Week 3 Fantasy Football Busts: Beware Travis Etienne Jr., Colston Loveland

Week 3: Sleepers | Busts | Buy-Low, Sell-High players

Superstars are difficult to keep out of your fantasy lineups, but a stretch of poor games or a bad matchup warrants doing just that (or at least thinking about it). Here are five potential busts who fit that bill. For all of your final lineup decisions, be sure to check out Start ’Em, Sit ’Em and my weekly fantasy rankings, which are updated daily throughout the season.

Note: Starting percent from Sleeper. Players listed are started in at least 50 percent of leagues

Fantasy Starters Who Could Bust In Week 3

Drake Maye at Jaguars (62% started): Maye was a sit recommendation in each of my first two articles of 2026, and he’ll remain here for a third straight week. He ranks a brutal 30th in fantasy points among quarterbacks after two weeks, and he’ll be without his top receiver, A.J. Brown, for at least three more games. Maye also has a tough road matchup against the Jaguars, who have allowed just 14.1 points per game to opposing quarterbacks in their first two contests.

Drake Maye picked off by Patrick Queen 👀

PITvsNE on CBS/Paramount+
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— NFL (@NFL) September 20, 2026

Travis Etienne Jr. vs. Raiders (72% started): The worst nightmare of fantasy fans who have Etienne came to fruition in Week 2 … Alvin Kamara returned, and he led all Saints backs in touches at 25.9%. Etienne came in at just 18.5%, down from the 26.7% share he held in Week 1. If this trend continues, it will be impossible to start either back with any confidence. Meanwhile, the Raiders, surprisingly, have allowed the lowest EPA per rush play after two weeks.

Quinshon Judkins vs. Panthers (72% started): Judkins, by no fault of his own, has been unstartable so far this season. Playing behind a bad line and for a poor offense, he’s averaging a brutal 2.3 yards per rush. While this week’s matchup against Carolina is good on paper, it’s a bit skewed because their defense gave up a ton of points to the Bears running backs (and 59 points in the game) in Week 1. At best, Judkins will be a risk-reward flex option.

Emeka Egbuka vs. Vikings (77% started): I’m not telling you to sit Egbuka, but I sure don’t feel as confident starting him as I’d like after two weeks. A touchdown last week saved him from putting up a four-point performance, and his quarterback, Baker Mayfield, simply hasn’t looked like the same quarterback without Liam Coen at the helm of the offense. The Vikings also have a pretty tough defense as well, and the expected points total for this game is hovering in the low 40s.

Colston Loveland vs. Eagles (66% started): Admittedly, I’m hoping my listing of Loveland as the sit of the week reverse-jinxes him back into fantasy relevance. He’s done zilch in the first two weeks, ranking outside of the top 70 tight ends based on fantasy points. Not only that, but Loveland won’t have his quarterback, Caleb Williams, who is dealing with a hamstring injury. Meanwhile, the Eagles have allowed the fewest points to opposing tight ends after two weeks.

More Players To Beware

Trevor Lawrence vs. Patriots (58% started): The Patriots defense has given up the third-fewest fantasy points and the fewest points per dropback to quarterbacks.
DK Metcalf vs. Bengals (52% started): Metcalf is tied as the WR50 after two weeks; the Bengals have held him to fewer than 10 points in each of their last two meetings.
Isaiah Likely vs. Titans (59% started): Likely was held to 33 yards last week without Jaxson Dart; Jameis Winston will start against the Titans in a game with a low total.
Cameron Dicker at Bills (80% started): Dicker has missed his only field goal attempt, and the Chargers offense has the fifth-lowest time of possession after two weeks.
Broncos defense vs. Rams (64% started): Potential to be a high-scoring game; the Rams have allowed just one sack, which is tied for the second fewest in the league.

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