FantasyPros - Fantasy Football Podcast
FantasyPros - Fantasy Football Podcast

Week 3 Fantasy Football Quarterback & Tight End Rankings: Sleepers, Fades, and Must-Starts (Ep. 2214)

September 24, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

“I don’t think the goal is to stream quarterbacks every single week. The goal is to find a quarterback that you can use every single week. And then if that doesn’t work, you stream.” That advice from Andrew Erickson cuts to the heart of the Week 3 quarterback dilemma for fantasy managers who lost Jaden Daniels to season-ending surgery. The episode’s core tension is about how to evaluate signal-callers when the early-season data is thin, the matchups are shifting, and the rushing floor that used to be a cheat code has been less reliable than expected. The hosts walk through the top-12 rankings but spend most of their energy on the players who force the hardest decisions: Tyler Shuck, Drake Maye, Malik Willis, and Kyler Murray.

The Tyler Shuck Conundrum: Volume vs. Sustainability

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What you'll learn

  • 1 (00:39) **QB & TE Week 3 Preview Begins** - Chris Welsh introduces the episode focused on quarterback and tight end rankings for Week 3 with Andrew Erickson and Pat Fitzmorris.
  • 2 (01:28) **Jameis Winston Replaces Injured Jackson Dart** - Breaking news: Jackson Dart is out for the season with a shoulder injury, thrusting Jameis Winston into the starting role.
  • 3 (03:04) **Streaming QB Strategy After the Dart Injury** - The panel debates whether to lock in a waiver QB or stream weekly, given the available options under 50% rostered.
  • 4 (04:56) **Week 3 QB Big Board Overview** - The consensus top-12 quarterback rankings are presented, with Josh Allen at #1 and Tyler Shook at #12.
  • 5 (06:01) **Burrow vs. Maye: The Tough QB Call** - Erickson and Fitzmorris break down the difficult choice between Joe Burrow and Drake Maye in the QB7-10 range.
  • 6 (09:34) **Tyler Shook: Must-Start or Sell High?** - The panel debates whether Tyler Shook, ranked QB8 by Erickson, is a legitimate weekly top-10 option.
  • 7 (14:19) **Malik Willis vs. Kyler Murray: The Deep QB Play** - The panel explains why they both rank Malik Willis (QB14) ahead of Kyler Murray (QB16), against the consensus.

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Guests on this episode

Show Notes

Chris Welsh, Andrew Erickson, and Pat Fitzmaurice sort through the quarterback and tight end rankings after another major injury changes the landscape.

There’s real debate over Joe Burrow and Drake Maye, while Tyler Shough is quickly making the case that his early production deserves more respect. The crew also looks at Malik Willis, Kyler Murray, and some of the better fallback options if your QB situation has suddenly become a problem.

The tight end conversation brings a different set of questions: Brock Bowers appears ready to roll, Travis Kelce gets a matchup worth attacking, and Colston Loveland managers have to decide how much patience they still have left.

Timestamps: (May be off due to ads)

Intro - 0:00:00

Jaxson Dart Update - 0:00:45

QB Rankings - 0:04:14

Joe Burrow vs. Drake Maye - 0:04:48

Tyler Shough - 0:08:58

Malik Willis vs. Kyler Murray - 0:13:38

TE Rankings - 0:18:40

Brock Bowers - 0:19:06

Isaiah Likely - 0:20:08

Travis Kelce - 0:23:24

Colston Loveland - 0:26:11

Outro - 0:31:43

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