Week 3 Waiver Wire (Fantasy Football)
While Week 1 was fraught with weirdness and surprising blowups, Week 2 was riddled with devastating injuries that have lasting impacts on our fantasy teams. Some of the big names that come to mind are quarterbacks Drew Brees, out for at least 6 weeks with a thumb injury, and Ben Roethlisberger who is out for the entire season. For a complete list of Week 2 injuries read Matthew Betz’ Week 2 Fantasy Football Injury Recap.
Between big name injuries and big time stinkers, Week 2 was not immune to disappointment. As the Ballers’ say, you don’t win your league at the draft. Here are their top Waiver Wire pick ups for Week 3 to restock your teams and help alleviate the injury blues.
For the full breakdown on all of these players – tune into the Week 3 Waivers episode of The Fantasy Footballers podcast.
Ownership percentages are from Yahoo
Wide Receivers
For fantasy owners hoping for another Sammy Watkins repeat, you were probably reduced to throwing things at the television in frustration as Demarcus Robinson and Mecole Hardman made their presence known on the Chiefs’ offense. While Watkins saw more than double of Robinson and Hardman’s targets, they did capitalize on those looks with 3 combined touchdowns and more than quadruple the yards.
If you took a gamble on the yet-to-be-proven Terry McLaurin, congratulations. If he is still (somehow) on your waiver wire, grab him now to get a WR who has seen more than 90% of the snaps for the Redskins.
Circling back to Big Ben’s season ending injury, Mason Rudolph is now the starting the QB for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Remember that in the preseason, James Washington was his preferred target and has only 29% ownership in Yahoo! leagues.
Complete WR list from the Week 3 Waivers episode:
BUF John Brown (72% owned) (probably owned but worth checking)
7/72/0 on 8 targets
CIN, NE, @TEN
CIN John Ross (70% owned) (probably owned but worth checking)
4/112/1 on 8 targets
@BUF, @PIT, ARI
WAS Terry McLaurin (52% owned)
5/62/1 on 9 targets (90% of snaps)
CHI, @NYG, NE
JAX D.J. Chark (13% owned)
7/55/1 on 9 targets (Chark- 82%, Conley- 85%, Westbrook- 87%)
TEN, @DEN, @CAR
KC Demarcus Robinson (7% owned) / KC Mecole Hardman (40% owned)
Robinson – 6/172/2 on 6 targets (95% of snaps)
Hardman – 4/61/1 on 6 targets (76% of snaps)
BAL, @DET, IND
SF Marquise Goodwin (20% owned) / SF Deebo Samuel (14% owned)
Goodwin- 3/77/1 on 3 targets
Deebo- 5/87/1 on 7 targets
PIT, BYE, CLE
PHI Nelson Agholor (15% owned)
Agholor- 8/107/1 on 11 targets
DET, @GB, NYJ
DAL Devin Smith (0% owned)
3/74/1 on 3 targets (26% of snaps, Only ran 9 total routes; ZERO routes in Wk1)
MIA, @NO, GB
NYG Golden Tate (35% owned)
n/a
Starting with Week 5: MIN, @NE, ARI (bye not till Wk11)
SEA D.K. Metcalf (49% owned)
3/61/1 on 7 targets
NO, @ARI, LAR
PIT James Washington (29% owned)
2/23/0 on 3 targets
@SF, CIN, BAL
Running Backs
It should come as no surprise that 49ers coach, Kyle Shanahan, has multiple talented running backs. If you weren’t lucky enough to snag Matt Breida, or were perhaps unlucky and took Tevin Coleman, then Raheem Mostert is a must-add for your lineup, getting involved in both the running and passing game for the 49ers.
Week 2 injuries didn’t just plague the QBs. Devin Singletary’s non-contact injury is worrisome, especially given the ease of re-aggravation throughout the season. Guess who is back to fantasy relevance? That’s right, the infinite, the all, Frank Gore owned in only 8% of Yahoo! leagues. Likewise, James Conner suffered a minor knee injury, limiting him in Sunday’s matchup. Now is the time to grab Jaylen Samuels if he is available or even backup Benny Snell for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Complete RB list from the Week 3 Waivers episode:
SF Raheem Mostert (16% owned)
13/83/0 — 3/68/1 on 4 targets
PIT, BYE, CLE
HOU Carlos Hyde (43% owned)
20/90/0
@LAC, CAR, ATL
BUF Frank Gore (8% owned)
19/68/1 — 2/15/0 on 2 targets
CIN, NE, @TEN, BYE
PIT Jaylen Samuels (35% owned)
3/18/0 — 1/13/0 on 1 target
@SF, CIN, BAL
WAS Chris Thompson (48% owned)
2/3/0 — 5/48/0 on 8 targets
CHI, @NYG, NE
TB Peyton Barber (47% owned)
23/82/1 — 1/7/0 on 1 target
NYG, @LAR, @ NO
KC Darwin Thompson (18% owned) / KC Darrel Williams (0% owned)
BAL, @DET, IND
Tight Ends
Tight End waiver pickups may be the most surprising for Week 3 taking us through the mountains with Will Dissly and back to circa 2012 with names such as Greg Olsen and Vernon Davis. The woes of the position continue in 2019 and if you don’t have top names like Kelce, Ertz, or Andrews, you are likely staring down a rather disparaging gap in your roster.
Here are some TEs to target for both immediate matchups like Olsen vs. the Arizona Cardinals.
Complete TE list from the Week 3 Waivers episode:
CAR Greg Olsen (61% owned)
6/110/0 on 9 targets
@ARI, @HOU, JAX
SEA Will Dissly (3% owned)
5/50/2 on 5 targets
NO, @ARI, LAR
WAS Vernon Davis (29% owned) /Jordan Reed (35% owned)
3/29/0 on 4 targets
CHI, @NYG, NE
IND Eric Ebron (63% owned) / Jack Doyle (22% owned)
Ebron- 3/25/1 on 4 targets
Doyle- 2/21/0 on 3 targets
ATL, OAK, @KC
DAL Jason Witten (15% owned)
3/29/0 on 4 targets
MIA, @NO, GB
QB Streamers
Jameis Winston vs NYG (62% owned)
Matthew Stafford at PHI (35% owned)
Josh Allen vs CIN (40% owned)
Jacoby Brissett vs ATL (12% owned)