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Jackson Sparks' deeper-league waiver wire pickups and fantasy football sleepers for Week 3. His top free agent options for 14-team fantasy leagues or deeper.
The first two weeks of the NFL's regular season have concluded, so it's time to get back on the hunt for deep-league waiver pickups. These fantasy football waiver wire pickup suggestions are geared toward leagues with deep benches or 14-plus teams, so the Week 2 darlings and obvious pickups such as Garrett Wilson, Jahan Dotson, or Darrel Williams and Eno Benjamin won't be featured in this article. Instead, we're diving deeper for players who saw a surprising number of targets, newfound opportunities, or even running back stashes who moved up the depth chart or could see a massive jump in value if the player in front of them misses time.
In deep leagues, stashing lotto-ticket plays is paramount for future upside. Even players like Craig Reynolds and D'Onta Foreman were valuable pieces at points of the season last year, so if we can identify deep league sleepers early, it can help you win your league down the road.
Of course, we only have two weeks of games to look at, but these deep league waiver targets are usually cheap to obtain and can be dropped without consequence down the road if they prove to have little value to your roster. Ultimately, all "backup" running backs could become valuable, but we'll at least highlight the guys with the most upside if they became a starter.
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Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Targets for Week 3
Jerick McKinnon appears to be the clear No. 2 running back behind Clyde Edwards-Helaire, so he's worth rostering in leagues of all shapes and sizes. Isiah Pacheco was the preseason darling for many fantasy managers and analysts, but he didn't have much of a role in a close game against the Chargers. McKinnon is one injury away from having a juicy fantasy role in Patrick Mahomes' offense.
Boston Scott is just one Miles Sanders or Kenneth Gainwell injury away from a major role in the dominant Eagles' rushing attack, so he's a solid deep league lotto ticket for late-season upside.
Joshua Kelley and Sony Michel are both getting touches behind Austin Ekeler, and both would be instant RB1 candidates in the context of the Chargers' offense if Ekeler gets banged up.
Jordan Mason slides into the RB2 chair with Elijah Mitchell (knee) and Tyrion Davis-Price out, so he's worth stashing in deep leagues. Davis-Price saw 14 carries for 33 yards in Week 2 for an abysmal 2.4 yards-per-carry, but at least we saw a solid workload from someone not named Jeff Wilson Jr. Mason didn't log a single touch for the Niners, but he'll now be involved as the clear backup to Wilson.
Zamir White would likely dominate the rushing attempts if something were to happen to Josh Jacobs. His PPR upside would be capped thanks to Ameer Abdullah or Brandon Bolden, but in deep leagues, he'd be worth something as a fill-in RB.
Jaylen Warren was a chalky waiver wire pickup heading into last week, but he'll probably be heavily dropped now that Najee Harris looks to be full-go. Harris has also suffered two lower-body injuries this year, so take advantage and stash Warren for later down the road. He'd likely handle a workhorse load if Harris misses any time.
Zack Moss seemed dead in the water in fantasy football when the Bills drafted James Cook in the second round, but Moss saw six targets against the Rams in Week 1, so he might have some deep league flex value in PPR leagues. He's another guy you don't want to start right away, but until we see Cook pass him up in opportunity share, Moss is worth keeping an eye on.
Pierre Strong Jr. is more of an ultra-deep league stash since he hasn't logged any touches, but with Ty Montgomery (knee) on IR, there's a chance he could get involved at some point soon. He's an easy drop candidate if nothing is pointing to his role increasing, but he's another player who is one injury away from fantasy relevance.
Samaje Perine had a quiet day in Dallas after drawing five targets against the Steelers, but he's one of the top "handcuff" running backs in the league. Joe Mixon is currently dominating the workload but has an injury history that suggests it might not be sustainable. In even deeper leagues, Chris Evans could be worth consideration, too.
Kyle Philips saw a 27-percent targets share (nine targets), and led the Titans' pass-catchers in receptions (six) and receiving yards (66) in his rookie debut. Keep him on the radar if you're in need of receivers.
Donovan Peoples-Jones saw just one target in Week 2 after an 11-target game in Week 1, but he's still the locked-in No. 2 wideout for Cleveland. He's too risky to start in shallow leagues, but he should remain on the fantasy radar in deep leagues.
D.J. Chark will be cut by a ton of fantasy managers after a zero-point performance in Week 2, but the Lions' offense looks awfully explosive, and Chark's ceiling is high as a big-play deep threat.
Nelson Agholor caught all six of his targets against the Steelers, yielding 110 yards and a touchdown for a huge breakout performance. He won't be a reliable receiver week-to-week, but he's a fine boom-or-bust deep league flex play.
Richie James caught has caught 10-of-12 targets for 110 yards through the first two weeks of the season, which is plenty of volume and usage for WR-needy fantasy managers in deep leagues. His ceiling is likely low, but his floor is solid, at least until Wan'Dale Robinson (knee) comes back. Pick up Robinson if he's on deep league waivers, too.
Greg Dortch has totaled 11 receptions for 118 yards and a touchdown in the absence of Rondale Moore (hamstring) and DeAndre Hopkins (suspension), so he's worth rostering while those guys are out. Marquise Brown is the No. 1 WR in Arizona, but Dortch and Zach Ertz are interchangeable as the No. 2 and 3 options in the pecking order.
Hayden Hurst has totaled 15 targets in his first two games with the Cincinnati Bengals, so he should be rostered in deep leagues at the shallow position that is tight end. Expect boom weeks to come for the veteran TE when Joe Burrow and the offense finally get past their early-season struggle.
Tyler Conklin has caught 10-of-16 targets this season, and since the Jets look like they'll be passing a ton this year to stay in games, there is plenty of volume to go around. It's worth noting C.J. Uzomah was out for Week 2, but he wasn't involved in the offense in Week 1, either.
Juwan Johnson is the primary receiving tight end in New Orleans, so he's worth a flyer after charting 12 targets through two weeks.
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