Week 3 Waiver Wire Rankings - Fantasy Football Pickups Include Carson Steele, Quentin Johnston, Hunter Henry, Ty Chandler, Jalen Nailor, Bucky Irving

September 19, 2024

Fantasy football waiver wire rankings for Week 3 of the 2024 NFL season. Top free agent options to add off waivers, and our rankings will help you prioritize.

Howdy RotoBallers! It's time to focus on who to pick up for Week 3 that could boost your fantasy football teams. There were a lot of critical injuries on Sunday, including Kansas City Chiefs star running back Isiah Pacheco, who will go on injured reserve after initial tests revealed he suffered a fractured fibula in Sunday's win over the Bengals. Star wide receivers Deebo Samuel Sr. and Cooper Kupp are all set to miss time with injuries. At RotoBaller HQ, we break down the waiver wire and help you find a replacement for Pacheco, Deebo, or Kupp with our Week 3 fantasy football waiver wire rankings for 2024.

If you started the season (0-2), it's not time to panic yet. There are plenty of players off the waiver that could help turn your season around. Although, some burning questions need to be answered after Sunday's games. Is Samaje Perine, Kareem Hunt, or Carson Steele, Kansas City's primary back with Isiah Pacheco sidelined? Has Quentin Johnston finally emerged after a breakout Week 2 performance? With Puka Nacua on injured reserve and Cooper Kupp expected to miss an extended period of time, is Demarcus Robinson or Tyler Johnson the Rams' top wide receiver with Kupp and Nacua sidelined?

Our waiver wire rankings will help answer these questions -- they've been a staple in the fantasy industry for years, providing a quick-hit list of player names that goes deep into the free agent options each week. For those unfamiliar, one of the industry's sharpest fantasy football minds, Nick Mariano, brings you his weekly waiver wire rankings and priority adds for the top 60 potential options.

Week 3 Waiver Wire Articles

Before diving into the Week 3 rankings, let's 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:

• FAAB waiver wire bidding for Week 3
• Week 3 waiver wire pickups (all positions)
• Running back waiver wire pickups for Week 3
• Wide receiver waiver wire pickups for Week 3
• Tight end waiver wire pickups for Week 3
• Quarterback waiver wire pickups for Week 3
• Defense (D/ST) streamers, waiver wire for Week 3
• Kicker streamers, waiver wire for Week 3

Who To Pickup for Fantasy Football Week 3?

Finally, below, you'll see our weekly rankings for the relevant waiver wire pickup options, including how to prioritize them for your league (depending on the league size). Quarterbacks and Defenses (D/ST) are grouped together at the bottom of the list:

Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Outlooks

Some of the top names include J.K. Dobbins, Isaiah Likely, Joshua Palmer, Alexander Mattison, and Tank Bigsby. We recap why these players rostered under 55% in Yahoo! leagues should be on your radar when scrolling through the waiver wire for Week 3:

Carson Steele, RB, Kansas City Chiefs (2% Rostered)
Week 3 Waiver Wire Ranking: 2

Isaiah Pacheco has been a workhorse for the Chiefs to begin the 2024 season, and no other Chiefs running back has held any fantasy value. However, Pacheco will go on injured reserve after fracturing his fibula in Sunday's win over the Bengals.

Steele was the biggest beneficiary this past weekend. Samaje Perine, whom they signed after his release from the Broncos, only had one catch for three yards, while Steele had seven carries for 24 yards.

Clyde Edwards-Helaire is currently on IR. They may sign a veteran with Pacheco out for a while, but Steele seems like the player to add right now.

Quentin Johnston, WR, Las Angeles Chargers (7% Rostered)
Week 3 Waiver Wire Ranking: 9

Don't look now, but Johnston might be a thing. He was the Chargers' second-leading receiver in Week 1, finishing with five targets, three receptions, and 38 yards. In Week 1, he was tied for second on the team in snaps played and routes run. He's a full-time starter for Los Angeles and playing well.

This past weekend, he played 48 snaps, 14 more than the second-closest receiver. Johnston also led the team in routes run and targets. Before the season, there were reports that he was fourth on the depth chart, but his playing time has been excellent for two weeks.

This past weekend, he had six targets, five receptions, 51 yards, and two touchdowns en route to 19.6 half-PPR points. Johnston was (unfairly) written off after a brutal rookie season. However, he was drafted in the first round for a reason. He was playing out of position as a rookie and in a situation where Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, and Justin Herbert all were hurt.

Not to mention a head coach and offensive coordinator who was promptly fired after the season ended. Now, with a competent head coach, Johnston is showing some of the promise that made him a first-round pick. The Chargers are desperate for a pass-catcher, and Johnston shows he might be that guy. He needs to be added.

Jalen Nailor, WR, Minnesota Vikings (1% Rostered)
Week 3 Waiver Wire Ranking: 16

It was a strong showing for Jalen Nailor on Sunday, as he caught three of his four targets for 54 yards and a score. His value going forward depends on what the injury situation is with Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison, though.

Nailor is off the fantasy radar if both are healthy in Week 3. If one is out, he has deep-league appeal. If both wind up out, he becomes a strong streaming play.

Hunter Henry, TE, New England Patriots (24% Rostered)
Week 3 Waiver Wire Ranking: 13

Henry has always been a mainstay in fantasy football thanks to his nose for the end zone (38 career touchdowns), and he should be a solid TE2 this season, thanks to the lack of playmakers in New England’s receiving corps. Case in point – in New England’s Week 2 loss against Seattle, Henry racked up eight receptions for 109 yards.

New England has no Wes Welker, Julian Edelman, or Randy Moss on the roster. Henry is the top option for Brissett to throw to for the foreseeable future. Fantasy managers can pick him up and play him on weeks when he is facing a below-average pass defense.

Henry can't be counted on every week because he does have his fair share of dud performances (Week 1 = 18 yards), but he is probably the best TE available on your waiver wire this week.

Ty Chandler, RB, Minnesota Vikings (29% Rostered)
Week 3 Waiver Wire Ranking: 8

Ty Chandler continues to operate with a weekly allotment of touches in Kevin O’Connell‘s offense, even though Aaron Jones is functioning as Minnesota's lead back. Chandler has now played on 38 snaps during the Vikings' first two contests. He has also accrued 99 rushing yards with his 18 attempts while running 14 routes, capturing all three of his targets, and assembling 25 yards as a pass catcher.

That includes Chandler’s involvement when Minnesota hosted San Francisco in Week 2. The third-year back accumulated 19 snaps, led the Vikings in attempts (10) and rushing yards (82) and averaged 8,2 yards per attempt. Jones trailed Chandler in carries (nine), and rushing yards (32), while leading the backfield in routes run (20), targets (six), and receiving yards (36).

Chandler has carved out a favorable role in Minnesota's backfield rotation. He would also secure an extensive workload if Jones would be affixed to the sideline at any point during the season.

That cements Chandler as a viable handcuff. All other fantasy managers can also target Chandler, as he would provide RB2 output if he ascends into a temporary feature-back role.

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:

More Waiver Wire Analysis