Knowing the advantageous Fantasy football matchups is key, and you can expect to see several members of the San Francisco 49ers high in the Week 3 Fantasy football rankings. That's because the 49ers take on the Los Angeles Rams, a defense that's giving up 33.5 points per game this season. That means players like quarterback Brock Purdy and tight end George Kittle will be among the top Week 3 Fantasy football picks. Can you trust a player like wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, who's failed to eclipse 50 receiving yards in a game this season?
A reliable set of Week 3 Fantasy football WR rankings can help answer that question and assist in your Week 3 Fantasy football start-sit decisions and trade evaluations, or even help you find a gem in the Fantasy football waiver wire the rest of your league may have missed. Before you lock in your Fantasy football lineups, be sure to check out the Week 3 Fantasy football rankings from the advanced computer model at SportsLine.
When it comes to ranking players, SportsLine's model beat human experts in Fantasy football for the past several seasons, especially when there were big differences in ranking. Over the course of a season, that could literally be the difference between winning your league or going home emptyhanded.
The same model has a proven track record providing Fantasy football tips, including being ahead of the curve on players like A.J. Brown, Jonathan Taylor, Derrick Henry, Christian McCaffrey, Alvin Kamara, and Jahmyr Gibbs. Anybody who banked on players like those made a run at their league title.
Now, the model, which simulates every NFL game 10,000 times, has revealed its Fantasy football rankings for Week 3 of the 2024 NFL season. Head to SportsLine now to see them.
Top Week 3 Fantasy football picks
One surprise in Week 3: The model is fading Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud, the 2023 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. The No. 2 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft threw for 4,108 yards and 23 touchdowns with only five interceptions over 15 games in his first season while averaging an impressive 8.2 yards per pass attempt.
However, he's only averaged 7.3 yards per pass attempt so far in 2024 and he'll draw another tough matchup in Week 3 against the Vikings. Minnesota ranks third in the NFL in points allowed through two weeks and is coming off an impressive performance against a dynamic 49ers offense. That's a big reason why the model barely ranks Stroud inside its top 20 this week, preferring Geno Smith, Deshaun Watson and even Sam Darnold.
A curveball: The model is high on Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith. Seattle's signal caller is coming off an impressive performance in the win over the Patriots last week. Smith completed 75% of his passes for 327 yards, one touchdown and zero interceptions against New England.
Smith has scored 19.8 and 19.9 Fantasy points in two games against Denver and New England, and he gets a home matchup against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, a defense that gave up 31 points to the Bills last week. SportsLine's model expects Smith to finish as a top-10 quarterback this week, despite the fact that he's owned in just 42% of leagues. For more start/sit Fantasy football advice, be sure to check out the rest of the Week 2 Fantasy football rankings.
How to set Week 3 Fantasy football rankings
The model is also calling for a surprising quarterback owned in less than half of CBS Sports PPR leagues to finish in the top 10 of its Week 3 Fantasy football rankings. This pick could be the difference between winning big and going home with nothing. See the model's entire Week 3 Fantasy football rankings for PPR and standard leagues here.
So who should you start and sit this week? And which surprising quarterback could lead you to victory? Visit SportsLine now to get Week 3 Fantasy football rankings for every position, plus see which RB comes out of nowhere to crack the top five, all from the model that has outperformed experts big-time.
