Waiver Wire Advice: Week 4

28 Sep Waiver Wire Advice: Week 4

Posted at 11:15h in Articles, Fantasy Football, Redraft by
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All eyes ahead to Week 4. Do not get me wrong, Week 3 was fun and all, but it is officially time to move on. Take the next few seconds to finish up celebrating your victory, or crying over a heartbreaking loss. Week 4 is around the corner and if you do not hop on this train fast, we are leaving without you. Here are my picks to strengthen your championship-caliber rosters for Waiver Wire Advice: Week 4

QB Adds

Sam Darnold

This is painful to write about as a Jets fan. Well to be fair, everything is painful as a Jets fan. Darnold is a new player in Carolina and has escaped the cold, clammy fingertips of Adam Gase. Under the bright lights of TNF, Darnold impressed yet again, throwing for over 300 yards and added two rushing touchdowns. The team has lost their star RB, Christian McCaffrey, and will have to lean even heavier on the evolving QB. With great pass catchers at his disposal, I expect Darnold to continue to demolish our preseason perception of him. Supported by a juggernaut defensive unit, the undefeated Carolina Panthers look like a dark horse Super Bowl candidate through three weeks of the NFL season. 

Taylor Heinicke

It has not been exactly pretty to watch, but Heinicke has proved to be a startable option at QB for fantasy. He makes some head-scratching mistakes but the dude is an absolute winner. He is the type of player who would run through fire to secure his team a victory. The young QB has all of the desired measurables and possesses elite athleticism. He additionally has a pretty stacked supporting cast in Terry McLaurin, Antonio Gibson, and Logan Thomas. If you are in need of a streaming-quarterback for Week 4, I believe Heinicke will get the job done for you in Atlanta. 

Trey Lance

Time might be running out for Jimmy Garoppolo in San Francisco. Though he has been used sparingly, Lance has made the most of his opportunities when called upon. In the team’s loss to the Packers on Sunday Night Football, Trey broke free for a key rushing touchdown. Both the team and fan base immediately looked rejuvenated when he entered the game. If you watched Justin Fields, Zach Wilson, or Mac Jones this week, you might be hesitant to add a rookie quarterback to your roster. Lance has the perfect coaching staff, offensive scheme and weapons around him to immediately succeed once given the keys to the offense. You can most likely wait a few more weeks before adding him to your team, but the clock is officially ticking.

QB Adds who should already be rostered: Kirk Cousins, Derek Carr, Baker Mayfield 

RB Adds

Chuba Hubbard

There is no replacing a talent like Christian McCaffrey, but as they say, “next man up”. Rookie RB, Chuba Hubbard, should get the bulk of the carries while CMC is sidelined with a hamstring injury. If you are able to acquire his services, you could be getting an RB2-caliber player for the next 2-4 weeks. The amount of time that CMC will miss has yet to be determined. This is the only reason why I am hesitant to suggest completely breaking the bank for him. If you spent your first-round pick on CMC or are in dire need of a starting RB, go all in on Chuba. If not, I am tempted to suggest going with a more cautious approach. I do not see ROS value here, so unless you are going to start him next week, it might be better to let someone else waste their FAAB budget. 

Zack Moss

Moss will not be the sexy pick up of the week, but he might very well be the smartest one. The second-year RB has three touchdowns in the last two games and looked great in Week 3. He averaged a respectable 4.62 YPC on 13 carries and was very impressive in the passing game. What I like about Moss is he should have rest-of-season value. I expect him to have another big game next week vs. Houston.

Royce Freeman

If you miss out on Chuba, Rolls Royce could be a nice consolation prize. I am not expecting much from Freeman but his potential opportunity is worth exploring. He is a bigger-bodied back than Chuba Hubbard and has more experience in the NFL. If Chuba has trouble in pass-protection or fumbles early, Royce could prove to be an absolute steal.  

Peyton Barber

If you were forced into starting Barber this past week, odds are you walked away very pleasantly surprised. He ran over Miami’s defense in this game, rushing 23 times for 111 yards and 1 TD. It has yet to be determined if Josh Jacobs will miss more time, but Barber looked much better than Kenyan Drake with his opportunities. He is definitely worth speculative consideration after this performance.

Other RBs worth considering: Gio Bernard, Darrel Williams, Malcolm Brown, Jeremy McNichols

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WR Adds

Emmanuel Sanders

It was only a matter of time until he and Josh Allen started connecting. Sanders lit up the WFT defense, turning 5 catches into 94 yards and 2 TDs. I expect this kind of performance to become a more regular occurrence. The 34-year-old still looks to have some juice left in those legs. He would be my top priority at the WR position. 

DeSean Jackson 

What a week it was for veteran speedsters. Jackson produced a vintage performance vs. the Bucs, catching 3 passes for 120 yards and 1 TD. I am slightly more concerned about his consistency than I am with Sanders, but he is still worth a look. If you ever need a high-ceiling play in FLEX, he’s your guy. 

Tim Patrick

Patrick may never receive the credit he deserves, so I’m going to give him some while I have an opportunity. Patrick has quietly put together a very productive season, averaging 58 yards per game through the first three contests. He also scored a TD in back-to-back games to open the season. With K.J. Hamler out for the year, look to see Patrick take a huge step forward playing alongside Courtland Sutton, and Noah Fant. 

Raiders Receivers

Take your pick between Bryan Edwards, Henry Ruggs III, and Hunter Renfrow. All three of them have had great games this season and are FLEX-worthy starters. Most surprising of the three, Renfrow has looked dominant out of the slot so far this season. On Sunday, he erupted for 77 receiving yards and a touchdown. Edwards and Ruggs are the perfect combo of thunder and lightning. Both second-year players have looked pretty awesome this year and have big-play ability. All three of these players should continue to benefit from the career resurgence of Derek Carr.

Other WRs worth considering: Rashod Bateman, A.J. Green, Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, Marquez Callaway, Josh Gordon (deeper league, speculative add just because it’s the Chiefs)

TE Adds

Tyler Conklin

CONK SMASH! The athletic TE caught 7 of 8 targets for 70 yards and 1 TD. It was a quiet game for K.J. Osborn, which is probably why Conklin received so many targets. He might lack weekly consistency, but is definitely worth a shot since the TE landscape is so shallow. 

Dawson Knox

Knox has quietly scored in back-to-back games. He had a solid showing this past Sunday, catching 4 of 5 targets for 49 yards and 1 TD. He’s never going to win you a week but you can do much worse at the position. 

Pat Freiermuth

Another speculative addition with decent upside, Freiermuth scored the first touchdown of his young career in Week 3. His last name is an absolute nightmare to spell so let’s just call him, “Pat”. The Steelers receiving corps is extremely banged up and Pat is a terrific end-zone target. Expect him to continue to out-snap Eric Ebron, further solidifying himself as the TE1 in Pittsburgh moving forward. 

Dalton Schultz

After a solid debut last year, many were skeptical to draft Schultz heading into this season. If Week 3 is any indication of what we have to look forward to ROS, Schultz is an immediate add. He was Dak Prescott‘s top target in this game, connecting on 2 touchdowns.  I am skeptical that he can maintain consistent production, but the Dallas offense is electric enough to take a waiver on him. He looks to have surpassed Blake Jarwin as the team’s TE1.

Other TEs worth considering: Gerald Everett, Tommy Tremble, Dan Arnold

Even though I am optimistic about CMC’s injury, Chuba Hubbard is still my top waiver add of the week. We just witnessed Mike Davis thrive in this system last year with McCaffrey out. It very well might be Chuba’s turn to do so for a couple of weeks. Make sure you get those waiver priorities set and prepare your weekly 3am snack. I am personally hoping for a Chuba burger.