Week 3 Waiver Wire Report and Matchup Myths
Remember last week's tip? Some interesting volume options here in what is an otherwise lackluster waiver wire.
Week 2 left us with many injuries to QBs, some remained out while others returned to action shortly after. We also saw 3 San Francisco RBs all suffer injuries in the same game. Lets look at who is out there to bolster our lineups moving forward. Remember, all players here are available in >50% of ESPN leagues so be sure to check your own league’s waivers for any steals that might be there.
QB
Derek Carr | LV
Derek Carr for MVP? It’s hard to imagine but 2 games into the year and Carr has 817 yards through the air and 4 TDs compared to only 1 INT. Carr had a good fantasy season back in 2016 when he lead the then Oakland Raiders to a 12-3 regular season record before going down with an injury and was an MVP contender. Then Carr had Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree and now he has Waller and Ruggs, Edwards and Renfroe so not quite the same one-two punch but Carr his put up good numbers through two weeks and shouldn’t be available 83% of leagues with these numbers.
Justin Fields | CHI
Justin Fields got some game action against Cincinnati when Andy Dalton went down with a knee injury. Fields debut wasn’t good but he’s still a running QB with plenty of arm talent. Dalton will miss significant time, paving the way for Fields to win the job for the rest of the season if he performs well. If you’re in need of a long term answer at quarterback or think Fields could be an upgrade from the ones you have, he is a must add.
Daniel Jones | NYG
What kills me about the Giants losing Thursday night against the Washington Football Team was not only how they lost but even more so was how they wasted what felt like the best game of Daniel Jones career. Jones only came away with 28 points in standard scoring leagues which is very good but not other worldly. Keep in mind this performance came against a very good WFT defense, he is still working on finding his groove with Golladay, and had a touchdown run called back on a (terrible) holding call.
RB
Tony Pollard | DAL
Besides the fact that he should be handcuffed by all Ezekiel Elliot owners, Pollard is still available in over 60% of ESPN leagues. Elliot will still dominate the snap count in Dallas and it will take a lot for that to change but Dallas is clearly working to find ways to give Pollard the ball. He’s getting the ball a lot more in the passing game to start 2021 and had 16 total touches in week 2. Those numbers will go up if he continues to perform and maybe entering into the Kareem Hunt territory of having standalone value as a second string RB behind a stud. All that makes Pollard my top RB add this week.
WR
Darnell Mooney | CHI
Volume, volume, volume. While it hasn’t translated to big fantasy outings, Mooney has seen steady volume through two weeks and very surprisingly MORE snaps than Allen Robinson in each of the first two games. If Fields becomes the starter in Chicago, Mooney could see a boost that could vault him to low end WR2 range. If you are in need of one, jump on it now.
Quintez Cephus | DET
Who?? A late addition in Quintez Cephus who is quickly turning into Goff’s favorite WR. 7 targets and one touchdown in each of his first 2 games. Good news is even in the deepest leagues he should be available, since he’s only rostered in .7% of leagues! He’s the most targeted WR for Detroit in weeks 1 and 2 and while he didn’t play a huge amount of snaps in week 1 it felt like he did in week 2. If his snap count continues to rise, his volume should only get better too as the year goes on.
Tip of the Week:
Playing the matchups is a key to success in fantasy football. Beyond just finding a defense if you rotate them regularly, it can be the difference between which guy you stick in your flex spot if you have a deep (or thin) team. However, be weary of the early season opponent rankings early in the season. The Eagles faced off against the 49ers in week 2, who gave up the most RB points in week 1. Miles Sanders owners and maybe those 25% of owners who added Kenneth Gainwell will now tell you that the 49ers defense is no slouch. These small sample sizes this early into the year will temp you to play the wrong matchup early on so be weary of outsmarting yourself by streaming the wrong player or picking the wrong DFS player to start.