The first Sunday game of Week 3 painted the picture in bold terms—Week 4 is an incredible time to round out rosters via the waiver wire.
So it goes when Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles goes to London and drops four touchdown passes on any team in a 44-point showcase. The oddities continued through the rest of Week 3, too, with a guy like Jacoby Brissett (bonus points if fans know which team he plays for) putting on a show.
This has the feel of a week where every owner should make claims regardless of their roster. Whether injuries, draft mishaps or more have ruined plans, this week’s crop likely has a way to cover it.
Here’s a look at the top waiver targets of the week.
Week 4 Waiver-Wire Targets
- Case Keenum, QB, MIN
- Jacoby Brissett, QB, NE
- DeShone Kizer, QB, CLE
- Jared Goff, QB, LAR
- Alvin Kamara, RB, NO
- D’Onta Foreman, RB, HOU
- Wendell Smallwood, RB, PHI
- Alex Collins, RB, BAL
- Geronimo Allison, WR, GB
- Robert Woods, WR, LAR
- Robby Anderson, WR, NYJ
- Devin Funchess, WR, CAR
- Bruce Ellington, WR, HOU
- Marcedes Lewis, TE, JAC
- Cameron Brate, TE, TB
- Benjamin Watson, TE, BAL
Jared Goff, QB, LAR
It’s understandable if owners keep shying away from the idea of Jared Goff.
After all, the Los Angeles Rams, regardless of locale, have been a boneyard of sorts when it comes to fantasy production over the years.
Until now.
Goff looks like a different player this year, which is a byproduct of getting him a quality left tackle with Andrew Whitworth and receiving targets like Cooper Kupp and Sammy Watkins. After showings of 16.44 and 11.86 points, Goff erupted for 23.58 in Week 3, throwing a trio of scores in the process.
This is a connection owners can expect to see most of the season:
At a simplified position to stream, Goff is a great week-to-week option, and owners who can look past reputations and things in the past will find a quarterback able to help win matchups.
Alex Collins, RB, BAL
One can feel the tide starting to change in the Baltimore Ravens backfield.
Second-year back Alex Collins looks like he is about to be the biggest winner there, where in Week 2 he rushed for 42 yards on seven attempts, good for a per-carry average of six. The coaches gave him nine carries the following week and he rumbled for 82 yards, good for an average of 9.1.
Both Javorius Allen and Terrance West haven’t averaged even four yards per carry this season.
While a small sample size, owners capable of finding a slow-to-breakout running back each year tend to make serious noise—ask those who found Jordan Howard around this time last year.
Sigmund Bloom of Footballguys.com was one of many to suggest Collins is on the way up:
It would be a poor coaching decision to go away from Collins now, logic owners in a comfortable position elsewhere can bank on when scooping him up.
Collins looks good right away with a Week 4 matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers, a team that just coughed up north of 200 rushing yards to the Chicago Bears.
Devin Funchess, WR, CAR
As expected, the Carolina Panthers targeted Devin Funchess often in Week 3 with tight end Greg Olsen on the shelf.
Funchess saw a career-high 10 targets, though he only wound up with four catches for 58 yards. It was an off day for Cam Newton and the offense as a whole, so owners able to look past the gaffe will find a guy with interesting upside in Funchess.
The chances for Funchess should only rise after Kelvin Benjamin suffered an injury in Week 3 as well. It doesn’t sound overly serious, but it does seem like Carolina’s No. 1 will miss time, as captured by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport:
And remember, even if Benjamin is good to go, Funchess just saw double-digit targets. He’s a nice wait-and-see option for owners in a position of luxury.
Funchess takes a bit of a leap of faith, but the Carolina roster doesn’t have much of anyone else who can step up.
Marcedes Lewis, TE, JAC
Tight end is in a tough spot this week—actually, it is overall this season given the rash of injuries.
Marcedes Lewis, though, provides an interesting option after hauling in three of those four Bortles touchdowns.
Many advise not to chase the points in a situation like this, though it is hard to ignore how easy Lewis made life on Bortles, who had been struggling before Week 3:
With how flimsy the ground can be with a quarterback like Bortles, it wouldn’t make sense to ignore Lewis now. He didn’t catch any passes over the course of the first two weeks, though clearly simplifying the offense and going to the 6’6″ tight end obviously works.
Given the state of the position overall, Lewis is a solid pickup for guys waiting on other players to get healthy.
All scoring info, points-against info and ownership stats courtesy of Yahoo standard leagues.
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Marcedes Lewis
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