Week 4 Dynasty Leagues: Waiver Wire Pickups & Trade Targets

This column is your go-to source for dynasty leagues. We'll cover waiver wire and trade targets for these types of longer-term fantasy football dynasty formats. While some of these players may contribute to your dynasty teams rather quickly, we will also be listing some players that are longer term plays as well.

 

Dynasty Quarterbacks – Pickups & Trade Targets

Blake Bortles (Jacksonville Jaguars) & Teddy Bridgewater (Minnesota Vikings)

Last week, I mentioned how the Blake Bortles and Teddy Bridgewater eras were soon to begin, and wouldn’t you know it? Both of them are now the starters. Bortles is the more promising long-term prospect here; there are still several question marks about Teddy.  Bortles will rack up a lot of passing yards, TDs, and INTs this year, and is a great target in dynasty leagues.

Kirk Cousins - Washington Redskins

It's crazy to say this, but the Redskins look so much better with Cousins at the helm than with RG3. Cousins played a magnificent three quarters this Sunday, but he struggled somewhat throughout the fourth. That said, Cousins has proven that he can play in this league, and he has nice receiving targets to help him along the way.

 

Dynasty Wide Receivers– Pickups & Trade Targets 

Allen Robinson - Jacksonville Jaguars

Allen Robinson got the start last week and did nothing to disappoint. He finished the afternoon with a line of seven catches for 79 yards, leading the team in both receptions and targets. This will be my second straight week recommending you do whatever you can to acquire Robinson before he really takes off.

Jordan Matthews - Philadelphia Eagles

Jordan Matthews was the best kept secret in the NFL, until this past week. The rookie had his best performance yet, putting up eight catches for 59 yards and two touchdowns.  Those were the first two of many touchdowns this talented receiver will haul in for Chip Kelly.

Donte Moncrief - Indianapolis Colts

The Colts finally let Donte Moncrief show us some flashes of what is to come in the near future. Moncrief had four receptions for 55 yards on five targets, and had one carry for seven yards. With Nicks on a one-year deal, and Reggie Wayne getting up there in age, look for Moncrief to take over that No.1 WR duty as soon as 2015. It doesn’t hurt that he’ll have Andrew Luck throwing him the ball, either.

DeAndre Hopkins - Houston Texans

If you haven’t seen DeAndre Hopkins’s sensational catch this past week (that was later called back because of a penalty), stop reading this and go look at it. Wow, just wow. Now imagine if “Nuk” had a good QB to get him the ball more often.

Even with mediocre QBs, Nuk is starting to really break out. Hopkins had a touchdown in each of the first two weeks, and followed that up with six receptions for 116 yards in week 3. He would have been even more productive if that crazy catch hadn't been called back. Do whatever you must; get him on your squad.

 

Dynasty Running Backs– Pickups & Trade Targets

Isaiah Crowell - Cleveland Browns

I mentioned last week that there is a possibility Isaiah Crowell will start to eat into Terrence West’s touches. This past week, Crowell got only two fewer touches and did plenty more with them than West. While Tate might be returning soon, the coaching staff remains noncommittal on naming a starter. This will be a RBBC from here on out, and Crowell is not a bad one to bet on.

Carlos Hyde - San Francisco 49ers

Carlos Hyde, the heir apparent to what’s left of Frank Gore, went top-five in just about all rookie drafts this past year, and one could argue that he should have been the number one rookie pick. Already with two touchdowns on the year, Hyde is only going to keep taking from Gore’s workload as the season progresses. Buy now while you still can. He will be the Niners' workhorse for years to come.

Jeremy Hill - Cincinnati Bengals 

Jeremy Hill is the thunder to Gio Bernard’s lightning. Besides being just one injury away from becoming a RB1, Hill is already running the ball better than Bernard (whose YPC keeps dipping). Don’t be surprised if this is soon a 50-50 (if not 60-40) workload.

Devonta Freeman - Atlanta Falcons

The Devonta Freeman hype has considerably died down. Finally-- there's no better time to go out and acquire him. While Atlanta’s backfield seems like a mess, playing four different backs per game, there’s only one back that has a guaranteed contract past this year, and his name is Devonta Freeman. Expect to see Freeman take over more of the running back gig towards the end of the year.

Bobby Rainey - Tampa Bay Bucaneers

We spoke last week about how bad Doug Martin has looked when he’s even healthy enough to suit up. Martin missed yet another game and Rainey drew the start. While he did fumble the ball a couple of times, he still performed well enough to stash and see what happens in Tampa Bay.

 

Dynasty Tight Ends– Pickups & Trade Targets

Tyler Eifert - Cincinnati Bengals

Tyler Eifert is an under-the-radar name that those dynasty owners targeting the future more than the present should try to obtain. Gresham has shown to be nothing more than an average talent, and is on the last year of his contract. Eifert is currently on the designated to return IR, and there isn’t much to look forward to from him this year. 2015 should finally be the year Eifert is ready to unleash his talents.

Zach Ertz - Philadelphia Eagles

In my off-season tight end article, it was Ertz whom I clamored for everyone to go after. Even in redraft leagues, while tight ends like Jimmy, Gronk and Julius were all going to go in the first three rounds, Ertz would be available anywhere between Round 7-10. The numbers he can put up are equal if not greater than those of Jordan Cameron, Kyle Rudolph or Jordan Reed. Through three weeks, it’s right on point. Ertz’s snap counts keep growing as each week progresses. I consider him the fourth-best TE in dynasty, and he could jump into the top three within a year or two. If you don’t have Jimmy or Gronk, go Ertz.

Travis Kelce - Kansas City Chiefs

Kelce's snap % has improved in each game with the Chiefs, all the way to 65% in week 3. He's built like a rhino at 6'5" 260, and has turned 15 targets over 3 games into a 10-166-1 line so far. His role is growing faster than many anticipated, so if you are in a deep dynasty league he is a very nice trade target and should be a borderline TE1 for years to come.