With three weeks of play now complete, fantasy football managers are likely gaining an increased sense of where their teams’ overall and positional strengths and weaknesses. Fortunately, there is ample opportunity to address any weaknesses heading into Week 4 with some savvy fantasy football waiver wire pickups.
Injuries continue to open up opportunities for players at various positions. In addition, the topsy-turvy start to this NFL season has led to some unheralded players vastly exceeding or falling short of expectations. If your team is in a rut, do not be afraid to shake things up and make some adjustments via the waiver wire or trades. It’s a long season, but one must be careful to not dig themselves into too deep of a hole early on!
Read on as we break down some of the best fantasy football waiver wire pickups for Week 4.
Note: Players must be owned in less than 50% of ESPN leagues to be included in the best fantasy football waiver wire pickups column. Ownership percentages will reflect their status on Tuesday mornings ahead of standard waiver processing.
QB Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups
Sam Darnold, Minnesota Vikings (16.3%)
We’ll kick things off with some words that many never thought they would read: Sam Darnold is decent at football. He’s also been damn good at fantasy football for the small percentage of managers who have rostered and trusted him over the first three weeks. He enters Week 4 ranked second at the QB position in fantasy scoring. It will be tough to follow up on last week’s four-touchdown effort. Still, with plenty of talent surrounding him and an excellent coach in Kevin O’Connell, Darnold has all the tools needed to continue his production moving forward.
Andy Dalton, Carolina Panthers (1.6%)
Somehow, you just knew switching from Bryce Young to Andy Dalton would jumpstart the Panthers’ offense. That was precisely what happened. Dalton stepped in, threw for 319 yards and three touchdowns and finished as the QB8 in fantasy on the week. With mediocre quarterback play being a theme around the league, managers could do far worse than add Dalton entering Week 4. Bye weeks are also looming, making Dalton’s fantasy-friendly matchups against the Bengals, Bears, Falcons, Commanders and Broncos in the next five weeks that much more appealing.
MORE: NFL Power Rankings Week 4 – Kick in the Sack
Following more chaotic football and results in Week 3, we update our NFL Power Rankings… Click through to see where your team is ranked heading into Week 4!
RB Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups
Rico Dowdle, Dallas Cowboys (37.3%)
It’s no secret that the Cowboys have major issues. Perhaps one of the changes that is made going forward is an uptick in touches for Rico Dowdle out of the backfield. The 26-year-old has played roughly 45% of the snaps in each of the first three games, averaging north of four yards per carry in each of the last two. He out-snapped Ezekiel Elliott by a significant margin in Week 3 and has easily been the more productive back. It remains to be seen exactly how much volume Dowdle garners going forward, but managers would be wise to get ahead of the curve and roster him now.
Bucky Irving, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (32.7%)
Despite only playing about a third of the Buccaneers’ offensive snaps in each of the first three games, rookie RB Bucky Irving has been quite impressive. In the team’s lopsided Week 3 defeat, Irving thoroughly outplayed starter, Rachaad White. He posted 70 yards rushing on only nine carries. Tampa Bay hasn’t been incredibly efficient at running the football thus far, but this was Irving’s second strong game. With coach Todd Bowles suggesting he will start seeing increased snaps, Irving is a strong target for Week 4 fantasy football waiver wire pickups.
WR Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups
Jauan Jennings, San Francisco 49ers (36.1%)
On the heels of a WR1 performance in Week 3, Jauan Jennings will likely be the top fantasy football waiver wire pickup for many managers this week. Jennings outscored all other receivers in PPR by more than 16 points! Yes, his 11-reception, 175-yard, 3-touchdown stat line will almost certainly not be replicated for the remainder of the season. However, with Deebo Samuel expected to miss at least one more game, Jennings’ role will remain inflated against New England in Week 4. Another strong showing could result in expanded opportunities even after Samuel returns.
Tre Tucker, Las Vegas Raiders (4.3%)
Through three games, the Raiders rank dead last in the NFL in team rushing yards per game (51.0) by a wide margin. Until this gets improved, Las Vegas will need to continue to air the ball out. Davante Adams and Jakobi Meyers are still the top two wideouts, but Tre Tucker also made his presence felt in Week 3. He led the team in receiving and had a season-high nine targets. At this juncture, Tucker is one of the appealing fantasy football waiver wire pickups for his potential as a depth piece, bye week streamer and FLEX potential in deeper leagues.
TE Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups
Mike Gesicki, Cincinnati Bengals (29.2%)
Although Mike Gesicki is not playing an extremely high percentage of snaps for the Bengals, he is quite clearly the team’s go-to TE in the passing game. In the first three games, the veteran has seen four, nine and five targets, respectively. One might question whether his target share will take a hit now that Cincinnati has both Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins healthy. However, Gesicki still caught four balls for 47 yards in Week 3 to finish as the TE11 in PPR scoring. This position remains a wasteland, so the stability Gesicki has displayed to date makes him a solid pickup option.
Cole Kmet, Chicago Bears (26.2%)
As the Bears now realize they blatantly failed to fix their offensive line in the offseason, Cole Kmet is suddenly becoming much more legitimate amongst the fantasy football waiver wire pickups. He has played roughly 80% of the team’s offensive snaps in each of the last two games. After netting five targets in Week 2, Kmet saw a whopping 11 this past Sunday. He turned those opportunities into a TE2 performance. Rookie QB Caleb Williams will continue to be under duress throughout the year. This figures to benefit Kmet as a safety valve-type option over the middle of the field.
