Seahawks
Here's the thing with Olave. The Saints quarterback's play is foul, and that may be generous. Olave has seen 13 and 10 targets in two games this season, which is good. Olave has come away with 54 receiving yards in both contests, which is underwhelming considering the volume. At best, Olave is a volume play that could be a WR2 in a given week.
This is not hating on Olave; this is about the poor quarterback play he is currently burdened with. I don't know how often Olave has worked himself open to see the ball head in another receiver's direction or sail completely over his head. This week, it doesn't get any easier facing a formidable Seahawks secondary that just limited Mecalf to three receptions and 20 yards.
Seattle heads into this contest as the top-ranked fantasy defense against opposing receivers, holding them to 17.15 fantasy points per game after allowing just 11 receptions and 173 receiving yards to the position through two weeks.
A.J. Brown - WR, Philadelphia Eagles vs Los Angeles Rams
It's a little early to panic, but when talking about Brown, that Panic Meter has to be hitting a solid seven right now. Through two weeks, the Eagles and Brown have faced two teams inside the top seven regarding fantasy points allowed to the wide receiver position. The Kansas City Chiefs allow 39.95 per game, while the Dallas Cowboys will enable an average of 44.65. Yet, Brown is currently the WR80 thus far, averaging 4.8 fantasy points per game.
If you are looking for a positive in all that, Brown's Week 1 to Week 2 production was a 300% increase. Considering Dallas Goedert was unavailable last week, fantasy managers disheartened with the Week 1 performance had a glimmer of hope entering Week 2. It's hard to ignore the numbers. While the target share is a positive (21.9%), the six receptions for 35 receiving yards and an average depth of target of 7.4 yards are not something to get excited about, and neither is this week's matchup.
Through the Rams' first two contests, the secondary has performed well, limiting opposing receivers to 23 receptions for 252 yards and a touchdown. For fantasy purposes, that equates to 27.80 fantasy points against, the seventh-fewest, and the most challenging matchup for Brown yet.
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