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Who Should I Start for Week 3? Fantasy Football outlooks for Derrick Henry, Josh Jacobs, Kaleb Johnson, Jerome Ford, Kyle Monangai, Brian Robinson Jr., Kenneth Gainwell, Jeremy McNichols, Antonio Gibson.
Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some of the most common Week 3 fantasy football lineup decisions involve players like Derrick Henry, Josh Jacobs, Kaleb Johnson, Jerome Ford, Kyle Monangai, Brian Robinson Jr., Kenneth Gainwell, Jeremy McNichols, Antonio Gibson. However, don't worry, we are here to help you 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.
Compare up to four players and we'll tell you who to start...
Fantasy Football Matchup Outlooks
Below are some fantasy football outlooks written by our NFL team here at RotoBaller, bringing you their fantasy football analysis and advice on which players to consider starting in Week 3:
Josh Jacobs, RB, Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs (ankle) was limited in a second straight practice this week on Thursday as he manages an ankle injury ahead of the Week 3 matchup against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, according to Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
If Jacobs is unable to practice in full on Friday, he could carry a questionable tag into the weekend. There haven't been any indications that the 27-year-old is in danger of missing Sunday's game, so for now, fantasy managers should leave him in their starting lineups.
Tight end Tucker Kraft injured his knee in practice on Thursday, and if he's unable to play against Cleveland, the Packers could lean more on their ground game with Jacobs and backups Chris Brooks and Emanuel Wilson. Through the first two weeks in 2025, Jacobs is the RB11 in half-PPR scoring.
Kaleb Johnson, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers rookie running back Kaleb Johnson "probably" will lose kickoff-return duties in Week 3 against the New England Patriots after a crucial special-teams gaffe in the Week 2 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, according to head coach Mike Tomlin. Johnson allowed a kickoff to bounce over his head and into the end zone on Sunday in the fourth quarter because he thought the play would be called dead.
But with the NFL's new kickoff rules, it was a live ball, which the Seahawks recovered for a game-changing touchdown. The Steelers will give Johnson a chance to work his way back into the special teams role, but in the short term, he'll be benched.
Fantasy managers had high hopes for the 22-year-old during draft season, but Jaylen Warren's demise has been premature, and Kenneth Gainwell has operated as the No. 2. Johnson only played two snaps on offense in Week 2 and has just two carries for a loss of one yard in his first two NFL games. His special-teams gaffe on Sunday certainly didn't help his cause for a bigger role on offense.
Kyle Monangai, RB, Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears rookie running back Kyle Monangai logged seven carries for 28 yards and added one catch for eight yards in the team's 52-21 loss to the Detroit Lions. More importantly, Monangai appeared to leapfrog Roschon Johnson in the backfield rotation, playing 41% of the snaps while Johnson saw zero offensive snaps.
Most of Monangai's work came in garbage time with quarterback Tyson Bagent, but head coach Ben Johnson singled him out as one of three players who impressed in the loss. There's even speculation that Monangai could start carving into D'Andre Swift's workload as the season progresses.
For now, Monangai looks locked in as Chicago's RB2 and should be stashed in deeper formats. If his role continues to grow, he could emerge as a fantasy sleeper with contingent upside.
Jeremy McNichols, RB, Washington Commanders
Washington Commanders running back Jeremy McNichols (hamstring) practiced in full on Thursday after being limited in practice on Wednesday due to a hamstring injury. He appears to be on track to play in Week 3 against the Las Vegas Raiders.
McNichols has recorded four carries for 25 yards through the first two weeks of the season. However, he could be in for significantly more playing time in Washington now that Austin Ekeler (Achilles) will miss the remainder of the season.
McNichols finished 2024 with 288 yards from scrimmage and four touchdowns, and the majority of his production came in the five games that Ekeler was unable to play. McNichols could be worth stashing in deeper leagues while the Commanders' new backfield mix takes shape.
Who Should I Start Tool
You can also see the Who Should I Start tool here.
Week 3 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players - Derrick Henry, Josh Jacobs, Kaleb Johnson, Jerome Ford, Kyle Monangai, Brian Robinson Jr., Kenneth Gainwell, Jeremy McNichols, Antonio Gibson. 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 name. In the second box, search for the second player 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, stats, projections, strength of schedule, players news, and enhanced search results with data to compare with 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 circle), 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 searches and comparisons from our Who To Start tool for Week 3 for Derrick Henry, Josh Jacobs, Kaleb Johnson, Jerome Ford, Kyle Monangai, Brian Robinson Jr., Kenneth Gainwell, Jeremy McNichols, Antonio Gibson:
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