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Who Should I Start for Week 3? Fantasy Football outlooks for Buccaneers D/ST, Falcons D/ST, Broncos D/ST, Colts D/ST, Seahawks D/ST, Packers D/ST, Cardinals D/ST, Bengals D/ST, Ravens D/ST, 49ers D/ST, Browns D/ST.
Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some of the most common Week 3 fantasy football lineup decisions involve defenses like the Buccaneers D/ST, Falcons D/ST, Broncos D/ST, Colts D/ST, Seahawks D/ST, Packers D/ST, Cardinals D/ST, Bengals D/ST, Ravens D/ST, 49ers D/ST, Browns D/ST. But not to worry, we are here to help 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.
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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:
San Francisco 49ers DST
The San Francisco 49ers' defense has shown some promise in the early weeks of the 2025 season, but it will need to step things up to be a consistent factor in fantasy football. San Francisco held the Seahawks to just 13 points in Week 1, and in two games, has already recovered three fumbles.
However, the team has just four sacks and has yet to record an interception after facing the likes of Sam Darnold and Spencer Rattler. The 49ers can take another step forward in Week 3 when they face an Arizona Cardinals offense that is lacking punch, having averaged just 284.5 yards per game.
At the very least, San Francisco may find success in bottling up the Cardinals' forward progress and limiting damage on the scoreboard. An adequate streamer for Week 3, the 49ers' D/ST might be worth the pickup in anticipation of their Week 4 meeting with the Jaguars.
Seattle Seahawks DST
The Seattle Seahawks' defense/special teams is a potential starting option at the position in Week 3 when the team hosts the New Orleans Saints. Coming into the 2025 season, the Saints appeared to be a great team to target for D/ST matchups. However, second-year quarterback Spencer Rattler has played solid football this season, which has allowed the team to move the ball up and down the field.
Additionally, Rattler has not committed a turnover in 2025, which has prevented opposing D/ST's from reaching double-digit fantasy points. To make matters worse, the Seahawks are likely going to be without three of their top defensive backs in this game, with safety Nick Emmanwori (ankle), safety Julian Love (hamstring), and cornerback Devon Witherspoon (ankle) all unlikely to play.
Then again, the Seahawks were without some of their defensive backs in Week 2, but they still held the Pittsburgh Steelers to a quiet day on offense. The Seahawks' defensive front may be good enough to offset any issues in the secondary. As such, this unit can be started this week, albeit with limited upside.
Denver Broncos DST
The Denver Broncos' defense/special teams unit is one of the best in the league on paper, but a matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers makes them less reliable in Week 3.
Los Angeles' offense has been firing on all cylinders this season, taking down the Chiefs and Raiders in back-to-back primetime games. Meanwhile, Denver's defense was surprisingly underwhelming against the Colts last week, surrendering 29 points while failing to force a turnover.
We wouldn't advise dropping the Broncos D/ST in fantasy football, given their extreme talent on defense. However, looking for a different unit to start this week is the right move. RotoBaller has the Broncos listed 15th in the latest D/ST rankings.
Green Bay Packers DST
It is wild that the Green Bay Packers D/ST is still rostered in under 50% of ESPN leagues. This might be the best defense in football right now. The Packers held two high-powered offenses, the Detroit Lions and Washington Commanders, to under 20 points in both of their games this season.
In both contests, the Lions and Commanders didn't have any answers against that Green Bay defense. The Packers totaled four sacks in each of their first two games, and we all know the impact that Micah Parsons has had in the early part of the season.
Micah Parsons has a 90.2 PFF pass rush grade, 10 pressures, 1 1/2 sacks, and a 25% pass rush win rate to begin his Green Bay career. Now, this defense will go up against the Browns this weekend. That makes this unit a smash start in Week 3.
Indianapolis Colts DST
The Colts' defense has looked solid in the first two weeks under new defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo. Although this unit didn't really produce much last week, this defense did make the Dolphins offense look silly back in Week 1. Indianapolis allowed just eight offensive points, sacked Tua Tagovailoa three times, and forced three turnovers in that contest.
As a result, fantasy managers should feel confident rolling with this defense in Week 3. The Colts will be going up against a Titans offense that has been all out of sorts through the first two weeks. Cam Ward has been sacked a league-high 11 times, and this Tennessee team has only scored one touchdown on the year so far.
Following that Week 3 game, this defense could be used again in Week 5 against the Las Vegas Raiders. The Raiders' offensive line is certainly a work in progress after it ranked in the bottom 10 in both pressure rate allowed and pass block win rate back in Week 1.
Who Should I Start Tool
You can also see the Who Should I Start tool here.
Week 3 Defense Decisions. Today's focus is on specific defenses - Buccaneers D/ST, Falcons D/ST, Broncos D/ST, Colts D/ST, Seahawks D/ST, Packers D/ST, Cardinals D/ST, Bengals D/ST, Ravens D/ST, 49ers D/ST, Browns D/ST. 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, 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 Buccaneers D/ST, Falcons D/ST, Broncos D/ST, Colts D/ST, Seahawks D/ST, Packers D/ST, Cardinals D/ST, Bengals D/ST, Ravens D/ST, 49ers D/ST, Browns D/ST:
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