In a quarterback-bruising Week 2 all but in the books with the Browns/Jets Monday Night matchup at MetLife Stadium in the waiting, we find ourselves whisking through a new gander of waiver wire value pickups. Drew Brees and Ben Roethlisberger both left their respective games early due to injuries, while James Conner and Devin Singletary both exited their games late with ailments of their own.
So whether you’re an owner of one (or several) of the recently sidelined mentioned above, or simply have the luxury of dead weight you’re itching to get off your bench, the waiver wire for Week 3 has a little something for everyone, so long as you’re able to get your hands on any of them in your fantasy league(s). A few of these players have been previously mentioned in last week’s edition of this article, but those who are ever re-mentioned here is only when the public ownership remains under 55 percent since when they’re first written-up (and if they’re still relevant of course). All player ownership cited is in reference to Yahoo! Fantasy leagues.
Quarterback
Jimmy Garoppolo, SF (48% Owned)
Just when everyone was discrediting the Niners’ Week 1 win in Tampa due to a horrible Jameis outing, they came out an did it again. Except this time, it was behind the arm of their franchise quarterback. In a 41-17 rout of the Bengals in Cincinnati, Jimmy G posted an exceptional 297 passing yards via 17 completions on 25 attempts, three touchdowns, an interception, and a 131.2 passer rating (totaling 23.68 fantasy points in standard QB scoring leagues). He didn’t do it with a big George Kittle performance either.
Heading back to their home field in Santa Clara, the Niners will host the injury-laden Pittsburgh Steelers next Sunday afternoon and appears that this performance has plenty of opportunity to proceed. The Steelers have allowed 465 yards per game thus far, and 366 passing yards per game. This matchup looks like Garoppolo could feast once again, and is an excellent pickup for anybody looking to fill a quarterback void on their rosters.
Other QB Options
Matthew Stafford, DET (35% Owned)
Josh Allen, BUF (40% Owned)
Jacoby Brissett, IND (12% Owned)
Case Keenum, WAS (9% Owned)
Running Back
Frank Gore, BUF (8% Owned)
Welcome back to 2012. Leading the Buffalo Bills in carries for the second straight week (19 of the Bills’ 34 total attempts), Frank Gore has essentially cemented the lead backfield role for Buffalo with Devin Singletary hobbling off the field late against the Giants with an apparent hamstring injury. Rushing for 68 yards and a touchdown, along with two receptions for 15 yards receiving, Gore had a steady performance in Week 2’s visit to the Meadowlands, in what was a potential foreshadowing of the next several weeks (especially depending on the severity of the Singletary injury).
In a flashback of yesteryear, suddenly Frank Gore finds himself as the lead back by default in his backfield. Regardless of whether or not you’re a Devin Singletary owner, Frank Gore should be stashed in all leagues until further notice. On a Bills team that has run the ball in favor of the pass on 54 rushing attempts versus 43 passing, Frank Gore is positioned to have a solid floor each week as his current role now becomes magnified.
Jaylen Samuels, PIT (35% Owned)
With the late injury to James Conner against the Seahawks in Week 2 leaving his status in uncertainty for next week, Jaylen Samuels is surprisingly low-owned for a player who should’ve been a handcuff draft pick for all Conner owners (not with intent to say “Told You So!”). This means he should be available to many of you who happen to be facing this circumstance on your rosters, or to those of you looking to vulture the pick from the hopeful Conner owner in your league as a trade leverage play.
Samuels is very familiar in this offense, and with a questionable Ben Roethlisberger to add to the fold of the Steelers’ current woes on that side of the ball, he could find himself being heavily relied upon sooner than many would’ve thought. We’ll have to wait and see with the status of Conner heading into Week 3, but Jaylen Samuels should be stashed on all rosters regardless of such.
If you are in a running back predicament, or especially have an un-cuffed James Conner unfortunately on your roster(s), then Samuels should be your among top waiver priorities (alongside Frank Gore on your queue).
Other RB Options
Darwin Thompson, KC (18% Owned)
Raheem Mostert, SF (16% Owned)
Peyton Barber, TB (47% Owned)
Rex Burkhead, NE (14% Owned)
Wide Receiver
Demarcus Robinson, KC (6% Owned)
As I’m still taking my victory lap for making him the first wide receiver in my Week 2 DFS Picks write-up (as well as including him in last week’s Wading Through The Waivers), Demarcus Robinson is likely still available in a number of your fantasy leagues. While Mecole Hardman drew the public attention going into this week as Tyreek’s direct backup (and putting up a stellar performance of his own), it was Robinson who was the leading performer for the Chiefs as Kansas City handled the Raiders with ease on the road.
It’s evident that Robinson is going to be keyed into a much bigger role than many had assumed during the fallout of Tyreek Hill’s clavicle injury early in Week 1. He knows this Andy Reid offense and thrives under Mahomes, who split even targets to both Hardman and Robinson (six a piece). While there are a number of mouths to feed on this Chiefs offensive unit, Mahomes has zero problems distributing this ball across the board and stat lines populate in favorable lieu of it. Also, both Damien Williams and LeSean McCoy left the game in Oakland with injuries and whose statuses remain uncertain (see above: Darwin Thompson) and this could mean an even heavier aerial attack from Mahomes & Co. in the next couple of weeks (or beyond).
Of course, if Mecole Hardman is still available in your league(s) I would also be targeting him in the same top priority echelon.
D.J. Chark, JAC (12% Owned)
Although it isn’t Nick Foles leading the Jaguars offense in Week 2 as the Jacksonville faithful had envisioned all offseason, it doesn’t mean that they can’t sling the ball to their [lesser-known] talented receiving corps, and D.J. Chark is proving to be a staple part of it. Led by a porn-stache-wielding Gardner Minshew at quarterback, the Jaguars offense will likely be playing close games or from behind and need to be throwing the ball more often than not.
Leading the team in targets with nine of the Jaguars’ 33 total, Chark also accounted for their lone touchdown in a close, low-scoring divisional grind with the Houston Texans at Reliant Stadium.
He’s scored a touchdown in both weeks and also appears to have developed a rapport with Minshew in his early stint as the Jaguars quarterback. He’s probably still low-owned due to the team that he’s on and for the fact that nobody really knew how Minshew would translate to the NFL. He’s a very worthy candidate for anybody in need at the wide receiver position on their rosters and should continue to get one of the top shares of the Jaguars’ targets going forward.
Other WR Options
Terry McLaurin, WAS (51% Owned)
Mecole Hardman, KC (40% Owned)
Nelson Agholor, PHI (14% Owned)
Deebo Samuel, SF (14% Owned)
Damiere Byrd, ARI (0% Owned)
Chris Conley, JAC (4% Owned)
Geronimo Allison, GB (32% Owned)
Bennie Fowler III, NYG (0% Owned)
Tight End
Will Dissly, SEA (3% Owned)
With Russell Wilson firing on all cylinders to start the 2019 season, Will Dissly has begun further establishing himself as a red zone favorite of the Seattle quarterback, dating back to his rookie year last season until it came to an abrupt and unfortunate end to a devastating knee injury. Now having the majority of 2018 and the entire offseason to recover from his knee surgery, Dissly is appearing to bounce back in full stride, hauling in all five of his targets for 50 yards and two touchdowns against the Steelers in Heinz Field.
While not exactly Wilson’s number one overall target, he appears to have a red zone affinity for Dissly since last year, where in his four games he came away with a touchdown in two of them and amounted for over 100 yards in one of them (105). I suspect this is the start to something potentially beautiful for fantasy owners and Seahawk fans alike, and believe that Will Dissly should fill any void you may have at tight end as more than a bye week Band-Aid.
In fact, there are a number of tight ends whom I would consider dropping for Dissly and plan to make him a high priority in any league I feel week at the position.
Other TE Options
Jason Witten, DAL (15% Owned)
Vernon Davis, WAS (29% Owned)
Tyler Eifert, CIN (9% Owned)
Defense/Special Teams Flyers
Green Bay Packers (16% Owned)
Tennessee Titans (35% Owned)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1% Owned)
See y’all on Wednesday morning for the early edition of the DFS Picks article for Week 3. Hit me up on Twitter or our SGP Slack channel with any questions (or simply to bullshit)!
