It’s that time of year. If you’re reading this, you have your roster pulled up, and even if you don’t want to admit it, you’re wondering, “How am I going to mess up this beautiful roster that I put together?”
We’ve all been there. Don’t worry, I’m a professional.
Well, at the very least, I try hard. Really hard. And with that, I present to you my Week 3 fantasy football rankings that have far too much data supporting them to possibly be wrong.
FIND MORE POSITIONAL RANKINGS: RB | WR | TE | K | DEF | FLEX
Top 25 Fantasy Quarterback Rankings
1) Jalen Hurts | Philadelphia Eagles (at NO)
2) Josh Allen | Buffalo Bills (vs. JAX)
3) Patrick Mahomes | Kansas City Chiefs (at ATL)
4) Lamar Jackson | Baltimore Ravens (at DAL)
5) C.J. Stroud | Houston Texans (at MIN)
6) Kyler Murray | Arizona Cardinals (vs. DET)
7) Anthony Richardson | Indianapolis Colts (vs. CHI)
8) Jared Goff | Detroit Lions (at ARI)
9) Jayden Daniels | Washington Commanders (vs. CIN)
10) Joe Burrow | Cincinnati Bengals (vs. WAS)
11) Derek Carr | New Orleans Saints (vs. PHI)
12) Baker Mayfield | Tampa Bay Buccaneers (vs. DEN)
13) Dak Prescott | Dallas Cowboys (vs. BAL)
14) Justin Fields | Pittsburgh Steelers (vs. LAC)
15) Brock Purdy | San Francisco 49ers (at LAR)
16) Caleb Williams | Chicago Bears (at IND)
17) Sam Darnold | Minnesota Vikings (vs. HOU)
18) Geno Smith | Seattle Seahawks (vs. MIA)
19) Kirk Cousins | Atlanta Falcons (vs. KC)
20) Matthew Stafford | Los Angeles Rams (vs. SF)
21) Trevor Lawrence | Jacksonville Jaguars (at BUF)
22) Aaron Rodgers | New York Jets (vs. NE)
23) Daniel Jones | New York Giants (at CLE)
24) Justin Herbert | Los Angeles Chargers (at PIT)
25) Deshaun Watson | Cleveland Browns (vs. NYG)
Top Quarterbacks To Start in Week 3
Jared Goff, Detroit Lions
The Lions fully committed to the passing game last week (six more completions against the Bucs than he had attempted in Week 1’s overtime victory), and I think we could see something similar in a potential shootout this week.
No team has blitzed at a lower rate since the beginning of last season than the Arizona Cardinals, a defensive strategy that isn’t likely to hold up against a Lions offense that is stretching the field at a much more effective rate than they did last season.
I have Goff penciled in as my QB8 and have no reservations about starting him, even if the Week 2 performance was less than inspiring.
Klint Kubiak, Derek Carr, and the New Orleans Saints were playing the Shanahan hits in a huge game against the Cowboys:
*Effective zone run game
*Attacking the middle of the field
*Motion to manipulate the defense
*A deep shot TD off play action pic.twitter.com/zCkG14CDU2— Shawn Syed (@SyedSchemes) September 15, 2024
Derek Carr, New Orleans Saints
The owner of the longest multi-pass TD streak in the NFL has this offense clicking at levels we didn’t think possible. His Saints have posted the third-highest EPA per play (0.30) through Week 2 of any team in the past decade, not bad for an offense that few labeled as anything more than average this offseason.
The Eagles’ defense was systematically picked apart by Kirk Cousins in the fourth-quarter two-minute drill that was nearly too efficient, and it will face a much tougher task, on short rest, in New Orleans.
The QB position is loaded with upside — yet, Carr, with virtually no running potential and a top target that doesn’t yet have 100 yards, cracks my top 12 this week. To answer your questions, yes, I’d play him ahead of Dak Prescott and the smoking-hot Baker Mayfield.