Believe it or not, we’re now heading into Week 3 of the NFL season! We survived the wackiness of Week 1 and I’m pretty sure we entered a portal back to 2023 because we have Jake Browning, Carson Wentz and Tyrod Taylor forced into starting quarterback action due to injuries. That doesn’t even include Mac Jones or Marcus Mariota, and as of this writing, we are unsure if they are starting or not. But enough of the 2023 flashbacks, let’s look forward with some Week 3 sleepers!
Okay, I might’ve lied. We are going to do one more flashback, and that’s to last week, where I’ll recap my Week 2 “Shore Thing Sleepers” and how it turned out. Let’s first look at the bright side; I absolutely aced the running back picks with Kenneth Walker III, who scored 7.8 points over projection despite snap count worries, and the rookie Woody Marks, who scored 2.9 points over projection! Sadly, the positive party stops there. The issue is the wide receiver position, as Michael Pittman Jr. scored 3.8 points under projection and, somehow, someway, I’ve “cursed” a wide receiver to score more than eight points under projection for a second straight week, with Khalil Shakir scoring 9.5 points under projection. Overall, the total for Week 2 was 5.2 points under projection.
You’ll always whiff on some players, but I’m trying not to make that mistake three weeks in a row. Let’s get into Week 3 Sleepers.
Fantasy Football Start/Sit Consideration: Week 3 Sleepers (2025)
Quarterback
Jared Goff (Detroit Lions)
I think Week 2 was a statement to prove that the Lions’ offense will not struggle as badly as they did in Week 1. Jared Goff threw for 334 yards and five touchdowns, scoring 34 fantasy points in a 52-21 rout against the Bears. He’s apparently got the hot hand and even though it was against a sub-par and injured Bears defense, sometimes all it takes is a statement game to get goin’. Not to mention, Goff was hot in both Monday night games last year, where he threw for 292+ yards, had three touchdowns in both games, no interceptions and 20+ fantasy points on Monday Night Football.
Their opponent on Monday is none other than the Baltimore Ravens. Teams are passing heavily against this Ravens defense, as they have allowed the second-most passing yards in this short season, with 612 yards. In both games, the quarterback had at least 45 passing attempts, combined for two passing touchdowns and neither had to go into overtime. Most of the time, it turns out pretty well for Goff in a passing shootout. In his 13 career regular-season games for the Lions, where Goff has 40+ passing attempts, he has averaged 316.7 passing yards, 1.9 touchdowns, 0.5 interceptions and 19.6 fantasy points.
Don’t quote the Raven, quote the human who said that Goff will likely go off under the Monday Night Football lights.
Running Back
Dylan Sampson (Cleveland Browns)
Even with Quinshon Judkins and Jerome Ford getting more opportunities, it was still Dylan Sampson, with his “garbage-time” touchdown, who scored the most fantasy points between the Browns’ running backs last week, with 10.9 points. That puts him in back-to-back games with under 30 rushing yards, but his work in the passing game has ensured he scored at least 10.9 fantasy points in both games this season.
I think that makes him a perfect candidate for a “Shore Thing Sleeper.” If you’ve been living under a rock, or should I say cheese block, the Packers’ defense has been excellent at stopping running backs, especially in the rush game, as no running back has gone over 25 rushing yards in either of the first two games this season. But everything is popping up three in this Week 3 matchup; the Packers have allowed the third-most receptions to the running back position with 16, and three of the four running backs to have logged a stat against Green Bay have gotten more than half of their fantasy points through pass catching. Green Bay now faces the running back who is tied for third-most receptions at the position in Dylan Sampson.
The one thing I don’t know is how he will get the fantasy points. Will it be in garbage time once again in a blowout, or has he impressed the coaches enough to catch more passes from Joe Flacco, whose arm is apparently nowhere near tired with 45 passing attempts in both games this season? Either way, I’m catching a feeling of Sampson seeing fantasy points, and enough to make me write about him in this article.
Woody Marks (Houston Texans)
Hey, you forgot to edit Woody Marks out of the article last week! Actually, no, I didn’t! They are leaving way too many clues that they are “hard-launching” Woody Marks as the RB2 for the Texans offense. Last week, I mentioned that Dare Ogunbowale had a costly fumble in Week 1 and although he wasn’t inactive in Week 2, he didn’t log a stat. Then, Dameon Pierce was a surprise healthy scratch last week — something I wasn’t expecting. With the few opportunities he’s had, Woody Marks has been making the most out of them. Last week, he had the most rushing yards behind Nick Chubb in this short season and from one reception, Marks leads the Texans’ RB room in receiving yards with 37.
Let me also bring up some historical data while I can. Ever since DeMeco Ryans became a head coach of the Texans, in his four games against the Jaguars, a Texans running back has scored at least 5.8 fantasy points from receptions and receiving yards, averaging 9.6 points in that area. Marks showed that he can be a threat in the passing game if given the opportunity. The Jaguars have only slightly improved in that area from previous seasons, allowing a running back to have 18+ receiving yards to score 8.5+ fantasy points in both of the first two games in 2025. If it even looks similar to last week for Woody Marks, he might just explode once more!
Wide Receiver
Travis Hunter (Jacksonville Jaguars)
As we’re about to enter our third week of the NFL season, so let’s check in with the Travis Hunter experiment. Currently, he is averaging 4.5 receptions on seven targets for 27.5 yards and 7.2 fantasy points, with one game focused more on offense and one more focused on the defense. You can focus on that all you want, but I’m focusing on his struggling teammate, Brian Thomas Jr. The standout rookie is having a rough time, to say the least, from not wanting to take a hit to catching a “hospital ball” from quarterback Trevor Lawrence. It shows on the stat sheets, with only five receptions on 19 targets. That’s right, Brian Thomas Jr., or BTJ, only caught 26% of his targets. Meanwhile, Travis Hunter caught nine of his 14 targets, for a 64% catch rate.
So now I’m pleading to you, Liam Coen, to make Hunter more offense-focused in this game. He’s already averaging seven targets like I mentioned, and in both games this season, the Texans have allowed a receiver who is targeted seven-plus times to score at least 9.1 fantasy points. What makes that stat better? It’s been a wide receiver duo that’s been able to do it, with three of the four receivers having at least 51 receiving yards. Ironically, the Jaguars have gone both games this season with a duo of wide receivers scoring at least nine fantasy points, but it’s been via four different receivers; not one who has been able to do it twice.
The Texans have allowed the tenth-most fantasy points to the wide receiver position this season, and the chemistry between Lawrence and BTJ is clearly not there. I can see there’s certainly chemistry brewing with Trevor Lawrence and Travis Hunter. So, let’s go hunting and scoring for some fantasy points, shall we!
Stefon Diggs (New England Patriots)
We went from hunting to digging up a sleeper. The only struggle Stefon Diggs is having right now is that while he’s seeing an average of five receptions on six targets, which are highs for the Patriots’ receiving corps, he’s not seeing the yardage or touchdowns. Teammate Kayshon Boutte leads the corps in receiving yards, averaging 59.5 yards a game, and Diggs is the only Patriots’ WR to log a stat in both games and not score a touchdown… yet. On the bright side, he is averaging 9.4 fantasy points per game.
Things are only going to get brighter from here. This matchup is a juicy one for Diggs, especially for since he’s averaging the most targets on the team for wide receivers. The Steelers might be 12th in points allowed to the position, but simply look at the stats against the WR1 and you’ll start salivating. While the WR1 has seen nine-plus targets in both games, that player has also exceeded 95 receiving yards and 18.3 fantasy points.
Everybody is currently focused on Kayshon Boutte, which makes sense since he’s averaged 12.4 fantasy points this season. But I’m more targeted towards Stefon Diggs, the only receiver for the Patriots to have multiple receptions in both games, which makes this WR1 the clear favorite to have a real big game, his first since coming back from injury.
Tight End
Mark Andrews (Baltimore Ravens)
Yes. I chose Mark Andrews with a *checks notes* stat line of two receptions on four targets for seven receiving yards. That’s just plain embarrassing for a player like Andrews. I have great news: we can use statistics to help him get out of this funk he’s in. Oh, and it likely has something to do with a teammate Isaiah Likely, who logged a limited practice last Friday, which sets up a possible return for this week. If he’s able to come back, that may free up Andrews more and give him more targets.
The possible return of Likely will help alleviate some pressure, but that’s not all. Mark Andrews has been tearing up NFC opponents and in big ways. In his last four games against an NFC team, he is averaging 3.7 receptions for 49.5 yards and 1.2 touchdowns for 16.2 fantasy points. Let me clarify; he has five touchdowns in his last four games against NFC opponents, with a touchdown and 10.4+ fantasy points in all of those games.
While the Lions have only allowed 51 receiving yards to the position, sixth-fewest, they have also allowed a touchdown per game and tight ends are averaging 8.7 fantasy points against them. If we’re still focusing on non-conference tight ends, the Lions have allowed an AFC tight end to have 7.8+ fantasy points in three of their last four occurrences. If Mark Andrews can’t get out of this slump with these statistics backing him up, I don’t know what will.
Thanks for reading this week’s “Shore Thing Sleepers.” If you’re looking for more fantasy content like this or need help with the last-minute fantasy football start/sit decisions for your roster, you can find me on Facebook at “Fantasy Sports Start or Sit’Em Questions,” Twitter/X @FSSOSEQ or on BlueSky!
*Photo Credit: Lon Horwedel – USA TODAY Sports*
