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Fantasy football waiver wire pickups analysis for Dalton Schultz, Darren Waller, Oronde Gadsden in Week 3 (2026). Read their waiver wire outlooks for fantasy football.
Hopefully you drafted your running backs early in this year's fantasy football drafts. The talent pool for that position gets depleted rapidly because it's typically known which of those players will be must-starts all season.
The same is not true for tight ends. Many teams don't produce fantasy startable TEs for entire seasons, but things can change quickly, especially as teams trade away wide receivers or those WRs suffer season-ending injuries.
Additionally, some teams use tight end rotations that end up becoming more condensed due to injuries or the poor play of one of the TEs in the rotation. So let's break down three potential tight end waiver wire pickups for Week 3 based on these occurrences. Let's dive in.
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Dalton Schultz Week 3 Waiver Wire Pickups
Rostered in 45% of leagues
Houston Texans tight end Dalton Schultz had an absolutely monster day in Week 2 against the Cincinnati Bengals. Last season, they were the worst team in the NFL by far at defending against opposing TEs. We saw players like Chicago Bears tight end Colston Loveland absolutely crush them.
The same was true for Schultz, who was targeted a ridiculous 14 times, catching 12 passes for a whopping 140 yards and finishing with 26.0 PPR fantasy points. My analysis indicates this will be his best performance of the year in terms of PPR points from non-touchdown plays, but it's still an intriguing result.
Dalton Schultz said let me step up since no one else is pic.twitter.com/8IBZIgJzyi
— TEXANS-TEA TV 🍵 (@TexansTeaTv) September 20, 2026
He was targeted eight times in Week 1, which was encouraging, though. He only caught four passes for 35 yards, but it wasn't a bad result. The Texans had big plans for their WR2, Jayden Higgins (knee), but he suffered a season-ending knee injury in the offseason.
Additionally, Texans WR1 Nico Collins (hamstring) missed Week 2 with a hamstring aliment. He's struggled with far too many of those in his career. Houston would be better off playing it safe with him and letting him fully recover.
There's an avenue for Schultz to be the most targeted tight end in the NFL, or at least in the top three, over the next few weeks. He's a must-add and must-start in all fantasy leagues for now.
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Darren Waller Week 3 Waiver Wire Pickups
Rostered in 9% of leagues
Death, taxes, and Carolina Panthers tight end Darren Waller coming out of nowhere to put up a multi-touchdown game and become a hot waiver wire add. In Week 2, the veteran caught all three of his targets for 33 receiving yards and two touchdowns in a blowout win over the Atlanta Falcons.
The Panthers offense hasn't been great in a long time -- not since quarterback Cam Newton was tearing the league up, in fact. But they're off to an encouraging start in 2026, and it appears that Waller could take over the TE1 role for them.
Darren Waller with his SECOND TD of the game 😤
📺: FOX/FOX One pic.twitter.com/7l0FAG8guo
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) September 20, 2026
His floor is likely very low in this offense, and just three targets isn't encouraging. But you're grasping at straws for value at this position in fantasy football, so he's a must-add in all 12-team leagues for his upside.
Add in 12-team Leagues
Oronde Gadsden Week 3 Waiver Wire Pickups
Rostered in 34% of leagues
Gadsden's monster breakout stretch in 2025 was followed by a much quieter stretch from Week 10 onward, as he scored double-digit PPR fantasy points just twice in that stretch. And he played only 18 percent of his team's offensive snaps in Week 1, making him not startable for fantasy football.
That usage ticked upward massively in Week 2. He saw 44 percent of offensive snaps and caught both of his two targets for 18 yards and a touchdown. The other two tight ends on the Chargers roster, David Njoku (knee) and Charlie Kolar (forearm), also appear set to miss time due to injuries.
The Chargers offense has struggled, but the uptick in playing time makes Gadsden a worthwhile add in an offense that only features one other reliable pass-catcher in WR Ladd McConkey, who himself is dealing with a rib injury.
Add in 12-team leagues
Who Should I Pickup Tool
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Who Should I Pickup? Some common 2026 fantasy football waiver wire decisions are regarding players like Dalton Schultz, Darren Waller, Oronde Gadsden II. We are here to help make these waiver wire decisions and build winning teams in 2026. Set your optimal fantasy football lineups in 2026. 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.
2026 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players - Dalton Schultz, Darren Waller, Oronde Gadsden. These are some common searches for 2026 fantasy football waiver wire pickups.
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 name. In the second box, search for the second player 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.
Recent Improvements For Who Should I Pickup? You may have noticed, our Who Should I Pickup? tool has gotten an overhaul. We've added lots of great features for you to give you as much information as possible to win on the waiver wire in 2026. You'll see NFL player tiles with headshots and bye weeks, stats, projections, strength of schedule, enhanced search results with data to compare, and a slick new interface. We hope you enjoy!
How It Works. Our RotoBaller staff puts together their weekly fantasy football waiver wire rankings and projections based on their research, and updates them constantly throughout the week. That information is the core data that is powering the decision-making in this tool. When you search for player names, you will only see those players who are ranked.
Popular Waiver Wire Searches. Curious to see some tough waiver wire decisions for 2025? Below you will find a list of some popular Who Should I Pickup? searches that RotoBaller readers are looking at. Click any of the links to see the result and recommendation.
Popular Player Comparison Searches - Who To Pickup
Below are some popular searches and comparisons from our Who To Pickup tool for 2026 for Dalton Schultz, Darren Waller, Oronde Gadsden:
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