FlurrySports takes a look at the best fantasy football waiver wire pickups for Week 4, including Arizona Cardinals RB Trey Benson.
Week 3 sure was weird in more ways than one! In addition to the field goal block party that determined outcomes and point spread covers in various games, we had a number of wonky fantasy football performances as well. While the chaos was thrilling to watch, the downside is that there were also a number of injuries to players who are counted on weekly in fantasy lineups. There’s no rest for the weary when it comes to the weekly quest to make the best fantasy football waiver wire pickups.
Among the high-profile fantasy assets injured in Week 3 were CeeDee Lamb (high ankle sprain), Terry McLaurin (calf), James Conner (ankle), and Najee Harris (Achilles). The latter two players listed will, unfortunately, miss the remainder of the season. For those who may be licking their wounds and desperate for lineup solutions, our fantasy football waiver wire pickups are a great place to start!
Once again, we remind you not to overreact to box score stats when selecting and prioritizing your waiver claims. Instead, we encourage you to dig deeper into the numbers and put a greater emphasis on snap counts, targets and touches when deciphering the players you want to prioritize amongst your fantasy football waiver wire pickups. Like most years, many players around the league had inaccurate ADPs based on the opportunity available to them within their respective offenses.
With that, let’s dive deeper into some of the top fantasy football waiver wire pickups to target heading into 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.
Best Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 4
QB Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups
Geno Smith, Las Vegas Raiders (10.0%)
If we’ve learned anything about the Raiders through three games, it’s that they can’t run block well at all. Thus, managers can expect this to be a pretty pass-heavy offense moving forward. Geno Smith can be sporadic, but he has fared well statistically in two of three games so far. A Week 4 matchup against an injury-mired Chicago Bears defense that has allowed the fourth-most fantasy points to opposing QBs looks promising. Smith has plenty of weapons to throw to, and the Raiders have shown no hesitation to throw the ball deep to Tre Tucker (more on him later) and Dont’e Thornton.
Carson Wentz, Minnesota Vikings (3.1%)
Could Carson Wentz be the latest veteran castaway to have his career rejuvenated in Minnesota? Given how lopsided the Vikings’ win over Cincinnati was on Sunday, we’re still waiting for definitive proof. That said, Wentz has all the pieces around him to be a rewarding fantasy football waiver wire pickups option in deep/2QB leagues this week. The Vikings have a wealth of weapons, a solid ground game to complement and excellent offensive coaching. While a game against Pittsburgh would typically be considered daunting, opposing QBs have made out quite well against the Steelers through three games.
RB Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups
Trey Benson, Arizona Cardinals (54.7%)
Yes, I’m bending the rules a little here as far as the ownership threshold for inclusion. Technically, Trey Benson is rostered in over 50% of ESPN leagues. However, sometimes a circumstantial caveat has to win out. The Cardinals’ backfield now belongs to Benson with the loss of James Conner to a season-ending injury. Anyone who watched Benson in college at Florida State has to be very excited about what lies ahead. We’ve seen his role increase even with Conner in the fold to begin the year.
Trey Benson is now set to be a weekly RB2 with upside and should be prioritized at the top of fantasy football waiver wire pickups wherever he is available.
Woody Marks, Houston Texans (8.9%)
It appears that the tide is turning in the Texans’ backfield three weeks into the season. Rookie Woody Marks has seen his snap share trend up in each successive week, topping out at 48% this past Sunday. In terms of actual snap counts, he played only three fewer than Nick Chubb. Expecting Marks to supplant Chubb entirely is foolish, but Houston looks like it will settle into a committee backfield moving forward. Of the two, Marks also gets the nod as the better pass-catcher. Best of all, he is available in over 90% of leagues, making him a more readily available RB add for those who aren’t in a position to land Benson.
Zavier Scott, Minnesota Vikings (0.7%)
With Aaron Jones landing on IR last week, Jordan Mason garnered plenty of hype heading into Sunday’s matchup. He certainly delivered, but there’s another running back in Minnesota who deserves some attention. Due to Ty Chandler also landing on IR, Zavier Scott is set to be the Vikings’ primary change-of-pace back over the next several weeks. It’s tough to draw a ton of conclusions from a blowout, but he saw nine touches while playing 17 offensive snaps for Minnesota on Sunday. Scott probably won’t completely replace Jones’ role in the offense, but he is worth a look in deeper leagues as the preferred pass-catching back.
WR Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups
Elic Ayomanor, Tennessee Titans (21.1%)
Despite seeing fewer targets than Calvin Ridley in two of three games thus far, Elic Ayomanor has easily been the more productive receiver for the Titans from a fantasy perspective. Fans in Tennessee have to be hopeful that the Cam Ward to Ayomanor connection will be a thing for years to come. Entering Week 4, there’s plenty of reason to make the Stanford product a fantasy football waiver wire pickups priority. As Ward continues to grow in his own rookie season, the prospects for both Ridley and Ayomanor figure to increase. For now, he is worth rostering as the clear WR2 in this offense.
Tre Tucker, Las Vegas Raiders (2.1%)
Will Tre Tucker ever drop 40 PPR points in a game ever again? Probably not. That being said, he makes for an appealing and widely available fantasy football waiver wire pickups option in the wake of his incredible performance last week. The primary justification for adding him harkens back to our previous musings regarding the Raiders’ offense. With the ground game struggling, Las Vegas has added incentive to stretch the field with deep threats like Tucker. Having played over 90% of the team’s offensive snaps in each game to date, it’s clear he is the WR2.
Dontayvion Wicks, Green Bay Packers (3.9%)
Another wide receiver option who is available in the vast majority of leagues this week is Dontayvion Wicks. The third-year pro predictably saw his snap count increase in the wake of Jayden Reed landing on IR this past week. He has garnered ten total targets over the last two games. Despite not having much in the way of stats to show for it, the opportunity is encouraging. It’s also worth noting that the entire Packers offense was seemingly asleep at the wheel this past Sunday in Cleveland. The struggles can also be attributed to a nasty Browns defense. The Dallas Cowboys defense that Green Bay will face in Week 4 is anything but nasty.
TE Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups
Brenton Strange, Jacksonville Jaguars (21.3%)
With all of the attention that Brian Thomas Jr. and the Jaguars’ wide receivers are getting for their drops, tight end Brenton Strange continues to fly under the radar in the fantasy football realm. Strange is not only worth targeting among fantasy football waiver wire pickups, but he can immediately be inserted as a starter in your lineup as well if needed. He caught six of a season-high seven targets this past week and continues to play 80% or more of Jacksonville’s offensive snaps on a weekly basis. The Jags’ offense should continue to improve, and Strange’s opportunity should remain steady.
Harold Fannin Jr., Cleveland Browns (39.3%)
Harold Fannin’s production took a step back this week, albeit against a Green Bay defense that is one of the best in the NFL. He brings a uniqueness to the TE position, given that he can be deployed in a variety of ways, enabling both him and David Njoku to be productive. While Njoku still gets the nod as the comfortable start in lineups for now, Fannin remains a solid fantasy football waiver wire pickups candidate this week if still available in your league. Hopefully, his number of routes run will find a better level of consistency to match his snap counts moving forward.
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