Fab's Five Fantasy Football Sleepers For Week 3: Start Drake Maye

Michael Fabiano | Sep 18, 2025

Patriots QB Drake Maye has fantasy starting appeal this week in a home matchup against the Steelers. / Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Fab's Five Sleepers is your weekly look at players who aren’t considered must-starts in fantasy football lineups but could exceed expectations based on a plus matchup or simple volume. For all of your final fantasy lineup decisions, be sure to check out Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em and my Week 3 player rankings, including flex, which are updated daily throughout the season.

Fantasy Sleeper Starts in Week 3

Drake Maye, QB, Patriots: Maye was awesome last week, scoring 26.3 fantasy points in a win over the Dolphins. He’s now scored 42.1 points in his first two games, and a matchup against the Steelers is surprisingly favorable (at least based on the first two weeks). Believe it or not, but Pittsburgh’s defense has allowed an average of nearly 23 fantasy points per game to non-elite players like Justin Fields and Sam Darnold.

Jaylen Warren, RB, Steelers: Warren is clearly the Steelers lead running back, as he’s the leader in snaps, touches and fantasy points after two weeks. He’s also being used in the pass attack, catching 12 passes on 15 targets. Warren should be an attractive low RB2 or flex starter against the Patriots, who have allowed the fourth-most catches and the fourth-most receiving yards to backs after their first two contests.

Troy Franklin, WR, Broncos: Franklin has had a strong start to the season for the Broncos, and he was especially effective in Week 2. He posted eight catches for 89 yards with a touchdown and scored 24 fantasy points in a loss to the Colts. He has 15 targets in the first two weeks from Bo Nix, who he played with in college at Oregon. He has flex appeal in what could be a high-scoring game against the Bolts.

Kayshon Boutte, WR, Patriots: Boutte was only targeted once against Miami, but it went for a touchdown … and he still led Patriots wideouts in fantasy points for the second week in a row. Drake Maye is an ascending quarterback in both real and fantasy football, and Boutte could end up being his favorite target. The Steelers have also allowed the seventh-most points to wideouts after two weeks.

Juwan Johnson, TE, Saints: Johnson has come out of nowhere to become very fantasy relevant.  He ran a route on 93% of the Saints’ drop backs in Week 2, and he saw a 26.5% target share. Johnson has clearly gained a rapport with Spencer Rattler, and this week’s matchup against the Seahawks makes him a startable asset. Seattle has allowed 10-plus points to two tight ends in two weeks, so Johnson is a sleeper.