Fantasy Football Stars Who Will Struggle in Week 3: Justin Herbert, Kyren Williams, and More

Last week's try at picking fantasy stars who would struggle didn't go well, with 75% of the picks ending up as fantasy starters at their position:

• Patrick Mahomes had a modest day passing the ball, but for the second straight week, he saved his fantasy performance with around 12 fantasy points on the ground, running for 66 yards and a touchdown. If he's going to keep producing so much with his legs, Mahomes will be an unquestioned fantasy starter again.
• Jonathan Taylor had maybe the performance of the week, running for 165 yards on 25 carries and adding two receptions, 50 yards, and a touchdown through the air. Even a top defense like Denver couldn't slow down the Colts.
• Davante Adams received 13 targets, catching six of them for 106 yards and a touchdown. Puka Nacua also had a good game (eight receptions, 91 yards), as the Rams had a bit of a field day against a supposedly good defense in Tennessee.
• Mark Andrews was the one win of the week, catching just one pass for two yards. That's two straight one-catch, single-digit-yard games in a row; should we be worrying?

Let's do it again and choose one weekly fantasy starter at each position who will struggle to live up to expectations in Week 3.

Be sure to check out FantasySP's defensive rankings to find the players with the best and worst matchups each week.

Quarterback

Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers vs. Denver Broncos

Herbert looked really good over the first two weeks. He opened against the Chiefs in Brazil, throwing for 318 yards on 9.4 yards per attempt with three touchdowns and no interceptions. Herbert also added 32 rushing yards, a nice little boost to his fantasy score.

He had less volume but the same efficiency against the Raiders in Week 2, gaining 242 passing yards on 9.0 per attempt with two touchdowns, no interceptions, and 31 rushing yards. After a QB5 finish in Week 1, Herbert was right near the middle in Week 2 (QB18); he is QB5 overall on the season.

The matchup gets a lot tougher in this one against Denver, though. The Broncos had one of the best defenses in football last season and carried over that performance to Week 1, holding first overall pick Cameron Ward to 112 yards on 4.0 per attempt. The Titans ran for just 71 yards and scored 12 points.

Week 2 was a different story: Daniel Jones continued his run as the surprise of the season, throwing for 316 yards on 9.3 yards per attempt with a touchdown, no interceptions, and a rushing touchdown. That leaves a question as to how dominant the Broncos really are and if they were just taking advantage of a young QB in Week 1. I'm betting on Denver's defense bouncing back, though, which would make things tough on Herbert.

There's still upside for Herbert given his performance so far. Most fantasy owners didn't draft Herbert as a starter, so you probably have another option also. If that's the case, I would consider an alternative to Herbert in Week 3.

Running Back

Kyren Williams, Los Angeles Rams @ Philadelphia Eagles

Williams had a middling start to the season running for 66 yards in each game and combining for 17 yards on three receptions. He scored a touchdown in Week 1 to help his fantasy score, but Williams is down near RB20 after two weeks.

The presence of Blake Corum also has some fantasy owners a little uneasy. Corum ran for 44 yards and a touchdown in Week 2, but he only had five carries versus 17 for Williams (the latter also had two catches and Corum had none). In Week 1, Corum had just one rushing attempt and one reception (Williams had 18 and one).

The Rams also just signed Williams to a contract extension that will keep him around for a few more years, so I doubt they are dying to hand a bunch of carries to another back. I'm not worried about Corum taking too much work; Williams is the main guy and Corum the backup.

The matchup is the biggest problem here. The Eagles are tough in every facet defensively, and while they haven't locked down the running game completely, teams have had to labor for yards against Philly, and a few big scrambles by Mahomes throw off the numbers in such a small sample.

There was also a big 49-yard run from Miles Sanders in Week 1. If we take away that play, running backs have gained just 113 yards on 37 carries, an average of 3.1 yards per rush. Those big plays count, but I'm betting that Philadelphia's actual level of play is closer to that 3.1 number and not the 5.0 gained on all carries. The Eagles have also allowed only five catches for 17 yards to RBs.

Williams will be seen as a must-start player by most, but he has been just OK through two weeks, and he has a tough matchup in this one. While you might not have a better option, it's worth considering leaving Williams on the bench in Week 3.

Wide Receiver

Brian Thomas Jr., Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Houston Texans

Thomas hasn't shown up through two weeks. In the first game, he caught just one of seven targets for 10 yards; four Jaguars had more receptions and yards. He improved in Week 2 but was still middling with four catches for 49 yards. It took him 12 targets to get there, showing great inefficiency early.

Last year, Thomas caught 65.4% of his targets. This season, he's at 26.3%. That number will surely climb back toward a more feasible mark, and not every target is created equally, but it's concerning that Thomas has had so many passes thrown his way and has come away with such modest stats. Despite early struggles, the team is standing behind him.

Week 3 isn't the time to hope for big improvement, though. The Texans have had a tough defense for a few years now, something that has carried over to 2025, where they've given up just 17 points per game. Matthew Stafford had a good statistical day against Houston in Week 1, but the Texans were able to hold down Baker Mayfield better in the second game, allowing just 5.7 yards per attempt on the way to 215 passing yards.

Trevor Lawrence has had his own below-average start to the season, gaining just 6.2 yards per attempt on his way to 449 yards; he's completing less than 60% of his passes. With a quarterback not excelling and a tough matchup, I'm not looking for Thomas to bounce back here. This is a player worth considering leaving on the bench.

Tight End

Tucker Kraft, Green Bay Packers @ Cleveland Browns

After a mostly anonymous rookie season, Kraft put together a good 2024, catching 50 passes for 707 yards and seven touchdowns. He never had a game like he did in Week 2, though. Before this season, Kraft's career highs were six catches and 88 yards. He topped 50 yards only nine times in 34 games.

In Week 2, Kraft had six receptions for 124 yards and a touchdown, leading the Packers in each category. He also scored a touchdown in Week 1, though he had just two catches for 16 yards in that one. Kraft is currently TE1 in both standard and PPR scoring. You might say he's not a star, but the numbers so far this year hint at his emergence.

Kraft faces a tough matchup in Week 3. Cleveland is among the 10 best in both yards per pass attempt allowed and fantasy points given up to tight ends. The Browns don't have a good football team, but they still have plenty of defensive talent around and have shown it off at times (though the Ravens eventually made things ugly in Week 2).

With Jayden Reed out, there could be more targets available, something that would help Kraft. With a tougher matchup and a guy who hasn't regularly played at this level before, though, I'm skeptical of Kraft's ceiling and floor this week and see him as a guy to consider benching, even after the huge game against Washington.