Wide Receiver Waiver Wire Pickups - Week 3

September 21, 2021

Justin Carter's fantasy football wide receiver waiver wire pickups for Week 3 of the 2021 NFL season. His free agent WRs to add, stream and stash off waivers.

NFL Week 2 was extremely chaotic, with injuries happening at a blistering pace. But wide receiver ended up being a fairly safe position this week, aside from multiple Texans wideouts getting hurt ahead of a a short week for the Texans.

Below, you'll find some wideouts that you should be targeting on the waiver wire ahead of Week 3.

Not all options are the same. Some players may be better in PPR or deeper leagues, so it’s not a one-size-fits-all comparison. Use your best judgment when deciding which of these players is the right fit for your roster. Check out our Waiver Wire Adds for Week 3 for help at all the skill positions. All players on this list here are around 40% rostered or below.

Editor's Note: Be sure to also read our other Week 3 waiver wire articles for even more in-depth waiver wire analysis on running backs, tight ends, quarterbacks, defenses, kickers, recommended FAB waiver wire bids and players to consider dropping.

Darnell Mooney, Chicago Bears

45% rostered

Andy Dalton was injured on Sunday and Justin Fields spent much of the game at QB. He was inconsistent, but one thing of note was how involved Darnell Mooney was in the game plan.

Mooney was targeted eight times -- twice as much as Allen Robinson -- and brought in six passes for 66 yards. He's now been targeted 15 times over the first two weeks and while his numbers in Week 1 weren't great, as he had just 26 yards. But fantasy managers should follow the targets.

DeVante Parker, Miami Dolphins

40% rostered

I'm not sure what the situation with Will Fuller is right now, but it seems like he's probably going to miss some more time for personal reasons.

The Dolphins lost 35-0 and had Jacoby Brissett at quarterback for most of the game, but DeVante Parker was targeted nine times. He caught five passes for 42 yards -- not great numbers, but I like the usage and I assume the Dolphins will find better success going forward than they did on Sunday.

Henry Ruggs III, Las Vegas Raiders

34% rostered

Hey, guess what -- Derek Carr is a good quarterback! He's had a strong start to the season and it's rubbing off on his wideouts. Like second-year speedster Henry Ruggs, who had five catches for 113 yards and a touchdown. He's averaging six targets per game and while he did struggle in Week 1 to actually produce -- two catches for 46 yards -- he has some good games coming up on the schedule, like next week's meeting with Miami.

Rondale Moore, Arizona Cardinals

33% rostered

The Rondale Moore Week 1 breakout didn't happen, but the Rondale Moore Week 2 breakout sure did. He was targeted eight times, catching seven passes for 114 yards and a touchdown. He's been targeted 13 times so far this season and has a good matchup coming up against the Jaguars. He had twice as many targets as Christian Kirk, but...well, the Cardinals might be the rare team that has four rosterable wide receivers, considering A.J. Green had six targets.

Elijah Moore, New York Jets

32% rostered

The Jets got smashed this week, but we got a chance to see some of the reasons why Elijah Moore was getting preseason hype. He was targeted eight times -- double what he had last week -- and caught four passes for 47 yards. He has much better defensive matchups coming up and is clearly ahead of Keelan Cole in the pecking order. WR4/5-type of play.

Zach Pascal, Indianapolis Colts

15% rostered

Let's caveat this one, because Carson Wentz exited Sunday's game late. If Wentz misses time, the outlook for Pascal changes. But through three games, Pascal is clearly the end zone threat for Wentz, with three touchdowns in two games. He's not getting a ton of yardage, but he's a boom/bust, touchdown-dependent play each week, which isn't the worst thing in the world.

Cordarrelle Patterson, Atlanta Falcons

13% rostered

Any time you can get someone with both running back and wide receiver eligibility and he just found the end zone on the ground and through the air, you have to pick him up, right?

Patterson had seven carries for 11 yards and a touchdown, plus was targeted six times, catching five of them for 58 yards and a score. It looks like Patterson might be turning into the lead back in Atlanta, so the fact he has WR eligibility is a huge plus.

Hunter Renfrow, Las Vegas Raiders

6% rostered

The Raiders least-rostered out of the team's three starting receivers, Renfrow was targeted seven times this week, catching five passes for 57 yards. He's averaging eight targets per game and 5.5 receptions per game. He's a solid floor play in full PPR leagues and has WR3 upside. C'mon people -- roster him just a little more.

Darius Slayton, New York Giants

4% rostered

Slayton is an intriguing player. He had six targets this week, catching three passes for 54 yards and a touchdown. He's a low-volume guy, but can put up a decent amount of yards on that low volume, as he's averaging 19.8 yards per target. Slayton might not have the same upside that he had back during his rookie year, when he had eight touchdowns, but he can be a boom/bust flex option against the Falcons next week.

K.J. Osborn, Minnesota Vikings

2% rostered

After a long touchdown early in the game, Osborn finished with five catches for 91 yards. Through two games, Osborn is doing something shocking: being fantasy relevant as the third receiver for the Minnesota Vikings.

Adam Humphries, Washington Football Team

1% rostered

Humphries is solidifying his role as the slot guy in Washington. He was targeted eight times this week, bringing in seven passes for 44 yards. He's worth a bench spot in full PPR, 14-team leagues.

Braxton Berrios, New York Jets

0% rostered

DOUBLE-DIGIT TARGETS FROM A ZERO PERCENT ROSTERED PLAYER ALERT.

Berrios was targeted 11 times this week, catching seven passes for 73 yards. With Jamison Crowder sidelined, Berrios was Zach Wilson's favored target. In deep leagues, take a chance on Berrios in the event Crowder is out again next week.

Albert Wilson, Miami Dolphins

0% rostered

With Fuller still out and Preston Williams making his debut, it was assumed that Williams would be the No. 3 guy in Miami. But instead, it was Albert Wilson who saw six targets, twice as many as Williams.

I've long been an Albert Wilson believer. Is this a chance for my belief to pay off? Am I going to regret writing about Wilson this week because he'll be irrelevant after this? We'll see!

Freddie Swain, Seattle Seahawks

0% rostered

Tyler Lockett and D.K. Metcalf combined for 22 targets; the only other Seahawks receiver with any targets this week was Swain, who brought in all five of his targets for 95 yards and a score. Yes, we've been down this path before, where we think a third Seahawks receiver could be fantasy-relevant. We're always burned by that thought. We'll probably be burned again this week, but whatever -- Swain had a good game and there's upside to stashing him in a deep league.

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