I’m Not Leaving Round 3 Without One of These 4 Players
Round 3 breakdown
LAB REPORTS
The first two rounds of a fantasy draft are usually pretty straightforward for me. I’m not trying to prove I’m smarter than everybody else. Give me elite players, build a good base and move on.
Round 3 is where things start getting fun.
Looking at Sleeper ADP right now, this round is loaded with names like Nico Collins, Chris Olave, Malik Nabers, Josh Jacobs, Josh Allen, Kyren Williams, Breece Hall, Bucky Irving, Tee Higgins, Travis Etienne, Tetairoa McMillan and Lamar Jackson.
There are a lot of guys there I like, but liking a player and actively wanting him on my team are two different things. If I’m drafting today, there are four players I really don’t want to leave Round 3 without.
Nico Collins
I keep coming back to Nico. Maybe he’s not the exciting answer anymore because we’ve already seen the breakout, but I’m not sure why we should be moving away from him.
Nico finished last season with 71 catches, 1,117 yards, and six touchdowns despite playing only 15 games. That’s now three straight 1,000-yard seasons.
I’m not drafting Nico, hoping he becomes an elite receiver. He already is one.
Houston hasn’t always been as consistent as we’d like, and C.J. Stroud has had his ups and downs, but Nico keeps producing through it. When he’s healthy, he’s still the receiver I trust most in that offense.
Sometimes I think we get too caught up looking for the next breakout and forget about the guy who already broke out.
Could Nico finish as a WR1? Absolutely. In Round 3, that’s exactly the type of bet I want.
Chris Olave
This might be my favorite one.
For years with Olave, it was always about what he could do. What happens if the quarterback's play improves? What if he scores more touchdowns? What if the targets finally turn into a monster season?
Last year we got it.
Olave finished with 100 catches, 1,163 yards, and nine touchdowns.
So what exactly are we waiting for?
We’re talking about a 26-year-old receiver who just caught 100 passes and scored nine times, and I can still get him after making my first two picks.
The Saints offense might not be one everybody wants to stack, but volume matters, and Olave has already shown he can command it.
Nabers might have the bigger perceived ceiling. Some people will take a running back. Others will grab Allen or Lamar. I’m completely fine taking the guy who just gave me 100 catches.
Olave is probably going to end up on a lot of my teams.
Kyren Williams
I feel like fantasy football has been trying to replace Kyren Williams for three years, and he just keeps producing.
2023: 1,144 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns.
2024: 1,299 yards and 14 touchdowns.
2025: 1,252 yards and 10 touchdowns.
At some point, we might just have to admit Kyren is really good at this.
I know he’s not the shiny new running back, and people are always worried about someone taking touches in Los Angeles. Maybe his workload comes down some, but in Round 3, I don’t need 300 carries.
Give me a good running back in a Sean McVay offense who has scored double-digit rushing touchdowns three years in a row, and I’m interested.
If I start WR-WR and Kyren is staring at me in the third, that’s a very easy pick.
Sometimes boring production is exactly what you need.
Tetairoa McMillan
Here’s my upside swing.
Tet finished his rookie year with 70 catches, 1,014 yards, and seven touchdowns on 122 targets.
A rookie receiver goes over 1,000 yards, and now I can get his Year 2 season in Round 3? Yeah, I’m interested.
We spend all offseason trying to find the next young receiver about to take a massive jump, but sometimes the answer is already sitting right in front of us.
Tet is already Carolina’s top receiving option, already has a 1,000-yard season under his belt, and now gets another year to grow with Bryce Young.
Does that guarantee a WR1 finish? Of course not. But that’s the best.
If he takes another step forward, Round 3 could look pretty cheap by October.
What About Everyone Else?
This is a strong Round 3, so leaving someone off doesn’t mean I don’t like them.
Malik Nabers is one of the most talented receivers in football, but coming off the ACL I’m a little more comfortable with the other receivers right now.
Breece Hall is interesting and the discount is getting tempting, but I’m not quite at “have to draft him” yet. Same with Bucky Irving, Josh Jacobs and Travis Etienne.
Tee Higgins is probably the hardest cut. I like Higgins a lot, but if Nico or Olave are sitting next to him, I’m taking the other two.
Then there’s Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson. I have no issue taking an elite quarterback, but in a normal one-QB redraft league I usually want one more difference-maker at RB or WR before I attack the position.
My Round 3 Priority
If I had to rank the four today:
1. Nico Collins
2. Chris Olave
3. Kyren Williams
4. Tetairoa McMillan
But draft position changes things.
If I start RB-RB, I’m hammering Nico or Olave. If I start WR-WR, Kyren gets much more attractive. Tet is the guy I’m willing to take when I want to swing for the ceiling.
The bigger point is simple: I don’t want to get through Round 3 without at least one of these guys.
Nico gives me proven WR1 upside. Olave might still be cheaper than he should be after a 100-catch season. Kyren keeps scoring touchdowns no matter how many times fantasy football tries to replace him. And Tet might just be getting started.
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