With three weeks already complete in the NFL regular season, it’s becoming clear who the focal points are for offenses. It is also becoming clear which players are growing into significant roles. The waiver wire starts to become incredibly important at this point in the season.
For the following waiver wire adds, the player has to be owned by 60% of teams or less, and there are two players at quarterback and two each at flex-eligible position groups.
Quarterback
Sam Darnold, Seahawks:
The Seahawks are led by their running game, but Darnold can hit the big play with regularity.
Darnold only attempted 18 passes last week, but completed 14 of them for 218 yards and two touchdowns in a Seattle win over New Orleans. In Week 2, Darnold threw for 295 yards and two touchdowns, but two interceptions as well.
In one QB and non-QB-flex leagues, there should be a QB above Darnold. However, if you had Jayden Daniels or Joe Burrow, Darnold could be a very strong matchup play going forward, particularly in QB-flex eligible leagues.
Geno Smith, Raiders:
The Raiders should be playing from behind quite a bit, which means Smith will be slinging the ball. Through three games, Smith is averaging 35 pass attempts a game. Smith also has some bona fide weapons in Brock Bowers and Jakobi Meyers. He is arguably a starter option each week in QB-flex leagues, and has had two strong weeks with a clunker thrown in.
Smith scored 17 points in Week 1 and surpassed 20 this past week, throwing for 289 yards and three touchdowns.
Running Back
Miles Sanders, Cowboys:
Sanders isn’t going to wow you with stats while being the No. 2 running back in Dallas. However, he has upside in case of an injury to Javonte Williams.
Despite being the backup RB for the Cowboys, Sanders has had 8+ points in each of the last two weeks. In Week 3, he amassed nine carries for 41 yards and three catches for 12 yards.
With the Cowboys’ high-powered offense and porous defense, the Cowboys should score a lot of points, and a backup running back getting 12 touches is pretty uncommon. Sanders is a stash with potential upside.
Kenneth Gainwell, Steelers:
Gainwell isn’t a starter, but he continues to gain more of a workload in Pittsburgh’s offense. The Steelers have Warren in the backfield as the starter, but Gainwell is a strong change-of-pace back. He is also a threat in the pass game.
With Aaron Rodgers being 41 years old, he is throwing a lot of check-downs. Gainwell is also an injury to Warren away from being a certain flex option. Gainwell, in three games, has 16 carries and seven receptions on 10 targets. That’s a decent touch count for a backup with upside if Warren suffers an injury.
Wide Receiver
Tre Tucker, Raiders:
After Tucker’s massive Week 3, he is now owned in 60% of ESPN leagues, but he’s worth an add if he’s still available.
He has been a big part of the Raiders’ game plan. With eight catches (nine targets) for 145 yards and three touchdowns, he put up a 40-point week in PPR leagues in Week 3. He has snared four touchdown passes on 13 catches for 211 yards.
The wideout is clearly a favorite target of Geno Smith, with 20 targets already and 17 in the last two weeks. While Tucker only had three catches for 12 yards in Week 2, he did have nine targets.
Calvin Austin III, Steelers:
As mentioned with Gainwell above, Rodgers loves the underneath routes more and more these days, it seems.
Austin III has been a top option for Rodgers so far. Through three games, Austin III has 15 targets in three games despite only eight catches, but he does have two touchdowns. Austin is a speedster and has racked up 126 yards on those eight catches. Currently, Austin III appears to be the second-best option in the passing game for Rodgers currently behind only D.K. Metcalf.
Tight End
Brenton Strange, Jaguars:
The big-bodied tight end had his best game of the year last week with six catches for 61 yards. He has 13 catches on the year now on 16 targets.
There aren’t a whole lot of great tight end options out there. Strange has had at least three catches in every game and has scored at least nine points in two of three games (PPR leagues). If you are looking for a tight end or don’t have one of the top tight ends in the league, Strange should get a look as a starter with a good matchup.
Chigoziem Okonkwo, Titans:
What’s good for a young QB? A good TE. Rookie QB Cam Ward seems to have established a rapport with Okonkwo.
The 26-year-old tight end has at least three catches in each game and has 12 catches for 120 yards this year. He had his best game in Week 3 with five catches for 66 yards. The Titans don’t have too much in big-play wide receivers currently. Okonkwo could be one of the most reliable targets for Ward and the Titans, and is worth a look at adding to your fantasy football roster.
Leave a comment