Read Jake Ciely’s latest fantasy football waiver wire advice. 

The Week 3 fantasy football waiver wire is a bit thinner than the past two weeks, but it might be the most painful, especially with Nick Chubb. With a big Zack Moss performance, a Saquon Barkley injury and another good Josh Reynolds showing, there are some solid pickups, and of course, streaming quarterbacks, DSTs and more.

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HEADS UP

• Players must be under 60% rostered on Yahoo
• Listed in order of preference — I’ll often prioritize potential upside over immediate middling production
• No FAB suggestions: It varies wildly by league tendencies and always relative (ex: if you lost your RB1 to injury and there is a clear backup, you’re going to be more aggressive)
• Streaming QB and TE are grouped together— weekly ranking can change once projections/ranks run — DST could shift a bit too

WORRY REPORT
More Ducks (and Eggs) = More Concern

• Justin Fields, CHI 🦆🦆 — There is a lot of talk about only five designed runs through two weeks, but Fields looks more indecisive than last year.
• Alexander Mattison, MIN 🦆🦆🥚 — The Vikings’ run blocking is doing him no favors, as Mattison has similar YAC to Javonte Williams (2.32 to 2.48) but just 0.89 YBC, which is 27th among running backs with 10+ carries. Ty Chandler could start eating into Mattison’s workload, but a good performance against the Chargers could quell our fears.
• Khalil Herbert, CHI 🦆🦆🦆 — Similar to Mattison, Herbert has struggled with the Bears’ quality of blocking, and Roschon Johnson is getting significantly more before the snap (3.67 YBC to Herbert’s 1.00). As you’ll see with Johnson (below), the door is creaking open for him to take over, but the bigger concern is that even if that doesn’t happen, the 50/50 split caps any backfield upside.
• Dameon Pierce, HOU 🦆🦆🥚 — And yet another running back dealing with poor blocking, Pierce has -0.04 YBC through two weeks. Pierce has a decent 2.69 YAC, but is 17th in Percent of Team’s Rushing Attempts (53.1%) with 7.0% of the Texans’ targets (36th for running backs). The blocking and non-bellcow role are reason for concern.
• Ja’Marr Chase, CIN 🦆🦆 — I was prepared to have an egg and nothing else for Chase because he’s Chase and has a 24.3 TmTGT%. Then we got word that Joe Burrow isn’t 100% and might miss time. That’s concerning, especially if his injury lingers.
• DeAndre Hopkins, TEN 🦆🥚 — Hopkins is fifth in TmTGT% (31.6) with 34.3% of the Titans’ Air Yards. The main concern at this point of his career is the lack of YAC — just 0.82 YAC and 8.6% of his yards are after the catch.

STREAMING QUARTERBACKS

• Russell Wilson, DEN
• Matthew Stafford, LAR
• Sam Howell, WSH
• Derek Carr, NO
• C.J. Stroud, HOU
• Kenny Pickett, PIT
• Jimmy Garoppolo, LV
• Baker Mayfield, TB
• Ryan Tannehill, TEN
• Bryce Young, CAR
• Mac Jones, NE
• Zach Wilson, NYJ
• Desmond Ridder, ATL
• Joshua Dobbs, ARI

Emojis

• 😤 = I Tried to Tell Ya — players included for several weeks (not much more to add if you don’t want them)
• 🔍 = Check if Dropped — players whose managers might have cut for other need or impatient
• 🎯 = Long-Term Target — players with starter+ upside who require patience (stash picks)
• 🫡 = Backup/Next Man Up — players who have almost no value but starter+ upside if injury ahead of them

WAIVER WIRE RUNNING BACK RANKS

MEH 😒

• Latavius Murray, BUF — Splitting with Harris. Not going to gamble on Murray falling into the end zone, and Harris likely the slight lead if James Cook ever hurt.

DUMPSVILLE 🗑️ (Order I’d Drop)

• Rashaad Penny, PHI — Didn’t even get on the field until late.
• Jerick McKinnon, KC — Distant third and not getting volume with Matt Nagy.
• Antonio Gibson, WSH — Gibson has been relegated to a change-of-pace option.
• Samaje Perine, DEN — Perine is nothing more than a backup plan for Javonte Williams at this point, and even then, he might share more with Jaleel McLaughlin than originally thought. I’d only drop Perine through Breida if I need a starter now, through Johnson if chasing future upside and no more than Hill if have depth already.

For a deeper look at drops, check out Gary Davenport’s “who do I drop?” column for Week 3

WAIVER WIRE WIDE RECEIVER RANKS

MEH 😒

• Nelson Agholor, BAL — Just 14 routes. If it’s tough to trust any Ravens receiver — even Zay Flowers — with Mark Andrews healthy, no way I want to risk it on one who is third or fourth on the depth chart.
• Dontayvion Wicks, GB — Watson returning and fourth in routes (Week 2) even before that.
• Brandon Johnson, DEN — Unless you’re counting on a weekly Hail Mary.
• Kalif Raymond, DET — We’ve been here before, and Raymond will have 1-2 more Top 40 games. It’s what he does.

DUMPSVILLE 🗑️ (Order I’d Drop)

• Odell Beckham, BAL — Had the opportunity in Week 1, fell back further and banged up in Week 2.
• Allen Lazard, NYJ — Unless the Jets trade for a quarterback, there won’t be any receiver worth starting outside Garrett Wilson.
• Quentin Johnston, LAC — Yes, he has long-term upside and is worth stashing where you have room, but there are better options than someone who can’t even get to 25% of the team’s routes run. If you need earlier potential, you could drop Johnston for anyone through Shaheed.
• Marvin Mims, DEN — Repeating last week. If you can stash, go ahead, but he is not a must-hold if you need help/starters. Would drop Mims through Wilson at most.

STREAMING TIGHT ENDS

• Zach Ertz, ARI
• Kylen Granson, IND
• Dawson Knox, BUF
• Hayden Hurst, CAR
• Durham Smythe, MIA
• Gerald Everett, LAC
• Tyler Conklin, NYJ
• Cade Otton, TB
• Jake Ferguson, DAL
• Adam Trautman, DEN
• Noah Fant, SEA

STREAMING DST

Week 3

• JAX vs HOU
• KC vs CHI
• PIT vs LV
• CIN vs LAR
• SEA vs CAR
• MIA vs DEN
• DET vs ATL

Week 4

• PIT at HOU
• LAC vs LV
• KC at NYJ
• JAX vs ATL
• CIN at TEN
• SEA at NYG

(Photo by Ken Murray/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

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