Fantasy Football: Top 10 waiver wire pickups for Week 3 (2024)

09/17/2024 11:21 AM

Week 2 of the 2024 NFL season has come and gone, and unfortunately, it has also brought a lot of injuries to key players. With your fantasy football roster likely being impacted, let's see how you can pivot in our Week 3 waiver wire pickups.

Players like Christian McCaffrey, Puka Nacua, Cooper Kupp, Deebo Samuel, Jordan Love, Tee Higgins, and other big names have dealt with different injuries to start the season. Losing these players this early in the year makes it tough to field a competitive roster without combing the fantasy football waiver wire.

The following list includes players that are rostered on fewer than 50 percent of all ESPN rosters making the chances you can pick them up pretty high. Heading into the third week of your fantasy football season, try your best to button up some fringe concerns on your roster before injuries really impact you.

Week 3 Waiver Wire Pickups

1. Rico Dowdle, Dallas Cowboys – RB
37.3% Rostered

Kicking off our Week 3 waiver wire pickups is Rico Dowdle, who earned the start and the most work out of the backfield in Dallas' Week 2 loss to the New Orleans Saints. While Ezekiel Elliott is certainly a factor in the run game, Dowdle offers a higher ceiling receiving, which is where he made a big impact Sunday.

Dowdle earned seven carries to Elliott's six and caught four of five targets, totaling 59 total yards to Elliott's 32. While modest totals, it's very possible that the tide has already shifted in the Dallas backfield to preferring Dowdle, making him a strong addition to your running back group.

2. Ty Chandler, Minnesota Vikings – RB
46.6% Rostered

As is the case with Dowdle, Ty Chandler outpaced the incumbent starter, Aaron Jones, in the backfield in Week 2. Chandler was more efficient with his touches, rushing for 50 more yards on only one more carry than Jones.

The outlier in the passing game shouldn't concern you, as Chandler was shut out while Jones earned six targets out of the backfield. Chandler is one game removed from recording three receptions for 25 yards, so expect 10-plus touches for Chandler as he seems to inch closer to moving up from his 1B spot in the Minnesota backfield.

3. Braelon Allen, New York Jets – RB
7.4% Rostered

It wasn't expected to have the Breece Hall handcuff show fantasy relevancy in 2024, but apparently rookie back Braelon Allen is too good to keep off the field. The Wisconsin rookie, who made NFL history in Sunday's win, earned nine touches and turned two of those into scores.

Expecting Allen to become a regular TD scorer isn't realistic for the Jets offense, but earning eight-plus touches per game could help keep Allen on the RB3/4 radar this season, giving you solid bench depth.

4. Demarcus Robinson, Los Angeles Rams – WR
33.6% Rostered

The first wide receiver on our Week 3 waiver wire pickups is Demarcus Robinson, who is one of the few healthy bodies remaining for the Los Angeles Rams. With Puka Nacua already on the injured reserve list and Cooper Kupp likely following suit, Robinson is next up as the Rams WR1.

His familiarity in the Rams offense is important, as he held a key role last year as the WR3 (39/371/4). With how porous the Rams defense has looked so far, it looks likely that Matthew Stafford will be tasked with throwing the ball a ton, giving Robinson a great shot at regular WR2 volume every week.

5. Derek Carr, New Orleans Saints – QB
9.6% Rostered

The lone quarterback on our Week 3 waiver wire pickups is an unexpected name, as Derek Carr has led the Saints to two consecutive 40-point outings to open the season. While Alvin Kamara captured the headlines in their win over the Cowboys, the Saints' Week 1 win against the Carolina Panthers was led by Carr and his three touchdowns.

With matchups upcoming against beatable secondaries like the Philadelphia Eagles, Atlanta Falcons, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Denver Broncos, Carr could continue his strong season. If your QB spot is struggling, look to add Carr, who is rostered in less than 10 percent of ESPN fantasy football rosters.

6. Samaje Perine/Carson Steele/Kareem Hunt, Kansas City Chiefs – RB
3.6/1.6/1.5% Rostered

The unfortunate news of Isiah Pacheco likely missing two months with a fibula injury, the Kansas City Chiefs need to rethink their running back room. With veteran Samaje Perine and unproven rookie Carson Steele next up for in-house options, they also brought in former Chief Kareem Hunt on a visit.

All of these names fail to really instill any confidence moving forward, especially since none of these three should earn a RB1 workload. Signs point to Perine earning the bigger uptick in work, but Steele was the next man up when Pacheco departed Sunday's win.

Take your pick of these three options, but if you need a pecking order for how you should target these players, they are listed in order of best to worst targets.

7. Quentin Johnston, Los Angeles Chargers – WR
6.9% Rostered

It is possible that the Los Angeles Chargers have a better wide receiver group than we expected. Even though they are still a run-focused offense, games like Quentin Johnston's two-TD performance in Sunday's win over the Panthers shows this group has some upside.

It shouldn't be expected that Johnston or rookie Ladd McConkey will put up WR1/2/flex numbers every week, but there are plenty of targets to go around that should make one of these players playable. Johnston's Week 2 performance should bode well for his stock moving forward, as the second-year receiver may have finally started to scratch at his potential that made him a first-round pick last year.

8. Jauan Jennings, San Francisco 49ers – WR
1.4% Rostered

Injuries have hit the San Francisco 49ers HARD, as McCaffrey and Samuel will both miss a few weeks with their lower-body injuries. With Brandon Aiyuk struggling and George Kittle only able to do so much, there needs to be another option step up in the San Francisco offense.

Jauan Jennings, a trusted weapon for Kyle Shanahan, is next in line at the receiver spot, and he has stepped up in the past to produce some fantasy-relevant games. Jennings should be seen as a WR3 until the vacated targets for Samuel are doled out, but Jennings should be on your list of Week 3 waiver wire pickups this week.

9. Jalen Nailor, Minnesota Vikings – WR
0.5% Rostered

Even if Jordan Addison does make his return Week 3 from his ankle injury, Justin Jefferson will likely be less than 100 percent with his quad injury. Jalen Nailor has carved out a decent role in the Minnesota passing attack to start the year, as the former Michigan State Spartan has found the end zone twice.

While he has only caught four total passes, Nailor is absolutely one of the top three receivers for the Vikings, and he should continue to receive a high snap count that could produce low-end WR2 fantasy football numbers. Nailor should be seen as a bench option at this point, but if Jefferson is forced to miss time, he should see his stock increase.

10. Antonio Gibson, New England Patriots – RB
32.3% Rostered

The final player on our Week 3 waiver wire pickups is another running back, Antonio Gibson. Having been brought in to compliment Rhamondre Stevenson out of the backfield for the New England Patriots, Gibson struggled in his first week.

Week 2 was far better for Gibson, as he turned 12 touches (11 carries) into 103 total yards. While Stevenson will continue to be the bellcow back for the Patriots, Gibson should continue to carve out his role for a team that should find itself playing from behind more often as the season progresses.

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