Fantasy football is about adapting to change and creating the best possible team through trading, waiver wire pickups, and starting the right guys at the right time. I am a massive proponent of using the waiver wire in a way that gives your team the ability to improve without sacrificing your best players in a big trade. Through the year, after every single week I will be telling you, by position, the players I feel deserve to be picked up on your rosters. The way I judge a player to be on “waivers” is based on the percentage in which they are available across every ESPN league. In order to be considered on the waiver wire, the player must have a 50% or less ownership percentage according to ESPN data. I will be striving to find the most unique values that will offer you an advantage over your opponents who may not even know that player exists. So strap in and get ready for your team to get better.
Running Backs:
Jamaal Williams (44% owned):
When starting Lions running back D’Andre Swift went down with an injury, Williams was put in a workhorse role. He received 22 total touches and put together 107 total yards and two touchdowns. In my opinion, Williams is the best backup running back in the league. With Swift possibly out for the next couple of weeks, I would fully expect Williams to assume this same workhorse role he had this past week. His next opponent is Seattle and I would not expect Williams to bust against a team that just let Cordarrelle Patterson run for 141 yards on just 17 carries.
Alexander Mattison (37% owned):
Similar to Williams, Mattison is a great backup in the NFL. Although Dalvin Cook is not ruled out yet, this shoulder issue could be something that persists week to week and would allow Mattison to step in and become the starting running back for a great Minnesota Vikings offense (except on Monday nights). With Cook going down with an injury this past game, Mattison finished with seven carries for 28 yards and a touchdown. Mattison needs to be rostered everywhere with Cook’s lengthy injury history.
Khalil Herbert: (25% owned):
It is very rare to find a running back on the waiver wire who just rushed for over 150+ yards and a touchdown. Herbert was unstoppable in week one and even leads the league in yards after contact per touch with 4.8. As of today, it appears David Montgomery might even be headed to the IR which would make Herbert a must start every week. This is the week of backups and I think Herbert absolutely needs to make every roster. Even though the Bears offense has not been good they have committed to the run game each week.
Wide Receivers:
Isaiah Mckenzie (14% owned): This could be a bit of an overreaction to one game, but Mckenzie had nine total targets for 76 yards and a touchdown. He got seven of those nine targets as well. I personally think that Mckenzie is a very solid wide receiver and will begin to earn more targets as the season progresses. With Cole Beasley gone, no one has emerged as the third option on the Bills thus far and I see no reason why Mckenzie cannot fill that role.
Noah Brown (13% owned):
Brown is back again this week because he has continued his stretch of exactly five receptions for 50+ yards through the first three weeks. Cooper Rush clearly has a connection with Brown and I would expect Brown to continue to see these targets as long as Rush is the starter. Brown has averaged seven targets per game for each of these weeks and has shown zero sign of slowing down. He is still available almost everywhere so grab him while you still can.
Mack Hollins (1% owned):
In week three, Hollins was utterly dominant against Tennessee. Eight receptions for 158 yards and a touchdown is incredible for a guy most people probably have never heard of before. I do not think this was a fluke game either. Hollins had ten targets this week to go along with eight targets the week before. That’s an average of nine targets a game! I think Hollins is 100% worth a roster spot on your fantasy squad for the upside he offers in terms of volume. He would be a great flex play in any league.
Romeo Doubs (16% owned):
Doubs is slowly emerging as a favorite target for Aaron Rodgers. He just had a breakout game for the Packers with eight receptions on eight targets for 73 yards and a touchdown. The upside is there is for Doubs with one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time on his team. He needs to be rostered everywhere.
Tight Ends:
David Njoku (33% owned):
As the season has progressed, Njoku has slowly but surely increased his role in the offense. He had only one target in week one, then five in week two, and now ten this past week against the Steelers. Njoku even caught nine of his ten targets for 89 yards and a touchdown. Tight end is a very shallow position as I will always continue to say and finding a player who has shown growth in terms of role in the offense will always be valuable. It is important to remember that the Browns did give him a $50 million dollar extension this offseason.
Tyler Conklin (12% owned):
This is one of my favorite pickups in fantasy. Through three weeks, Conklin has been a top five fantasy tight end. He is averaging eight targets a game and has not had below four receptions in any one game. I think the offense will only improve with Zach Wilson has Conklin has often been open but Flacco simply could not get the ball to him. He is a great filler tight end and is honestly worth starting week in and week out while his target share is still high.