Week 3 Wide Receivers: Waiver Wire Pickups & Adds

September 15, 2014

Bill Dubiel analyzes Week 3 fantasy football wide receivers (WR) - waiver wire pickups, adds and sleepers for both PPR and non-PPR leagues. NFL wide receivers are a key component.

Two weeks down, and a handful of wide receivers went down with it! If you were an unfortunate owner of A.J. Green or Desean Jackson, you might need a replacement in the near future.

With that being said, let’s take a look at some wide receiver sleepers that could be useful additions off the waiver wire for your teams either in the near future or for the long haul.

Each week of the fantasy football season, I’ll also give you a bonus player to avoid (usually someone who might be a popular pickup that I disagree with). I did tell you Allen Hurns wouldn’t be worth much this week, so I’m one-for-one in that category!

Editor’s Note: our famous 2014 fantasy football waiver wire pickups list is updated daily, and is a running list of waiver wire pickups for all fantasy football positions. You can also read more in-depth waiver wire analysis at each position, as we dig deeper and discuss even more waiver wire options at each position weekly. Here are some of those waiver wire articles:

• Week 3 Waiver Wire Pickups Overview for Fantasy Football
• Week 3 Running Backs: Waiver Wire Pickups & Adds
• Week 3 Tight Ends: Waiver Wire Pickups & Adds
• Defenses (DEF) to Start in Week 3: Fantasy Tiers & Rankings

Fantasy Football Wide Receivers (WR)

Brian Quick (WR, STL) — Owned in 14% of Fleaflicker Leagues

He’s led the Rams in receptions two weeks in a row now, and it clearly isn’t a case of quarterback favoritism. While Quick hasn’t found pay dirt yet, he has caught seven balls in each of his first two games this season, and I think that it’s a matter of time before he does end up in the end zone.

This wide receiving corps isn’t exactly bursting with talent, and I don’t see anyone supplanting Quick as the top target any time soon. At the bare minimum he merits a pickup in PPR leagues due to the amount of balls being throw his way.

Baller Move: Add in deeper standard leagues / all PPR leagues

Markus Wheaton (WR, PIT) — Owned in 64% of Fleaflicker Leagues

I advised adding him last week, and I’m going to advise it again this week.

Wheaton is the number two wide receiver in Pittsburgh behind Antonio Brown, and Big Ben hasn’t been afraid to look his way so far. He has a Percy Harvin-like skill set, as he even ran a couple of end-arounds on Thursday night.

I’ve got him pegged as a top three sophomore wide receiver behind only Keenan Allen and Cordarrelle Patterson, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him challenge either of them in the weeks to come. There’s value here no matter what the format is, and the upside is huge.

Baller Move: Add in all leagues, target for trade at WR3 value with WR2 upside in PPR leagues

Andre Roberts (WR, WAS) — Owned in 4% of Fleaflicker Leagues

Roberts is more of a functional player than a fantasy performer, but with DeSean Jackson possibly limited with an AC joint sprain, Roberts could ascend the Washington depth chart in the near term.

He caught four passes for 57 yards with Kirk Cousins at the helm, and I can see him catching six or seven passes on any given week if DeSean Jackson is not in the lineup to take up targets. Keep an eye on his situation, and if you need a desperation play you could do worse.

Baller Move: Add in deeper PPR leagues, monitor in all leagues

Andrew Hawkins (WR, CLE) — Owned in 44% of Fleaflicker Leagues

Johnny Football tomfoolery aside, Brian Hoyer has looked serviceable thus far, and Hawkins has been the main beneficiary. He’s caught 14 balls for more than 150 yards over the first two weeks, and I think he’s going to maintain a stranglehold on the top receiving target in that offense as long as Jordan Cameron remains out.

Even with Cameron healthy, defenses will be focused on stopping him, leaving Hawkins with room to catch and run. I think he’s a must-add in PPR leagues if you’re looking for FLEX value, and he can even be useful in standard leagues if you have some dead weight to drop from your fantasy football teams.

Baller Move: Add in deeper PPR leagues, monitor in all leagues

Wide Receiver To Avoid (Bonus)

Mohamed Sanu (WR, CIN) — Owned in 9% of Fleaflicker Leagues

Sanu had a big fantasy game in Week 2, but let’s not kid ourselves here. It’s only because A.J. Green wasn’t there to take targets away. It wasn’t even really all that successful of a fantasy day when you look at anything but the final stat line - 76 of his 84 receiving yards, and his lone touchdown, came on one play where the coverage broke down. And I can guarantee you he won’t have 50 passing yards to add in either for future weeks.

A.J. Green’s initial MRIs came back negative, and all signs point to him not missing more than a week or two, if that. The Bengals have a potent running back tandem in Giovani Bernard and Jeremy Hill, and if Green is back there will be no use for Sanu in the offense. Don’t get sucked in by one week of fantasy production.

I’ll be your wide receiver authority for the 2014 season, so don’t hesitate to reach out to me @Roto_Dubs with any questions whenever.