2016 Fantasy Football: Week 3 Waiver Wire Pickup Rankings & Injuries
FNTSY Sports Network’s Pat Mayo runs through the NFL Injury report and debates his Week 3 Waiver Wire Pickup Power Rankings for every position with Chris Menaey. The guys chat the top streaming QBs and DSTs for the upcoming week while reviewing Week 2.
Week 3: Waiver Wire Pickup Power Rankings | Podcast: Week 3 Waivers Debate, Snap Counts, Injuries & Trade Market
Week 2 Ranks: FLEX | RB | WR | TE | QB | DST | Ranks Debate | Debate by Position: RB | WR | QB | TE | DST | Sausage Bet
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Week 2 HOT TOPICS: Injuries | Dez Bryant | Freeman/Coleman | Gurley | buy/sell Charles | Sharpe | Demaryius/Sanders
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Before we get to the pickups, I want to congratulate my pal Al Zeidenfeld on taking down the DraftKings Millionaire maker Sunday night. Couldn’t have happened to a better guy, seriously. Al was on my DraftKings Picks show this week if you want to get a sense of his strategy and how he mapped out his $1M payday. Here is Al’s complete breakdown of Giant Tournament (GPP) strategy for Daily Fantasy Football.
Week 3 Waiver Wire Notes
All Players less than 60-percent owned
Full Update after the Monday Night Game
Week 3 Waiver Wire: Running Backs
Jerick McKinnon
Matt Asiata
Fozzy Whittaker
Christine Michael
Dwayne Washington
Shane Veeren
Jay Ajayi
James White
Terrance West
Bilal Powell
Devontae Booker
Kenyan Drake
Travaris Cadet
Darren Sproles
Chris Thompson
James Starks
DeAndre Washington
Josh Ferguson
Cameron Artis-Payne
Alfred Morris
Lance Dunbar
Tim Hightower
Chris Johnson
CJ Prosise
Kenneth Farrow
Mike Tolbert
Jalen Richard
Orleans Darkwa
Shaun Draughn
Zach Zenner
Alex Collins
DJ Foster
Kenjon Barner
Charcandrick West
Kenneth Dixon
Robert Kelley
Damien Williams
Jacquizz Rodgers
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There were a slew of running backs who went down, most notably, Adrian Peterson. We won’t know the extent of AP’s knee injury immediately, but the optics weren’t encouraging. If Peterson is going to miss time, get Jerick McKinnon. That simple. Don’t sleep on Matt Asiata either. Asiata may actually get more touches and handle the majority of the goal line carries, but McKinnon is the far higher upside player. May as well put in bids on both. Hopefully we’ll know the seriousness of the injury before the waiver deadline hits. Conversely, all bets could be off if the MRI Monday reveals Peterson’s knee is OK… Doug Martin looks like he’s the RB who may miss the next amount of time with his tweaked hammy, but Charles Sims is already owned in most places. If Sims happens to be lurking on waivers, he’s a priority target. Jacquizz Rodgers got some run late in the blowout loss against the Cardinals too… No word yet on the extent of Danny Woodhead’s knee injury (MRI coming Monday), hopefully it’s not season ending, but like with Martin, Melvin Gordon is uniformly owned across most leagues. Kenneth Farrow saw work late in the Chargers’ rout, and would presumably be the next man up should Gordon get sidelined… It appears Jonathan Stewart (hamstring/ankle) may be out for at least a game, leaving Fozzy Whittaker the apparent work horse. I’d grab him as a filler for a week if you need it, but be wary of Cameron Artis-Payne. CAP has been a healthy scratch for the first two games, mainly, because he shares so many traits with J-Stew. If Stewart is sidelined, it’s not unreasonable to think Artis-Payne may actually handle the majority of the touches, with Whittaker resuming his role as a change-of-pace, receiving back… In the biggest upset of the week, Arian Foster got hurt. He sat out practice this week with a hammy issue, but it was a wonky groin that forced him to the sidelines against the Patriots. Freshly activated Jay Ajayi got the most touches in Foster’s absence, however it was Kenyan Drake who scored a receiving TD, and was on the field while the Dolphins gave their best effort to cover the +6.5. This is an MKUltra-confusing situation; we don’t even know if Foster will miss time yet. I’d wager Ajayi is the better add over Drake. I don’t feel super confident with that call, though. Still, I’ll be adding Ajayi in a few spots, just in case he’s announced the starter this week against the putrid Browns… Rashad Jennings was spotted leaving the field with a cast on his hand, somewhat explaining the massive dose of Shane Vereen we got in the second half. Normally, Vereen is used exclusively in the passing game, but he got 14 carries Week 2 against the Saints. He’s a tough guy to plug into your lineup any week due to his variable role in the offense, but if Jennings is actually a banged up, Vereen becomes a viable PPR FLEX option. Orleans Darkwa could be in line for a few touches as well. I wouldn’t fuck around with Darkwing Duck, though. I’ve tried that before. Not a success… Ameer Abdullah injured his foot, which, I hear, is bad news for football players. Apparently running and lateral movement is critical for success for these guys. Who woulda thunk? Theo Riddick gets a bump in touches, but don’t anticipate a full workload on the ground. Somewhere between 4-8 a game is a reasonable projection if Abdullah is in street clothes. That leaves the widely available Dwayne Washington, who’s worked as the Lions goal-line specialist the first two weeks, to likely inherit 10+ touches a game, including retaining his gig on running situations inside the red zone. That alone is worth an add. Zach Zenner could be activated too. Don’t worry about him… Thomas Rawls left the Seahawks game, but could be fine. We don’t know yet. If he’s out, Christine Michael probably gets 20 touches against the 49ers this week. Michael is pretty crummy, but volume is volume.
Week 3 Waiver Wire: Wide Receivers
Tajae Sharpe
Tyrell Williams
Chris Hogan
Victor Cruz
Jermaine Kearse
Quincy Enunwa
Phillip Dorsett
Josh Doctson
Cole Beasley
Steve Smith Sr.
Eli Rogers
Jamison Crowder
Paul Richardson
Devin Funchess
Tyler Boyd
Brandon LaFell
Michael Thomas
Jeremy Kerley
Rishard Matthews
Davante Adams
Markus Wheaton
Kenny Britt
Sammie Coates
Anquan Boldin
Quinton Patton
Adam Humphries
Marquise Lee
Terrelle Pryor
Pierre Garcon
Terrance Williams
Kamar Aiken
Nelson Agholor
Seth Roberts
Robert Woods
Chris Conley
Charles Johnson
Kenny Stills
Andre Johnson
Breshad Perriman
Dontrelle Inman
Eddie Royal
Tajae Sharpe and Tyrell Williams were the HOT ADDS last week, and they’re still available enough to qualify for the rankings again. Williams paid immediate dividends hauling in a 44-yard TD from Philip Rivers. Sharpe? He was a let down in a soft matchup against the Lions. Still, Sharpe was the most targeted Titans WR and played the most snaps of the group. He’ll be fine… I’m buying as many Chris Hogan shares as I can right now. People may leave him be with Jimmy Garoppolo (Shoulder) going down, but I’ll just stash him until Tom Brady returns. I wouldn’t play Hogan against the Texans Thursday night. It’s a tough matchup, and God knows if Jacoby Brissett can be remotely competent… Tyler Lockett (Knee) and Doug Baldwin (Knee) both got banged up against the Rams, leaving a potentially large market share of targets for Jermaine Keasre, and Paul Richardson, to a lesser extent… Donte Moncrief (Concussion) will have to overcome his dizzies to see the field next week against the Chargers. Phillip Dorsett stands to earn extra work if Moncrief can’t SUIT UP… I, and most of the internet, assumed we lost Brandon Marshall for the year Thursday night. Didn’t happen. Turns out, Marshall is impervious to pain. Still, with the Jets accelerated offense, Quincy Enunwa hasn’t become an afterthought in the passing game. Through two weeks, Enunwa has 14 targets… Cole Beasley produced another solid PPR game. He’s not worth your time in standard formats… Oh, go stash Josh Doctson NOWWWWW!!!!! He only produced one big play on his five looks, but Kirk Cousins was all about Doctson near the goal line. They didn’t connect, but it’s encouraging to see him get red zone targets (3). And, since his stat line doesn’t jump out of the box score, he won’t be as in-demand as other receivers this week. Pick Doctson up, wait for him to develop consistency, and deploy him later in the season… You can wait a week if you want to grab one of the Bengals secondary options: Tyler Boyd or Brandon LaFell. Cincinnati gets Denver next Week 3, and Andy Dalton’s ankle is all gimped up. You’ll get them for cheaper, or free, entering Week 4.
Week 3 Waiver Wire: Streaming Defenses
MIA vs CLE
TB vs LAR
PIT at PHI
NYG vs WSH
BAL at JAX
SF at SEA
DAL vs CHI
Looks like Josh McCown (Shoulder) could be wearing shorts on the sidelines in Miami Week 3. I’ll gamble the Browns didn’t draft a stud in Cody Kessler and stream against him… The Rams have more wins than offensive TDs. They’re almost an every week “stream against” at this point, regardless of the quality of the opposing DST… If the Steelers jump up big on the Eagles, having a DST who may get 35+ throws from Carson Wentz could lead to beaucoup Fantasy points.
Week 3 Waiver Wire: Tight Ends
Jacob Tamme
Kyle Rudolph
Dennis Pitta
Jesse James
Charles Clay
Clive Walford
Virgil Green
Zach Miller
Vance McDonald
Jack Doyle
Trey Burton
Austin Seferian-Jenkins
Jordan Cameron
Jared Cook
With Sam Bradford under center for the Vikings, Kyle Rudolph may have breached into every week start territory. Long term, he’s likely a better add than Jacob Tamme, but it’s close. And, I LOVEEEEEE Tamme this week at New Orleans… Jesse James is going to be TD dependent, but in the Steelers offense, that’s not the worst thing. He’s been targeted 12 times in two games… Dennis Pitta was on the field the most of the Ravens TE corps, and was put to good use. Flacco looked Pitta’s way 12 times, good for 9 catches and 102 yards. He could approach that workload again next week in Jacksonville.
Week 3 Waiver Wire: Quarterbacks
Matt Ryan at NO
Joe Flacco at JAX
Marcus Mariota vs OAK
Alex Smith vs NYJ
Ryan Tannehill vs CLE
Dak Prescott vs CHI
Sam Bradford at CAR
The “stack against the Saints” strategy was a flop Week 2. Not a total flop however. Eli Maning didn’t toss a TD, but did post 368 yards through the air. With the Falcons expected to cede far more points than the Giants, Matt Ryan will be taking to the air all game… Joe Flacco and Marcus Mariota both draw soft match ups for the second straight week… Alex Smith is the real sleeper on the Week 3 waiver wire. Likely to be dropped en masse after getting shellacked in Houston, you may not even have to use a waiver priority on him, just nab Smith off free agency. Gang Green has been abused through the air so far this season, primarily on big strikes. The Jets have allowed four 50+ passing TDs through two games. Can Smith take advantage of that? I’m not sure, but in deeper leagues and in DFS, I’m going to find out.
The Pat Mayo Hour covers the entire scope of the Fantasy sports landscape from Football to Reality TV, daily and yearly leagues and everything in between. You can watch the Pat Mayo Hour every weekday at 3:00pm EST, 8:00pm EST and Midnight on the FNTSY Sports Network Television channel or on your Apple TV, Xbox, Roku or Amazon Fire Stick. If you have a Fantasy question, general inquiry or snarky comment, ship it to Mayo at PatMayoHour@gmail.com and the best will be addressed on the show.