With two weeks of NFL action under out belts, we’re beginning to reach full speed in DFS contests. There are 13 games on Week 3’s main Sunday slate on DraftKings with lineup options aplenty. We know more now than we did at the season’s start, so the strategy to build your rosters gets all the more interesting moving forward. Slates lock at 1 p.m. EST as usual, so let’s jump right into the fold with three must-start players for fantasy football in NFL Week 3.
Set your DraftKings fantasy football lineups here: NFL $3.25M Fantasy Football Millionaire [$1M to 1st]
QB Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears, $5,600
I really considered selecting Drake Maye as my must-start quarterback for the third consecutive week, but I like the matchup Caleb Williams and the Bears see against the Cowboys a little more than the Patriots against the Steelers. Williams averages 21.1 FPPG so far in 2025 with 24.2 points in Week 1 against the Vikings and 17.98 points against the Lions last week. Now, those may not be game-breaking numbers, but there’s a ton to like about the former No. 1 pick in this contest.
Williams has 417 yards and three touchdowns along with 85 rushing yards and one additional score in two games, so his floor naturally gets a little safer thanks to his upside on the ground. However, he sees a litany of weapons on offense that would make any quarterback blush — Rome Odunze looks like a bona fide WR1, D.J. Moore remains plenty talented, and a handful of other names round out the group of pass catchers. The Bears face a very poor Cowboys offense that just allowed 37 points to the Giants, a game in which Russell Wilson threw for 450 yards and three touchdowns with a 123.0 passer rating. With star cornerback Daron Bland still sidelined and the unit ranking fourth-worst in defensive EPA/pass at 0.26, there’s a ton of upside for Williams in a potential shootout spot (and the same goes for Dak Prescott at a slightly higher salary).
RB Kenneth Walker III, Seattle Seahawks, $5,800
The Kenneth Walker experience has been a roller coaster of sorts to start the year with 5.4 points in Week 1 but 21.8 points in Week 2. Questions of which Seahawks halfback should start between Walker and Charbonnet have been answered by the coaching staff with non-statements that suggest they’re both starter-quality. Well, with the latter now looking less and less likely to play while dealing with a foot issue which has him listed doubtful, it looks like it’s Walker’s time to shine.
The Saints aren’t as easy a matchup as one may assume at 12th in defensive EPA/rush, but they fall 18th in rushing yards allowed and are due to concede a score or two on the ground. If Walker becomes the primary running back this week without Charbonnet in the mix, the upside remains absolutely immense. Last season, he averaged a career-best 16.7 DK FPPG in a limited sample of 11 contests while sharing the field with his backfield mate. With a bell-cow workload of 20+ touches in a game the Seahawks should comfortably lead, Walker brings upside to not only finish as an RB1 this week, but the top player at his position on the week. At this salary, he’s an instant click in Week 3 DFS as a rare workhorse back.
WR CeeDee Lamb, Dallas Cowboys, $8,000
We did take Caleb Williams earlier with the assumption the Bears vs. Cowboys contest becomes a high-scoring affair. After all, it holds the highest projected total on the Sunday slate by far at a combined 50.5 points. If we get the outcome we’re hoping for between offenses with upside against bad defenses, no wide receiver sees a greater opportunity than CeeDee Lamb.
Everyone knows how great the Cowboys’ top wideout is, and rostership will still ride high even at a massive salary. However, Lamb averages 22.1 DK FPPG thus far in 2025 with an average of 12 targets per game. The target share he enjoys in a pass-happy offense will prove very useful for fantasy players, and the wild part is that he’s yet to tap into his real upside since he hasn’t yet scored a touchdown this season. With 110 and 112 yards in his two outings, Lamb looks like he enjoys having a healthy Prescott under center again. This matchup is also a juicy one with the Bears passing yards allowed in the bottom 10 teams while giving up an NFL-worst seven touchdowns through the air with a 0.27 EPA/pass, third-worst. Take Lamb as your lineup anchor and don’t think twice.
