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Nicklaus Gaut looks at the most added and dropped players of the week on Fleaflicker's waiver wire transactions list to help fantasy football owners evaluate player values and who to stream in Week 4.
Week 3 was an exciting one, with big injuries, big comebacks, and big debuts. Also, another blowout loss by the Miami Dolphins as they continue the unprecedented Great Tanking of 2019.
Luckily, there are still 30 1/2 (sorry, Jets) professional football teams to cover, one of which just lost their bell-cow back with the always terrifying "high-ankle sprain."
Before we dive into Week 4, let's review the Week 3 action to identify some potential risers and fallers that might be available in Fleaflicker leagues.
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Week 3 Recap
Backup quarterback shenanigans stole the spotlight in Week 3, with Daniel Jones (336 yards, 2 TD) and Kyle Allen (261 yards, 4 TD) both going off in their NFL debuts. But the rookies have a lot of catching up to do before they get to the level of the future (and present) of the quarterback position, with Patrick Mahomes (374 yards, 3 TD) and Deshaun Watson (351 yards, 3 TD) continuing to set the fantasy bar. Wideouts certainly got their fair share of production as well, with three receivers totaling at least 150 yards.
But it wasn't the usual suspects last week, with Mike Evans (190 yards, 3 TD), Keenan Allen (183 yards, 2 TD), and Tyler Lockett (154 yards, 1 TD) the biggest performers of the day. The formerly high-powered offense of the Los Angeles Rams got back on track, with receivers Brandin Cooks and Cooper Kupp both going over the 100-yard mark.
Most importantly, we don't have to discuss Antonio Brown for fantasy purposes until 2020. Huzzah! Let us all wish him and his frozen feet all the luck in the world as he works to complete his degree online as to work towards making the world a better place with his brain instead of his hands and feet. Because if we've learned anything over the past month, it's that Brown will always handle his obligations and hold true to his word, to the letter.
Let's save the biggest news in Week 3 for last, as Saquon Barkley not only left the Giants game against the Buccaneers early with an ankle injury, but he proceeded to prompt many a fantasy owner to contemplate fantasy hari-kari when they saw Barkley come back to the sidelines with a walking boot and crutches. They might have stopped themselves when hearing that Barkley was "only" expected to be out 6-8 weeks but may want to reconsider after doing the fantasy math. If Barkley's recovery ends up being in the eight-week range (as management seems to suspect), then the best-case scenario has him returning in Week 12 against the mighty defense of the Chicago Bears, followed by a game against the surprisingly stout Green Bay defense. But take heart, Barkley owners; if you can survive to the playoffs then you'll be rewarded with one the biggest cupcake schedules in the fantasy playoffs, facing off against the Eagles, the Dolphins, and the Redskins in Weeks 14-16.
Let us put that Barkley baby to bed though, and talk about Christian McCaffrey's big bounce-back week, totaling 188 yards and a touchdown a week after totaling just 53 yards. And don't forget about Alvin Kamara continuing his quiet march towards the title of 2019's top-dog in fantasy, totaling 161 yards and two touchdowns.
It's time to stop living in the past and move on to some Week 4 action, taking a look at three of the biggest risers and fallers on Fleaflicker.com. A full list of the most added and dropped players on Fleaflicker can be found here.
Most Added in Fleaflicker - Week 4
Wayne Gallman (RB, NYG vs. WAS), 5295 Adds – 41% Owned
Whenever a consensus top-three fantasy running back is ruled out for the next two months, his backup will almost surely be the highest priority on the waiver wire, no matter how galling it can be to see your first-round pick bite the dust for the foreseeable future. But tuck that disappointment away buttercup, because you have to move on. Soooo, Wayyy-nnne Gall-man!...Come on down!
Entering this season behind super-workhouse Saquon Barkley, New York Giants running back Wayne Gallman's unofficial name might have well have been "Fantasy Irrelevant Wayne Gallman". But all that changed when Barkley suffered a high-ankle sprain in New York's comeback victory over the Buccaneers on Sunday and it seems that Gallman will slot in for the next 6-8 weeks as Barkley recovers. You don't always need to grab a backup when the starter goes down (see Ballage, Kalen) but New York's offense is geared around Barkley so Gallman is likely to get a high volume of touches, regardless. And going against a Washington defense that's allowed the eighth-most yards to running backs this season, Gallman could be in for a productive day.
Phillip Dorsett (WR, NE @ BUF), 1897 Adds – 46% Owned
They say that when a door shuts, a window opens. But they should also say that when a recently released receiver with frostbitten feet and a mountain of legal troubles says he's quitting the NFL to go to college online, then a window opens for New England wide receiver Phillip Dorsett. With the release of Antonio Brown, Dorsett now moves back as the Patriots third wide-receiver along with Julian Edelman and Josh Gordon. Like so many years past, if you're a starting wide receiver for New England then you probably have fantasy value.
With no Brown in Week 1, Dorsett busted out for 95 yards on four catches with two touchdowns, but with Brown in the fold for Week 2, Dorsett only managed three catches for 39 yards. But when Brown was released prior to Week 3 against the Jets, Dorsett got right back to business and caught six balls for 53 yards and a touchdown. While he is still just a WR3/Flex play, Dorsett is still in a high-powered New England offense (and with Julian Edelman dealing with a rib issue) and could see his value rise quickly.
Daniel Jones (QB, NYG vs. WAS), 3051 Adds – 49% Owned
I'm rooting for the success of New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones solely to hear Giants general manager Dave "Football" Gettleman inform us all year about how little we know about player evaluation. But I'm also rooting for him because he's a rookie who likes to sling it and should bring some life to the Giants offense, even sans Saquon Barkley. Getting his first start in Week 3 against Tampa Bay, the former Duke standout lit up the scoreboard completing 23-of-36 passes for 336 yards and two touchdowns, leading the Giants to a 32-31 comeback victory over the Buccanneers.
=Jones gets another solid matchup in Week 4 when he'll take on the Washington Redskins at home, who are 0-3 on the season and have given up at least 31 points in every loss. Jones is firmly in QB1 territory for the foreseeable future and is a top-10 option for Week 4.
Most Dropped in Fleaflicker - Week 4
Antonio Brown (WR, FA), 1565 Drops – 80% Owned
Ha-Ha! Tricked you, because we still need to perform the eulogy of former Steelers, Raiders, and Patriots wide receiver Antonio Brown. And Yikes! That all escalated rather quickly, didn't it? Not really, as we're finding out in hindsight that Brown has been enabled by his talent for years as he's piled up episode after episode of bad behavior. And all we're seemingly seeing now is the logical conclusion of such bad behavior coming to light. And that conclusion is that even the New England Patriots don't want those problems.
The current analysis of Antonio Brown is fairly simple because the talent is such that if he were on any NFL team - even if suspended for part of the season - he would be undroppable. But most seem to think that the All-Pro wide receiver is currently too toxic to latch on with another team in 2019 and even Brown himself has declared that he is "done playing in the NFL" and reenrolled in Central Michigan University online courses. Talent always wins, so as long as Brown clears his legal troubles he will likely find another home in 2020. But it seems that AB has played his last down this year and can be dropped as soon as you need the roster spot.
Raheem Mostert (RB, BYE), 1135 Drops – 51% Owned
Ahh, remember the glory days all the way back in Week 2 when San Francisco 49er's running back Raheem Mostert made owners rush to the waiver wire after totaling 151 yards and scoring a touchdown in a blowout win over the Bengals? But scratch beneath the surface and you'll see that outside of a 39-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter, most of Mostert's yards came after the eventual 41-10 49er win was already in hand. Heading into San Francisco's bye in Week 4, Mostert is still behind Matt Breida on the depth chart (strike one) and the 49er's coaching staff believes that their Week 1 starter Tevin Coleman will be able to return from an ankle sprain in time for their Week 5 matchup with the Cleveland Browns (strike two). On a bye week and about to be a third-string back? Strike three, Raheem. You're out.
Duke Johnson (RB, HOU vs. CAR), 824 Drops – 77% Owned
Just a short month ago, everything was coming up Milhouse for Houston Texans running back Duke Johnson, but a month can sometimes be a lifetime in the NFL and now Duke is quickly becoming a hazard that is only clogging up a spot on your bench. Johnson was traded to the Texans on August 8 and was set up to be the complement to feature-back Lamar Miller. But then Miller tore his ACL in the preseason on August 24, the Texans claimed they were comfortable with using Johnson as their every-down back, and thus his draft stock predictably blew up, rising all the way to a 60 ADP in NFBC in the week following the Miller injury.
But in the latest example of not being able to believe anything any team ever says, the Texans traded for Kansas City's Carlos Hyde a week later and it's been all downhill for Johnson since, with it quickly becoming clear that Hyde is the preferred option in Houston's offense. Johnson only rushed the ball twice for two yards in a Week 3 win over the Chargers - adding two receptions on three targets - and has now only touched the ball 23 times through Houston's first three games. With news now coming that the Texans are set to work out C.J. Anderson, the arrow just keeps pointing down for Johnson and heading into a Week 4 game against Carolina it may be time to make him the Duke of Waiver Wire County.
