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Who Should I Start for Week 3? Fantasy Football outlooks for Bryce Young, C.J. Stroud, Kirk Cousins, Joe Burrow, Marcus Mariota, Brock Purdy, Malik Willis, Jalen Hurts, Jacoby Brissett, Daniel Jones.
Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some of the most common Week 3 fantasy football lineup decisions involve players like Bryce Young, C.J. Stroud, Kirk Cousins, Joe Burrow, Marcus Mariota, Brock Purdy, Malik Willis, Jalen Hurts, Jacoby Brissett, and Daniel Jones. 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:
Marcus Mariota, Washington Commanders
Washington Commanders backup quarterback Marcus Mariota has become a waiver-wire priority in two-QB superflex leagues going into a Week 3 matchup against the Seattle Seahawks. Starting signal-caller Jayden Daniels (elbow) suffered another dislocated elbow in the Week 2 loss to the division-rival Dallas Cowboys after he missed time last year with the same injury.
Daniels is most likely going to miss multiple weeks, which makes the 32-year-old veteran Mariota more interesting as a short-term option in fantasy.
In relief of Daniels on Sunday, Mariota went 11-for-16 passing for 111 yards and a touchdown in the 37-20 blowout loss in Dallas. Mariota will have a pretty low floor this Sunday if he starts against Seattle's stout defense, but his waiver-wire argument is based more on the fact that Daniels will probably end up missing multiple weeks.
The former second overall pick will not come with much upside overall, but he has plenty of experience (12 NFL seasons, 105 career games) and has some decent receiving options in Terry McLaurin, Stefon Diggs, and Antonio Williams. In 11 games (eight starts) for Washington last year when Daniels was injured, Mariota threw for 1,695 yards, 10 touchdowns, and seven interceptions while adding 50 rushing attempts for 297 yards and a TD on the ground.
He holds mid-end QB2 upside facing the Seahawks on Sunday.
Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers
Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young has gotten off to a fantastic start to the 2026 season, completing 63% of his pass attempts for 648 yards, six touchdowns, and one interception across two games. The 25-year-old has also logged a rushing touchdown, and he appears to be in full command of a Panthers offense that has scored 71 points so far this year.
While Carolina operated a run-heavy system in 2025, Young is averaging 36.5 pass attempts per game early on in 2026. The Panthers also have a favorable run of matchups coming up on paper, as they will play the Cleveland Browns in Week 3 and host the Detroit Lions in Week 4. In leagues where Young remains available, he profiles as a priority waiver-wire target for fantasy managers coming out of Week 2 and can be started in all 12-team leagues this weekend.
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.
C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans
Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud is producing solid game stats despite leading his team to a 0-2 start. Stroud has strung together two slightly above-average fantasy performances so far, and his last one didn't even require him to score a touchdown.
Against the Bills in Week 2, he racked up 355 passing yards on a whopping 55 pass attempts. He didn't have any touchdowns, but he also didn't have any interceptions or fumbles. Stroud now has 627 passing yards, 44 rushing yards, two touchdowns, zero interceptions, and two lost fumbles in 2026.
He has been playing well enough to rank as a fringe top-12 fantasy quarterback in terms of total scoring, and he can be a matchup-dependent low-end QB1 going forward. He's a particularly intriguing waiver wire target ahead of Week 3, as the Texans prepare for a divisional battle against the Indianapolis Colts. In his last clash with Indy, Stroud threw for a modest 169 yards but totaled two touchdowns and zero turnovers.
Stroud remains available in plenty of fantasy leagues, making him a solid waiver wire pick-up this week and viable streamer.
Jacoby Brissett, Arizona Cardinals
Arizona Cardinals quarterback Jacoby Brissett (hip) was a full participant during Wednesday's practice, according to the team's official website. The veteran quarterback appears to have picked up a hip injury during the Week 2 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
It doesn't seem to be making too much of an impact, with him being able to practice in full on Wednesday. Fantasy managers should check back on Thursday for another update on his status. Barring any setbacks, Brissett should be in the QB2 conversation for the Week 3 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers.
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 - Bryce Young, C.J. Stroud, Kirk Cousins, Joe Burrow, Marcus Mariota, Brock Purdy, Malik Willis, Jalen Hurts, Jacoby Brissett, Daniel Jones. 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 Bryce Young, C.J. Stroud, Kirk Cousins, Joe Burrow, Marcus Mariota, Brock Purdy, Malik Willis, Jalen Hurts, Jacoby Brissett, Daniel Jones.
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