Jameson Williams, Diontae Johnson, Jaxon Smith-Njigba: Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em Picks for Fantasy Football Week 3

It's Week 3, and while many things are beginning to shape up, there's a huge tier of wide receivers that have had good performances or are primed to break out. This early in the season, it can still be difficult to know who to start, but it's crucial to win early games to get in better position to make the fantasy playoffs.

Lions WR Jameson Williams, Panthers WR Diontae Johnson, and Seahawks WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba are all set to have excellent fantasy seasons, and all but Johnson have had breakout games so far. However, Johnson just got a vastly improved quarterback situation and is worth consideration as well.

Which of these three receivers should you start in fantasy football? Let's dive in.

• Quarterback fantasy football rankings
• Running back fantasy football rankings
• Wide receiver fantasy football rankings
• Tight end fantasy football rankings
• Kicker fantasy football rankings
• FLEX fantasy football rankings
• Defense (D/ST) fantasy football rankings
• Superflex fantasy football rankings
• IDP fantasy football rankings
• Dynasty fantasy football rankings

Should I Start Jameson Williams for Fantasy Football?

Williams has finally hit his stride in Lions OC Ben Johnson's offense. After two middling years of almost no production, Williams has become a huge part of the Lions gameplan, being targeted nine times in Week 1 and 11 in Week 2. Williams already has 200 yards and a touchdown and has shown off his lighting speed.

WR Jameson Williams (DET) - The WR8 in Fantasy Football. It’s not a fluke. He’s averaging 10 targets per game and staying on the field for almost every o snap. He’s reaching must start territory if he’s not there already. pic.twitter.com/bBWmPg2UP0

— Joshua Cho (@jbchoknows) September 19, 2024

Unlike last year, Williams is almost always on the field. He's seemingly overtaken TE Sam LaPorta and RB Jahmyr Gibbs as the clear 2nd receiving option and is threatening to nearly match lead WR Amon-Ra St. Brown's production. Williams isn't a fluke and needs to be started in all leagues.

10 targets a game to a speedster WR on an elite offense cannot be ignored. There is no reason to bench him.

Should I Start Diontae Johnson for Fantasy Football?

Johnson has been miserable this season, but the blame lies squarely on the shoulders of QB Bryce Young. The Panthers hired a star offensive coordinator that turned around the careers of both Buccaneers QB Baker Mayfield and Seahawks QB Geno Smith in Dave Canales, overhauled their offensive li,ne and brought in Johnson.

Despite this, Young has somehow played worse this season than last, and he was benched after just two games. That's unprecedented for a former No. 1 overall NFL Draft pick. QB Andy Dalton will step in for the Panthers, who helped 33-year-old Adam Thielen put up 11 catches for 145 yards and a touchdown.

Dalton did this in his one start. He clearly still has juice is willing to sling it, and has tons of experience playing in the NFL.

Andy Dalton drops a DIME to Rashid Shaheed and we’ve got points early on #TNF! #NOvsAZ on Prime Video
Also available on NFL+ https://t.co/aKjbRcE0ca pic.twitter.com/NfH2w9MmIW

— NFL (@NFL) October 21, 2022

The Red Rifle is locked, loaded, and ready to fire again. Johnson is a fine FLEX start in PPR formats, even more so when Dalton builds more chemistry with his receivers.

Should I Start Jaxon Smith-Njigba for Fantasy Football?

Smith-Njigba had a big breakout game in Week 2, with a ridiculous 16 targets, catching 12 for 117 yards. While he's unlikely to have 16 targets every game, with running back Kenneth Walker III out for Week 3, the Seahawks are likely to lean pass-heavy against the Dolphins.

Some very promising signs on #Seahawks WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba:

1. Has run 69 routes on 76 Geno dropbacks this season. That's more than Tyler Lockett (62).

2. Still getting a lot of short-area targets, but now mixing in deeper routes. Average depth of target yesterday was 10.6… pic.twitter.com/45PT8IlzFM

— Adam Levitan (@adamlevitan) September 16, 2024

Smith-Njigba appears to have overtaken fellow WR Tyler Lockett for the No. 2 WR role on the Seahawks' offense, and new OC Ryan Grubb has made a point to increase Smith-Njigba's usage. He's a must-start for Week 3 in PPR.

More Fantasy Football Analysis