So far, the fantasy football waiver wire has been like an interesting tasting menu. Yes, I think I will try the confit tomatoes, oh would you kindly fetch another glass of Cabernet? If you didn’t like the duck-fat french fries with artisan ketchup, that’s okay! It was only the first two weeks, so nothing is permanent. But now it’s time to actually order some food.
Week 3 waivers will be the first time that players are cycled through benches and free agency, and it will get harder and harder to identify diamonds in the rough because Big Diamond has already hoarded all of them and now there’s a global diamond shortage. And with a season-ending injury to De’Von Achane, an already thin running back pool gets even more frantic. Injuries aren’t going to stop coming; football is a dangerous sport. We have a whole bucket of injury fill-ins, and this week, we have our single most important waiver add of the year (so far) right at the top.
Disclaimer: All roster percentages are from ESPN. Players must be available in more than 50 percent of leagues, with recommendations based on 10-team PPR formats.
Running back waiver wire targets
- Ollie Gordon II (Dolphins)
- Emanuel Wilson/George Holani (Seahawks)
- Braelon Allen (Jets)
- Keaton Mitchell (Chargers)
- Woody Marks* (Texans)
- Alvin Kamara* (Saints)
*available in just under 50 percent of leagues
If you take one, two or three things away from this column, make all three oh my God go pick up Ollie Gordon II no matter what. If you are in a standard waiver order league which just inverts the standings to decide priority, 0-3 never looked so good. If you’re in a league with a free agent budget, blow all your money on Ollie Gordon II. Do it. De’Von Achane is out for the season with a torn ACL, and Gordon stands to take over that backfield along with Jaylen Wright, who missed Sunday’s game with a foot injury. Gordon is your V.V.V.V.V.I.P add this week.
If you aren’t in last in your league or don’t sport the requisite budget, things get dark quick in running back land. Both Emanuel Wilson and George Holani are probably the worst running backs I would actually start in Week 4 just because Jadarian Price’s role is very much in flux, but neither will have the volume to rely on. Braelon Allen could be ultra valuable if Breece Hall misses Week 4 (he left the game with a thigh injury) and Keaton Mitchell is always going to get touches for the Chargers even if he won’t have the volume to be anything more than a home run-hitter who’s touchdown dependent. Woody Marks (*available in just under 50 percent of leagues so not technically fitting the criteria) had a much larger role than I expected for the Houston Texans in Week 3; David Montgomery has been largely ineffective since Week 1, and played so little down the stretch I thought he might be hurt. That’s a backfield worth monitoring. Alvin Kamara (*also just above 50 percent rostered) deserves a mention given Travis Etienne Jr. left with a hamstring injury.
Wide receiver waiver wire targets
- Tre Tucker (Raiders)
- Adonai Mitchell (Jets)
- Malik Washington (Dolphins)
- Mack Hollins (Patriots)
This is where the Week 3 waiver attrition really starts to make itself known; most of the guys I would suggest adding have either already been added in over 50 percent of leagues or are available but haven’t really been that good. You’re splitting the difference between theoretical volume, actual production and intuition with wide receivers, and at the end of the day … you’ll just have to get lucky. Tre Tucker is, unfortunately for those of us that have played him in recent years, always going to be “the WR1” on this team, though his upside is severely limited when Brock Bowers commands a gargantuan target share. Adonai Mitchell didn’t play in Week 3 but, if you’re willing to gamble on the finger injury not being a long-term thing, otherwise has everything you want from a waiver receiver — talent, opportunity and a high-volume passing offense.
After those two, we’re grasping at ever-more-fleeting straws: Malik Washington could work in a tight spot, though I hesitate to recommend any non-Ollie Gordon II Dolphins plays given how bad the roster is and the fact that the Vikings and Brian Flores’ defense are staring them down in Week 4. Mack Hollins is one of those players who defy intuition: he’s basically a tight end, mostly out there to run block but is also obviously the only receiver that Drake Maye actually trusts. You could bet on worse propositions.
Tight end waiver wire targets
- Kenyon Sadiq (Jets)
There are a number of random tight end streaming ideas you could entertain, but the only one to actually key in on is Kenyon Sadiq. After Ollie Gordon II, he is the pickup this week, and unless you have number one priority I would recommend doing exactly this: submit a claim for Gordon dropping your worst player, then submit a claim for Sadiq dropping the same player since I doubt you’ll get both, thus making the most of your priority for the two best players on the board. That’s a little waiver wire claim gymnastics 101 for you. He’s a rookie, but this guy was the 16th pick in the NFL Draft; the Jets think he’s part of their solution, and Sadiq can be part of yours too.
Quarterback waiver wire targets
- Sam Darnold (Seahawks)
- Marcus Mariota (Commanders)
The list of quarterbacks available in more than 50 percent of leagues is … not a long list, so I’m really scraping the bottom of the barrel here. I don’t even know what kind of disaster must have befallen you to wind up needing a quarterback off waivers right now, but Sam Darnold looked sharp in his return, and as long as Jaxson Smith-Njigba is going to be baptizing defenses you can make money off it with Darnold. I also heavily enjoyed the vibes Marcus Mariota brought to the function in the Commanders upset win over Darnold and the Seahawks, and he could be an emergency starter. (some guy in the back) “Hey what about Deshaun Watson?” Here’s what I’ll say about Watson: he has rushing upside that these other guys don’t, and if you cynically want to go after that, go ahead. But fantasy football is supposed to be fun, and are you going to have fun rooting for Deshaun Watson to succeed?
Defense streaming advice
Once again, I haven’t a clue which unit is available in your league, but I would highly recommend the Vikings D/ST if they are somewhere on your waiver wire — they are playing the Dolphins, newly without De’Von Achane, in the ultimate smash spot. If you’ve been winning this year and are further down the waiver order, I wouldn’t blame you for ignoring all the above and just putting the Vikings as your first claim.
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