We are nearly a quarter of the way through the 2022 season, and fantasy football managers will continue to rely on the waiver wire to push
We’ll be taking a look at the top available players rostered in ESPN leagues, using the 75% mark as the threshold. If you have any questions about prioritizing a certain player over another, don’t be afraid to hit me up on Twitter (@KevinHickey11). Your questions, comments, and roasts are always welcome!
Fantasy football waiver wire recommendations refer to 12-team league formats, unless specifically stated.
Check back for any updates throughout Monday and Tuesday as more injury news becomes available.
Priority Free Agents
Update: Given the D’Andre Swift injury news, we swapped Jamaal Williams and Khalil Herbert. We also increased the suggested FAAB for Williams.
1) RB Jamaal Williams, Detroit Lions: While D’Andre Swift is still the player to roster in Detroit’s backfield, Williams isn’t going anywhere. Swift was active despite being on the injury report last week, but it was Williams who saw the valuable touches. Williams held a 60.1% running back rush share compared to Swift’s 21.2% share in Week 3. Swift has a separated shoulder and could miss time. He’s currently considered week-to-week. Williams also cashed in two rushing touchdowns while out-snapping Swift 35-32. It won’t be like this every week when the pair are healthy, but the early season has shown us that Williams is the goal-line back and a reliable player for the Lions. He’s entering the RB2/flex territory while Swift is banged up.
Availability: 55%
FAAB: 20%
2) RB Khalil Herbert, Chicago Bears: Even though David Montgomery is considered day-to-day with a lower leg injury, Herbert is the top add this week. He took 20 carries for 157 rushing yards and two touchdowns while catching both of his targets for 12 yards. Entering Monday night, Herbert is the highest-scoring non-quarterback in Week 3. The Bears clearly don’t want to throw the ball and want to live through the run game. At worst, Herbert is a high-end handcuff. But he may be working his way into more of a timeshare after this performance and with Montgomery dealing with an injury.
Availability: 74%
FAAB: 20%
3) WR Romeo Doubs, Green Bay Packers: Needing wide receivers to step up in a big way, Doubs rose to the challenge in Week 3. With Christian Watson inactive and Sammy Watkins on the injured reserve list, the rookie out of Nevada posted eight receptions on eight targets for 73 yards and a touchdown. All were team-high totals for the Packers. Given how badly the Packers need someone to step up in the wide receiver room, Doubs is certainly worth a look as a potential flex play moving forward.
Availability: 84%
FAAB: 12%
4) WR Zay Jones, Jacksonville Jaguars: The offense down in Duval looks like a much more competent unit under Doug Pederson. Jones had another eventful game in Week 3, logging 10 receptions on 11 targets for 85 receiving yards and a touchdown. It marked the second time in three weeks that Jones saw at least nine targets in a game. Even with the Jaguars leading for most of the game, they continued to rely on the pass. It’s a two-man show in Jacksonville between Jones and Christian Kirk as the former now has a 21.6% target share through three games.
Availability: 91%
FAAB: 10%
5) WR Greg Dortch, Arizona Cardinals: How long Dortch will keep this up remains to be seen so we should exercise a bit of caution. However, he’s clearly the No. 2 wide receiver behind Marquise Brown, and DeAndre Hopkins isn’t eligible to return for another three games. Dortch posted nine receptions on 10 targets for 80 yards in Week 3. His 23 targets through three games are 10 more than the next wide receiver’s, and it’s clear he’s taking on the slot role meant for Rondale Moore. Dortch can be plugged into the lineup as a flex play, especially if he’s earned himself a bigger role for the rest of the season.
Availability: 93%
FAAB: 8%
6) WR Michael Gallup, Dallas Cowboys: We may get to see Gallup make his season debut Monday night against the New York Giants. Even though he’s more of a stash at this point, Gallup is returning to an offense that desperately needs help at wide receiver. It may be wise to keep Gallup on the bench until Dak Prescott returns, but this may be the final week he’s widely available in leagues.
Availability: 53%
FAAB: 5%
7) WR Russell Gage, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Considering the injuries in the wide receiver room, Gage took on a bigger role for Tampa Bay in Week 3. He led the team with 13 targets and a ridiculous 32.5% target share while posting 12 receptions for 87 yards and a touchdown. Gage won’t see this kind of share or production when Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, and Julio Jones are all on the field. But with Godwin and Jones potentially one more week away, Gage is worth an add to see if he can be the WR2 in Tom Brady’s offense. Avoid overspending based on this one week of production.
Availability: 45%
FAAB: 5%
8) QB Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars: For those in need of an option at quarterback, Lawrence may just be the one to target. The No. 1 overall pick from the 2021 NFL draft put together another masterful performance in Week 3 against the Los Angeles Chargers. He completed 28-of-39 passes (71.8%) for 262 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions. Entering Monday night, that’s good enough for the QB4 finish on the week. We should temper expectations in Week 4 as he takes on the Philadelphia Eagles, but Lawrence is looking more like the highly touted prospect we expected to see.
Availability: 49%
FAAB: 5-10%
9) TE David Njoku, Cleveland Browns: We should always be cautious of tight end additions off the waiver wire. It’s likely their production will continue to be volatile. But Njoku is showing the kind of ceiling we want to see in a cheap tight end option. On Thursday Night Football, Njoku posted nine receptions on 10 targets for 89 yards and a touchdown. It was his second consecutive week with a touchdown, and his 32.3% target share was the highest he’s ever seen in a single game. We shouldn’t expect that kind of usage every week, but it’s nice to see he has that upside built in. He’s lower on this list because the tight end position isn’t as valuable, and we should still expect down weeks as a part of his range of outcomes.
Availability: 67%
FAAB: 5%
Grab-n-Stash
RB Alexander Mattison, Minnesota Vikings: While Mattison might qualify as a priority free agent, the injury news surrounding Dalvin Cook (shoulder) doesn’t appear to be serious. Still, Mattison should be added this week and stashed in case of a future incident. If Cook is healthy enough to play with a harness, Mattison isn’t playable. But he has weekly RB1 upside when Cook is out.
Availability: 62%
FAAB: 5%
RB Brian Robinson, Washington Commanders: The rookie running back isn’t eligible to return from the PUP list until after Week 4, and even then it isn’t clear when he’ll be activated. However, it appears Robinson’s return is going well after he was shot in the leg just before the start of the season. The committee approach in Washington isn’t appealing, but Robinson has high draft capital and could see valuable touches at the goal line when he returns.
Availability: 62%
FAAB: 3-4%
RB Gus Edwards, Baltimore Ravens: Another running back eligible to return from the PUP list after Week 4, Edwards has a chance to take over a solid role in the Baltimore backfield. While J.K. Dobbins made his season debut in Week 3, he logged only seven carries for 23 yards. It will certainly be a timeshare when Edwards returns, but he will have weekly RB3/flex upside once he’s fully back.
Availability: 96%
FAAB: 3-4%
WR DeVante Parker, New England Patriots: For the most part, we should avoid the Patriots’ passing attack. But when a player like Parker sees 10 targets and a 31.3% target share, we need to at least pay attention. Parker turned those targets into five receptions for 156 receiving yards. The Patriots desperately need someone to step up as the alpha in the wide receiver room, and as much as we all love Jakobi Meyers, that’s not his profile, and who knows how much time he’ll miss with the knee injury that put Parker into this position in the first place. Parker shouldn’t be trusted yet, but this kind of performance bears monitoring as the Pats turn to Brian Hoyer with Mac Jones (ankle) expected to miss time.
Availability: 78%
FAAB: 2-3%
WR Alec Pierce, Indianapolis Colts: Though he still saw the third-most snaps in the wide receiver room behind Michael Pittman Jr. and Parris Campbell, the rookie showed why he has upside in Week 3. Pierce only played 45% of the snaps, but his five targets were more than the rest of the wide receivers combined—outside of Pittman—in Week 3. He turned that into three receptions for 63 yards. It may take a few more weeks of this kind of development, but it won’t be long until he’s the clear No. 2 opposite Pittman Jr. in the Colts offense.
Availability: 92%
FAAB: 2-3%
WR Mack Hollins, Las Vegas Raiders: We should try to avoid fool’s gold when we can, and Hollins is tip-toeing that line. However, we can’t simply ignore when a player posts eight receptions on 10 targets for 158 yards and a touchdown. Over the last two games, Hollins has seen 18 targets. That’s more than any other player on the Raiders offense, including Davante Adams. He’s likely to be volatile when Hunter Renfrow returns from his concussion, but Hollins is someone to monitor.
Availability: 99%
FAAB: 0-1%
Streamers of the Week
For streamers, we are targeting players available in more than 50% of ESPN leagues.
1) TE Tyler Conklin, New York Jets at Pittsburgh Steelers: Don’t look now, but Conklin has been seeing heavy usage to open the season. He hasn’t recorded fewer than seven targets in a game, and sometimes we just have to follow the targets.
Availability: 89%
FAAB: 1-2%
2) QB Matt Ryan, Indianapolis Colts vs. Tennessee Titans: Though Ryan hasn’t looked all that great thus far, we saw improvement in Week 3. The Titans defense has allowed multiple passing touchdowns each week to open the season, and with his full complement of weapons, Ryan could be in line for a solid streaming week.
Availability: 82%
FAAB: 0-1%
3.) New York Giants D/ST vs. Chicago Bears: Expect this to be one of the lowest scoring matchups on the week. The Giants defense has played well under Wink Martindale, and they are nearing the debut of lauded first-round pick Kayvon Thibodeaux.
Availability: 91%
FAAB: 1-2%
4.) PK Younghoe Koo, Atlanta Falcons vs. Cleveland Browns: Koo has been one of the highest-scoring kickers of the season. He gets a matchup inside against the Browns where the Falcons may move the ball just enough to get into field-goal range consistently.
Availability: 80%
FAAB: 0%
5.) QB Geno Smith, Seattle Seahawks at Detroit Lions: Smith hasn’t looked terrible running the Seahawks offense, and he opened it up a bit more in Week 3. Though he had that late interception, Smith finished with 18.9 fantasy points while tossing two touchdowns for the second time in three games. He’ll have a chance for an encore performance against the Lions in Week 4.
Availability: 94%
FAAB: 0%
6.) Las Vegas Raiders D/ST vs. Denver Broncos: Here’s a deep play for you. The Raiders defense hasn’t instilled much confidence this season, but they get to host the Broncos, who have the worst offense in the NFL. Chandler Jones and Maxx Crosby should provide enough pressure on Russell Wilson to make this an intriguing streaming option.
Availability: 98%
FAAB: 0%
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