Mason, Teddy, and Minshew Oh My- Waiver Wire Finds Week 3

You can never feel too secure with your roster in Fantasy Football because you are one hit away from seeing your favorite player go down for the season. This makes the waiver wire finds even more critical for building the bench.

Before the season started if anyone expected Teddy Bridgewater to be a fantasy factor this year they were borderline crazy because Drew Brees hasn’t missed a game due to injuries since grade school. But now the fantasy world has to react to major injuries to three more quarterbacks in the past week. 

Finding Those Gems

Each league is different but the smaller your roster size the more you have to be aware of the gems available on the waiver wire. A player has to be available in 60% of Yahoo leagues in order to be eligible.

Yahoo is only being used as a consistent reference and at least one player each week will be a deep sleeper available in 80% of Yahoo leagues. Don’t clog the last spot on your roster with an average player invest in a player in a “Next Man Up” situation before everyone notices him.  

Quarterbacks on the Block

Trust experience but keep a sharp eye on the performances of Gardner Minshew, Mason Rudolph, Luke Falk and Teddy Bridgewater over the next couple of weeks.

Josh Allen – 60% Available

Last year quite a few teams used Josh Allen during fantasy playoff times with great success but very few people were believers. After two solid games he is a viable option if you just lost a starting quarterback this week. 

Andy Dalton – 81% Available

It can be a bit of a rocky boom/bust cycle with Andy Dalton so this pick up is not for the squeamish. But Dalton hasn’t thrown three 300 yard plus games in a row since 2015 and has been below league average in Consistency the last two seasons. 

Jacoby Brissett – 88% Available

The first two weeks of the season Brissett has been a game manager throwing fewer than 30 times in each game. The next step is graduating to a low volume quality fantasy quarterback in the Russell Wilson mode. 

Running Backs on the Block 

Raheem Mostert – 84% Available

Last year without Jimmy G the 49ers offense produced quality running backs most week in fantasy football. The problem is that each week it seemed to be a different guy. Matt Breida is a little gimpy making Mostert a great pick up this week. 

Jaylen Samuels – 65% Available

James Conner may or may not miss time with his knee injury going forward. If he misses time the sexy pick up will be Benny Snell but the smart running back to own will be Jaylen Samuels. 

Justice Hill – 77% Available

Mark Ingram is still the starter and that will not change but he is already showing wear and tear. Gus Edwards would share the load if Ingram needs time off but Hill should get 10-15 touches to show what he can do and could take over.  

Darrel Williams – 99% Available

It appears that Damien Williams is showing some wear and tear from his first full time duty already and Shady McCoy also came up limping this week. Darwin Thompson will be the sexy pick but the other D-Will could be the best back on the roster. 

Wide Receivers on the Block

DJ Chark Jr – 87% Available

It is almost criminal that this young wide receiver is still available in so many leagues. While his point production was down slightly in week 2 his target count increased. Came out of week 2 with a slight ankle issue which is a concern. 

Randall Cobb – 76% Available

As the third option at wide receiver Cobb got 5 targets in week 1 and 6 targets in week 2. Michael Gallup will be out several weeks with an injury opening the door to even more targets for Cobb. Also has half of wide receiver red zone looks. 

Demarcus Robinson – 93% Available

This is NOT the usual one week over reaction because I do not recommend starting Robinson right away if you grab him on waivers. But IF Sammy Watkins did get hurt the boom/bust cycle expected would be mostly boom. 

Tight Ends on the Block

Will Dissly – 97% Available

If you have been following this article the last two weeks you are no longer in need at tight end because you own Mark Andrews or Darren Waller. But if you missed out on those two Dissly will be a touchdown dependent option at the position. 

Vernon Davis – 71% Available

Apparently Vernon Davis has found the Fountain of Youth while Jordan Reed has been unable to play due to concussion. This is another touchdown dependent tight end but if you are desperate at the position Davis is an option. 

Conclusions

We are already getting close to the BYE weeks which begin during week four. This is the time to replace injured players with guys that have decent upside if they get playing time due to injuries on their roster over the next few weeks.

The ordinary type players at running back and wide receiver will always be available for BYE week substitutions so why not grab someone with better upside? While two weeks is a short sample size if you are looking at the important data such as snap count and targets instead of the more volatile fantasy points you can start to see some trends emerge.

When in doubt take a player with some level of history instead of the first time starter especially at the quarterback position to avoid having a horrible week. Good luck with your waiver wire choices.