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Who Should I Start for Week 3? Fantasy Football outlooks for Bryce Young, Dak Prescott, Drake Maye, Justin Herbert, Matthew Stafford, Drew Lock, Baker Mayfield, Marcus Mariota, Malik Willis.
Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some of the most common Week 3 fantasy football lineup decisions involve players like Bryce Young, Dak Prescott, Drake Maye, Justin Herbert, Matthew Stafford, Drew Lock, Baker Mayfield, Marcus Mariota, Malik Willis. 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.
Compare up to four players and we'll tell you who to start...
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.
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.
Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams
Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford completed 22 of his 31 pass attempts for 327 yards, four touchdowns, and one interception during Monday's blowout win over the New York Giants. He also took one sack in the victory. After tallying 155 yards, zero touchdowns, and one interception in last week's season opener, Stafford bounced back in a huge way on national television. Best of all, he did it without Puka Nacua (hip), who was ruled out shortly before kickoff.
Stafford relied heavily on his rapport with veteran receiver Davante Adams, and the reigning MVP should continue to produce at a high level once Nacua rejoins this elite receiver room. The 38-year-old quarterback may not have the same rushing upside as some of the other flashy names in fantasy football, but his elite arm keeps him in the top-eight quarterback range going forward. He's a borderline must-start quarterback for Week 3 against the Denver Broncos.
Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers
Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert went 15-for-27 for 192 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions in his team's devastating 26-14 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders. Herbert also had three carries for two yards while putting the ball on the turf three times, but it didn't result in any turnovers.
The panic meter has spiked for the Chargers after dropping to 0-2 after being heavy favorites to open the year. To make matters worse, the team is gearing up to face the hardest seven-game stretch and likely will not be the favorite in a matchup until they face the New York Jets in Week 11. Through two weeks, Herbert is 32-for-54 (59%) for 401 yards, two touchdowns, three interceptions, and is outside the top 20 quarterbacks in fantasy points. Herbert and the Chargers will attempt to get their season on track at Buffalo in Week 3.
Drew Lock, Seattle Seahawks
Seattle Seahawks backup quarterback Drew Lock has led the defending Super Bowl champions to a 2-0 start in 2026 after starting QB Sam Darnold injured his glute early in the Week 1 win over the New England Patriots. The 29-year-old has completed 35 of his 48 pass attempts (72.9%) while throwing for 422 yards, four touchdowns, and zero interceptions. He was much better in the Week 2 win over the division-rival Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, going 19-for-26 for 235 yards and three touchdowns in an easy 31-7 blowout.
Darnold is making good progress from his injury and could return to practice this week, so it is up in the air right now whether he will have a realistic chance to make his return this weekend.
If Seattle plays it safe and holds Darnold out for another week, Lock will have plenty of streaming potential in a Week 3 matchup this Sunday against a Washington Commanders defense that just allowed four passing touchdowns to Dallas Cowboys QB Dak Prescott. Lock is only rostered in 4% of Yahoo leagues, but he will make for an interesting QB2 streamer in superflex leagues if he makes a second straight start for Seattle this week.
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, Dak Prescott, Drake Maye, Justin Herbert, Matthew Stafford, Drew Lock, Baker Mayfield, Marcus Mariota, Malik Willis. 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, Dak Prescott, Drake Maye, Justin Herbert, Matthew Stafford, Drew Lock, Baker Mayfield, Marcus Mariota, Malik Willis.
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