Start 'Em, Sit 'Em For Week 3 Fantasy Football: Fire Up Isiah Pacheco, Bench Sam LaPorta on MNF?

Football kicks off tonight, which means we've got our Start 'Em, Sit 'Em column for Week 3 ready to go ... with one slight adjustment. For Week 3, Gene and John are thinking bigger ... thinking bolder. These are bold starts and sits for Week 3. You have to risk it for the biscuit, and the same is true in fantasy football ...

RELATED: Be sure to leverage our fantasy football Start/Sit tool—presented by Xfinity—to unlock custom start/sit guidance for your individual teams!

Bold Starts For Week 3

Isiah Pacheco, RB, at New York Giants (SNF)

LAGHEZZA: Never give up. Never say never. Now or never. 

Choose your favorite exaggerated Week 3 fantasy battle cry, and more likely than not, it applies to Chiefs’ RB Isiah Pacheco. We stayed patient through seven agonizing touches against LAC in Week 1, and again for a second ~RB45 finish in a row versus Philly. Ouch.

It hurts, bad … I know. At the very least, Kansas City would score a ton of points with Pacheco sopping up all that lovely TD equity, right? (sad trombone sound) Scoring just 19.0 points per game, the Chiefs featured just a single goal-to-go RB carry—which Pacheco didn’t get! 

All that’s about to change …

Finally, a plus matchup’s on the ledger for the winless Chiefs. Is anyone worse at stopping the ground game than the Giants so far? Big Blue ranks 30th or worse in rushing yards allowed/game (177.0), rush EPA/carry (-0.19), yards after contact per carry (3.70), and explosive rush rate allowed (16.7%). Yikes. Pacheco has to get it done for us.

Faceplant again and it could spell curtains for Isiah Pacheco this fantasy season …

Troy Franklin, WR, at Los Angeles Chargers

LAGHEZZA: Despite putting up a solid WR7 finish (8-89-1) at Indy, Denver’s second-year wideout Troy Franklin is a popular point of start/sit contention this weekend in a tough matchup at LAC. No one’s clamoring to attach themselves to Denver right now, but it’s too soon to surrender on solid priors. 

Sure, most of the normies will avoid targeting Los Angeles’s defense, currently top-5 in terms of scoring, EPA, and success rate. The thing is, Jim Harbaugh’s newfound love for throwing the ball creates an interesting fantasy dynamic.

Aside from knowing the Bolts’ offense will push you for four quarters, LAC’s defensive style could spell a huge volume game for Troy Franklin. The Chargers deploy the league’s highest rate of two-high shell coverage (39%), combined with a bottom-5 blitz rate (8.7%)—explaining just how to allow the ninth-most receptions per game (24), but the third-fewest points (15).

Preventative schematics like that often open up space underneath behind the line, precisely what we’ve seen thus far. Opposing slot WRs average 8.5 receptions for 105 yards against L.A. in 2025. It’s only been two games, Denver’s not going quietly into the night; expect them to come out swinging with Franklin at the center of the action.

Geno Smith, QB, at Washington Commanders

CLEMONS: Geno Smith may have had the worst game since his resurrection in Seattle as the starting quarterback. He completed 24-of-43 passing attempts for 180 yards and three touchdowns on Monday night against the Chargers. This is the perfect time to start him! First, there are several starting quarterbacks who will be missing this week due to injury and you need to ask yourself, do I want to start their backup?

Second, we are all human beings and we tend to overreact to good and bad performances, especially at quarterback. Many fantasy pundits have already begun devaluing the talents around Smith based on his Monday night performance, while completely forgetting about his week one exploits. That was when he completed 24-of-34 passes for 362 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. 

This week, they take on Washington, which just gave up over 400 yards to a team with a similar offensive profile to Las Vegas. A bell cow running back and a bunch of receivers who many think of as WR2 and WR3s. They have a talented TE, but he is no Brock Bowers, who should be closer to full strength this week than he was last week, when his status for the game was up in the air. Washington is also dealing with a quarterback injury and with Marcus Mariota at the controls, they may not pick up as many of those drive-sustaining first downs. That equals more possessions for Smith. This is a perfect bounce-back game for Smith. Washington's defense will underestimate him and we know he is too old and experienced to panic or press. He will let the game come to him. The Commanders game plan will be to make Smith beat them with his arm and legs, and he should have no problem finding success doing just that.

Mark Andrews TE, vs Detroit Lions (MNF)

CLEMONS: It feels crazy to call a guy who used to be one of the elites in fantasy a bold start, but here we are. So many people are out on Andrews after a second quiet performance of this early season. A lot of experts are saying that his usage is fine, but the targets are just not there. Many experts are saying that you should sell Andrews, but that feels like an overreaction similar to last season when he started quietly and so many fantasy managers screamed “abandon ship” after the first five games, only to watch him rebound his season and finish in the top 10, 10 times out of 12 weeks.

Yes, the targets are down, but one of those targets last week was in the red zone and resulted in an Andrews dropped touchdown reception. Jackson will look for him, especially against Detroit in a game that just screams shootout. Look for Andrews to not only find the endzone this week, but also score double-digit fantasy points.

Bold Sits For Week 3

Tetairoa McMillan, WR (and all Panthers), at Atlanta Falcons

LAGHEZZA: Before I need to start dodging rotten vegetables, let me be clear on eighth overall pick Tetairoa McMillan. Two words: total beast. Not to mention he’s going to be a first-round fantasy pick sometime soon. I also get it’s impossible to sit him in certain spots, so extend my argument to all Carolina’s pass catchers. Out until further notice.

Flipside, Raheem Morris and the Falcons beefed up the line this summer with a pair of first-round DEs. The results? Too good to be true almost feels like an understatement. Atlanta’s defensive unit is the NFL’s best by the numbers (yes, #1)—boasting top-three spots in more than a dozen critical stats covering every phase of the game. It’s really too long to list.

The Dirty Birds thrive on pressure (46.3%) by winning at the point of contact, combined with frequent blitz packages (23.5%). Atlanta currently ranks top-3 in both, along with snaps per splash play (2.3)—and the rest flows from there. Think about how many times we’ve seen sustained success begin by dominating the trenches.

Carolina’s double-digit negative point differential should say it all, but it approaches its worst when Bryce Young’s forced to perform off-schedule. Of 37 quarterbacks with +400 attempts since 2023, Bryce Young ranks dead last in completion percentage at 41.1%. The Panthers’ floor’s a literal zero this weekend …

Jacory Croskey-Merritt, RB vs. Las Vegas Raiders

LAGHEZZA: Won’t have convictions questioned on this sit recommendation, putting a weekly fade on Jacory Croskey-Merritt certainly isn’t making me any friends. Everyone’s favorite seventh-round cult hero rookie flew up late draft boards when the Commanders moved on from Brian Robinson Jr.—but has it been worth it?

A touchdown saved Bill’s excellent adventure in Week 1, only to get flattened as RB64 versus Green Bay’s vaunted defense last Thursday. Now veteran Austin Ekeler’s season is over and once again, Croskey-Merritt appears to hold the pole position going forward. Why am I not sold?

Croskey-Merritt still hasn’t reeled in a single reception this season, and my guess is that Jeremy McNichols secures the pass-game work versus Las Vegas on Sunday. The Raiders run defense played great two weeks in a row to open the season. Plus, if Dan Quinn’s quote that Chris Rodriguez will “be back in the fold” in Week 3 holds true, it’s just another mouth to feed for Washington’s baseline work.  Thanks, but no thanks.

Kyler Murray, QB, at San Francisco 49ers

CLEMONS: Count me among those who thought this was going to be a fantasy Renaissance season for Murray. He is a full season removed from injury and his young weapons have a season in this offense under their belts. Tell me you did not get fired up when he came out this summer and said he would run the ball more. I believe him, but so far, not good.

He just has not been explosive and this offense has been pedestrian as a result. Over the first two weeks, he has finished QB16 and QB22, and yet the consensus has him ranked QB12. With all the injuries at the position, fantasy managers may look at him as a must-start, but against a San Francisco team that knows them best and realizes they need to take up the slack for an offense without their starting quarterback and multiple weapons, I would roll the dice elsewhere this week.

Sam LaPorta, TE, at Baltimore Ravens (MNF)

CLEMONS: LaPorta is the consensus TE5 this week. I find it difficult to understand why. Last week, the Lions exploded for 511 yards of offense and 52 points. Jared Goff threw the ball 28 times and LaPorta was only targeted four times. He had three receptions for 26 yards. There are so many mouths to feed, especially in the red zone. Now they welcome the in Baltimore, fresh off beating up the Cleveland Browns. David Njoku and Harold Fannin combined for nine receptions for 88 yards. Kyle Hamilton is one of the best safeties in the NFL, and Roquan Smith is one of the best linebackers. They will be charged with keeping LaPorta under control. It might feel like a pinball game there on Monday night. There will be better days for LaPorta, but this may not be one of them.

John's Parting Week 3 Start/Sit Thought: Let’s Go To The Circus

Our start/sit piece wouldn’t be complete without my favorite research tool, updated weekly throughout the season! When I’m in a pinch, this image is my favorite picture when I don’t have time for a thousand words. 

If all else fails, identify shootouts affectionately referred to as carnival games and head toward the circus music. When you want to win weekly fantasy matchups, attach yourself to the highest-scoring games. Easy game, right?

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