TST NFL Fantasy Week 4 Waiver Wire

Another week of NFL action is in the books, including another interesting week of fantasy. Similar to the previous week, this week’s waiver wire options aren’t the most appealing or enticing. It feels too early to have a full understanding of which direction a team is going with certain players. However with the information that is available, there are still clues that can point us in the right direction to find meaningful information. 

Heading into Week Three, here are my top waiver wire options for every position. My one rule that I have set for this is that a player must be rostered in less than 60 percent of ESPN leagues to be eligible in my column.

Quarterbacks

Geno Smith - Las Vegas Raiders; Rostered: 10%: Following a horrific Monday night against the Chargers in Week 2, the 12-year veteran bounced back in a big way, in terms of fantasy, last week against the Commanders. Finishing with 26.06 FPTS, Smiths threw for 289 yards and three touchdowns, while completing 65 percent of his passes. He has another solid matchup in Week 4 at home against the Chicago Bears, who have given up the fourth-most FPTS (22.62), including eight passing touchdowns to quarterbacks this season. 

Carson Wentz - Minnesota Vikings; 3.1%: Wentz made his first NFL start since Week 18 of last season, and had a sturdy performance against the Bengals last Sunday. Stepping in for the injured second-year quarterback J.J. McCarthy, Wentz threw for 173 passing yards, completed 70 percent of his throws and tossed a pair of touchdowns. Entering Week 4 with the addition of wide receiver Jordan Addison to the fold, Wentz has s  shot of putting up another commendable outing against the Steelers in Ireland. The Steelers defense has allowed the fifth-most passing yards (781) and FPTS (21.51) to quarterbacks through the first three games. 

Michael Penix Jr. - Atlanta Falcons; Rostered: 31.2%: It was a rough afternoon for Penix, who finished with 3.78 FPTS and was benched by veteran Kirk Cousins late in the fourth quarter during their blowout loss to the Panthers. While some people might be down on the second-year quarterback, I believe his Week 4 matchup at home against the Commanders can provide a favorable matchup. Washington has allowed the eighth-most yards allowed (749) and have averaged the sixth-most FPTS (19.35) to QBs.  

Running Backs

Trey Benson - Arizona Cardinals; 54.8%: With James Conner suffering a season-ending ankle injury that will require surgery, Benson has to be the No. 1 fantasy add this week, if available. Since last season, Benson has emerged onto the scene as a solid backup for Conner and has carved a nice role in the Cardinals offense this season with 125 rushing yards on 21 carries and 45 receiving yards on eight catches. On Thursday night, in his first start, Benson will take on the Seahawks in Arizona. Without surrendering a touchdown, the Seahawks have given up the most receiving yards (234) and have averaged the 10th-most FPTS allowed (23.13) to running backs this season. 

Ollie Gordon II - Miami Dolphins; Rostered: 23.4%: Rookie running back Gordon II had his best outing so far in Week 3 against the Bills, rushing for 38 yards on nine carries and averaged 4.2 yards a pop. His numbers aren’t gaudy, but if you watched him last Thursday, you can see that he is the Dolphins heavy goal-line back compared to starting RB De’Von Achane, who obviously has a different role from Gordon. I’m not picking him to start right away, but I believe Gordon is a solid pickup to stash on your bench in case Achane were to miss any games. 

Kareem Hunt - Kansas City Chiefs; Rostered: 31.6%: At this time, the available running back market is very weak in fantasy. As options are slim, Hunt is someone to have consideration for, following his 11.4 FPTS game against the Giants in Week 3. Since the first week, his carries and rushing yards have gone up despite an almost even split in touches with Isiah Pacheco. The starting job is honestly still up for grabs, but if you are desperate or need more options at the position, Hunt is worth putting a flyer on with his usage near the goal-line. In Week 4, the Chiefs will host the Ravens, who aren’t good at stopping the run, averaging the second-most FPTS to running backs (28.05) this season and just gave up a combined 263 rushing yards and four touchdowns to Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery on Monday night. 

Woody Marks - Houston Texans; Rostered 8.9%: Another rookie running back that has gained some steam is Marks, who rushed only for 27 yards in Week 3, but is expected to have a bigger role on the team as the season progresses. Also, the only competition ahead of him is Nick Chubb. If Chubb were to miss anytime, Marks would instantly become the guy for the Texans backfield. This week, the fourth-round pick will square off against the Titans defense that got shredded for 102 rushing yards and three touchdowns to Jonathan Taylor on Sunday. Stash Marks on your bench.  

Wide Receivers

Elic Ayomanor - Tennessee Titans; Rostered: 21.1%: Ayomanor should have been on my Week 3 waiver wire pick ups following his 15.6 FPTS outing against the Rams. The fourth-round rookie wideout followed up his performance last week with another double-digit day (13.9 FPTS) with four catches on five targets with 38 yards receiving and scored a touchdown for a second consecutive week. With Calvin Ridley struggling as the team’s current No. 1 wide receiver, Ayomanor has quickly developed chemistry with rookie QB Cam Ward and is the third leading receiver on the team behind Ridley and tight-end Chig Okonkwo, despite scoring the only receiving touchdowns on the Titans. Ayomanor is a must add this week.  

Tyquan Thornton - Kansas City Chiefs; Rostered: 2.3%: With the injury of Xavier Worthy and the six -game suspension of Rashee Rice, Thornton has bursted onto the fantasy scene as a great waiver wire add this week. He is tied for the most receiving yards (171), second most targets (18) and has the most receiving touchdowns on the team. He also has averaged 19 yards per-catch, which is the most on the Chiefs. Thornton’s role as the Chiefs deep threat could come to an end when Worthy returns to the lineup, but Thornton’s recent production has shown that Mahomes is relying on him as the Chiefs struggle to find any offensive firepower through the air and the ground.  

Sterling Shepard - Tampa Bay Buccaneers; Rostered: 0.9%: During Sunday’s Week 3 contest against Jets, Bucs wide receiver Shepard became one of Baker Mayfield’s go-to targets once Mike Evans left the game with a hamstring injury. Now with the recent news of him being sidelined for multiple games, Shepard’s position in the offense will increase. He is obviously not ahead of fellow teammate Emeka Egbuka, but he will certainly get more work as Chris Godwin gets back up to speed. Shepard has the second most receiving yards (153) on the team and has averaged 13.9 yards per-catch. He draws a tough matchup this week against the Eagles, but he is still worth the add onto your roster.    

Tre Tucker: Las Vegas Raiders; Rostered: 2.3%: If you were to list the top receivers in fantasy it would look like this: Puka Nacua, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Rome Odunze and Tre Tucker. Yes, Tucker has cracked the top five through the first three weeks of the regular season. Partly the reason is because of his explosive 40.9 FPTS, that translates to eight catches, 145 yards and three touchdowns against the Commanders in Week 3. Tucker has the second-most yards (211) and third-most targets on the Raiders. He also leads the team with four touchdowns this season. Tucker has an opportunity to have another insane performance in Week 4 against the Bears, who have allowed the fourth-most FPTS and tied for the most touchdowns to wide receivers this season.   

Tight Ends

Chig Okonkwo - Tennessee Titans; Rostered: 15.1%: The Titans have been trying to get Okonkwo involved more into the offense for Ward, who desperately needs assistance in all areas. Okonkwo finished with 11.6 FPTS last week against the Colts. He has had a healthy amount of targets (16) through the first three weeks and is still a threat near the end zone. As far as available options, the tight end market is slim. Okonkwo is honestly one of the best options out there, but plays a stout Texans defense that did allow Jaguars’ Brenton Strange to finish with six catches for 61 yards in Week 3.  

Brenton Strange - Jacksonville Jaguars; Rostered: 21.2%: Strange is the current leading receiver for the Jaguars over Brian Thomas Jr. and Travis Hunter. He has the most receiving yards (137), receptions (13) and is tied for the second-most targets (16). In Week 4, Strange and the Jaguars will take on the Niners, who are in the middle of the pack for FPTS allowed to tight ends, but have allowed a pair of touchdowns at the position. However, once Thomas and/or Hunter start to produce more in the offense, Strange’s role in the offense will shrink. He is still worth the add, considering the lack of options available.  

Harold Fannin Jr. - Cleveland Browns; Rostered: 39.1%: I don’t understand how Fannin Jr. is only rostered in just under 40 percent of ESPN fantasy leagues. While his numbers have gone down since his 13.6 FPTS outing in Week 1, the Browns still run a lot of two tight end sets and like getting the rookie tight end involved with David Njoku. He is currently the leader in receiving yards (136) on the team and is tied for the second-most targets (18). Fannin had a rough go on Sunday in their win against the Packers, but honestly most players, in general, struggle against Green Bay. This week he plays the Lions, who just allowed a struggling Mark Andrews to have six catches for 91 yards and two touchdowns on Monday night. 

DEFENSE/ST

Los Angeles Chargers; Rostered: 12.5%: The Chargers are ranked as one of the highest projected defenses to run this week as they play against the Giants, who are debuting rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart. Adding the unpredictability of a rookie QB debut, the Chargers have all the momentum entering MetLife Stadium and will make it hard for Dart to find any success. Chargers defense has to be one of the top adds if you are looking for a defense to stream this week.  

Los Angeles Rams; Rostered: 32.6%: I’m going to go out on a limb here and say the Rams will be the team that brings the undefeated Colts back down to earth. The Rams defense is a very aggressive unit that has recorded 12 sacks, which is tied for the most in the league, and has recorded at least one turnover through the first three weeks. The Rams finished with a surprising seven FPTS last week against a scary Eagles offense. This week, besides Daniel Jones, the biggest concern for the Rams is to stop Jonathan Taylor, who is currently playing like the best running back in the NFL. This is a risky play to stream, but I definitely see the upside if things go right.