Updated Waiver Wire Rankings for Week 3 (2025): Fantasy Football Pickups for Hunter Renfrow, Najee Harris, Quinshon Judkins, Jake Browning, Zach Ertz

September 18, 2025

Updated mid-week fantasy football waiver wire rankings for Week 3 of the 2025 NFL season. Top fantasy football free agents and streamers to add off waivers.

It's not necessarily the most amazing week for waiver wire pickups, but there's always room to improve your teams and make winning moves -- so there are still several waiver wire options based on the positional need. Welcome to our updated waiver wire rankings for fantasy football Week 3 of the 2025 season. As the week proceeds and more injury reports are confirmed, we tweak and adjust our waiver wire rankings for all positions.

Several rookies may be emerging like Elic Ayomanor, should they be prioritized for fantasy managers? Wan'Dale Robinson is still available in half of leagues, is he a must-add breakout candidate? Fantasy managers out there may need to replace Joe Burrow, Austin Ekeler, or stream a defense for Week 3. Our rankings covers all of these questions and more for those leagues where waivers haven't yet run.

These Week 3 waiver wire rankings are updated by Nick Mariano, RotoBaller's lead fantasy football analyst and forecaster. For those who are not familiar, he brings you his weekly waiver wire rankings and priority adds for the top 85 options to consider across various positions and league sizes. Good luck in Week 3 on the waiver wire!

Who To Pick Up for Fantasy Football Week 3?

Quarterbacks (QB) and Defenses (D/ST) are grouped together at the bottom of the list:

Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Outlooks

Some of the top names include Hunter Renfrow, Najee Harris, Quinshon Judkins, Jake Browning, Zach Ertz. We recap why these players should be on your waiver wire radar for Week 3.

Hunter Renfrow, WR, Carolina Panthers

Carolina Panthers wide receiver Hunter Renfrow found the endzone twice in the team's 27-22 loss on Sunday. With the Panthers going down by 24 points in the second half of Week 2, they were forced to abandon the run and turn to the passing game. Renfrow was a huge part of the comeback, tying for second on the team with nine targets, just one shy of leader Tetairoa McMillan.

Operating as a security blanket for quarterback Bryce Young, Renfrow caught seven passes for 48 yards and two touchdowns. The seven catches and nine targets were encouraging, but even more so was the trust Young showed in Renfrow in the red zone. Although it's hard to say whether he will continue to be a staple in this offense, the lack of wide receiver depth behind McMillan is an encouraging sign.

In Week 3, the Panthers will host the Atlanta Falcons, who just held the Minnesota Vikings to 120 passing yards on Sunday night. In PPR leagues, if you need wide receiver help and have a spot on your bench, it would be wise to add Renfrow. Do not use a waiver on Renfrow, but he would be an excellent free-agent pickup if he goes unclaimed.

Najee Harris, RB, Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Chargers running back Najee Harris saw limited action in Week 1, with just one carry and one catch, each for five yards. He was gradually brought back into the lineup after a limited offseason following a superficial eye injury in July.

Harris has been practicing in full and is ready to take on a further workload against the Las Vegas Raiders on Monday night. Although the veteran's conditioning and readiness for the game may have improved, with Omarion Hampton clearly established as the lead back, Harris's workload should stay limited for another week.

RotoBaller projects him as RB45, and fantasy managers should keep him on their bench in Week 2 against Las Vegas while monitoring his role in the Chargers backfield in the upcoming weeks.

Quinshon Judkins, RB, Cleveland Browns

Cleveland Browns running back Quinshon Judkins has been listed as the team's starting back on this week's depth chart. The rookie played just 26% of the snaps in Week 2 but was effective with his touches, rushing 10 times for 66 yards in his NFL debut.

Judkins signed his rookie deal shortly before Week 1 and eased into action against the Baltimore Ravens, but being elevated to the top of the depth chart is an encouraging sign for his role going forward. That said, Week 3 sets up as a tough spot.

The Browns face the Green Bay Packers, who have been one of the league's stingiest defenses to start the season. With a negative game script possible, Judkins should be viewed as a low-end FLEX option in deeper leagues this week, though his long-term outlook is trending up.

Jake Browning, QB, Cincinnati Bengals

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Jake Browning is expected to take over as the starter for the foreseeable future after Joe Burrow (toe) was ruled out for at least the next three months with turf toe. Browning entered in the second quarter of Week 2 and led the Bengals to a win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, completing 21 of 32 passes for 241 yards and two touchdowns.

The 28-year-old started seven games in 2023, where he impressed by completing over 70% of his passes while averaging 266.9 yards per game with 11 touchdowns and seven interceptions.

While turnovers remain a concern, Browning has shown enough efficiency to keep Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins near the top of the rankings at the WR position. He should be rostered in all Superflex formats and can be viewed as a mid-to-low QB2 over the next three months.

Zach Ertz, TE, Washington Commanders

Washington Commanders tight end Zach Ertz has been on a scoring tear, finding the end zone eight times in his last nine regular-season games while averaging over 11 half-PPR fantasy points per contest.

The veteran has been a steady safety blanket for young quarterback Jayden Daniels, running a route on over 80% of dropbacks in each of the first two weeks. However, Daniels is questionable for Week 3 with a knee injury, and his absence could cap Ertz's upside.

Still, Ertz remains a strong waiver-wire target for tight-end-needy teams, with the caveat that his value is tied closely to Daniels being under center.

Running Backs - Week 3 Waiver Wire Rankings

Pickups are in priority order:

Wide Receivers - Week 3 Waiver Wire Rankings

Pickups are in priority order:

Tight Ends- Week 3 Waiver Wire Rankings

Pickups are in priority order:

Quarterbacks - Week 3 Waiver Wire Rankings

Pickups are in priority order, with emphasis on Week 3:

Defenses (D/ST) - Week 3 Waiver Wire Rankings

Pickups are in priority order, with emphasis on Week 3:

Week 3 Waiver Wire Articles

In addition to the Week 3 waiver wire rankings, here's a look at some other free waiver wire resources available at RotoBaller. Each week, our NFL team puts out a complete array of fantasy football waiver wire articles to compliment our slick new Who Should I Pickup? Waiver wire player comparison tool - bookmark that! Here are more detailed Week 3 waiver wire articles:

• Week 3 waiver wire pickups (all positions)
• Week 3 FAAB waiver wire bids
• Week 3 running back waiver wire pickups
• Week 3 wide receiver waiver wire pickups
• Week 3 tight end waiver wire pickups
• Week 3 quarterback waiver wire pickups
• Week 3 defense (D/ST) streamers and pickups
• Week 3 kicker streamers and pickups

For anyone unfamiliar, we release all sorts of fantasy football waiver wire articles every week. As part of that, Nick Mariano releases our waiver wire rankings list on Mondays to help you prioritize which players to target as free-agent adds off waivers.

Who Should I Pickup Tool

Trying to decide who to pick up off the waiver wire? Check the Who Should I Pickup tool here:

Who Should I Pickup for Week 3?

PPR Half-PPR STD

Compare up to four players and we'll tell you who to pickup...

Who To Pickup?

Reset

Choose From The Top Ranked Players

Overall

QB

RB

WR

TE

K

DST

Rookies

Popular Searches

Overall

QB

RB

WR

TE

K

DST

Rookies

Who Should I Pickup? Some common 2025 fantasy football waiver wire decisions are regarding players like Zach Ertz, Juwan Johnson, and Harold Fannin Jr.. But not to worry, we are here to help make these waiver wire decisions and build winning teams in 2025. Set your optimal fantasy football lineups in 2025. Our free Who Should I Pickup? tool will help make your fantasy football waiver wire decisions. Compare up to four NFL players, and we tell you who to pick up... all free! Make the right decisions.

2025 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players - Hunter Renfrow, Najee Harris, Quinshon Judkins, Jake Browning, Zach Ertz. These are some common searches for 2025 fantasy football waiver wire pickups.

Using The Tool. This is a simple tool but very powerful. The first step is to enter the player names that you want to compare. In the first box, search for the first player's name. In the second box, search for the second player's name. Compare up to four NFL players at once, and then click the Who To Pickup? button to see who the recommended waiver wire pickups are based on fantasy football rankings, projections, and more.

Recent Improvements For Who Should I Pickup? You may have noticed, our Who Should I Pickup? tool has gotten an overhaul. We've added lots of great features for you to give you as much information as possible to win on the waiver wire in 2025. You'll see NFL player tiles with headshots and bye weeks, stats, projections, strength of schedule, enhanced search results with data to compare, and a slick new interface. We hope you enjoy!

How It Works. Our RotoBaller staff puts together their weekly fantasy football waiver wire rankings and projections based on their research, and updates them constantly throughout the week. That information is the core data that is powering the decision-making in this tool. When you search for player names, you will only see those players who are ranked.

Popular Player Comparison Searches - Who To Pickup

Below are some popular searches and comparisons from our Who To Pickup tool for 2025 for Hunter Renfrow, Najee Harris, Quinshon Judkins, Jake Browning, Zach Ertz:

LIKE ROTOBALLER?

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

More Waiver Wire Analysis