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Fantasy Football Rankings: Wide receivers in Week 3

We continue the season by ranking the best wide receivers by matchups and opportunity for Week 3.

By Matias Wodner
NFL: Miami Dolphins at Los Angeles Chargers Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

I’m going to use this space to blame my own self for what is happening in fantasy football right now. In a year where I decided to mostly fade the running back position early in favor of reliable, high-profile wide receiver options, there isn’t much reliability going on.

A.J. Green and Doug Baldwin, two of my favorite receivers heading into this season, are crumbling in offenses that don’t seem to have a clue. Antonio Brown, Julio Jones and Michael Thomas are yet to score a touchdown. Terrelle Pryor Sr. is nearly unusable.

All that said, there is some light at the end of a few of these tunnels; or at least I’m hoping so.

Let’s see what Week 3 has in store for the position!

WR Rankings - Week 3

Rank Player Team Opponent Notes
Rank Player Team Opponent Notes
1 A.J. Green CIN @GB The greasy wheel is getting squeaked this week. New OC will feed Green vs. poor CBs.
2 Julio Jones ATL @DET Even if Slay shadows him, Jones moves around the whole line to get open.
3 DeAndre Hopkins HOU @NE Unforeseen target numbers will continue as HOU will trail in this one.
4 Keenan Allen LAC KC Hard to come up with a negative for Allen right now. KC can be beaten outside of Peters.
5 Antonio Brown PIT @CHI Coming off a normal performance and CHI is adept at limiting WR1s.
6 Kelvin Benjamin CAR NO After going 6/77 vs. BUF, Kelving gets the literal worst defense in the league.
7 Mike Evans TB @MIN We saw MIN limit AB, but Evans is uncoverable, particularly in the end zone.
8 Jordy Nelson GB CIN This rank is dependent on Jordy being fully healthy. CIN is solid vs. WRs.
9 Michael Crabtree OAK @WAS Fresh off a 3 TD game, Crab should avoid Josh Norman much more often than Amari.
10 Dez Bryant DAL @ARI Marvin Jones caught a TD vs. PP2 in Week 1 and Dez is getting fed with targets.
11 Davante Adams GB CIN With Jordy and Cobb both possibly hobbled, Adams could have a huge game.
12 DeVante Paker MIA @NYJ He passed a tough first test with flying colors and now gets the lowly Jets.
13 Stefon Diggs MIN TB This rank is completely dependent on Sam Bradford playing. Diggs is a low-end FLEX if he doesn't.
14 Demaryius Thomas DEN @BUF BUF's CBs aren't good and Thomas is due for a TD with 0 while Siemian has thrown 6 already.
15 Doug Baldwin SEA @TEN TEN seems to struggle vs. quicker WRs. Good spot for Baldwin to get back on track.
16 Michael Thomas NO @CAR Garcon went 6/81 against CAR in opener. Thomas should have another solid week.
17 Amari Cooper OAK @WAS Cooper is uber-talented, but I'm expecting him to see a lot of Normanon the right side.
18 Golden Tate DET ATL Brutal W2 should be followed by big W3 in what is likely to be a shootout. Will avoid Trufant inside.
19 Alshon Jeffery PHI NYG Looks healthy as Wentz' No. 1 option, but a trip to Janoris Jenkins Island could temper the hype.
20 Brandin Cooks NE HOU Should get a bevy of looks with every Pats WR hobbled, but HOU is great at limiting WR production.
21 Odell Beckham Jr. NYG @PHI Tough to trust while dealing with ankle injury and offense's struggles. Always capable of exploding.
22 Larry Fitzgerald ARI DAL I understand not playing him this week, but he has another great matchup on the interior. 19 TGTs in 2 games.
23 Pierre Garcon SF LAR LAR's secondary has been hit by injuries, paving the way for a 7-9 catch game for Pierre.
24 Rashard Higgins CLE @IND Britt has mailed it in and Coleman is on IR. Higgins is the No. 1 WR in CLE right now after 7/95 in W2.
25 Adam Thielen MIN TB If Bradford plays, fire up Thielen as a reliable WR2 at home.
26 Tyreek Hill KC @LAC Hill is as boom-bust as it gets. Tough matchup this week vs. Hayward/Verrett.
27 Emmanuel Sanders DEN @BUF I think Demaryius gets his this week, while Manny has a solid 6/80 type of week.
28 Terrelle Pryor Sr. WAS OAK He sucks right now, plain and simple, but OAK's secondary is easily exploitable. If he doesn't do it here, then oh boy.
29 Martavis Bryant PIT @CHI Reliant on huge plays, Bryant could find life difficult against a defense that schemes to stop WRs.
30 Jarvis Landry MIA @NYJ PPR players loved the 13/78 line in W2, but that is nearly unusable in standard leagues. I wouldn't feel comfortable with him.
31 Randall Cobb GB CIN CIN has given up the 2nd-fewest points to WRs and Cobb is dealing with a shoulder injury.
32 T.Y. Hilton IND CLE I actually think Hilton could get loose for a TD out of the slot in this game, but Jacoby Brissett is his QB.
33 Jeremy Maclin BAL @JAX 2 games, 2 TDs. Becoming Flacco's favorite target and JAX is vulnerable in the slot.
34 Marvin Jones DET ATL Could see a lot of Trufant, but tough CBs haven't kept him out of the end zone through 2 weeks.
35 Cooper Kupp LAR @SF Kupp came crashing back down to Earth in W2, but he should find a W1/2 middle ground vs. exploitable SF secondary.
36 Chris Hogan NE HOU HOU is very good against WRs and Hogan is playing through a knee injury.
37 J.J. Nelson ARI DAL 8 TDs in his last 10 games, but I'm still very concerned about this ARI offense. They could implode at any moment.
38 Jamison Crowder WAS OAK If Crowder can't get it done vs. slow OAK secondary, then I'll be very concerned.
39 Jermaine Kearse NYJ MIA 11/123/2 through 2 weeks. Time to take him seriously as McCown's top option.
40 Mohamed Sanu ATL @DET He looks as good as ever and he's getting a good amount of looks.
41 Rishard Matthews TEN SEA Likely to lead TEN in receiving with Decker struggling and Davis hobbled.
42 Marqise Lee JAX BAL 12 TGTs probably not happening again this week, but he's the No. 1 option in terms of looks.
43 Kendall Wright CHI PIT He's the only WR in CHI, but he's as low-ceiling as it gets.
44 Tyrell Williams LAC KC Identical 54-yard stat lines through the first 2 weeks. Gordon and Allen are commanding almost all of the looks.
45 Tyler Lockett SEA @TEN Looks to have regained the No. 2 WR role in SEA, but their offense is in shambles at the moment.
46 Kenny Golladay DET ATL Worse game script means a better W3 than W2 for Golladay, but still very volatile as a fantasy option.
47 DeSean Jackson TB @MIN Trae Waynes can be beaten early and often, but Jackson and Jameis must be on the same page on deep balls.
48 Allen Hurns JAX BAL BAL is on fire defensively, but I'm expecting Hurns to rack up some garbage time catches late in this one.
49 Paul Richardson SEA @TEN P-Rich has put together 2 usable weeks so far and TEN is vulnerable on the back-end.
50 Eric Decker TEN SEA SEA is more attackable through the middle, which is where Decker plays mostly.

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