Week 4 Waiver Wire: Do Not Panic (Yet)

How does the squad look this morning?  Are you sitting atop your league at 3-0 with a big smile?  Are you lingering in the middle of the pack at 2-1 or 1-2?  Or are you languishing at the bottom of the standings at 0-3?  No matter the scenario, stay the course and do not panic.  OK, maybe a little panic if you are 0-3, but only a little.  Trust me, it is better to take a deep breath and realize there is at least one other owner that is truly in panic mode.  Do not let it be you this early in the season.

What you need to determine is why you are where you are after three games.  Is your record, good or bad, based on a little fantasy luck?  If so, take stock of your roster and determine where you are solid and where you have struggled to find points.  Now is the time to tweak versus a complete overhaul.  Make smaller moves to improve your team but do not drop names you absolutely know are able to perform. 

Have injuries derailed your early season?  If so, then you probably need to look hard at the waiver wire.  As an example, if you drafted Justin Herbert early, his struggles, based on the rib injury, are concerning and you may want to look for a short-term safety net.  If you roster Mac Jones and know he is going to be out with the high ankle sprain for a few weeks, then throw him back and grab some depth at a skill position that will help your team in Week 4.

Another important aspect of the wire to consider is watching for dropped players that should not have been dropped (by the owner hitting the panic button too early).  Also, heading into Week 4 may be a good time to start looking at the early bye weeks to ensure you have depth, especially at QB if you were smart and only drafted one while loading up on skill positions.

NOTE: Rostered percentages and scoring system are based on Yahoo! PPR league scoring.

Waiver Add of the Week: RB – Khalil Herbert (CHI, 50% rostered).  Normally, I am not one to recommend a player that is already owned in half of the leagues, but the RB situation in Chicago just got very interesting.  With David Montgomery (knee/ankle) missing the majority of Week 3’s game, Herbert exploded for 157 yards and 2 TD.  It is important to note that scoring was done against the Texans, so temper your season-long expectations.  Also, keep an eye on the Montgomery injury situation early this week.  Based on early waivers for most leagues, you probably will not have a ton of info, so place Herbert at the top of your wish list and hope you land him.

QB:  Daniel Jones (NYG, 23% rostered) – I know, I know, I know!  Do not yell at me!  Daniel Jones is not good at football nor are his NYG teammates.  Hear me out here, please.  Jones can and will run.  His WR corps, all 15 of them are serviceable and will catch the ball if/when Jones is afforded time to throw.  He was not given much time against the Cowboys on MNF, so his stock will continue to be low which means you can probably land him without a waiver claim.  That means you can save FAAB and/or waiver priority if you need a fill-in at QB.  Take note of Jones’ Week 4 opponent…the Chicago Bears and then tell me the addition of Jones is crazy.  The Bears are awful and cannot sustain drives, so if the NYG play defense as they did in the first half of MNF, Jones should have the ability to handle the rock a lot on Sunday.  He brings solid rushing upside and should outperform his projections.

QB: Marcus Mariota (ATL, 22% rostered) – The former first-round pick looks good so far.  Certainly, he is not a world-beater, but he looks like an NFL QB for maybe the first time in his career.  Couple that with the weak division and the emergence of Drake London and you have a dual-threat QB that should see a path to positive points.  Mariota faces a decent Browns defense in Week 4, but we should keep an eye on the Myles Garrett injury (one-car crash) and the status of Jadeveon Clowney.  Another QB you likely do not have to use a waiver claim or FAAB to acquire, I think it is best to wait on news out of Cleveland then decide if Mariota is a solid one-week play for you.

RB: Alexander Mattison (MIN; 55% rostered) – Well, it happened.  The every-season Dalvin Cook injury is already here.  Savvy Cook owners probably already roster Mattison and, if they do not, they are clamoring to find a way to land him this week.  Though we do not know the extent of Cook’s shoulder injury, we do know he has a history of missing games and we know the Vikings have a quick turn to play the early game in London Sunday morning (930am EST).  Add the travel time and wear and tear that can put on a body with the time difference and long flight, and we have the makings of a Mattison week.

RB: Gus Edwards (BAL; 12% rostered) – This is a reach and a move you can make if you have an open IR slot.  Edwards is out for the first four weeks of the season on PUP and can return for Week 5.  He should be considered a stash only at this point, but the idea is to get him for free a week prior to others in your league recognizing that he is back and that Dobbins will most certainly get dinged again at some point.

RB Honorable Mentions – Jaylen Warren (PIT, 9%), Samaje Perine (CIN, 6%), Craig Reynolds (DET, 0%)

WR: Noah Brown (DAL; 20% owned) – Three straight double-digit weeks, two with Cooper Rush under center.  Michael Gallup did not appear, and Jaylen Tolbert is not the guy (I will own being wrong on this guy heading into the season).  What more do you need to know?  Add him until Gallup shows he is fully back.  Also consider the Dalton Schultz injury which should provide more WR targets, too.

WR: Greg Dortch (ARI; 18% rostered) – OK, OK, OK, it is time we (I) pay attention to Greg Dortch.  Similar to Noah Brown above, Dortch has three double-digit games to start the season (13, 15, 17) and should continue to see targets with more attention being given to Hollywood Brown after his massive Week 3 performance.  Kyler will continue to get better and Dortch could be the recipient of that improvement.  It is important to note RonDale Moore was out and Nuk Hopkins is still suspended, so the time to grab Dortch is now and then you can dump him when the other WRs are back in the fold.

WR Honorable Mentions – Isaiah McKenzie (BUF, 42%), Josh Palmer (LAC, 27%), Romeo Doubs (GB, 27%), Zay Jones (JAX, 11%), Mac Hollins (LVR, 3%)

TE: Tyler Conklin (NYJ; 23% rostered) – In my Week 2 Waiver Wire article, I mentioned adding Conklin.  The guy is making me look and feel informed as he is riding a three-game, double-digit point streak (11, 10, 16).  I am of the opinion if you do not have Andrews, Kelce, Pitts, Waller, or Kittle, then you need to find a steady if unspectacular TE option like Conklin.  He plays in a pass-happy NYJ offense and double-digit point totals are exactly what you are looking for from a TE waiver addition/stream.

TE Honorable Mentions – Robert Tonyan (GB, 29%), Daniel Bellinger (NYG, 1%), Jelani Woods (IND, 0%)

I stress this point again…waiver wire is your friend.  Watch for teams that drop players that should never be dropped then swoop in and grab those guys.  Ex: Did someone panic over the Dak injury that was followed by the Schultz injury?  Did they drop either/both?  If so, now is the time to grab them and stash for later.

Best of luck heading into Week 4 and may the wire be with you!