Fantasy Football Waiver Wire: Early Must-Adds for Week 4
Here are your early must-adds off the fantasy football waiver wire for Week 4.
Week 3 of the 2024 NFL schedule is nearly complete, with a Sunday night game and a Monday night doubleheader to go. But it’s not too early to look ahead to Week 4 for fantasy football waiver wire reinforcements, as the start of bye weeks looms in Week 5.
Bucky Irving, RB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Irving had nine carries for 70 yards on Sunday against the Denver Broncos, along with three catches for 14 yards. He continues to be a far more efficient runner than Rachaad White (six carries for 17 yards on Sunday), while the passing game usage still tilts toward White (five catches for 18 yards on Sunday) as he is more trusted as a pass protector.
Still, in the interest of playing the best players, the overall snap split in the Buccaneers’ backfield should start to move toward Irving. White is not going away completely, barring an injury, but a 70-30 snap split favoring him over the first three games makes no sense.
A backfield timeshare is a general buzzkill for fantasy owners, and that has kept Irving’s ownership rates in check. But what he could do with 50 percent of the snaps, or even 40 percent, puts him in this space as a must-add again.
ESPN Ownership: 32.8%
Yahoo! Ownership: 35%
Sam Darnold, QB, Minnesota Vikings
Darnold went 17-for-28 for 181 yard with four touchdowns against the Houston Texans on Sunday, with zero interceptions. He has multiple passing touchdowns in all three games this season (eight total), with more than 20 fantasy points in each of the last two.
Week 4 brings a middle of the road matchup for Darnold against the Green Bay Packers, who have intercepted six passes this season. But Green Bay has also allowed multiple passing touchdowns in two of their three games.
Darnold did have a brief injury scare after he was hit low on Sunday, and doctors were looking at his left knee. But he quickly came back into the game, and appeared to be no worse for the wear afterward.
The injury situation is worth keeping in mind, and be aware of a Week 6 bye, but Darnold is becoming impossible to ignore and he is worth adding (at minimum) as a QB2 in leagues with 12 or more teams.
ESPN Ownership: 16.2%
Yahoo! Ownership: 29%
Justin Fields, QB, Pittsburgh Steelers
Fields went 25-for-32 for 245 yards with a touchdown and an interception against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, along with a rushing touchdown. He has topped 50 rushing yards or scored on the ground in two of three games this season.
The specter of when Russell Wilson (calf) might be healthy enough to play lurks over the Steelers’ quarterback situation. But Fields is avoiding mistakes and the team is 3-0, so he should be the starter.
Upcoming matchups against the Indianapolis Colts (Week 4), Dallas Cowboys (Week 5), Las Vegas Raiders (Week 6) and New York Giants (Week 8) aren’t daunting for Fields.
Fields has more appeal in superflex leagues, but he’s worth a look as a QB2 in standard 12-team leagues and he’s viable streamer as bye weeks approach as long as he has the starting job (which should be for good, barring injury).
ESPN Ownership: 24.1%
Yahoo! Ownership: 16%
Braelon Allen, RB, New York Jets
Breece Hall is the unchecked lead guy in the Jets’ backfield. But Allen has emerged some, with double-digit opportunities (carries and targets) and over 55 yards from scrimmage over the last two games along with two touchdowns (one rushing and one receiving in Week 2).
Game script in a 24-3 win over the New England Patriots in Week 3 surely helped Allen see more work than he might have otherwise (11 carries). But as highlighted by Nathan Jahnke of Pro Football Focus, he was on the field more evenly throughout the game compared to Week 2.
Allen has automatic fantasy value as the handcuff to Hall, with potential standalone utility as a flex option. Even those who don’t have Hall should have the rookie out of Wisconsin on their waiver wire radar heading toward Week 4.
ESPN Ownership: 28%
Yahoo! Ownership: 36%
Josh Downs, WR, Indianapolis Colts
Downs made his season debut Sunday against the Chicago Bears, with a non-descript three catches for 22 yards (on five targets). But he played over half of the Colts’ offensive snaps (32 of 56, and 32 of 41 in “11” personnel according to Pro Football Focus) and he ran 16 routes (31.2 target rate on routes run).
Downs also had a 25 percent target share on Anthony Richardson’s 20 pass attempts on Sunday.
Richardson has a lot of work to do as a passer, and with that in mind the Colts stand to remain fairly run-heavy. But Downs’ heavy involvement right away puts him on the radar to add in 12-team leagues, with some favor to PPR formats.
ESPN Ownership: 9.5%
Yahoo! Ownership: 26%
Quentin Johnston, WR, Los Angeles Chargers
Johnston had just two targets and two catches for 44 yards against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, as the Chargers only had 20 pass attempts. Justin Herbert also aggravated the ankle injury he entered the game with and exited in the third quarter. But the second-year receiver had a touchdown in the game, giving him three over the last two games.
With others (DJ Chark, Josh Palmer) out of the mix due to injury, Johnston has become the top perimeter receiver for the Chargers. 13 targets in three games isn’t ideal volume, but an offense run by Jim Harbaugh and Greg Roman is never going to be pass-heavy and Johnston had 11 targets over the first two games. Los Angeles also had just 45 offensive plays on Sunday.
Herbert’s status is a needle-mover for Johnston’s fantasy value heading toward Week 4 against the Kansas City Chiefs, and the Chargers have a Week 5 bye. But a game against the Chiefs pushes the idea of a pass-heavier game script regardless of who’s under center.
It’ll be hard to start Johnston if Herbert is out in Week 4, and some fantasy managers may have a hard time holding him through that Week 5 bye. But he seems to have turned a corner in his career, and in a big picture sense he should be rostered in 12 and 14-team leagues.
ESPN Ownership: 42.8%
Yahoo! Ownership: 45%
Geno Smith, QB, Seattle Seahawks
Smith went 26-for-34 for 289 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions on Sunday against the Miami Dolphins. He has topped 285 passing yards in back-to-back games.
Three of Seattle’s next four opponents (Detroit Lions-Week 4, San Francisco 49ers-Week 6, Atlanta Falcons Week 7) entered Week 3 in the bottom half of the league in fantasy points allowed to quarterbacks (Yahoo! scoring). The exception is Week 5 against the New York Giants, which is hardly a daunting matchup.
Smith is a strong streaming option in Week 4, and for the next month as long as his ownership rates qualify him.
ESPN Ownership: 27.8%
Yahoo! Ownership: 43%
Cole Kmet, TE, Chicago Bears
Kmet had a career-high 10 catches for a team-high 97 yards with a touchdown against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday. Over the last two games has taken the lead over Gerald Everett as the No. 1 tight end for the Bears, with 16 targets over that span.
Per Nathan Jahnke of Pro Football Focus, Kmet ran a route on 71.4 percent of Chicago’s pass plays on Sunday after doing so about 10 percent less in Week 2. That is apparently not “ideal for a fantasy starter”, but I see no issue with that level of route participation when the sheer number of routes was third on the team like it was Sunday.
Tight end has been even worse than usual early this season. So while there is flaw to find with Kmet if you want to find it, he is a must-add this week for anyone who’s struggling for an option at the position.
ESPN Ownership: 26.1%
Yahoo! Ownership: 40%
DeAndre Hopkins, WR, Tennessee Titans
Hopkins had a team-high six catches for 73 yards and a touchdown against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday. He looked notably better than he did the first two weeks, as he deals with a knee sprain. Fantasy managers who did draft him bailed at a large rate after he had two catches for 17 yards over the first two games.
Any passing game target of Titans’ quarterback Will Levis will be hard for fantasy managers to trust week-to-week. But Hopkins could become a reliable middle of the field target for the young signal caller now that he’s looking healthier.
Hopkins has probably never been part of a waiver wire column before in his career. In leagues with 12 or more teams, with a bit of a tilt toward PPR formats, his availability is worth checking on if you need a wide receiver.
ESPN Ownership: 66.8%
Yahoo! Ownership: 56%
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