Two weeks into the season, we lost the first two picks of most fantasy drafts in Saquon Barkley, who’s out for the season with a torn ACL, and Christian McCaffrey, who will be out for the next 4-6 weeks with a high ankle sprain. The list of injuries goes on and on this week, making these fantasy football Week 3 pickups even more important.
There are also some players worthy as drop candidates, but they are by no means must-drops.
Players must be owned in less than 60 percent of ESPN leagues to be included in the fantasy football Week 3 pickups column. All ownerships for waiver wire players will be provided and will reflect that of Monday evening.
Fantasy Football Week 3 Pickups
Quarterback Waiver Wire Pickups
Ryan Tannehill | QB | Tennessee Titans (34.5%)
Since Week 7 of last season, Ryan Tannehill’s had a record of 9-3, nearly 70 percent completion rate and an average passer rating of 120. In Week 2, he put up 239 yards and four touchdowns on only 24 attempts. So far this season, he hasn’t thrown a pick and has an average of completion percentage of 71.2%. Granted, he played the Jaguars defense last week, but next week’s matchup against the Vikings is a good one.
The Vikings have struggled mightily so far in 2020 and have lost some significant defensive players for the year, so Tannehill could put up a solid Week 3 outing. Grab him and stash him on your team, he’s playing too consistent not to own him.
Gardner Minshew | QB | Jacksonville Jaguars (19.5%)
And just like that, Minshew Mania is back again! After his Week 1 performance, he had another solid outing in Week 2 against the Titans. throwing for 339 yards and three touchdowns, but threw two picks. One was tipped at the line in the final drive, so his two picks this game shouldn’t steer you away from Minshew. His next four games are against Miami, Cincinnati, Houston and Detroit — all teams that struggle to defend the pass. It’s shocking to see him rostered at just under 20 percent with how he’s been performing, and it isn’t much of a risk to put in a claim for him especially with his next four matchups.
Mitchell Trubisky | QB | Chicago Bears (11.7%)
Man, it feels weird to put Mitchell Trubisky in a waiver wire article with how he played in 2019, but he hasn’t been terrible thus far for fantasy. He’s certainly struggled with completing the ball, as he’s averaged 60 percent completion rate so far in 2020, but he’s shown flashes of improvement. He’s thrown five touchdowns and two picks through the first two games, but his Week 3 matchup is what stands out. Atlanta allowed 38 points in Week 1 and 40 points in Week 2 after that catastrophic collapse against the Cowboys.
Fantasy Football Week 3 Pickups
Running Back Waiver Wire Pickups
Joshua Kelley | RB | Los Angeles Chargers (27.9%)
Anthony Lynn seems to be sticking to lessening the load of Ekeler, since Melvin Gordon went to the Broncos in the offseason, by running Joshua Kelley. In Week 2, Kelley carried the ball 23 times for 64 yards when Ekeler only got 16 carries. He’s worth the stash if he’s available in your league, considering his workload and Week 3 matchup against the Panthers, who look all out of sorts in both the running and passing game. If Ekeler were to go down — and that could very well happen with the amount of injuries we saw in Week 2 — Kelley would be the main guy and his carries could increase even more.
Darrell Henderson Jr. | RB | Los Angeles Rams (44.6%)
The Rams backfield is a RBBC situation, but with Cam Akers going down in Week 2, it opens up the possibilities for both Henderson and Malcolm Brown, who did leave the game with a finger injury, so it’s unlikely that he’ll be ruled out for Week 3, but Henderson should have the lead role regardless if the Rams want to be safe. Henderson carried the ball 12 times for 81 yards and a touchdown in Week 2, so it’s promising that he could carve out a lead role in the offense. He plays Buffalo in Week 3, a stingy defense, but they struggled somewhat to stop the run against the Dolphins. Both teams are 2-0 going into the week as well, so the game will be highly competitive.
Mike Davis | RB | Carolina Panthers (0.8%)
With Christian McCaffrey going down with a high ankle sprain for at least four weeks, the Panthers backfield is questionable, to say the least. However, once CMC left the game, Mike Davis stepped up and put up decent numbers for a guy that backs up someone as good as McCaffrey, aka never sees the field. The Panthers were down late in the game, so they were throwing more often than not, but Davis was a huge part of the receiving game, as he caught eight passes for 74 yards on a total of 12 possible routes. If Davis gets the nod as the starter for Week 3, and he likely will, he could do some serious damage in the passing game. They play the Chargers in Week 3, a decent matchup but overall, Davis could be a sneaky add while McCaffrey is out.
Fantasy Football Week 3 Pickups
Wide Receiver Waiver Wire Pickups
Corey Davis | WR | Tennessee Titans (35.6%)
In Week 1, Davis pulled in seven receptions on eight targets for 101 yards, and then when A.J Brown was ruled out in Week 2, he caught three of five targets for 36 yards and a touchdown. His next matchup is great against the Vikings who are banged up and look out of sorts so far. Ryan Tannehill has come out playing well in 2020 and utilizing his targets, so Davis is worth the add. If Brown were to miss more time, Davis would be in line for likely leading the team in targets and overall fantasy points from the wide receiver position in Tennessee.
Russell Gage | WR | Atlanta Falcons (20.2%)
For Gage being the third and arguably the fourth best option on the team in the receiving game, he is putting up amazing numbers. He was targeted 12 times in Week 1 and then nine times in Week 2, which shows his name is being called quite regularly on the offense. Having put up 20.4 and then 16.6 in ESPN leagues, he’s in line to do the same as long as Matt Ryan stays consistent. They play the Bears, Packers, and Panthers in their next three matchups which are pretty solid for Gage to put up similar numbers if the games are all high scoring. Like I said before, he’s behind Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley on the depth chart, so it’ll be hard to be consistent in fantasy, but he’s worth the add.
N’Keal Harry | WR | New England Patriots (39.6%)
I was skeptical about Cam Newton in the Patriots system, but it seems to be working quite well so far. If Newton stays consistent in the passing game, the receivers in New England could be solid fantasy assets. Harry’s the WR2 for the team behind Edelman, but last game against the Seahawks, he was targeted 12 times while hauling in eight catches for 72 yards. His usage is certainly there and if he can get into the end zone more often, he could be a great fantasy asset to your team. The Patriots play the Raiders next week and Harry could be a big part of that if he’s targeted as much as he was in Week 2.
Fantasy Football Week 3 Pickups
Tight End Waiver Wire Pickups
Mike Gesicki | TE | Miami Dolphins (47.7%)
After a lackluster Week 1 performance, Gesicki came out and had a great game in Week 2 against the Bills. He caught eight of eleven targets for 130 yards and a touchdown in a high-scoring game. With the exception of Davante Parker, Gesicki is the key to Miami’s offense because of his size and athleticism and his Week 3 matchup is a great one against Jacksonville. If the Thursday night game between Miami and Jacksonville involves a lot of scoring, Gesicki will likely be the main part of that. He’s worth the add and even the start in Week 3 if you’re looking for a consistent tight end.
Jonnu Smith | TE | Tennessee Titans (40.3%)
There’s a lot of Titans making this list and it revolves around Ryan Tannehill’s play so far this season. Aside from Derrick Henry, Smith is their main red-zone threat as he’s pulled in three touchdowns through two games and it shouldn’t stop in Week 3 against Minnesota. The Vikings are the surprise of 2020 so far with how bad they’ve played along with some injuries to their defensive core so Jonnu Smith could have a great day against them. The Titans are unpredictable for the most part, but Tannehill’s play has been consistent which leads to his targets also being consistent. Grab him now before someone else does.
Possible Drop Candidates
QB: Tyrod Taylor, Sam Darnold, Baker Mayfield
RB: Saquon Barkley (Out for season), Benny Snell Jr., Adrian Peterson
WR: Courtland Sutton (Out for season), Parris Campbell, Breshad Perriman
TE: Greg Olsen, Eric Ebron, Jimmy Graham, O.J Howard
