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Dan's fantasy football start 'em, sit 'em picks for Week 3 of 2026. He looks at potential warning signals from Terry McLaurin, Jacory Croskey-Merritt, Rhamondre Stevenson, DK Metcalf, and Jake Ferguson
Welcome to Week 3 of fantasy football and another edition of Warning Signals. Like any fantasy football player, I’m always looking for a reason behind why a player busted in a given week (or weeks) or how NFL roster changes might affect players I have on my roster. In this column, I share a handful of players who stand out in my mind as particularly dicey plays in fantasy football according to their circumstances.
Two weeks’ worth of data is not much to work with, I must admit. However, there are more than a few players who have turned in back-to-back duds and aren’t exactly positioned for a bounceback in Week 3. It is too early to cut bait, but caution is definitely warranted before plugging any of this week’s featured players into your starting lineup.
Benching a player three weeks into the season that you had highlighted on your draft cheat sheet is not easy. At the same time, it’s no fun seeing said player sink your matchup with another stinker. So before you set your lineups, look out for these Warning Signals for Week 3 of fantasy football.
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Terry McLaurin, WR, Washington Commanders
Washington Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin sits at the top of the team’s wide receiver depth chart, but after two weeks he tied for fourth on the team in receptions with four. Getting Diggs the ball seems to be a new priority in the Commanders' offensive strategy. Diggs has a team-high 15 targets on 47 routes run, to McLaurin’s 13 on 68 routes, and the two have been first-read targets an equal number of times.
McLaurin is struggling to get open, leading to many of his targets coming in tight windows. Since he can’t get separation, his targets have been thrown out of reach of defenders, and McLaurin himself. He ranks near the bottom of the league in terms of catchable target rate.
McLaurin’s underwhelming performance aside, he is going to be without quarterback Jayden Daniels (elbow) in Week 3. Backup Marcus Mariota has demonstrated solid rapport with McLaurin in the past, but the receiver might not seem like such an attractive target with his new teammates more adept at getting separation. To make matters worse, the Commanders will be facing the Seahawks’ elite defense on Sunday.
Don’t “buy low” on Terry McLaurin just because he was good with Marcus Mariota in the past
The 2026 Commanders added not one, but TWO elite separators (and target earners for that matter) at the wide receiver position https://t.co/xQ0mkxc9DB
— Adam Koffler (@AdamKoffler) September 24, 2026
Jacory Croskey-Merritt, RB, Washington Commanders
Sorry, Commanders fans, I’m not done picking on your guys yet. Like Terry McLaurin, Jacory Croskey-Merritt might be at the top of the depth chart at his position but he is not seeing the usual benefits that come with that role. In Washington’s first two games, JCM is the team’s leading rusher but is ceding third-down work to Rachaad White and has evenly split carries inside the opponents’ five-yard line with White and Kaytron Allen.
Croskey-Merritt just edged out White in snap share in Week 1, 34 to 29, but that flipped last weekend as the Commanders tried to keep up with the high-scoring Cowboys offense. Against Dallas, White was in for 37 snaps to JCM’s 26, and saw six targets in the passing game. If this is a picture of what is to come, then JCM’s usage will depend on game script, and his expected value will fluctuate week by week.
As stated above, Washington has a challenge ahead of them in Week 3 when the Seahawks come to town. Seattle has allowed just 125 rushing yards to opposing running backs over the first two weeks of the season. Croskey-Merritt will get softer matchups against the Colts and Giants in the coming weeks, but he will almost certainly disappoint if he is in your lineup this weekend.
#Commanders Week 2 RB Usage
- Rachaad White: 54% snaps, 7 carries, 24 routes, 6 targets (83 yds)
- Jacory Croskey-Merritt: 34% snaps, 12 carries, 7 routes, 1 target (48 yds)— Michael F. Florio (@MichaelFFlorio) September 20, 2026
Rhamondre Stevenson, RB, New England Patriots
New England Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson has a reputation for putting the ball on the ground, and added to it in Week 2. Stevenson’s fumble in last Sunday’s game against the Steelers was the 18th of his career and the 12th that resulted in a turnover. In losing the ball, Stevenson also turned over backfield duties to TreVeyon Henderson, who got the lion’s share of work the rest of the way.
Henderson looked impressive in his season debut, rushing 16 times for 76 yards and a touchdown. Stevenson was efficient with the ball, too, averaging 7.2 yards per carry (albeit on six rushing attempts), but the Patriots showed that they are not afraid to hand things over to Henderson if and when ball security is an issue.
The split backfield in New England already made Stevenson a risky bet in fantasy. His ability to find the end zone in each of the last two seasons has pumped up his value, but those opportunities won’t keep coming if he can’t hold onto the ball. In Week 3, he will be up against the Jaguars, who forced 11 fumbles in 2025 and have limited running backs to 3.2 yards per carry this season.
Punch out 🥊 @nickherbig_
📲 Stream on NFL+: https://t.co/vqIDzYZB2x pic.twitter.com/rT4xRt56jf
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) September 20, 2026
DK Metcalf, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver has 19 targets through the first two weeks of the season, good for the sixth-most in the NFL. He also has just eight catches on all those chances. And he is up to three drops already. Last Sunday, Metcalf’s most recent error came on a critical third-down play in the third quarter that shut down a drive while the Steelers were still down by only 10 points.
Metcalf has seven targets of at least 20 air yards, tying him with Chris Olave for most in the league. Unlike Olave, who has four receptions for 140 yards on such targets, Metcalf has not caught a single one. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers, meanwhile, has racked up more air yards on balls that were not catchable.
In Week 3, Pittsburgh faces the division-rival Cincinnati Bengals, whose defense might have turned a corner coming into 2026. The Bengals are the only team yet to allow a receiving touchdown and play tight coverage at a higher rate than any other team. On Sunday, Metcalf will be pestered by more tight coverage, with an increasingly frustrated quarterback trying to get him the ball. Even if Pittman is out for another game, I will leave Metcalf on the bench.
Yet another drop for DK Metcalf!!!!! #yips #Steelers #NFL pic.twitter.com/5LH7Dl7sSo
— Steelers Depot 7⃣ (@Steelersdepot) September 20, 2026
Jake Ferguson, TE, Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys tight end Jake Ferguson put up a whopping 18.3 PPR points in Week 2. That number loses some of its luster when we remember that his two touchdowns in the game accounted for about two-thirds of his fantasy production on a four-catch, 43-yard day.
There are a lot of mouths to feed in the Cowboys’ offense, primarily those of CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens. Lamb is probably happy enough after racking up 197 yards and three touchdowns in the first two weeks of the season. Pickens, on the other hand, will want to be more productive, as he has just 68 receiving yards so far.
Dallas’ offense is set up to be one of the juggernauts of the NFL in 2026, but there is not much room for Ferguson to fit in. He will come back to earth in Week 3 and will be a volatile, touchdown-dependent streaming option hereafter.
Dak Prescott finds Jake Ferguson in the end zone ‼️
WASvsDAL on FOX/FOX One
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/3Ffv2EaW0a— NFL (@NFL) September 20, 2026
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