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Week 3 fantasy football waiver wire pickups for Brenton Strange, Jonnu Smith, Isaiah Likely in 2025. Read their waiver wire outlooks for fantasy football.
Every fantasy manager on the planet absolutely loves the tight end position. Well, not really. It would be nice if teams would throw to their tight ends more, but that might not happen any time soon.
It's rare to find an elite TE. There are far more elite fantasy options at running back and wide receiver than there are difference-makers at the tight end position.
That doesn't mean you can't find nice value on the waiver wire, and one of my favorite strategies for this position is to hunt the wire and free agent pickups to find the potential starters that can alleviate the struggles of managing the TE spot. So let's dive into three potential waiver wire pickups for this position for Week 3!
Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for 2025:- 2025 fantasy football rankings
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Isaiah Likely Week 3 Waiver Wire Pickups
Rostered: 27% of Leagues
Baller Move: Stash in 12+ Team Leagues
Baltimore Ravens tight end Isaiah Likely (foot) continues to work his way back from a foot ailment that he suffered in the offseason. He hasn't played yet in the 2025 regular season, though indications are that he's nearing a return.
He returned to practice and worked with the team in a limited fashion last Friday before being ruled out of the contest against the Browns. That signals that he's likely to return in Week 3, where he'll be set to resume his role from 2024, perhaps with a few changes.
Can’t wait for Isaiah Likely to get back on the field…
pic.twitter.com/tdompB1YdE— RAMEY (@HoodieRamey) September 15, 2025
Likely played in another ugly tight end rotation with fellow Ravens TEs Mark Andrews and Charlie Kolar in previous seasons, and while he's had his share of big games, he was often limited by his lack of playing time. He played over 70 percent of his team's snaps just one time in 2024.
If there's anything bullish about him, it's that the Ravens, despite scoring over 40 points in both of their first two games of 2025, have hardly used Andrews at all. In fact, their tight ends have been non-factors in the passing game. Andrews has two total catches for nine yards, and Kolar has yet to draw a target.
Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson has been leaning more heavily into WR Zay Flowers as his top target. Likely should earn at least a decent number of targets when he comes back. Perhaps the Ravens want to feature him more heavily. He can be stashed in deep leagues for now.
Brenton Strange Week 3 Waiver Wire Pickups
Rostered: 40% of Leagues
Baller Move: Leave on waiver wire in most leagues
Jacksonville Jaguars tight end Brenton Strange was considered a breakout candidate after a 2024 season in which he had one game in which he was targeted 12 times and hauled in 11 of those passes for 73 yards. It doesn't look like that's on track to happen, though. Strange's numbers from Week 2 were underwhelming.
In the shootout game against the porous Cincinnati Bengals defense, Strange was targeted only five times, hauling in three passes for just 17 yards. That amounted to 4.7 PPR fantasy points. Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence clearly preferred targeting his wide receivers in the loss.
Brenton Strange tying for 4th in targets for the Jaguars and being 2nd to last in receiving yards might kill any fantasy value he was thought to have had. Not much point in hanging on to him pic.twitter.com/IxsaIoczBM
— JohnJohn Analysis (@JohnJohnalytics) September 15, 2025
Strange is comfortably behind WRs Brian Thomas Jr. (wrist), Travis Hunter, Dyami Brown, and Parker Washington in the pecking order now. While he has more total targets than Washington, Washington easily lapped his production, gaining 76 receiving yards on his five targets.
Some teams just don't have any fantasy-viable tight ends, which is one thing that makes the position so frustrating to deal with. Strange can be ignored in the vast majority of leagues. He might have a few fine games here and there, but in redraft, he can be dropped.
Jonnu Smith Week 3 Waiver Wire Pickups
Rostered: 56% of Leagues
Baller Move: Leave on waiver wire in most leagues
While Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Jonnu Smith was one of the league's best TE options in 2024, he's no longer with the Miami Dolphins this season. Instead, he's languishing on the roster of the Steelers, and under offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, who spreads the ball around a ton in his run-heavy scheme.
Smith managed just four targets in Week 2, catching all four for 27 yards. That amounted to 6.7 PPR fantasy points, and without a touchdown catch, it's hard to see Smith having a lot of weekly value moving forward. He managed just 15 receiving yards on five catches in Week 1, though he did grab one score.
Aaron Rodgers on the Steelers TE room that includes Pat Freiermuth, Jonnu Smith, Darnell Washington, and Connor Heyward:
“It’s the best tight end room I’ve been around in 21 years. We have four extremely capable guys.” pic.twitter.com/61ZbEAyRiC
— Amanda Godsey (@AmandaFGodsey) September 3, 2025
Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers echoed something Smith likely believes as well -- that their tight end room has a lot of talent. It's true that they have Smith, Pat Freiermuth, Darnell Washington, and Donald Parham Jr. all signed to contracts.
Smith is the most talented of the group, with Freiermuth coming in second, but that doesn't prevent the targets from being distributed heavily, as is the playing time. Smith logged just 56 percent of snaps in Week 2. Pittsburgh's ugly tight end rotation destroys the fantasy value of all its players at that position.
Who Should I Pickup Tool
Trying to decide who to pick up off the waiver wire? Check the Who Should I Pickup tool here:
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Who Should I Pickup? Some common 2025 fantasy football waiver wire decisions are regarding players like Brenton Strange, Jonnu Smith, and Isaiah Likely. But not to worry, we are here to help make these waiver wire decisions and build winning teams in 2025. Set your optimal fantasy football lineups in 2025. Our free Who Should I Pickup? tool will help make your fantasy football waiver wire decisions. Compare up to four NFL players, and we tell you who to pick up... all free! Make the right decisions.
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Using The Tool. This is a simple tool but very powerful. The first step is to enter the player names that you want to compare. In the first box, search for the first player's name. In the second box, search for the second player's name. Compare up to four NFL players at once, and then click the Who To Pickup? button to see who the recommended waiver wire pickups are based on fantasy football rankings, projections, and more.
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Popular Player Comparison Searches - Who To Pickup
Below are some popular searches and comparisons from our Who To Pickup tool for 2025 for Brenton Strange, Jonnu Smith, Isaiah Likely:
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