Fantasy Football Week 4 Waiver Wire
By Brandon Lane
QUARTERBACK
Sam Darnold, Carolina Panthers
Roster Percentage: 22%
Darnold has had back-to-back 300 yard games through the air. Coming off a short week he completed 23-of-34 passes for 304 yards and while he didn’t pass for any TDs, he did rush 8 times for 11 yards punching in two touchdowns. Darnold takes on the Cowboys in week 4 and should be airing things out in what projects to be a high scoring match-up.
Taylor Heinicke, Washington Football Team
Roster Percentage: 6%
Heinicke had a rough week against the feisty Bills defense throwing two picks although he did salvage his day for fantasy managers beyond that. He threw 14-of-24 passes for 212 yards and a score while rushing 8 times for 21 yards. In week 4 WFT heads to Atlanta making Heinicke an attractive streaming option.
Others to Consider:
Justin Fields (56% @ DET, last week we recommended adding him but waiting a week) Teddy Bridgewater (28% vs BAL) Trey Lance (33% bench stash, it shouldn’t be long before he wins the starting job)
RUNNING BACK
If available:
Tony Pollard (78%) Alexander Mattison (69%) Sony Michel (65%)
Chuba Hubbard, Carolina Panthers
Roster Percentage: 26%
Christian McCaffrey is likely to miss a few weeks although the Panthers did NOT put him on IR. Once McCaffrey went down it was Chuba Hubbard who was the next man up and he played 4 times the amount of snaps compared to fellow backup Royce Freeman. Hubbard is the number one add of the week, although keep in mind he likely will only be filling in for a limited time.
Peyton Barber, Las Vegas Raiders
Roster Percentage: 8%
In week 2 Barber filled in for Josh Jacobs with lackluster results but what we did like was his snap percentage at 65%. Week 3 that percentage rose to 72% and much better results. He rushed 23 times for 111 yards and a touchdown, also catching 3-of-5 balls for 31 yards. We are still waiting on the availability of Jacobs for week 4 so keep an eye on news updates, but for now he is worth an add as a low-end RB2/flex in most leagues.
Marlon Mack, Indianapolis Colts
Roster Percentage: 5%
The Colts have announced they are open to trading Mack who is behind Jonathan Taylor and Nyhiem Heines on the depth chart. Coming back from a 2020 ACL tear he has looked decent in limited usage. If he lands in the right spot he could be thrust into a nice workload.
J.J. Taylor/Brandon Bolden, New England Patriots
Roster Percentage: 0%/1%
After James White was carted off the field with a hip injury we got to see Brandon Bolden bounce back to life and ending up playing a surprising 46% of snaps compared to 31% of Harris. Reports surfaced that the reason for Bolden remaining on the field as much as he did was due to his pass protection. While Bolden could again be the passing down back in week 4 its actually J.J. Taylor that I am more excited for. We have seen what special teamer Bolden is over the years and Ill take the potential upside of Taylor. Both are possible deep league adds.
Others to Consider:
Kenneth Gainwell (35%) Royce Freeman(1%)
WIDE RECIEVER
Tim Patrick, Denver Broncos
Roster Percentage: 23%
Patrick once again makes the list of wide receiver adds. After scoring a touchdown in the first two games of the season he did not get in the end-zone this week but obviously has the trust of Teddy Bridgewater catching 5-of-5 targets for 98 yards. The Broncos who lost Jerry Jeudy in week 1 also lost KJ Hamler in week 3 to a knee injury. Patrick has moved into an every week WR3 until Judy returns. He needs to be rostered in more leagues.
Emmanuel Sanders, Buffalo Bills
Roster Percentage: 27%
The Bills HAD A DAY… and Sanders was the main benefactor catching 5-of-6 targets for 94 yards and two touchdowns. Like Patrick, Sanders has been on our list of recommended adds and while this might be his best game of the season I want pieces of this Bills offense and he should be added as a flex option moving forward.
Players coming back from IR to consider:
Rashod Bateman, Baltimore Ravens
Roster Percentage: 15%
Bateman will return to practice this week after landing on IR due to pre-season core-muscle surgery. He might not play this week and could be eased into the lineup, but once he gets rolling Bateman has the skill-set to become the WR1 for the Ravens.
Michael Gallup, Dallas Cowboys
Roster Percentage: 49%
Likely out another 2–3 weeks but someone to stash if you have the room.
Curtis Samuel, WFT
Roster Percentage: 34%
Eligible to come of off IR this week and is worth a stash.
Others to Consider:
Devante Parker (39%) Marquez Callaway (37%) Sammy Watkins (23%) Bryan Edwards (17%) Josh Gordon (5%) DeSean Jackson (3%) Kendrick Bourne (1%)
TIGHT END
Dawson Knox
Roster Percentage: 39%
Scoring in back-to-back weeks for the high powered Bills offense is reason enough to add Knox. In week 3 the Bills came ALIVE and Knox got in on the fun catching 4-of-5 targets for 49 yards and a touchdown. I still view Knox as a TE2, but if you are struggling at TE he could prove worthy.
Dalton Schultz
Roster Percentage: 4%
Well look who was the overall TE1 of week 3… Schultz caught 6-of-7 targets for 80 yards and two touchdowns. Its very possible this is the best game of his season considering he is still sharing time with fellow tight end Blake Jarwin. But like the TE2 on the week (mention next), Schultz is worth an add if you have space to see if you strike gold.
Tyler Conklin
Roster Percentage: 4%
The tight end flavor of the week is Tyler Conklin who caught 7-of-8 targets for 70 yards and a touchdown. This could be a game script dependent result but if you have the space he’s worth a shot to see if its repeatable.
Others to Consider:
Jared Cook (49%) Evan Engram (39%) Pat Freiermuth (8%)
DEFENSE
Tennessee @ NYJ
Chicago vs DET
New Orleans vs NYG
Indianapolis @ MIA
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