Week 3 Waiver Wire Pickups Overview for Fantasy Football

 

Week 3 Waiver Wire for Fantasy Football

Week Two was a week filled with injuries. In turn, there are some waiver wire pickups this week that can have a huge impact on your team. I have them covered here!

Note that in order to make this weekly waiver wire column, a player has to be owned in less than 50% of Fleaflicker leagues at the time of this article's writing.

Also be sure to check out many more great RotoBaller articles and waiver wire analysis pieces at each position throughout the week, including risers/fallers, deeper league sleepers, rankings and more. Good luck RotoBallers!

Editor's Note: our famous 2014 fantasy football waiver wire pickups list is updated daily, and is a running list of waiver wire pickups for all fantasy football positions. You can also read more in-depth waiver wire analysis at each position, as we dig deeper and identify even more waiver wire options at each position weekly. Here are some of those waiver wire articles:

• Week 3 Running Backs: Waiver Wire Pickups & Adds
• Week 3 Wide Receivers: Waiver Wire Pickups & Adds
• Week 3 Tight Ends: Waiver Wire Pickups & Adds
• Defenses (DEF) to Start in Week 3: Fantasy Tiers & Rankings

 
 

Quarterback Waiver Wire Pickup Options

1. Josh McCown @ Atlanta - 30% Owned on Fleaflicker

A surprise at the top perhaps but the Falcons defense is really bad. McCown has played two really tough defenses and averaged 15 points between them. Sure he had two rushing touchdowns which saved his Sunday but he should have a much easier time next week.

2. Kirk Cousins @ Philadelphia - 7% Owned on Fleaflicker

Unfortunately Robert Griffin III's injury is pretty severe so Cousins will be starting for awhile. On the bright side, fantasy-wise he looked pretty good, despite the fact DeSean Jackson left the game very early and Garcon only had one reception. I imagine at the very least Garcon will be a much bigger part of the offense next week and Cousins should be a nice play.

3. Ryan Fitzpatrick @ New York Giants - 19% Owned on Fleaflicker

The man some know as Fitzmagic rarely wows, but so far he has put up two straight games of 13 points. The Giants actually looked kind of okay against Drew Stanton this week. Mostly because it is Drew Stanton. An actual non-backup thrust into a starting role should be fine. He has a great pair of receivers and will likely put up numbers this week that won't kill you.

 

Running Back Waiver Wire Pickup Options

1. Knile Davis @ Miami - 28% Owned on Fleaflicker

It looks like Charles has an ankle sprain that could quite possible keep him out of next week's game and possibly a bit longer. In his stead Davis got 28 touches and racked up 100+ yards and two touchdowns. Miami has a reasonably tough defense but as long as Davis gets 20+ touches he should be a top 20 RB regardless. That makes him a must add for those in need of RB depth.

2. Bobby Rainey @ Atlanta - 33% Owned on Fleaflicker

Based on the fact that Doug Martin was a game time decision this week it is very possible he plays next week. On the other hand it' a Thursday game so he doesn't have those extra days to get healthier and Bobby Rainey just destroyed the Rams for 144 rushing yards. If you needed more reason to add Rainey he also thrashed the Falcons for 167 total yards and THREE touchdowns last year in Doug Martin's place.

Heck, even if Martin plays they might let Rainey get 10-15 touches or more if he keeps it up. If he plays as well as he did in week 2, he could end up the starter long-term making him a must add.

3. Donald Brown @ Buffalo - 14% Owned on Fleaflicker

Normally I include someone owned in under 10% of leagues as my super sleeper at the position. Given all the injuries this week I am going with Brown here, his ownership is close enough to the number after all! Ryan Mathews is out for an extended period of time with a knee injury. Danny Woodhead is simply too small to be an every down back so Brown will be that guy. He came in and had 10 touches against Seattle for 31 yards. Not very good but we are also talking about Seattle here. Against Buffalo, he should be better. Keep in mind Brown was 2nd in YPC last year (Min 100 carries) behind Andre Ellington.

4. Khiry Robinson vs Minnesota - 39% Owned on Fleaflicker

Robinson is a late add to the waiver wire list after news broke today that Mark Ingram would be out a month with a hand injury. Robinson looked poised to become the lead rusher for the Saints by the end of last season before Mark Ingram seemingly took his game to another level. Robinson now has a great opportunity to show what he is capable of for the next few games. Robinson had 70 total yards and a touchdown in the Saints playoff game against the Seahawks last year, which is pretty impressive. He did not have a single reception during the regular season last year, but had 5 receptions this preseason which indicates that the Saints are willing to get him involved in the passing game as well. He has a couple decent matchups coming up, and specifically faces Dallas in Week 4. If you think you might use him then, or are looking to add some more running back depth to your fantasy team, then I would look to pick him up off the waiver wire for Week 3. I guarantee that everyone will be looking to add him for that game against Dallas, if he's not already owned by then.

 

Wide Receiver Waiver Wire Pickup Options

1. Brian Quick vs Dallas - 14% Owned on Fleaflicker

This one is for PPR, but Quick is looking like a solid add all around. Through two games of Shaun Hill and Austin Davis, Brian Quick has managed to rack up 7 receptions a piece. No other Rams wide receiver has more than 3 receptions total. Yeah, you read that right. Tight End Jared Cook has 8 total receptions and then Tavon Austin, Austin Pettis (A lot of Austin's on this team apparently) and Chris Givens all have three receptions. So at this point it is with 100% certainty that Quick is the top receiver in St. Louis making him a decent add.

2. Rueben Randle vs Houston - 49% Owned on Fleaflicker

Randle was dropped by enough teams to meet the criteria for this article. I'm not a fan but even I think he should be owned and makes a nice bench receiver. He's the biggest receiver the Giants have which makes him a touchdown threat weekly. I don't think he'll be fun to own but he has a really nice schedule over the next five weeks. The Texans might be a tough matchup but it gets significantly easier after that, so if you own him hold on to him. If he's available he is probably better than your worst receiver.

3. Mohamed Sanu vs Tennessee - 9% Owned on Fleaflicker

Sanu is not a bad player by any means but he is not normally fantasy relevant. A.J. Green left Sunday's game early and is not expected back until after the week 4 bye. That means Sanu will be the top receiver next week. Granted it's not a great matchup and Dalton is not great to begin with, so there are glaring risks here, but Sanu played the part well against the Falcons with a 76 yard touchdown catch. Not only that but he threw a beautiful 50 yard pass to fellow receiver Brandon Tate. He probably won't throw any 50 yard bombs next week but he should see a lot of targets which is enough to make him fantasy relevant in deep leagues. Beyond next week, the Bengals have their bye and then A.J. Green and possibly Marvin Jones will both be back, keeping Sanu from being a long-term add.

 

Tight End Waiver Wire Pickup Options

1. Niles Paul vs Philadelphia - 10% Owned on Fleaflicker

Despite RG3's injury Paul kept on rolling with a really impressive game this week. He was a top-5 tight end in week 2 and its not hard to see week 3 vs the Eagles being another good game. The only risk here is that Jordan Reed is week-to-week so he could be back for the next game. I would not start Paul if Reed looked likely to return. Even so, Reed has an injury history at this point which makes Paul a nice TE insurance add.

2. Larry Donnell vs Houston - 22% Owned on Fleaflicker

Donnell proved week 1 was no fluke by improving his receptions and yardage against the Cardinals. Beyond the impressive numbers he actually looked really good too, making some very athletic catches. Given the drops by Cruz and inconsistency of Randle I would say Donnell has earned a permanent spot in this offense. He looks like he can be a top-12 tight end every week.

3. Travis Kelce @ Miami - 29% Owned on Fleaflicker

The Kelce hype was strong following a couple big preseason games. It had since died down after a quiet week one performance. Unlike the first two players listed Kelce did not score a touchdown this week but he still had over 80 yards, improving upon his season debut. In fact, Kelce was easily the leading receiver for the Chiefs with no one else going over 40 yards. I have a feeling that will be the case many times this year. Keep in mind that tight end is not a deep position so even if the starting tight ends have good games Monday night, Kelce will still be top-12, which is startable in an average league. The touchdowns will come and probably soon.