RADIO
Who Should I Start for Week 3? Fantasy Football outlooks for Jacory Croskey-Merritt, Jakobi Meyers, Chris Olave, Ricky Pearsall, Deebo Samuel, Troy Franklin, Travis Etienne, DK Metcalf, Jerry Jeudy, James Conner.
Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some of the most common Week 3 fantasy football lineup decisions involve players like Jacory Croskey-Merritt, Jakobi Meyers, Chris Olave, Ricky Pearsall, Deebo Samuel, Troy Franklin, Travis Etienne, DK Metcalf, Jerry Jeudy, James Conner. 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 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.
Compare up to four players and we'll tell you who to start...
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:
Jacory Croskey-Merritt, RB, Commanders
Washington Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury said the challenge for rookie running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt will be "playing without the ball." "Every time he's touched it, good things happen," but Kingsbury stressed that pass protection or just running his routes properly is a "big deal."
However, the OC said he's "impressed by his work ethic." Washington's top pass-catching back, veteran Austin Ekeler, is out for the year after tearing his Achilles in the Week 2 loss to the Green Bay Packers. Croskey-Merritt has averaged an impressive 7.1 yards per carry on his 14 rushing attempts in his first two NFL games, but he's failed to reel in his two pass-game targets, and it sounds like he has work to do before being trusted in obvious passing situations going forward.
Chris Rodriguez Jr. will have a role with Ekeler out, but it might be Jeremy McNichols who gets the first shot in passing situations, starting in Week 3 against the Las Vegas Raiders.
Jakobi Meyers, WR, Raiders
Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Jakobi Meyers cemented himself as the offense's most reliable option in Week 1, drawing 10 targets and converting eight into 97 yards. As the veteran presence in a young receiving corps, Meyers has quickly earned the trust of Geno Smith, thriving as a chain-mover while Tre Tucker and Dont'e Thornton Jr. stretch the field vertically.
His high-volume role makes him a consistent fantasy asset, and if Brock Bowers (knee) is sidelined, Meyers could see an even larger workload as the Raiders lean on his reliability. Ranked as RotoBaller's WR22 for Week 2, Meyers should be locked into starting lineups across all formats.
Chris Olave, WR, Saints
Despite heading to the medical tent twice, New Orleans Saints wide receiver Chris Olave led the team with 13 targets, turning them into seven receptions for 54 yards in Sunday's loss to the Arizona Cardinals. Kellen Moore's offense appeared aggressive, as quarterback Spencer Rattler attempted a career-high 46 passes in Week 1.
This bodes well for the fourth-year receiver, who looks poised to become a go-to target in the pass-heavy attack. Olave should have plenty of opportunities to build chemistry with Rattler and, as long as he remains healthy, projects as a borderline WR2/WR3 this week against the San Francisco 49ers.
Ricky Pearsall, WR, 49ers
San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Ricky Pearsall caught four passes for 56 receiving yards in the team's 26-21 win over the Saints on Sunday. His Week 2 yardage was just shy of half his total from Week 1, but he was readily involved in the passing attack, with his six targets ranking third on the team. Even with Mac Jones standing in for Brock Purdy (toe/shoulder) for the next few weeks, Pearsall will still be a solid fantasy producer. Fellow wideout Jauan Jennings (ankle) is nursing an ankle injury sustained against the Saints and is considered day-to-day. If he is out or limited in Week 3, Pearsall would operate as Jones' top target against the Arizona Cardinals.
Troy Franklin, WR, Broncos
Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix said that second-year wide receiver Troy Franklin is "starting to develop into the player everyone knows he can become." Franklin, who was teammates with Nix at Oregon, had a breakout game in the Week 2 loss to the Indianapolis Colts, catching eight of his nine targets for 89 yards and a touchdown.
The 22-year-old wideout currently leads the Broncos in targets (15), catches (12), and receiving yards (133) through the first two games in 2025. Franklin probably won't take over WR1 duties from Courtland Sutton, but a second-year breakout could very well be in the cards for him, especially because of his strong chemistry with Nix.
His primary competition for weekly targets will come from Marvin Mims Jr., who is more of a big-play deep threat than one who will be consistently peppered with targets. If you need WR help early on, Franklin is definitely worth a waiver-wire pickup.
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 - Jacory Croskey-Merritt, Jakobi Meyers, Chris Olave, Ricky Pearsall, Deebo Samuel, Troy Franklin, Travis Etienne, DK Metcalf, Jerry Jeudy, James Conner. 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 (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 Jacory Croskey-Merritt, Jakobi Meyers, Chris Olave, Ricky Pearsall, Deebo Samuel, Troy Franklin, Travis Etienne, DK Metcalf, Jerry Jeudy, James Conner:
More Fantasy Football Analysis
Download Our Free News & Alerts Mobile App
Like what you see? Download our updated fantasy football app for iPhone and Android with 24x7 player news, injury alerts, rankings, starts/sits & more. All free!
