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Who Should I Start for Week 3? Fantasy Football outlooks for Tyler Shough, Kyler Murray, Trevor Lawrence, Joe Burrow, Jared Goff, Kirk Cousins, Bo Nix, C.J. Stroud, Geno Smith, Brock Purdy
Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some of the most common Week 3 fantasy football lineup decisions involve players like Tyler Shough, Kyler Murray, Trevor Lawrence, Joe Burrow, Jared Goff, Kirk Cousins, Bo Nix, C.J. Stroud, Geno Smith, and Brock Purdy. 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 2026 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.
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Week 3 Fantasy Football 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:
Kyler Murray, Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kyler Murray (concussion) has cleared the NFL's concussion protocol and will return to the starting lineup for the team's Week 3 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this Sunday, sources told Tom Pelissero of The Ringer. Murray suffered a scary concussion in the season-opening win over the division-rival Green Bay Packers early in the first quarter and was quickly ruled out, but he was in good spirits after that game and returned to practice last week before ultimately being ruled out for the Week 2 win over the division-rival Chicago Bears.
Veteran Carson Wentz did a commendable job in helping the Vikings start the year 2-0, but now that Murray has been cleared, he will return to the starting role, making him worth a waiver-wire pickup in two-QB fantasy leagues.
The 29-year-old former first overall pick back in 2019 showed good chemistry with top receivers Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison in training camp this summer and has a great opportunity to bounce back in 2026 going forward if he can stay on the field.
Geno Smith, New York Jets
New York Jets quarterback Geno Smith is far from a flashy name in fantasy football, but his high passing volume and mistake-free streak put him on the radar as a solid waiver wire target. Smith threw 41 times in Week 2, completing 27 passes for 247 yards, one touchdown, and zero turnovers. He took four sacks, but he also logged 17 rushing yards.
Smith has only one touchdown through two weeks, but it's also worth noting that he doesn't have any turnovers so far. He has been a steady presence at quarterback for the Jets, leading drives and supporting the fantasy stocks of Garrett Wilson and Breece Hall. Now, he's getting on the fantasy radar himself, albeit as a QB2.
The Jets will likely have to throw the ball a lot again in Week 3 against the Detroit Lions, so Smith's projected high volume gives him top-16 upside in fantasy football.
Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy looked fantastic during the Week 2 matchup against the Miami Dolphins. He seemingly had no issues as he completed 20-of-22 passing attempts for 287 yards and two touchdowns in the win. Purdy also rushed the ball three times for 30 yards and another score on the ground. Purdy has been incredible through his first two games, with five passing touchdowns and nearly 500 passing yards.
The 49ers have been dealing with injuries, but that hasn't stopped them from being one of the best offenses early in the season. He'll continue to be a strong QB1 against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 3.
Kirk Cousins, Las Vegas Raiders
Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Kirk Cousins has played above expectations through the first two weeks of the season. The 38-year-old has thrown for over 400 yards and has six touchdowns in two games. He has helped the Raiders get to a 2-0 record as they head into a Week 3 matchup against the New Orleans Saints. Cousins won't be the long-term solution in Las Vegas, but the Raiders are going to ride with him for now.
With that being said, fantasy managers looking for a viable streaming option should consider picking up Cousins. He has been playing well enough to be trusted as a starting option against the Saints defense in Week 3 in deeper leagues.
Tyler Shough, New Orleans Saints
New Orleans Saints quarterback Tyler Shough backed up his huge opener with another strong fantasy game Sunday, completing 27 of 34 passes for 252 yards and a touchdown while adding 23 yards and a score on nine carries against Baltimore. He did not need another 410-yard afternoon to get there, either. Through two weeks, Shough leads the NFL with 90 passing attempts and 662 yards, and he has now accounted for five total touchdowns.
That kind of workload is getting difficult to treat as a temporary streaming situation. Las Vegas has generated plenty of pressure early this season, but RotoBaller still lists Shough as a potential Week 3 boom and has him second among quarterbacks on its waiver rankings.
He is still available in more than half of Yahoo leagues. Shough should be added in 12-team formats at this point, and managers searching for a quarterback should be comfortable holding him beyond just this week's matchup. He is a top option to pick up and stream in all standard leagues.
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 - Tyler Shough, Kyler Murray, Trevor Lawrence, Joe Burrow, Jared Goff, Kirk Cousins, Bo Nix, C.J. Stroud, Geno Smith, Brock Purdy. 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 (2026)? 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 Tyler Shough, Kyler Murray, Trevor Lawrence, Joe Burrow, Jared Goff, Kirk Cousins, Bo Nix, C.J. Stroud, Geno Smith, Brock Purdy.
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