RADIO
Should I start Bhayshul Tuten, Javonte Williams, Tony Pollard for Week 3? Fantasy football start 'em, sit 'em picks and recommendations for the 2025 NFL season.
The running back position is always an interesting one in fantasy football. While it's typically harder to find league-winning running backs in the later rounds of fantasy drafts or on the waiver wire, the boost a steal at RB can give your team is massive.
Generally, the best running backs are taken early in drafts. It's a position with scarcity, and the simple fact that more wide receivers are on the field in the average NFL play makes it easier for talented wideouts to surprise and earn bigger roles.
Jacksonville Jaguars running back Bhayshul Tuten was largely not drafted in fantasy leagues, Dallas Cowboys RB Javonte Williams was a late-round pick, and Tennessee Titans tailback Tony Pollard was selected mostly after the first five rounds. But should you start them in Week 3? Let's dive in!
Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for 2025:- 2025 fantasy football rankings
- Running back (RB) fantasy football rankings
- Wide receiver (WR) fantasy football rankings
- Tight end (TE) fantasy football rankings
- Quarterback (QB) fantasy football rankings
- FLEX fantasy football rankings
- Defense (D/ST) fantasy football rankings
- Kicker (K) fantasy football rankings
- Dynasty fantasy football rankings
Should I Start Bhayshul Tuten for Fantasy Football?
Tuten (shoulder) had his breakout game in Week 2 against the Cincinnati Bengals. Apparently, he impressed his team's coaches enough by Week 1 to have them trade away RB Tank Bigsby to the Eagles. Tuten is now the team's clear RB2... for now.
Rookies that are drafted outside the first two rounds of the NFL Draft tend not to be worked heavily into their offenses until after at least a few weeks. Tuten saw a big uptick in touches, though, as he carried the ball eight times for 42 yards and caught two passes for 32 yards and a touchdown in his second pro game.
There are a million reasons why Bhayshul Tuten will earn a bigger role in the Jaguars backfield. This is one of them. He's a wizard at creating positive runs when he's hit in the backfield. Something Travis Etienne struggles with.
League winning season loading for Tuten. pic.twitter.com/8jFRw6RDMB
— JohnJohn Analysis (@JohnJohnalytics) September 17, 2025
While lead back Travis Etienne Jr. had a similar snap share and touch amount as in Week 1, Tuten outperformed him in many ways. Tuten is a remarkably talented back, according to my analysis. That's why I ranked him as my RB1 in the 2025 NFL Draft class all the way back in March, well before the NFL Draft.
Tuten currently sits at second place among ALL NFL running backs in fantasy points per touch, just behind Miami Dolphins RB De'Von Achane. He's shown great efficiency. The play from the clip above is just one of the fantastic traits he possesses that make me love his fantasy prospects.
Bhayshul Tuten through 2 games:
-0.15 Missed Tackles Forced per Rush (RB15/50)
-3.55 Yards After Contact per Rush (RB5)
-1.26 Fantasy Points per Touch (RB2)
-0.38 MTF/Touch (RB2)Small sample size, but when the sample size gets bigger, you won't be able to get him anymore.
— JohnJohn Analysis (@JohnJohnalytics) September 18, 2025
Tuten was one of the most elusive running backs in the NFL in college, and he's been very elusive through two games. He gains a lot of yards after contact, can shed very tough tackle attempts, and has ridiculous speed -- he's tied for the third-fastest running back of all time at the NFL Combine with Achane.
Tuten's elite athleticism, combined with his high-end running back skill set, will make it difficult for Jaguars head coach Liam Coen to keep him off the field. Coen's regime traded up to draft him in the fourth round, too, and Coen's offensive schemes have already been a massive improvement for the Jaguars' run game.
Tuten should be started in all leagues from Week 3 onwards.
Should I Start Javonte Williams for Fantasy Football?
Williams has had a career resurgence with the Dallas Cowboys. He's been one of the biggest surprises of fantasy football this season, and while he still struggles to force missed tackles, it doesn't really matter. The Cowboys' run-blocking has been fantastic this season.
Williams is currently the RB3 in PPR scoring in fantasy football, thanks to his 151 rushing yards and three rush touchdowns through two games. He's also caught eight passes for 43 yards in the first two contests, and now has 45.4 PPR fantasy points.
Javonte Williams through two games:
-0.10 Missed Tackles Forced per touch (RB41/54)
-0.09 MTF/Rush (RB32)Still not elusive, but it doesn't matter yet because the Cowboys have a much better run blocking offensive line and he's getting pretty much all the touches.
— JohnJohn Analysis (@JohnJohnalytics) September 18, 2025
Williams looks to be one of the biggest steals of the fantasy season so far. His role in the offense likely isn't threatened much by backup RB Miles Sanders, who has just nine rush attempts so far. Sanders' fumble won't help him earn a lot more touches immediately.
For now, Williams is obviously a must-start. There's no question about that. Further down the road, though, if rookie RB Jaydon Blue can overcome whatever issues he's having and work his way into the lineup, we could see more of a committee approach, with Blue handling more pass-catching duties thanks to his explosiveness.
That doesn't matter for Week 3, though. There's no reason to bench Williams right now.
Should I Start Tony Pollard for Fantasy Football?
Pollard, though more explosive and more elusive throughout his career than Williams, is in basically the opposite situation. He's struggling through poor offensive line play and playing on a bad offense. His receiving role isn't really what it needs to be to give him much fantasy value.
Pollard is just the RB31 through two games. He's only been targeted twice and caught just one pass for 29 yards. That small of a receiving role is baffling, but it appears that rookie QB Cam Ward isn't willing to dump off passes to him much, which is a very bad thing.
#Titans Tony Pollard has forced 20 missed tackles this season, 6 more than any other player in the NFL. His 14 missed tackles forced in Wk 2 were the most by any player in a single game since Wk 12 last season (Josh Jacobs). Pollard has run between the tackles on 55.3% of his…
— TURRON DAVENPORT (@TDavenport_NFL) September 18, 2025
It's clear that Pollard is a good player in a bad situation. Unfortunately, it's unclear if Ward will start feeding the former Dallas Cowboy more in the passing game, and the Titans have scored just one total touchdown through two contests. Things aren't exactly looking up from here.
Pollard is still a solid flex player to start in most leagues for his upside and the chances he can break off a big run. He's a great athlete and still very tough to bring down. But the situation is so poor that it depresses his fantasy value quite a bit.
Who Should I Start Tool
Not sure who to start? Check out the Who Should I Start tool:
Compare up to four players and we'll tell you who to start...
Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some common Week 3 fantasy football lineup decisions are regarding players like Bhayshul Tuten, Javonte Williams, and Tony Pollard. But not to worry, we are here to help make these decisions and build winning lineups in Week 3. Set your optimal fantasy football lineups for Week 3 of the 2025 NFL season. Our free Who Should I Start? tool will help make your fantasy football lineup decisions. Compare up to four NFL players, and we tell you who to start... all free! Get your winning lineups set, and make the right decisions.
Week 3 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players - Bhayshul Tuten, Javonte Williams, and Tony Pollard. These are some of the most common searches for fantasy football lineups in Week 3.
Using The Tool. This is a simple tool, but very powerful. The first step is to enter the player names that you want to compare. In the first box, search for the first player's name. In the second box, search for the second player's name. Compare up to four NFL players at once, and then click the Who To Start? button to see who the recommended starts are based on weekly fantasy football matchups.
Improvements For Who Should I Start? You may have noticed that our Who Should I Start? tool has gotten an overhaul. We've added lots of great features for you to give you as much information as possible to win your fantasy football matchups each week. You'll see NFL player tiles with headshots and bye weeks, enhanced search results with data to compare, and a slick new interface. We hope you enjoy!
How It Works. Each week, our RotoBaller staff puts together their weekly fantasy football rankings and projections based on their research. That information is the core data that is powering the decision-making in this tool. When you search for player names, you will only see those players who are ranked. If someone is out for the week, they will not appear in the search results.
Scoring Formats. Fantasy football managers play in various types of leagues, and this tool allows you to choose whether it's PPR scoring, Half-PPR scoring, or Standard (Non-PPR) scoring. The second thing you want to do is to select the scoring format. There are three small radio buttons (small circles), so click on the scoring format you prefer. The results may vary based on the scoring format you select.
Popular Week 3 Searches. Curious to see some tough lineup decisions for Week 3 (2025)? Below you will find a list of some popular Who Should I Start? searches that RotoBaller readers are looking at this week. Click any of the links to see the result and recommendation.
Popular Week 3 Searches - Start/Sit Player Comparisons
Below are some popular Week 1 searches and comparisons from our 'Who To Start' tool for Bhayshul Tuten, Javonte Williams, and Tony Pollard compared to others:
More Fantasy Football Analysis
Download Our Free News & Alerts Mobile App
Like what you see? Download our updated fantasy football app for iPhone and Android with 24x7 player news, injury alerts, rankings, starts/sits & more. All free!
