Week #3 Waiver Watch Of Truth

The 2023 season is off to a bumpy start with the injury bug brutally sweeping through the league. The all important waiver wire has become even more important to fantasy owners in this young season. Let’s sift through the best available players out there. 

Quarterbacks 

Russell Wilson (47% rostered), Denver Broncos – Wilson was the center of a ton of criticism last year, rightfully so as the QB of one of the league’s worst offenses.  The Broncos are off to an 0-2 start, but the offense, and Wilson especially, looks vastly improved under Sean Payton, and we would expect the offense to pick up as Payton incorporates more of his offense.  He has almost 500 yards and 5 TDs on the season and recently got back his top weapon in Jerry Jeudy who should see more run as he recovers from the hamstring injury.  Favorable matchups against Miami and Chicago next week could land Wilson amongst the Top 12 QBs for a few weeks.

Daniel Jones (61% rostered), New York Giants – After an abysmal Week 1 against Dallas, Jones bounced back in a big way against Arizona with 31 fantasy points.  Jones had a better than expected year last season, and with Saquon Barkley out, we might see a bit more fall on Jones’ shoulders.  He’s a tough start in Week 3 going up against San Fran on Thursday night, but gets some favorable matchups after that against Seattle and Miami.  

CJ Stroud (24% rostered), Houston Texans – In Week 2 we saw flashes of the ability that made Stroud the #2 overall pick in the draft.  He carved up the Colts’ porous defense to the tune of 384 yards and 2 touchdowns.  The Texans have a poor running game so far this year and negative game scripts have given Stroud more volume than anticipated, and I think we can continue to see good weeks from Stroud ahead.  I wouldn’t bank on him throwing for 380+ each week, but he should be a high volume passer that adds a bit with his legs and has some underrated weapons at his disposal.  A nice matchup against Jacksonville this week makes him a streaming candidate for Week 3.  

Running Backs 

Jerome Ford (16% rostered)/Pierre Strong (3% rostered), Cleveland Browns – This one is tough to write because Nick Chubb is one of my favorite players in the league, but a gruesome injury forced Chubb to get carted off the field on Monday night.  We’ll wait for further confirmation, but the injury didn’t look good, and I expect Chubb to miss considerable time, and most likely the rest of the season.  The Browns have one of the better offensive lines in the NFL and Kevin Stefanski loves to run the ball.  Ford is next man up on the depth chart but we saw Strong mix in a bit as well, so we’ll have to see how the pecking order shakes out, but worth a speculation add on either guy.  Ford would be my first priority, and also worth spending a small amount of FAAB on Strong.  I think Cleveland becomes a likely destination to sign someone like Kareem Hunt or Leonard Fournette, but for now I would grab these guys and see how it shakes out.  

Tyjae Spears (26% rostered), Tennessee Titans – It won’t show up in the box score so you might not need to overspend to acquire Spears, but he has been a nice compliment to Derrick Henry this season and has lightning type ability who can house it with any touch.  He played less snaps in Week 2, but received more opportunities with 10 total this week.  Probably won’t be a league winner type unless Henry gets injured, but he’s a flex you can throw in with some upside given his homerun ability.  

Devon Achane (56% rostered), Miami Dolphins – After a healthy scratch in Week 1, Achane got his first NFL action in Week 2, but didn’t see the field much given only 10% of snaps a 1 carry.  Running mate Salvon Ahmed got banged up in the game against New England, so Achane is one of the only few healthy bodies left standing in Miami.  Raheem Mostert seems to be the workhorse for now, and Jeff Wilson return from IR is looming in a few weeks, but Achance was drafted pretty high and has electric ability, and could get some additional run with Ahmed out and before Wilson returns.  Plus we all know Mostert’s lack of durability throughout his career, Achancecould be forced into more work than expected sooner than later.  

Matt Breida (3% rostered), New York Giants – Saquon Barkley was hobbled at the end of the Giants’ game this past week, and reports came out of a normal ankle sprain, which could sideline Barkley for up to three weeks.  Breida is uninspiring and not very dynamic, but with the slew of injuries so far this season, a guy who could see the majority of backfield touches is useful.  I wouldn’t go crazy spending up on Breida given the Giants have to play the Eagles stout defense this week, but definitely worthan add if you’re hurting at RB.

Craig Reynolds (0% rostered) , Detroit Lions – A common theme of this week’s waiver wire is injury replacements, and Lions’ RB David Montgomery left this week’s game early and reports this week mentioned he could “miss a few weeks” recovering from a thigh injury.  Most people would expect Jahmyr Gibbs to assume more work, but on Sunday it seemed as if Reynolds was the one filling in for Montgomery while Gibbs maintained his usual role.  Things could change with a full week of practice and I would expect Gibbs to get more work regardless, but Reynolds should see decent enough opportunities to be a flex option for a high-powered offense that loves to run the ball.  

Probably owned but double check – Here’s a list of guys we highlighted last week, and have pretty high roster ownership, but double check to make sure these guys aren’t available.  If so, they would be my top priorities.

Roschon Johnson, Chicago Bears

Kyren Williams, Los Angeles Rams

Zach Moss, Indianapolis Colts

Raheem Mostert, Miami Dolphins

Wide Receivers 

Skyy Moore (54% rostered), Kansas City Chiefs – A confusing Week 1 saw Moore on the field for 69% of snaps, but only 3 targets and no receptions in an abysmal game.  Moore bounced back in a big way in Week 3, with 3 catches for 70 yards and a TD.  He’ll be hard to trust as a consistent option since he still only saw 4 targets so the volume won’t be dependable, but he’s at least proven now he can make plays and we should see the Chiefs’ offense get better as they’ve been underwhelming through the first two weeks.  He can be a nice boom/bust flex option for your lineup if you need to add some volatility to the roster.  

Jayden Reed (19% rostered), Green Bay Packers – Reed got a ton of puff this off-season and delivered in a big way in Week 2 while top WR Christian Watson continues to miss time.  Reed was on the field about the same amount compared to Week 1 (56% of snaps Week 2, 53% in Week 1), but got much more opportunity with 8 targets this week.  He turned those 8 targets into 4 receptions for 32 yards and 2 touchdowns.  Like Skyy Moore, Reed will most likely be inconsistent week to week, but can be a boom/bust flex option especially while Watson missestime.  

Josh Reynolds (21% rostered), Detroit Lions – I believe we highlighted Reynolds in last week’s article, but people must not be paying attention given Reynold’s low roster ownership still. He’s put up back to back weeks with double digit PPR points, and exploded in Week 2 for 5 catches, 66 yards and 2 touchdowns.  Of course we shouldn’t bank on 2 TDs every week, but Reynolds is on the field a ton (80% snaps in Week 2) and seems to be a favorite target of Jared Goff.  Plus keep an eye on the injury news this week – we saw lead WR Amon-Ra St. Brown come up gimpy a few times in this game and early reports speculate turf toe for St. Brown.  Reynolds is the clear #2 in a good offense and could see additional opportunities if St. Brown is banged up.  

Tank Dell (21% rostered), Houston Texans – As highlighted in the Stroud segment above, the Houston offense can’t run the ball at the moment and is constantly in negative game scripts.  Dell was a beneficiary of the increased passing attack, receiving 10 targets which he turned into 7 catches for 72 yards and a touchdown.  I expect Houston to be trailing a lot this season, and if the run-game woes continue, Dell should continue to see some consistent volume from Stroud and might be a reliable flex option in PPR leagues.  

Probably owned but double check – Here’s a list of guys we highlighted last week, and have pretty high roster ownership, but double check to make sure these guys aren’t available.  If so, they would be my top priorities.

Nico Collins, Houston Texans

Puka Nacua, Los Angeles Rams

Tutu Atwell, Los Angeles Rams

TE

Hunter Henry (48% rostered), New England Patriots – Another week lands Henry as one of the top performers at Tight End, and this trend should continue as the Patriot’s offense looks miles ahead of where it was last year.  With the lack of receiving options in New England, Henry has been one of Mac Jones’ top targets and has scored in back to back weeks.  Henry seems like a plug and play TE you can set and forget for the rest of the season.  

Sam Laporta (65% rostered), Detroit Lions – We haven’t seen a massive explosion yet from Laporta, but he’s been consistently on the field (80%+ snaps in both weeks) and has been given a good amount of opportunity (6 targets in each game).  It’s not a bed bet to own pieces of a good offense and Laporta should get more acclimated as each week goes on.  

Zach Ertz (17% rostered), Arizona Cardinals – Ertz has been cast aside and left for dead for a few years now, but continues to be highly involved in the Arizona offense.  He’s gotten 8+ targets and 6 receptions in both games this year, and played around 70% of snaps in each.  He isn’t a sexy name and probably doesn’t have a huge ceiling anymore, but given the gross tight end landscape this year, 8 targets a week is a very useable asset.  

DST Play of the Week

Kansas City Chiefs – The Chiefs are home against the Bears who have been a dumpster fire this season.  Justin Fields seems to have regressed from his late season heroics last year, and has been handing out fantasy points to DSTs through 2 weeks.  The Chiefs are a 12.5-point home favorite, and the Bears have an implied team total of only 18 points.  

Good luck on the wire and as always, stay true.