Fantasy Football NFL Quarterback Rankings Week 3 

After a month of fantasy football, it’s easy to project out NFL quarterback rankings so we are a couple of weeks away from that. The fantasy football community gets a clear path to more accurate projections with a larger sample size of statistics. Let’s look at momentum, offensive/defensive efficiency, coaching style, injuries, and much more. 

Some quarterbacks like Patrick Mahomes, Kyler Murray, and Lamar Jackson are difficult to project and game-plan against because they can almost become a cheat code in the game. You also have old reliable quarterbacks like Tom Brady, Ben Roethlisberger, and Aaron Rodgers that are coaches on the field.

Quarterback is the most strategically important position in the game, and rightfully so. The quarterback must win every aspect of the game to be successful. Projections for all 32 starting NFL quarterback rankings will be examined here. 

Fantasy Football NFL Quarterback Rankings Week 3

Projected Week 3 Top Performer at Quarterback

MVP Alert! According to recent Vegas odds, after the first two weeks of the season, Murray has surpassed Brady and Mahomes as the new favorite to win the Most Valuable Player award at +550. Murray is playing on another level this year, and he showed the NFL world last week against the Minnesota Vikings that he can rally his team to victory even if they are down big in a game.  The only three players in NFL History who have two career games with 400+ passing yards, three passing touchdowns, and one rushing touchdown are Murray, Peyton Manning, and Rodgers.

Murray looks like Dante Hall (the human joystick) running around behind the line of scrimmage and then has the arm strength to loft the ball up 30 to 40 yards down the field to an open receiver. Projecting a player to be the number one quarterback in 2021 is one thing, but setting a player up to blow the rooftop off of the Jaguars in Week 3 is another. I look for Murray to continue his recent dominance and head into Week 4 with an undefeated record at 3-0.

Other Top Performer: Lamar Jackson

Kyler Murray Fantasy Projections

Passing Yards: 325 or more

Total Touchdowns: 3 or more

Rushing Yards: 35 or more

Fantasy Points: 28.1

Riding the Struggle Bus

After a five-touchdown game to open the season, Jameis Winston struggled in Week 2 by throwing two interceptions and zero touchdowns. The Saints were without eight members of their coaching staff in Week 2, which could have caused most of the damage. Winston will be up against a Patriots defense that has allowed less than 13 points per game through two weeks. Vegas has also set the Saints to score between 16 and 19 points, so look for Winston to continue to ride the struggle-bus at least for one more week.

Other QB Riding the Struggle Bus: Trevor Lawrence

Jameis Winston Fantasy Projections

Passing Yards: 235 or less

Total Touchdowns: 2 or less

Rushing Yards: 25 or less

Fantasy Points: 15.8

Trade For Ryan Tannehill

The chemistry between a quarterback and a wide receiver does not happen overnight. Julio Jones started to heat up in Week 2 as he posted up over 100 yards in just the first half. With teams focused on stopping Derrick Henry and the running game, the passing game will open up. Now is the time to buy into the passing attack. It makes it that much easier when Ryan Tannehill is up against the Indianapolis Colts. I am projecting that the Colts defense will struggle against this offensive juggernaut.

Other QB to trade for: Derek Carr

Ryan Tannehill Fantasy Projections

Passing Yards: 280 or more

Total Touchdowns: 2 or more

Rushing Yards: 20 or more

Fantasy Points: 23.1

Tom Brady is Human

After the Week 11 loss to the Rams in 2020, Tom Brady said, “They did a good job preventing the big play. Not impossible, but I didn’t hit any. I have to do a better job.” Brady put up just 216 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions on 48 pass attempts that day. The biggest completion play was an 18-yard completion to Mike Evans. The Rams ranked first defensively in 2020 but 22nd offensively. With the upgrade from Jared Goff to Matthew Stafford, the Rams could have what it takes to take down the Superbowl champions.

Tom Brady Fantasy Projections

Passing Yards: 250 yards or less

Total Touchdowns: 2 or less

Rushing Yards: 5 or less 

Fantasy Points: 18.1

Deep Sleeper Stash

Jacob Eason was being drafted in Dynasty Superflex Leagues in the late third/ early fourth range in 2020. To have a potential future starting quarterback at that value was a fantastic price to pay. When Phillip Rivers retired in the offseason, Eason’s stock went way up, and then his stock came right back down was the acquired Carson Wentz. Considering Wentz’s injury history and the fact that he currently has two injured ankles, Eason is someone you may be able to use in spot starts.

Jacob Eason Fantasy Projections

Passing Yards: 200 yards or more

Total Touchdowns: 1-2

Rushing Yards: 35 or less

Fantasy Points: 14.4

Scoring Format

Projection numbers are on this scoring format:

Passing Touchdown: 4 points

Passing Yards: 1 point for every 25 yards (+0.04 per yard)

Pass Intercepted: -1 points

2 point conversion: 2 points 

Rushing/Receiving Touchdown: 6 points

Rushing/Receiving Yards: 1 point for every 10 yards (+0.10 per yard)

Fumble: -1 point

Fumble Lost: -2 points

NFL Fantasy Quarterback Rankings – Week 3

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