Chances are if you’re reading this, you got unlucky with an injury in last week’s matchup or your expectations for a certain player’s role on their new team didn’t go as planned. We saw plenty of injuries plague the league already, with Colts quarterback Carson Wentz potentially out for at least a few weeks after hurting both ankles, Browns wideout Jarvis Landry out for a few weeks with an MCL injury and Rams running back Darrell Henderson out without a timetable after injuring his ribs. This is why you will need to work the fantasy football waiver wire to grab high-upside players to help fill these empty spots.
It’s only been two weeks into the season, so you can still stash those late-round flyers that you think have a chance to boom. But if you need an immediate upgrade, here are some Week 3 fantasy football waiver wire pickups that could help move your team in the right direction.
Players must be owned in less than 60 percent of ESPN leagues to be included in the Week 3 fantasy football waiver wire pickups column. All ownerships for waiver wire players will be provided and will reflect that of Monday evening.
QB Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups
Justin Fields, Chicago Bears (48.4%)
With Andy Dalton leaving the game against the Bengals with a knee injury, rookie QB Justin Fields got his time to shine and… didn’t look the greatest. He completed 6-13 passes for only 60 yards and threw an interception against a poor Cincinnati defense. His upside is what should excite fantasy football managers moving forward. If Dalton were to miss time with this knee injury, Fields has tremendous upside with his legs but it may take some time for him to develop as a passer.
The Bears have some favorable matchups ahead, with CLE, DET and LV in their next three games and if Fields gets to start next week against the Browns, he should return some solid fantasy value to his owners. Cleveland just let the Houston offense look good, which isn’t the case, so his upside heading into this is quite high. At just under 50 percent ownership, there’s a chance you could stash him on your bench to see how his role develops in the coming weeks.
Kirk Cousins, Minnesota Vikings (24.5%)
Despite all the talk about Kirk Cousins not being a good quarterback in the league, he sure is having a great start to the season fantasy-wise. After putting up 22 fantasy points in Week 1 against the Bengals, he improved in Week 2 against the Cardinals, scoring 25 fantasy points. He completed 22-of-32 passes for 244 yards and three touchdown passes. It’s hard to ignore his fantasy upside this season based on the pure talent in weapons he has at his disposal.
Minnesota has favorable matchups as well through their next three games (SEA, CLE, DET) and knowing how the offense has been rolling through the first two games, it could be an absolute shootout this week against Seattle. As long as he keeps making good decisions, Cousins could be monumental for fantasy managers struggling at the QB position from underwhelming results or injury.
Daniel Jones, New York Giants (10.7%)
Daniel Jones is one of the players you just can’t trust on a weekly basis, but so far he’s put up some very solid fantasy numbers against two good defenses in Denver and Washington. He had a huge game in Week 2 mainly because of his running stats where he carried the ball nine times for 95 yards and a touchdown, including a monster touchdown that was called back due to a penalty. He has some viable weapons on the offense now, but he is still prone to making mistakes that will cost his fantasy managers easy points. He faces Atlanta, who’s been torched two weeks in a row and this may be one of his best matchups of the entire season. The Giants have yet to win still, so it’s likely they’ll try to come out and secure their first win of the season aggressively and that starts with how Jones plays.
RB Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups
Zack Moss, Buffalo Bills (57.8%)
Zack Moss not playing Week 1 due to being labeled a “healthy scratch” was surprising to many fantasy managers, considering his connection with Josh Allen, but he made up for it in Week 2, scoring two touchdowns on the ground. The Bills barely run the ball as it is and it seems that Singletary is the main back out of the backfield thus far, but Moss’ upside of being the third-down and goal-line back is promising. The Buffalo offense usually has no trouble moving the ball down the field, and if they’re in the red zone enough, Moss will be the back that’s out there due to his strong frame and ability to absorb tackles. It’s obviously very tough to roster Buffalo running backs due to the running back by committee approach and the fact that Allen runs a lot in the red zone, but rostering Moss to see how his role develops as the season progresses could be a very solid move for your fantasy team.
Tony Pollard, Dallas Cowboys (38.6%)
Ezekiel Elliott is the clear-cut starter in Dallas, even though Tony Pollard is better at nearly everything and fits the offensive scheme better. Pollard clearly outperformed Elliott last week against the Chargers, carrying the ball 13 times for 109 yards and one touchdown while hauling in all three of his targets for 31 yards. Dallas won’t just bench Elliott anytime soon, but if Pollard continues to make the most of his opportunities, he could see double-digit touches every game moving forward. He’s a much better pass-catcher than Elliott too, which could bode well for his fantasy football upside as Dallas is likely always going to be in shootout games with their poor defense and extremely high-powered offense.
Cordarrelle Patterson, Atlanta Falcons (8.0%)
Is Cordarrelle Patterson a wide receiver or running back? Who cares. He won’t get you many points on the ground, but he will certainly be utilized in the passing game. Atlanta looks like one of the worst teams in football right now and it’s pretty clear they’ll be playing from behind almost every single game this season, which could be good for Patterson moving forward. Mike Davis will handle most of the rushing attack for the majority of the season, but Patterson could be a sneaky fantasy football waiver wire add for your bench or even as a starter in deeper fantasy leagues.
WR Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups
Sterling Shepard, New York Giants (54.6%)
Sterling Shepard is one of very few bright spots on the Giants thus far, seeing 19 targets and catching 16 in just two games. After a surprising performance in Week 1, he was back at it again, catching nine balls for 94 yards in Week 2 against Washington. He seems to be Daniel Jones’ primary target, despite signing Kenny Golladay in the offseason. Shepard has always been injury-prone, but he has plenty of fantasy momentum and upside heading into a matchup against a vulnerable Falcons defense in Week 3.
Christian Kirk, Arizona Cardinals (25.4%)
I included Christian Kirk in my wide receiver streamers article last week due to his strong Week 1 performance, hauling in two touchdowns, and I expected the same in Week 2, but rookie Rondale Moore stole the thunder. There are quite a few mouths to feed in the Arizona offense, but you can’t go wrong with rostering any of the four wideouts on this team. Kyler Murray has been on fire through the first two games, and it certainly won’t stop when they travel to Jacksonville to face arguably the worst team in the league right now.
Kirk has seen nine targets in two games and can be boom-or-bust, but when he’s on, he’s on. As long as Murray keeps up his strong play, there’s a very good chance Kirk hauls in a few catches and possibly a touchdown or two.
Hunter Renfrow, Las Vegas Raiders (6.5%)
The Raiders are one of the surprising teams thus far through two games topping both the Ravens and Steelers, starting off 2-0. Derek Carr seems unusually comfortable in the pocket and is slinging the ball so far and one of his favorite targets seems to be the shifty slot receiver Hunter Renfrow. He has caught 11 of his 16 targets through two games but has failed to pull in a touchdown yet. Renfrow’s upside is obviously limited due to his lack of big-play ability and red zone target share, but the Raiders offense has been rolling and faces the Dolphins, who just lost 35-0 last week against the Bills.
The morale will be quite low for Miami, which the Raiders could end up taking advantage of in this game. Considering his very low ownership, he’s worth the stash or plug-in start for deeper leagues to see if he begins to see some red zone targets for his strong route-running ability.
TE Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups
Jared Cook, Los Angeles Chargers (51.7%)
The Chargers offense looks shotty, to say the least, through two games, but Justin Herbert is a great young quarterback with all the room for development this season. His weapons are solid and he has seemed to like Jared Cook through the first two games, targeting him 13 times. Cook has yet to haul in a touchdown, something he was known for doing while with the Saints, but it’s going to happen sooner or later. Los Angeles faces two division opponents in the next two weeks in KC and LV, which should both be shootouts. KC will be out for blood after falling to the Ravens, and the Chargers have the firepower to keep up on the offensive side.
Dawson Knox, Buffalo Bills (3.2%)
The tight end selection under 60 percent ownership is quite horrible this year, and mostly every season, but if you’re looking for a potential higher volume option, Dawson Knox could be your guy. He’s only seen seven targets in two games, but Josh Allen looks out of sorts through two games and one can only hope he improves as the season progresses. Knox won’t ever be the main target in the Bills offense, with the amount of talent in the wide receiving corps, but he is a solid red zone target in passing plays. He’s a big, strong body that can pick up extra yardage after the catch and is the only reliable tight end on the roster. He played in over 83 percent of the snaps last week against Miami and, in a game against a much better defense in Washington, he may be depended on to make some plays.
