Week 3 of the 2025 fantasy football season featured a little bit of everything, from big scores by rookies to surprisingly quiet games from some of the top players in the NFL.

Who were the big winners and losers?

Matt Bowen and Tristan H. Cockcroft offer their analyses.

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Ranking winners | Ranking losers |
Biggest injuries and what’s next

Ranking fantasy winners of Week 3

1. Jonathan Taylor, RB, Indianapolis Colts: He’s benefiting in a huge way from the Colts’ offensive rebirth, as he followed up his 29.5 PPR fantasy points in Week 2 with 32.8 points on Sunday, and he’s now averaging 20 carries and 22.7 touches through three games. Taylor has had multiple explosive runs (10-plus yard carries) in each of his three contests for seven on the season, tied for the league’s lead, and he has 61 more rushing yards than expected per Next Gen Stats. He’s shaping up as a clear fantasy RB1, which he should be again in Week 4 against the Los Angeles Rams. — Cockcroft

2. Tre Tucker, WR, Las Vegas Raiders: What a breakthrough by the third-year receiver, who became the first player to break the 40-point barrier in PPR scoring this season (career-best 40.9), carving up the Washington Commanders’ zone-heavy defense. Tucker’s nine targets easily paced Raiders receivers, and coming on the heels of the eight he had in Week 2, it seems he’s becoming a larger part of their game plan. Expect huge jumps in his roster (1.95%) and start rates (0.18%) in ESPN leagues next week against the Chicago Bears, though he’s best regarded a risk/reward fantasy WR3 for that matchup. — Cockcroft

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Eric Karabell: Jordan Mason a top-20 RB for rest of season

Eric Karabell breaks down his fantasy optimism for Jordan Mason for the rest of the season.

3. Jordan Mason, RB, Minnesota Vikings: With Aaron Jones Sr. on IR with a hamstring injury, Mason had 23.6 points in the Vikings’ blowout win over the Bengals. In a game where Minnesota absolutely controlled tempo (more on their defense later), Mason finished with 116 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries. While Mason isn’t going to rack up big numbers as a receiver (three receptions on the season), he will remain the Vikings No. 1 runner heading into the Week 4 at the Steelers. And that means more run game volume. Mason will be an RB2 for me next week. — Bowen

4. Quinshon Judkins, RB, Cleveland Browns: Judkins had 95 total yards and a touchdown on 19 touches (16.5 points) in the Browns’ Week 3 win over the Packers. Judkins paced the Browns’ backfield with 18 of the team’s 19 rushing attempts, plus he has the traits of a lead runner in Kevin Stefanski’s offense. With the short-area speed to hit creases of daylight, plus the contact balance and pad level to break tackles, Judkins should continue to play a volume role in Cleveland. With a Week 4 game at Detroit, Judkins will be in my Flex ranks. — Bowen

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Eric Moody: Hunter Henry has cemented himself as a low-end TE1

Eric Moody reacts to Hunter Henry’s nice fantasy game vs. the Steelers.

5. Hunter Henry, TE, New England Patriots: His 29.0 PPR fantasy points were the second-best single game score of his 10-year NFL career (30.0, Week 9 of 2019), and they came in a game where he had more than twice as many targets (11) as any other Patriots receiver. Henry has had his moments as a go-to target for Drake Maye, with seven games of a 25%-plus target share and nine end-zone targets since the beginning of 2024. Even if Henry can be maddeningly tough to predict — he was a bust facing a favorable matchup last week — he brings the necessary upside to be worth a go for those who went the cheap route at the position. — Cockcroft

6. Jalen Hurts, QB, Philadelphia Eagles: In the Eagles’ comeback win over the Rams, Hurts’ 29.04 points led all quarterbacks in the early window, and the pass game numbers jumped for the first time this season. Trailing 26-7 in this one, we saw a much more aggressive play script from Philly, with Hurts completing 21 of his 32 throws for 226 yards and three touchdowns. Hurts also added 40 yards rushing and a score on nine carries, plus, his top targets, A.J. Brown (22.9 points) and DeVonta Smith (20 points), posted their best numbers of the season. Hurts will remain a top-5 play in Week 4 versus the Bucs. – Bowen

7. Minnesota Vikings ST/D: Brian Flores’ unit went to work on the Bengals offense in the Week 3 win, scoring 32 points, the most points by a fantasy defense since the Cowboys dropped 35 on the Giants in Week 1 of the ’23 season. The Vikings created consistent chaos for the Bengals, racking up four sacks, two interceptions, three fumble recoveries and two defensive scores. Ridiculous. With Pittsburgh (Week 4) and Cleveland (Week 5) up next, the Vikings defense will remain a top-5 unit in the rankings. — Bowen

Ranking fantasy losers of Week 3

1. Bengals passing offense: The Bengals offense was a bust with backup quarterback Jake Browning making his first start for an injured Joe Burrow. Browning completed 19 passes for 140 yards, and he threw two picks. Too much pressure from the Vikings here. Ja’Marr Chase? He caught five of six targets for 50 yards, added one carry for nine yards, but also lost a fumble (8.9 points). And Tee Higgins caught just one pass (on two targets) for 15 yards (2.5 points). Sure, the Vikings defense dictated the flow of this football game, but that does create some concern for Chase and Higgins managers. And with a tough Week 5 matchup versus the Broncos defense up next, I’ll move Chase down as a lower-tier WR1, with Higgins dropping to the WR3 range. — Bowen

2. Brock Bowers, TE, Las Vegas Raiders: He has now been quiet in back-to-back weeks, following up Week 2’s 8.8 PPR fantasy points with 9.8 on Sunday, the latter coming on a mere five targets. He couldn’t seem to find any open space against the Commanders’ zone-heavy defense, catching only two passes on 26 routes run in those situations per Next Gen Stats. Bowers’ fantasy managers should bear in mind that he had a similarly so-so start to 2024, his 37.7 points at this point of the year not far off the 33.9 he has currently. Stick with him and hope that he can break through in Week 4 against the Bears. — Cockcroft

3. Saquon Barkley, RB, Philadelphia Eagles: The volume wasn’t an issue for Barkley as he saw 22 touches in the Eagles’ Week 3 win over the Rams. Barkley got his looks, which included carries in the low red zone, plus he had four receptions. But without the explosive plays or touchdowns, Barkley finished with 55 total yards and a season-low 9.4 points. I thought the Rams defensive front really limited Barkley’s ability to get to the second level on Sunday, closing running lanes and squeezing the edges. Barkley will look to rebound in Week 4 versus the Bucs. — Bowen

4. Ashton Jeanty, RB, Las Vegas Raiders: His fantasy managers, who selected him 10th overall on average, can’t be happy with his lackluster play thus far. Jeanty managed only 6.3 PPR fantasy points in Week 3, stuffed at or before the line of scrimmage on five of his 17 rushing attempts, and he has now averaged fewer than four yards per carry in each of his first three NFL games. In his defense, however, he did have three explosive runs on Sunday after two in Week 2, and if the Raiders can pave him more running lanes, he might well take off statistically. Jeanty is a buy-low target with rebound potential for a Week 4 matchup against the injury-riddled Bears defense. — Cockcroft

5. Michael Penix Jr., QB, Atlanta Falcons: He saw his start rate in ESPN leagues leap by 7.5%, to 12.7%, in Week 3, but could not capitalize upon a favorable matchup against the Carolina Panthers, scoring only 3.78 fantasy points before being relieved by Kirk Cousins with his team down 27-0 in the fourth quarter. Penix was extremely erratic with his throws in this game, completing a career-low 50% of his pass attempts while being intercepted twice. He’s unlikely to garner anywhere near as much interest over any of the next four weeks (WSH, bye, BUF, @SF). — Cockcroft

6. Breece Hall, RB, New York Jets: Hall posted his second straight game with fewer than 10 points in the Jets Week 3 loss to the Bucs. Hall did have four receptions for 31 yards, but he was limited to only 21 yards rushing on nine carries (9.2 points). Hall, who is averaging 2.6 YPC over his last two games, gets a much better matchup in Week 4 versus the Miami defense, which should keep him in the RB2 mix. But his lack of run game efficiency is concerning. Let’s see if Hall can back on track next Monday night. — Bowen

Injury impact

Mike Evans, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

What we know: He came up limping while running a fourth-quarter route, was forced to leave the game and was visibly frustrated upon exit. Initial reports indicated a hamstring injury.

What’s next: Evans will likely be a questionable listing for Week 4, and if he’s unable to play, Emeka Egbuka will serve as Baker Mayfield’s clear No. 1 target in a big game against the Philadelphia Eagles, while Sterling Shepard, Ryan Miller and Tez Johnson will likely see more targets behind Egbuka. — Cockcroft

Terry McLaurin, WR, Washington Commanders

What we know: He left Sunday’s game shortly after having a 57-yard touchdown reception reversed to a 56-yard catch downed at the one-yard line during the third quarter, and was unable to return due to a quadriceps injury.

What’s next: Luke McCaffrey and Jaylin Lane saw a boost in routes and targets following McLaurin’s exit, with the former catching a touchdown pass. McCaffrey could have deep-league sleeper value if McLaurin misses further time. — Cockcroft

James Conner, RB, Arizona Cardinals

What we know: He was carted off in the third quarter with an ankle injury, and was quickly ruled out of the game.

What’s next: The severity of the injury, coupled with the possibility of a high ankle sprain, makes Conner look awfully iffy for Week 4. Trey Benson would take over as the Cardinals’ clear starter and a fantasy RB2 if Conner can’t play. — Cockcroft