Fantasy Football: Week 3 Waiver Wire Targets

Injuries or bad production got you down? Let’s take a look at some widely available players across both Yahoo and ESPN fantasy football platforms. Keep in mind, players eligible for this column are going to be hovering around 50% available.

Quarterbacks

Alex Smith, KC (42.2% available on ESPN, 51% available on Yahoo)

This is the second week in a row that I’ve carried the banner for Smith. And much like last week, I still believe he is the living, breathing Mendoza line for quarterback play in the league. But personal bias aside, he is the man right now. While his QB1 status is largely due to his monstrous first week, his follow-up performance was also starting-caliber. A lot of the productive quarterbacks are already owned, making Smith really the only viable waiver wire option at the moment. And I will continue to say that he isn’t a locked in starter for the rest of the year. But he is a great bye-week fill-in and streaming option for those quarterbacks in the 8-15 range.

Running Backs

Samaje Perine, WAS (2.2%, 24%)

With Rob Kelley potentially missing time, Perine is expected to take over his workload while Chris Thompson maintains his pass-catching role. Perine had 21 carries as a result of Washington’s ground-and-pound and Kelley’s early departure. Kelley hasn’t exactly lit the world on fire. His YPC wasn’t exactly spectacular, but you have to like a guy with the potential workload. He’s worth a stash just to see how this backfield situation plays out in the future.

Alvin Kamara, NO (13.3%, 37%)

Woof. I’m not entirely sure I want any part of the Saints backfield, but Kamara would be the only one I’d consider from this 3-headed...not a monster, something a lot less threatening. Dog? But not a big, scary dog. More like a Yorkie. A 3-headed Yorkie. What was I talking about?

Wide Receivers

Rashard Higgins, CLE (0.4%, 5%)

Sometimes, it’s talent. Sometimes, it’s opportunity. Sometimes, it’s not being Kenny Britt. Corey Coleman was just placed on IR with a broken hand and Britt is already drawing the Dwayne Bowe comparisons in Cleveland. Higgins saw 11 targets last week. This is a bad team that will have to throw the ball eventually. Cleveland plays Indianapolis, Cincinnati, New York Jets, Houston, Tennessee, and Minnesota before their bye. Higgins can see some productive days in the near future, even if Coleman returns from IR later in the season.

Devin Funchess, CAR (6%, 13%)

This seems a bit ridiculous, but someone is going to have to see an uptick in targets for the Panthers while “Third Leg” Greg Olsen is sidelined with a broken foot for the foreseeable future. Expectations shouldn’t be as high as they were for him when he was predicted to carry the torch when Kelvin Benjamin tore his ACL a few years ago, nor should they be. But he could find himself in flex range, especially with several favorable matchups coming up.

Tight End

Gerald Everett, LAR (0.2%, 0%)

IT’S TIME TO SPIN THE TIGHT END WHEEL. DO YOU FEEL LUCKY? Week 2 was cruel to the tight end position, with Rob Gronkowski, Jordan Reed, Greg Olsen, Jimmy Graham, and Tyler Eifert potentially or already confirmed to miss time. 5 TE1-tier players in a depth-starved position is going to create a waiver wire frenzy this week. Predicting the tight end position past a certain point is absolutely impossible, so Everett has just as good of a chance as any other tight end to put up numbers. Last week, Everett had 3 catches for 95 yards on as many targets, including a nice 69-yard catch and run. Teammate Tyler Higbee saw one target on 41 snaps, so it is believed that Everett has emerged as the pass-catching option at the position for the high-octane Rams offense.