If you tuned into this series a week ago, you will be smiling ear-to-ear as we named Jauan Jennings our must add waiver wire target of the week. Jennings popped off for 46.5 fantasy points in the 49ers’ Week 3 loss to the Rams. Beyond that, a touchdown caught by Quentin Johnston who is seeming to be figuring things out, there wasn’t much in terms of success coming off the waiver wire. Let’s see what Week 4’s waiver wire has in store for us this week.
Each week, I will develop a list of must add targets for fantasy football leagues. My goal is to keep each suggestion under 40-percent owned in Yahoo and/or ESPN leagues. At least one of my suggestions will be owned in less than 10-percent of Yahoo and/or ESPN leagues. I will also strive to have at least one player per position (QB, WR, RB and TE.)
Jennings caught 11 balls for 175 yards and three touchdowns in the absence of Deebo Samuel, George Kittle and Christian McCaffrey this week. He was very obviously the go to guy for Brock Purdy and in the short term, I don’t see that going away until some of these other weapons return. Johnston caught both of his targets for 44 yards and a touchdown this week to follow his two-touchdown performance in Week 2. Beyond that, that’s about it for big performances off the waiver wire in Week 3.
Week 3 Results
Derek Carr (New Orleans Saints) - 9 Points
Geno Smith (Seattle Seahawks) - 13.4 Points
Carson Steele (Kansas City Chiefs) - 8.4 Points
Samaje Perine (Kansas City Chiefs) - 7 Points
Rico Dowdle (Dallas Cowboys) - 8.6 Points
Antonio Gibson (New England Patriots) - 6.7 Points
Jaylen Wright (Miami Dolphins) - 1.7 Points
Jauan Jennings (San Francisco 49ers) - 46.5 Points
Demarcus Robinson (Los Angeles Rams) - 4.2 Points
Quentin Johnston (Los Angeles Chargers) - 12.4 Points
Alec Pierce (Indianapolis Colts) - 5.4 Points
Romeo Doubs (Green Bay Packers) - 2.8 Points
Hunter Henry (New England Patriots) - 2.9 Points
Mike Gesicki (Cincinnati Bengals) -
Week 4 Suggestions
Quarterback
Sam Darnold (Minnesota Vikings) - Owned in 29% of Yahoo and 16.3% of ESPN Leagues
There’s no more ignoring what Sam Darnold has done to start the season. Although the yardage was down in the Vikings’ Week 3 victory over the Houston Texans, Darnold still threw for four touchdowns. Through the first three weeks of the season, he has thrown for 657 yards and eight touchdowns. It doesn’t seem like his success is a fluke by any measures so if you’re a team struggling at quarterback, may that be due to injury, streaming the position or owning someone like Justin Herbert, Darnold is still readily available on waiver wires.
Justin Fields (Pittsburgh Steelers) - Owned in 16% of Yahoo and 24.1% of ESPN Leagues
The Pittsburgh Steelers are somehow 3-0 and if they continue winning with Fields under center, I don’t see how the team goes to Russell Wilson when he is finally healthy. Fields isn’t putting up monster numbers by any means but he threw for 245 yards and a touchdown while rushing in a score during the Steelers’ Week 3 victory against the Chargers. Coming into the week, the Chargers had allowed the fewest fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks through the first two weeks of the season as well. He rushed for just six yards this week, which is not the norm for him. He’s also among the top four quarterbacks in rushing attempts. We know rushing is key to fantasy quarterback success, especially off the waiver wire.
Runningbacks
Bucky Irving (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) - Owned in 35% of Yahoo and 32.8% of ESPN Leagues
Through each of the first three weeks of the season, Irving has out performed starter Rachaad White. White ran the ball just six times for 17 yards in the Buccaneers’ Week 3 loss to the Broncos but did see six targets. Irving saw nine carries for 70 yards and three targets. The pair saw the same number of opportunities but Irving totaled 84 yards to White’s 35. The backfield in Tampa will continue to be split but at this point, more touches will be going Irving’s way. Now is the time to add him as he won’t be eligible for this series come this time next week.
Rico Dowdle (Dallas Cowboys) - Owned in 42% of Yahoo and 37.4% of ESPN Leagues
This is the final call for Dowdle on the waiver wire. He’s taking over the Dallas backfield. This past week he played 37 snaps to Ezekiel Elliott’s 15. He also ran 18 routes compared to Elliott’s three. He hasn’t done much with his opportunities thus far but the under-achieving Cowboys need to make some changes and with that, could come more chances for Dowdle.
Braelon Allen (New York Jets) - Owned in 36% of Yahoo and 28% of ESPN Leagues
Allen has played himself into a legit role within this Jets’ offense. Across the last two weeks, Allen has seen 11 and 14 opportunities respectively. He ran the ball 11 times on Thursday Night Football against the Patriots for 55 yards while hauling in three passes. In Week 2 he scored a pair of touchdowns. The Jets are not going away from Breece Hall anytime soon but the Wisconsin product’s recent production has garnished him flex potential and even RB3 considerations.
Alexander Mattison (Las Vegas Raiders) - Owned in 31% of Yahoo and 29.6% of ESPN Leagues
There isn’t anything exciting about what Mattison has done to start the season but what he has done is score a touchdown in each of the Raiders’ first three games. With how scarce the running back position can become, a touchdown vulture such as Mattison is worth rostering until his roll slows.
Wide Receivers
Jauan Jennings (San Francisco 49ers) - Owned in 31% of Yahoo and 36% of ESPN Leagues
Jennings was my top suggestion a week ago and boy did he pay off. He recorded 46.5 fantasy points on the back of 11 receptions for 175 yards and three touchdowns. It’s evident that quarterback Brock Purdy loves the sure-handed Tennessee product. Deebo Samuel is set to miss multiple games and Brandon Aiyuk has been essentially a non-factor to start the season following his holdout. George Kittle also remains beaten-up. This is your final call to add Jennings who also had nine targets through the first two weeks of the season with all of the 49ers’ weapons healthy.
Darnell Mooney (Atlanta Falcons) - Owned in 26% of Yahoo and 62.9% of ESPN Leagues
I know the ESPN ownership puts Mooney outside of our typical perimeters but he is still readily available in three-quarters of Yahoo leagues. Mooney has quickly become a super important piece to this Falcons’ offense. Over the last two weeks he’s seen 15 targets, catching 11 of them for 154 yards and a score. The Falcons are getting him the ball in multiple ways and especially in crucial situations.
Mike Williams (New York Jets) - Owned in 24% of Yahoo and 48.1% of ESPN Leagues
Like Mooney, Williams is outside our perimeters on ESPN but is still available in three-quarters of Yahoo leagues. Williams is being eased back into things after coming back from a knee injury. He saw four targets in the Jets’ Week 3 victory over the Patriots. He’s only going to get more involved moving forward and with the way the Jets’ offense looks, he needs to be rostered.
DeMario Douglas (New England Patriots) - Owned in 7% of Yahoo and 28.5% of ESPN Leagues
Douglas has emerged as the top receiving option for the New England Patriots, not like there’s a ton of competition but he saw nine targets on Thursday Night Football. He caught seven of them for 69 yards and ran the ball once for nine yards. As the saying goes, someone has to catch the football in New England and at this point, that appears to be ol’ Pop Douglas.
Josh Downs (Indianapolis Colts) - Owned in 25% of Yahoo and 9.5% of ESPN Leagues
In his first appearance of the season, Downs saw five targets, catching three of them for 22 yards in the Colts’ Week 3 victory over the Chicago Bears. In his return to action, he ran 73-percent of routes and spent 90-percent of the game in the slot. The roll is locked in. However, Anthony Richardson has not looked good throwing the football. I believe there’s a clear path for success in the slot for Downs with Richardson throwing the ball however.
Wan’Dale Robinson (New York Giants) - Owned in 20% of Yahoo and 14.6% of ESPN Leagues
I’m slowly becoming a giant Robinson truther. I’ve included him in this series on multiple occasions and have played him weekly in my B-Team series. Through the first three weeks of the season, Robinson has seen 24 targets. He caught seven of his eight targets in the Giants’ Week 3 victory over the Cleveland Browns for 61 yards. As Malik Nabers emerges as the star we knew he’d become, Robinson will quietly put up numbers as the WR2 opposite him.
Xavier Legette (Carolina Panthers) - Owned in 10% of Yahoo and 20% of ESPN Leagues
I was never the biggest Legette fan but what I am a fan of are the numbers Andy Dalton was able to put up this past week. Dalton threw for 319 yards and Adam Thielen injured his hamstring in the Panthers’ Week 3 victory over the Raiders. In the event Thielen can’t play this week, Legette’s usage will inevitably increase and with the way Dalton threw the ball, he could have a big week.
Tight Ends
Cole Kmet (Chicago Bears) - Owned in 41% of Yahoo and 26.1% of ESPN Leagues
We all knew that Kmet was a solid tight end in the NFL. I guess I shouldn’t say, we all, since the Chicago Bears themselves had forgotten. That was up until Week 3 where they finally rolled out the Notre Dame product with a 81-percent snap share and 73-percent route share. Kmet then saw 11 targets, catching ten of them for 97 yards and a score. The Bears must continue to offer Kmet for the struggling Caleb Williams as much as possible.
Tyler Conklin (New York Jets) - Owned in 14% of Yahoo and 27.7% of ESPN Leagues
It feels like we’ve been waiting forever for Conklin to emerge and it seems like the time may have come. He co-led the Jets on Thursday Night Football in targets at six and was the game’s leading receiver with 93 yards. He had multiple chunk plays along the way. The pre-season rumblings were that Conklin could finally be a factor with Rodgers under center and if Thursday’s results are anything for the future, Conklin may have actually, finally arrived.
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