Fantasy Football Week 3 Waiver Wire: Deeper League Pickups (QB, RB, WR, TE)

September 17, 2025

Dan's top fantasy football Week 3 waiver wire pickups, sleepers, stashes for deeper leagues for 2025. His waiver targets include Daniel Jones, Tyler Allgeier, Wan'Dale Robinson, and more.

The best time to pivot in fantasy leagues is early in the season. Identifying players who are receiving larger or smaller workloads than expected and making adjustments to the roster is a quick way to unlock your team’s long-term upside.

That is especially true in leagues that have deep benches. Being proactive on the waiver wire is crucial for surviving the season and building a team with the depth to compete for a fantasy championship.

This article will focus on fantasy football players who are at or below a 40% roster rate on Yahoo -- and can be considered deeper-leagues waiver wire options. We'll cover a few players from QB, RB, WR, and TE. Let's get to it!

Quarterback Fantasy Football Waiver Wire

All QBs are rostered in 40% of leagues or less.

Geno Smith, Las Vegas Raiders - 30% rostered

Geno Smith is one of the most underrated pocket passing quarterbacks in the NFL. He threw 362 yards, one touchdown, and one interception in his Las Vegas debut, utilizing seven different pass catchers in all parts of the field.

Smith was a top 10 fantasy quarterback in 2022 with Pete Caroll (18.5 PPG, QB8) and is coming off two straight top 15 finishes in Seattle. He has scored at least 15.7 points per game in four straight years.

The lack of rushing upside will obviously lower his ceiling in fantasy football, but Smith should still be considered a high-end QB2 that can push into QB1 weeks with the right game script. Having weapons like Brock Bowers, Jakobi Meyers, and Ashton Jeanty in the passing attack certainly doesn’t hurt either.

Daniel Jones, Indianapolis Colts- 3% rostered

Daniel Jones is proving why he won the Colts’ starting quarterback job in training camp. Jones has completed 71.4% of his passes for 588 yards and two touchdowns with zero interceptions through his first two games. He also added 13 carries for 28 yards and three touchdowns.

Thread: Sunday was a much better indicator of what Colts QB Daniel Jones can be this yr. Dolphins gm was great, but Miami's terrible. Denver presented a real test for 2 reasons: 1) Jones faced more pressure (career-high highest blitz rate) 2) Tighter coverage.

5-man rush here pic.twitter.com/DNICpVooVs

— Stephen Holder (@HolderStephen) September 15, 2025

Jones is one of three quarterbacks (Lamar Jackson and Patrick Mahomes) to score at least 20+ fantasy points in the first two weeks of the season. Being skeptical of Jones after his tenure with the Giants is fair, but he’s making the most of the best offensive environment of his career through the first two weeks of 2025.

There is still plenty of time for defenses to adjust to Jones in Indianapolis’s offense, but for now, it is fair to add him to your fantasy team to see if the production is real.

Jake Browning, Cincinnati Bengals - <1% rostered

We now know that Joe Burrow will miss at least three months with a toe injury that requires surgery. That makes Jake Browning a priority add in free agency for fantasy football.

In 2023, we got to see a seven-start sample size for Browning when Burrow missed time due to a wrist injury. During those games, he completed 70.4% of his passes for 1,936 yards and 12 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He also added 27 carries for 127 yards and three touchdowns. In those seven starts, Browning averaged 18.8 fantasy points per game.

The veteran backup still has access to Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins in the passing attack and is more than capable of putting up solid numbers in Burrow’s absence.

Running Back Fantasy Football Waiver Wire

All RBs are rostered in 40% of leagues or less.

Tyler Allgeier, Atlanta Falcons - 30% rostered

Bijan Robinson has been fantastic to start the season, but Tyler Allgeier’s role in Atlanta’s offense can’t be ignored. In Week 1, Allgeier had the volume (10 carries) but lacked production (24 yards) and fantasy points (2.4).

In Week 2, Allgeier got the benefit of a positive game script in the second half and made the most of it, handling 16 carries for 76 yards and a touchdown while adding one reception for four yards. The veteran running back posted a 15.0 PPR point day in a 22-6 victory against the Vikings.

It has been clear through two weeks that Allgeier will have a role in Atlanta’s offense, especially during neutral or positive game scripts. Atlanta trusts him to move the chains on the ground and isn’t afraid to put him in the game inside the five-yard line due to his straight-line rushing style.

He is a weekly FLEX play that could work his way into the RB2 or RB3 mix in fantasy in the right game script or if Robinson gets dinged up throughout the season.

Blake Corum, Los Angeles Rams - 8% rostered

Everybody believed that Blake Corum could siphon work away from Kyren Williams in 2024 after the Rams selected the Michigan product in the third round of the 2024 NFL draft. That never came to fruition.

However, it appears we may have been a year early on Corum in the Rams’ backfield.

Corum handled five carries for 44 yards and a touchdown in Los Angeles’s 33-19 win over the Titans, scoring 10.4 PPR points. On the surface, the backup running back getting production in a big win isn’t earth-shattering. However, it was head coach Sean McVay’s comments after the game that did stand out.

Sean McVay said that the split today between Kyren Williams and Blake Corum (69.5% and 30.5%, respectively) was "much more in alignment" with how he wants the Rams backfield to look

— Adam Grosbard (@AdamGrosbard) September 14, 2025

If the Rams want to make sure they are keeping Williams fresh after signing him to a big contract this offseason, that means they will be using Corum more throughout the season. That gives him fantasy value and makes him a worthwhile bench stash for the remainder of the 2025 season.

Kyle Monangai, Chicago Bears - 6% rostered

Chicago Bears’ rookie Kyle Monangai saw a bit more work in Week 2, handling seven carries for 28 yards and catching one of three targets for eight yards in a blowout loss to the Detroit Lions. Monangai has established himself as the RB2 behind D'Andre Swift over the first two weeks of the season (Roschon Johnson did miss Week 1 with an injury).

Chicago’s rushing attack has been lackluster to start the season, so it wouldn’t be shocking if they started using different backs to try to generate a spark. If that happens, Monangai will get the first opportunity to carry the ball behind an upgraded offensive line. He’s worth a speculative add in all formats.

Wide Receiver Fantasy Football Waiver Wire

All WRs are rostered in 40% of leagues or less.

Wan'Dale Robinson, New York Giants - 22% rostered

Wan'Dale Robinson has seemingly emerged as the complement to Malik Nabers in the Giants’ passing attack. Through two weeks, Robinson has caught 14 of 18 targets for 197 yards and a touchdown, posting at least 11.5 PPR points per game.

Robinson posted 28.2 PPR points in shootout conditions against the Cowboys in Week 2, setting a career high on yards per reception (minimum three targets) with 17.8, receiving yards, and yards per target (14.2). It was also the eighth time in his career that he had double-digit targets in a game.

Wan'Dale Robinson career game v. Cowboys
8 catches 142 yards 1 TD

-197 yards in 2025, 6th in NFL
-career high in yards
-2nd 100 yard game, 1st since rookie season
-3 deep catches matches career total! pic.twitter.com/SPwzoOwHvx

— Giants Nation Show (@GiantsNationPod) September 15, 2025

The Giants don’t have a very good defense, which means they will continue to air it out to keep up with opponents. That gives Robinson a solid weekly floor of targets out of the slot each week.

Elic Ayomanor, Tennessee Titans - 8% rostered

In Week 1, rookie Elic Ayomanor proved that he carved out a solid role in the Titans' offense during the preseason by earning seven targets. Unfortunately, a tough matchup against the Broncos led to just two receptions for 13 yards.

Ayomanor made the most of a softer matchup against the Rams in Week 2, catching four of six targets for 56 yards and a touchdown. He finished as the WR22 in PPR scoring (15.6) in his second career game.

Through two weeks, the rookie is second on the team in targets (13) and receiving yards (69), third in receptions (6), and has the lone receiving touchdown on the team. Calvin Ridley is the unquestioned WR1 in Tennessee, but Ayomanor has seemingly emerged as his complement in the passing attack.

Troy Franklin, Denver Broncos - 3% rostered

Troy Franklin has seemingly emerged as a viable fantasy pass catcher in Denver’s offense. Through two games, Franklin led the Broncos in targets (15), receptions (12), and receiving yards (133). He is 16th among all pass catchers in team air yards share (41.8%) and tied for sixth in targets per route run (0.29). That is the same as names like Chris Olave, Nabers, and Chase, and higher than CeeDee Lamb.

Even more impressive is the fact that Franklin is producing at that level despite running a route on just 68% of Denver’s drop-backs this season. The second-year receiver will continue to earn a bigger role in Denver’s offense as a complement to Courtland Sutton and could continue to operate as the second target in the passing attack going forward.

Tight End Fantasy Football Waiver Wire

All TEs are rostered in 40% of leagues or less.

Theo Johnson, New York Giants - 5% rostered

Theo Johnson has seen at least three targets in both Giants’ games to start 2025. He caught four of five targets for 34 yards in the team’s loss to the Dallas Cowboys in Week 2.

Johnson is on the field for the Giants, which means he has a chance to earn targets. That could lead to more spike weeks in the future.

Ja'Tavion Sanders, Carolina Panthers - 2% rostered

Ja'Tavion Sanders followed up a modest Week 1 (5.7 PPR points) with a huge day in Week 2, catching seven of nine targets for 54 yards and scoring 12.4 PPR points. Sanders was second on the team in receiving behind rookie receiver Tetairoa McMillan.

He has an opportunity to carve out a sizable role in the offense with Jalen Coker (quadriceps) on injured reserve to start the season, and could emerge as the second target in the passing attack. That could be a significant role in fantasy, considering the struggles of Carolina’s defense to start the season.

LIKE ROTOBALLER?

CLICK HERE, ENTER ROTOBALLER.COM, THEN CHECK THE BOX

More Fantasy Football Analysis