2017 Fantasy Football Week 3 Waiver Wire
Obviously depending on your scoring system quarterbacks in your top five might look like Alex Smith, Trevor Siemian, Derek Carr, Matthew Stafford, and Carson Wentz. Top five running backs are Kareem Hunt, Ty Montgomery, Todd Gurley, Tarik Cohen, Chris Thompson. Your top five wide receivers are Michael Crabtree, Antonio Brown, J.J. Nelson, Tyreek Hill, and Jermaine Kearse. Those are a lot of new names in places not seen before. Now most of those guys are not likely to remain in those positions as the year progress, but I think there is an important lesson here. The NFL is ugly right now and I point to the offensive line play for most teams for the cause of some of our usual stars off to disappointing seasons. It is down right depressing watching stars getting no production because a team is incapable of blocking for three seconds. The end result is this list of players that seem to be coming out of left field to be the leaders in fantasy right now. As fantasy football players we cannot afford to wait for teams to fix their problems we have to adjust our rosters and piece together line ups that give us the best shot at winning. No matter how strange it is this is our NFL season for now and we have to adapt or suffer more loses. So hopefully with the help of this article we can start fixing your team and get them on a path to success. If you have questions about players not on this list feel free to hit me up in my Facebook group Dynasty League Problems or find me on Twitter @MikeKelleyDLP.
Top Waiver Wire Adds for Week 3
NOTE: percentage owned is based on FleaFlicker player availability on Tuesday morning and all players suggested is assuming PPR unless noted.
The LootCrate Waiver Wire Add of the Week: RB Javorius “Buck” Allen (BAL) – 40% owned
Allen had a great week. He is getting his share of carries as the backup running back and getting the passing down work that Danny Woodhead made available after going down to yet another injury. On top of that if Terrance West misses anytime with his unspecified soft tissue injury that should propel Allen to the lead back. Even if West is back next week Allen has shown versatility as a capable runner with 137 yards on 35 carries and five receptions for 35 yards and a touchdown. The Ravens look determined to return to a hard hitting run first team which means there will be plenty of carries to go around this season for Allen and who ever else in running the Ravens backfield.
QB Trevor Siemian (DEN) – 26% Owned
Siemian goes from winning the job in preseason because he competition sucked worse than he did, to a top three quarterback after two weeks. While his total numbers are not that impressive, 39 competitions out of 60 attempts is solid, 450 yards in two games is a little low, two interceptions is not horrible, but not good either. It is the six passing touchdowns and one rushing touchdown that are currently carrying him to his high ranks. While I don’t suspect that he will continue at this touchdown pace, he should continue a steady stream of touchdowns. He won’t stick around among the top quarterbacks for too long, but there is no reason not to think he can’t remain as a top bye week filler or even a top option as a QB2 in 2 quarterback leagues.
RB Chris Thompson (WAS) – 37% Owned
On 13 touches Thompson has 41.2 PPR points. That is just plain ridiculous. Rushing the ball he is 6/81/2 and catching the ball he is 7/81/1. While I don’t think he will keep this pace up I think he is earning the right to be used a little more often. Especially if Robert Kelley misses anytime with his rib injury. Samaje Perine may get the early down work, but Thompson will get all passing downs and some work on early downs as Perine did not do so hot in the second half of last week. Thompson is more valuable in PPR leagues and leagues that give you return yards, but no matter what as long as Kelley is out, which might not even be a week, he has value in all formats.
WR Rishard Higgins (CLE) – 1% Owned
Last year injuries to Corey Coleman and a suspension to Josh Gordon brought us the emergence of Terrelle Pryor. This year Corey Coleman is injured again, Josh Gordon is still suspended, and free agent addition Kenny Britt is severely disappointing. Insert Higgins as this years Pryor as the wide receiver in the right place at the right time. Higgins went from inactive week one to star of week two with seven receptions on 11 targets for 95 yards. He might be hard pressed to repeat those numbers every week, but as long as Britt is sucking the life out of the offense and Coleman is hurt Higgins should get his share of targets and if can bring them in at a near 70% rate he should be a solid player most weeks especially as a flex option.
TE Benjamin Watson (BAL) – 7% Owned
Last week in my sit start article I knew a Baltimore tight end would be heavily used, but I was not sure which one would be. Benjamin only say one target in week one and is 36 years old coming off an Achilles injury. Nick Boyle also only say one target but he caught his for 14 yards and is a bigger target than Benjamin. I guessed Boyle and I was wrong, it ended up being Benjamin who went off and caught eight passes for 91 yards. As long as Benjamin is upright he should be a factor in the Ravens passing game. So for those of you looking to replace Greg Olsen, I am not sure Ed Dickson is the answer you are looking for, I would be targeting Benjamin instead.
Love our content? Check out the GoingFor2 Live Podcast Network!
Honorable Mentions:
- Joe Flacco (BAL) – 47 percent owned – The Ravens seem to be easing Flacco back into game shape so with each passing week I suspect he will open up more and more.
- Jay Cutler (MIA) – 43 percent owned – Cutler looked very comfortable running the offense and should be able to have a good year with all their weapons.
- Shane Vereen (NYG) – 28 percent owned – More valued in PPR, and with the offensive line looking as bad as they do he could be in line for a ton of targets this year.
- Alvin Kamara (NO) – 39 percent owned – The Saints will eventually see that Kamara is their best back and work on getting him the ball more often.
- Chris Carson (SEA) – 34 percent owned – Perhaps the worse O-Line in the league so I am not sure Carson will be a long term answer but for now he seems to be working.
- JJ Nelson (ARI) – 34 percent owned – 10/163/2 in two week is as good as any wide receiver in the league right now.
- Jermaine Kearse (NYJ) – 16 percent owned – Kearse is not getting the most targets but he is doing the most damage so I imagine they will continue to feed him the ball.
- Allen Hurns (JAC) – 34 percent owned – What scares me the most here is that all but one receptions came during garbage time, but that does seem to be the recipe for Jag receivers.
- Marqise Lees (JAC) – 30 percent owned – Lee was his usual target monster with low yardage on minimal chances of scoring a TD. High floor than Hurns, but lower ceiling as a well.
- Evan Engram (NYG) – 39 percent owned – Back to back four reception weeks is not great but not bad either especially for a rookie tight end.
- Zach Miller (CHI) – 20 percent owned – Not great production, but 10 receptions on 15 targets gives him decent value.
Dynasty Stashes:
- C.J. Beathard (SF) – 4 percent owned – In the first two week Brian Hoyer has lead the 49ers to zero touchdowns and four field goals. It might not happen for a while, but at some point they will give Beathard a shot.
- Mitch Trubisky (CHI) – 20 percent owned – Mike Glennon has not been as bad as Hoyer, but he has not done much to help his team win either. If the Bears keep losing it will be hard to keep the second overall pick, a pick you traded up for, off the field.
ATTN Dynasty Commissioners: Do you want to do something cool for your league? How about a 1-hour live show dedicated to YOUR league? Team-by-team breakdowns, rankings, and more. For details and to book a show, visit: GoingFor2.com/plp.