Week 3 Deeper Sleepers: Players Who May Still Be Available

It's Thursday, which means waiver wire claims have been processed for the majority of fantasy football leagues out there. Some of you got the players you wanted, many of you missed out on them.

While there were some high profile waiver wire pickups for Week 3, this article is going to skip over the easy acquisitions like Donald Brown, Kirk Cousins, Knile Davis, Khirry Dobinson and Larry Donnell.

Instead we'll take a look at some players that are probably still sitting on your waiver wire. If you're rostering some real drek on the bottom of your roster, you might want to consider picking up one of these higher upside players.  Any of these players could break out in the next week or two.

• 2025 fantasy football rankings
• Running back (RB) fantasy football rankings
• Wide receiver (WR) fantasy football rankings
• Tight end (TE) fantasy football rankings
• Quarterback (QB) fantasy football rankings
• FLEX fantasy football rankings
• Defense (D/ST) fantasy football rankings
• Kicker (K) fantasy football rankings
• Dynasty fantasy football rankings

Digging Deeper - Potential Waiver Wire Sleepers

Stedman Bailey - WR, St. Louis Rams

3% Owned in Fleaflicker

Bailey is one of the handful of players coming back from their suspensions early this week, and it looks like he’s going to play.  On the smaller side at 5’10 and under 200 pounds, he doesn’t possess the scary size, or even speed that we’re really looking for in a star wideout.  However, he’s been a star of the Rams camp, and possesses the hands, quickness and route running necessary to be a consistent weapon in the Rams offense.  He’s just a second year player, and should find a way to make an immediate impact on this roster.

Brian Quick has solidified himself as a starter, but Kenny Britt, Chris Givens and Tavon Austin have all disappointed.  Austin, the 8th overall pick in last years draft, has severely disappointed, and is still having trouble finding a way to get onto the field other than in packages.  With Austin expected to miss next week, Bailey should see the field on the majority of snaps, and with the Rams passing attack being surprisingly decent, that could be enough to give him some decent value in standard and especially PPR leagues.  Bailey is a smart buy-low candidate with a low ceiling, but a great situation to produce somewhat consistent numbers.

Davante Adams - WR, Green Bay Packers

10% Owned in Fleaflicker

Adams is one of the better dynasty league stashes in the NFL right now. He possesses great size, decent speed, and some pretty impressive football skills that can draw similar comparisons to the emerging star Michael Floyd. Adams is going to be light on opportunity in Green Bay behind Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb, but it appears the coaching staff is giving him a chance to unseat Jarrett Boykin, who he played more than in last week's game.

This may seem surprising, but it is indeed not considering the talent difference between the two.  The Packers did afterall use Boykin as a pure decoy in their first game.  If Adams does unseat Boykin in this next game, then he becomes an immediate add in all formats as the Packers 3rd wide receiver, a position that’s always drawn huge value with Aaron Rodgers at the helm.  He’s not going to be the touchdown threat James Jones was in the past, but his yards should come close to matching his average, which hovered under 750 yards.  Pick him up this week, because a big game will make him a must-own next week.

Latavius Murray - RB, Oakland Raiders

21% Owned in Fleaflicker

Murray is an athletic freak, plain and simple, and was also a pretty consistent producer in college at Central Florida.  People obsess over his speed with his frame, but in reality, he doesn’t play that fast. He relies on strength and a quick burst to make most of his yards.  Maurice Jones-Drew looks questionable to play yet again, and week 4 is also in question for him.  That leaves Darren McFadden, Marcel Reece, and Latavius Murray to lead the team in carries.

Against New England, it may be tough going, but there are going to be some opportunities for each running back.  Murray saw just one touch last week, and it’s hard to see him getting more than five on Sunday, but he has just as much opportunity as anyone on the waiver wire to make a splash in any given week.  If McFadden were to get hurt (quite a possibility), or he were to break a long gain, the opportunity will present itself for Murray to become part of the offense.  The Raiders always struggle to give their young players playing time outside fo injuries, so he’s going to have to run like there’s no tomorrow on every opportunity he gets.  If you have a free bench spot, I’d take a gamble on Murray’s exciting talent, and I’d definitely hold him in dynasty leagues.

Jerick McKinnon - RB, Minnesota Vikings

13% Owned in Fleaflicker

McKinnon is known for his SPARQ score, a tool used by some NFL teams to gauge athletic ability.  He scored one of, if not the highest a running back has ever scored, and finished just behind Calvin Johnson, an incredible feat considering how Megatron dwarfs him in size. Listed at around 200 pounds, McKinnon is a true ball of muscle that may come into his own as a running back sooner than later.  With Adrian Peterson not in the picture, he has to beat out just Matt Asiata in order to become a starter in the NFL.  I don’t think that’s going to be that hard, as Asiata isn’t quick and doesn’t use his size to his advantage.

McKinnon should get plenty of looks on passing downs as the year progresses, and while his running game is definitely a work in progress, he should still be owned as he develops his game.  While Peterson is out, I expect him to start with just 5-10 touches a game, but that could balloon to 20 as the year progresses, and the Vikings see that he has much more natural ability than Asiata.  He did actually play on one third of the Vikings plays last week, so his usage could spike as soon as next week.  He will become an even better fantasy player when Teddy Bridgewater finally gets his opportunity as well.  We could be looking at a waiver wire steal here.

More Week 3 Sleepers Who May Still Be Available

Geno Smith - QB, New York Jets

22% Owned in Fleaflicker

Playing Chicago on a long week without Chris Tillman should make any quarterback fantasy relevant. If you stream quarterbacks, Smith is a good buy this week, even without Eric Decker.  He could easily see the end zone twice, and it’s also a relief to see him finally using his scrambling ability.

Alfred Blue - RB, Houston Texans

7% Owned in Fleaflicker

Blue ran ahead of Jonathan Grimes this past week, somewhat surprising considering the decent hype around Grimes before the year started. With Arian Foster pacing the league in touches, look for Blue to get more looks as the season progresses.  He’s one of the most important handcuffs and would not be the worst desperate flyer in a deep league against the awful Giants.

Jermaine Kearse - WR, Seattle Seahawks

4% Owned in Fleaflicker

I’m expecting upwards of 50 points in the Superbowl rematch, and Kearse is going to be a possible mini-breakout guy this week.  He caught 22 balls last year, and found the end zone 4 times, and has been somewhat of a pet project for the Seahawks these past 2 years.  With Percy Harvin drawing the primary coverage, look for Kearse to get a few opportunities and possibly surprise a few people this week against a strong Denver defense.  He’s definitely a flyer, but one of the stronger ones.

Tim Wright - TE, New England Patriots

16% Owned in Fleaflicker

There are not many options sitting on the deep waiver wire at tight end.  Tim Wright probably isn’t owned in your league, and he probably shouldn’t be until we see significant snaps from him.  However, Danny Amendola has disappointed, and the outside wide receivers haven’t been much better.  The Patriots could benefit from having Tim Wright line up all over the field to free up more room for Gronkowski.  He’s going to be inconsistent, but if you have an injury at tight end, and players like Travis Kelce and Delanie Walker are already owned, guys like Wright, Jeff Cumberland, or Jace Amaro make the most sense to add as a desperation play.