Fantasy Football: Week 3 Waiver Wire Targets 2021
By Pat Pitts
The second week of NFL action gave fans many entertaining moments, but with the entertaining comes the grueling. The injury bug hit 36 players this week, and over half of that group included fantasy-relevant players. Teams are going to need replacements and the waiver wire has never looked so good.
Many fantasy managers are going to be dishing out a significant amount of FAAB to fill their lineups this week as tons of talented and productive players float on the wire after Week 2. Lots of players stepped into more prominent roles on Sunday that could lead to a future position on your fantasy rosters, so here are a few of my favorites.
Quarterbacks
Derek Carr (Rostered in 16% of ESPN leagues and 27% of Yahoo leagues)
Derek Carr leads the league in passing yards (813), passes thrown (91), and completed passes (62). Fantasy managers roster Carr in less than 22% of leagues, despite being the number one fantasy QB in the league, so he’s worth a roster spot for the foreseeable future.
Teddy Bridgewater (Rostered in 14% of ESPN leagues and 17% of Yahoo leagues)
The Broncos have improved immensely from a season ago, mainly due to Teddy Bridgewater. His first two games as a Bronco have been worth looking at for fantasy managers waking up Tuesday morning with an 0-2 record.
Bridgewater plays safe, game-managing football, which is not the worst thing in fantasy football. He has yet to turn the ball over while completing 77% of his passes. As a result, he’s a great streaming option for teams heading into the rest of the year.
Kirk Cousins (Rostered in 24.5% of ESPN leagues and 66% of Yahoo leagues)
Cousins ranks as a QB9 heading into Week 3 after finishing his first two games with 22 and 25 points respectively. His next four games are against teams who rank at the bottom of the league in passing defenses. Play the matchups, especially if you’re dealing with injuries and need a stable backup QB.
Running Backs
JaMycal Hasty (Rostered in 4% of ESPN leagues and 6% of Yahoo leagues)
Hasty is the next man up in the 49ers backfield. He’s a high quality addition to your fantasy roster, in an offense that uses RBs like no other.
J.D McKissic (Rostered in 42% ESPN leagues and 29% of Yahoo leagues)
McKissic did not have a traditional RB stat line in Week 2, as his work came in the receiving game. He caught five of his six targets for 86 yards and a touchdown. He brings depth to fantasy teams dealing with injuries and looks to be a quality add in PPR leagues. Don’t spend a lot of FAAB on McKissic, but he at least deserves a claim.
Cordarrelle Patterson (Rostered in 8% in ESPN leagues and 15% of Yahoo leagues)
Is Cordarrelle Patterson going to be more than a punt returner in 2021? He demonstrated he might be able to on Sunday. Patterson, like McKissic, tallied his points through receptions, finishing with five catches for 58 yards and a touchdown. Patterson is a solid bench add that has FLEX upside as the season progresses.
BONUS
Demetric Felton (Rostered in <1% of ESPN and Yahoo leagues)
During one of my film sessions last March, I watched a running back steamroll over defenses. His dominance forced me to sit up, grab my phone, and search his name.
Demetric Felton scored his first touchdown on Sunday on a screen pass from Baker Mayfield. He is not someone to add in redraft leagues but deserves recognition and a spot on a dynasty roster.
Wide Receivers
K.J Osborn (Rostered in 1% of ESPN leagues and 3% of Yahoo leagues)
K.J Osborn caught five passes for 91 yards and a touchdown against the Cardinals in Week 2 and he leads the Vikings in receiving yards (167) to start the season. Osborn has climbed his way into a role in the Vikings offense and is one of my top waiver targets for the week.
Darius Slayton (Rostered in 3.4% of ESPN leagues and 4% of Yahoo leagues)
Darius Slayton has caught over 50% of his passes this season and scored his first touchdown of the year against the Washington Football Team on Thursday Night Football. Last season, Slayton developed a relationship with Daniel Jones that needs to start clicking if the Giants want to start winning games.
Tim Patrick (Rostered in 13% of ESPN leagues and 22% of Yahoo leagues)
Last season, Tim Patrick walked into fantasy relevancy by filling in Courtland Sutton’s role, and now he takes on Jerry Jeudy’s job. He’s averaging four catches, 38 yards, and a touchdown this season, which is consistent enough to launch him on to rosters for the foreseeable future.
Tight Ends
Maxx Williams (Rostered in <1% of ESPN and Yahoo leagues)
Maxx Williams became Kyler Murray’s safety blanket against the Vikings, catching all seven of his targets for 94 yards. Seven targets foreshadow the future of Williams’ role in the Cardinals offense and his play is a hint for fantasy managers to snag him off the waiver wire before the week’s end.
Jack Doyle (Rostered in <1% of ESPN leagues and 1% of Yahoo leagues)
On Sunday, Carson Wentz suffered an injury to his ankles, sending Jacob Eason to be his replacement for the remainder of the game and possibly for Week 3. Doyle finished as TE4 on Sunday, but could be a TE1 in a lineup this week as Eason prepares for his first NFL start.
Dawson Knox (Rostered in 3% of ESPN leagues and 6% of Yahoo leagues)
Knox scored his first touchdown of the season against Miami this week and Josh Allen loves to target him in the red zone. It’s worth taking the risk, especially in a Buffalo offense that is pass first week in and week out.
The waiver wire can improve or ruin your week. So don’t be that person who stays content with mediocrity and go make a claim.