RADIO
In fantasy football leagues that use FAAB (free agent acquisition budget), it can be hard to know how much money to spend on key players at QB, RB, WR, or TE. Nick Mariano gives fantasy owners his recommendations on how to spend FAAB for Week 4.
Assisting our famous waiver wire pickups list, and our weekly waiver wire columns by position, this column focuses on suggested waiver wire bidding percentages for fantasy football owners in leagues using a Free Agent Acquisition Budget (FAAB).
As a caveat, these prices do not by any means indicate how much these free agent players will go for. Each league values players differently and will continue to do so. These values are here to provide a baseline to understand roughly how much you should be targeting to spend on a particular player. You only have so much FAAB money, spend it as wisely as possible.
We're three weeks into the season and reality is setting in. While early starts are becoming etched in stone, there are still surprises and new faces popping up on our radars. Don't forget to leave room for matchup evaluation with the small samples at play! Without further ado, here are our FAAB auction bidding recommendations for Week 4 below.
Editor's Note: Discover RotoBaller’s top Fantasy Football Sleepers to gain an edge in your drafts. Our free who to draft tool and expert picks spotlight undervalued players, breakout candidates, and late-round gems for all league formats.
FAAB Waiver Wire Bids - Quarterbacks
Daniel Jones (QB, NYG) - FAAB Bid: 2-3%
15% owned
Jones dazzled in his first NFL start, completing 23-of-36 passes for 336 yards and two touchdowns with a 4-28-2 rushing line to boot. The rookie shook off losing his best playmaker, Saquon Barkley, to injury by leaning on Evan Engram, Sterling Shepard and his own legs. Facing Tampa Bay helps -- their first two weeks may have been more about facing a rusty Jimmy Garoppolo and injured Cam Newton -- but Week 4 against Washington should be another great spot. The rushing floor gives him low-end QB1 potential, but this offense could really use Barkley to help generate scoring opportunities.
Kyle Allen (QB, CAR) - FAAB Bid: 0-1%
2% owned
Allen connected on 19-of-26 passes for 261 yards and four touchdowns as Carolina beat Arizona, 35-20. Cam Newton is out again for Week 4 and Allen’s Week 3 shows just how improved Carolina’s offense really is. With D.J. Moore and Curtis Samuel taking steps forward this offseason, Greg Olsen doing his thing and Christian McCaffrey ascending to superstardom, Allen was able to pick apart a vulnerable Arizona defense. It gets tougher in Week 4 with a road date against Houston, though the Texans’ 385.7 yards/game and 277.7 pass yards/game are both 22nd in the NFL pending MNF.
Case Keenum (QB, WAS) - FAAB Bid: 0-1%
16% owned
A brief word before Keenum’s Week 3 game begins: Washington will face a Giants Defense that has yielded 332.3 passing yards per game. That’s thirty more yards than the second-worst team (Pittsburgh), despite playing Josh Allen and Jameis Winston -- two non-elite QBs. Keenum is a decent streamer if you’re desperate, regardless of his Monday night.
*Okay, so the game is over and two lost fumbles and three interceptions really sunk his line, but 331 yards and two touchdowns against the Bears works. More important to me is Keenum showing continued chemistry with Terry McLaurin and some improved timing with Paul Richardson. He remains on the streaming radar for a soft matchup with the Giants.
FAAB Waiver Wire Bids - Running Backs
Wayne Gallman (RB, NYG) - FAAB Bid: 25-30%
5% owned
The Giants offense was dealt a mighty blow in Week 3’s victory, as Saquon Barkley will miss 4-8 weeks with a high-ankle sprain per Adam Schefter. With a Week 11 bye, a return against Chicago in Week 12 would be nine weeks removed from the injury. Either way, Gallman is the man now considering fullback Elijah Penny is the only other active back. You may remember Gallman as getting the garbage-time TD in Week 1 against Dallas. Hopefully, Gallman can benefit from Daniel Jones reinvigorating this offense and offer flex appeal with a strong weekly touch floor as the workhorse.
Darrel Williams (RB, KC) - FAAB Bid: 8-10%
7% owned
With Damien Williams out and LeSean McCoy limited (though effective), it was Darrel Williams that led KC RBs with 37 snaps. McCoy had 26 and Darwin Thompson was in on just five. Williams turned nine rushes into 62 yards and five catches for 47 more yards, making for a lovely day. It’s clear Thompson hasn’t earned his piece of the pie yet, though Darrel hadn’t played a single snap when Damien was healthy and active in Weeks 1 and 2. This is a clear hedge play against Damien’s health, but anyone getting snaps in this offense is worth targeting for Week 4’s tilt in Detroit against the Lions. Detroit has given up 125.3 yards per game thus far, one of the 11 teams to yield over 125 on average.
Ronald Jones II (RB, TB) - FAAB Bid: 8-10%
28% owned
Lost in the insane week that Mike Evans had was Jones’ gaining 121 yards on 15 touches and Peyton Barber turning 15 touches into just 55 yards. For those keeping score, that scores Weeks 1 and 3 for Jones while Barber won Week 2. Perhaps Bruce Arians will stay true to his word and simply play the hot-hand, but Jones is trending up after a tough rookie year. Tampa has a tough game against the Rams coming up that will likely require plenty of passing, but games against the Saints (134.7 RuYds/game) and Panthers (129 RuYds/game) prior to their Week 7 bye could be fruitful.
Jamaal Williams (RB, GB) - FAAB Bid: 3-4%
9% owned
Williams outsnapped and outtouched Aaron Jones in Week 3, though Jones’ two TDs helped tilt the box score his way. Williams played on 35 snaps while Jones tallied just 22 (Danny Vitale had 19). This comes after Williams had played on 41% and 47% of the snaps in each of Green Bay’s first two games. If you need a bye-week bandaid or simply some depth at RB, Williams is a 50/50 player in a run-oriented offense with Aaron Rodgers at the wheel. These early kinks should get ironed out and more scoring opportunities should come to all Packers as Matt LaFleur’s team vision comes together.
Justin Jackson (RB, LAC) - FAAB Bid: 2-3%
29% owned
Jackson had yet another touchdown called back due to a penalty in Week 3 -- his second in as many weeks. That doesn’t change his limited usage in Austin Ekeler’s shadow, but you wouldn’t be feeling antsy if he had two TDs on his ledger. He has a good chance at roughly 10-12 touches and getting his first TD of 2019 against Miami in Week 4. The Dolphins just yielded over 100 yards and a score to Dallas’ backup, Tony Pollard, and Jackson should have a chance to match that. His 142 yards on just 18 carries so far are impressive.
Alexander Mattison (RB,MIN) - FAAB Bid: 2-3%
20% owned
Mattison scored his first career NFL TD in Week 3, taking advantage of Oakland’s beaten defense with 12 rushes for 58 yards and the score. He’s averaging over five yards per carry (25-132-1 on the year) and while Week 4 at Chicago is a rough spot, Week 5 against the Giants defense could bring a similar line to Week 3. Regardless, Minnesota’s reliance on the run makes him a premier handcuff with some standalone value in good matchups.
FAAB Waiver Wire Bids - Wide Receivers
D.J. Chark (WR, JAX) - FAAB Bid: 10-15%
41% owned
Dede Westbrook led Jacksonville with nine targets in Week 3, but once again, Chark was the best receiver on the field. He brought in four of his five targets for 76 yards and a TD, giving him a score in each of Jacksonville’s first three games. Week 4 at Denver is a tough environment, but games against the Panthers, Saints, Bengals, Jets and Texans prior to Jacksonville’s Week 10 offer several green-light matchups.
Golden Tate (WR, NYG) - FAAB Bid: 10-15%
39% owned
I know, Tate is three games into his four-game suspension. If you told me that I could write a waiver-wire article in 2019 that was spearheaded by three Giants, I’d have said I must’ve lost a bet. Alas, Tate suddenly becomes more appealing with Daniel Jones under center alongside the upgrades to Evan Engram and Sterling Shepard. The pass-catching depth is next to none after those two with Gallman unlikely to squarely step into Barkley’s significant target share. If your game has a PPR element then you need to scoop Tate now before news of his return spikes.
Phillip Dorsett (WR, NE) - FAAB Bid: 8-12%
14% owned
Dorsett posted a 6-53-1 receiving line on seven targets, with 12 rushing yards thrown into the mix. Julian Edelman will reportedly “be good” according to a source through Ian Rapaport, but he may be limited for New England’s Week 4 tilt against Buffalo. Regardless, Dorsett has caught 13-of-14 targets for 187 yards and three touchdowns through three games. The Patriots have scored 106 points in that span and shouldn’t slow down anytime soon. Sony Michel is averaging under 2.5 yards per carry thus far, meaning the passing attack is NE’s best route right now.
Devin Smith (WR, DAL) - FAAB Bid: 5-7%
11% owned
With Michael Gallup on the shelf, Smith saw five targets in Dallas’ 31-6 blowout of Miami. Only Amari Cooper saw more looks (seven) but Smith only caught two of them for 39 yards. He came close to bringing in a touchdown catch but it was not to be. The Cowboys didn’t have to press against the lackluster Dolphins, but Week 4 at New Orleans could require more of a field-stretcher. Gallup was expected to miss 2-4 weeks after his Week 2 injury, so we could have three more weeks of Smith against NO, GB and NYJ.
Diontae Johnson (WR, PIT) - FAAB Bid: 4-6%
4% owned
Johnson played on 42-of-53 snaps (79%) behind JuJu Smith-Schuster’s 100% and James Washington’s 92%, but he’s the one who made headlines with a 39-yard TD. He would finish with 52 yards on three catches, which underscores the hit-or-miss risk with Mason Rudolph at the helm. That said, if he outtargets James Washington again (6-to-4 in Week 3) in Week 4’s date with the Bengals then we can bump up his range of outcomes. For now, approach Week 4’s plus matchup with cautious optimism.
Preston Williams (WR, MIA) - FAAB Bid: 2-3%
3% owned
Even with Josh Rosen’s predictable flop in his Miami debut, the trust between he and Williams was clear. Rosen peppered Williams with 12 targets, though Williams “betrayed” that trust by only hauling in four of them for 68 yards. His line could’ve easily been 5-83-1 had he held on for a second-quarter touchdown, but the ball got loose. The 2019 Dolphins are destined for perpetual catch-up offense, like Sisyphus pushing the rock up the mountain, but Williams has seen back-to-back 60-yard games and is worth an add.
Mack Hollins (WR, PHI) - FAAB Bid: 1-2%
1% owned
After seeing a fruitless eight targets in Week 2, Hollins parlayed seven Week 3 looks into a useful 4-62-0 line. DeSean Jackson and Alshon Jeffery both missed Sunday’s game and are unlikely to be 100% on a short week for Philly’s Week 4 game against the Packers. Nelson Agholor is clearly the No. 1 WR given those injuries, but Hollins looks like the No. 2 to target instead of JJ Arcega-Whiteside.
Deon Cain (WR, IND) - FAAB Bid: 1-2%
0% owned
T.Y. Hilton re-aggravated his quad injury in Week 3 and may have to miss some time. The Colts are already without Devin Funchess, and had been rotating Cain, Parris Campbell, and Zach Pascal in his stead. Cain’s 33 snaps in Week 2 and 40 snaps in Week 3 led all Colts receivers that aren’t named T.Y. While Pascal had the big touchdown in Week 3 and Campbell had the score in Week 2, Cain’s usage and overall player profile are enticing. I won’t shame anyone who plants their flag with Campbell or Pascal, but I wager Cain can be had for pennies.
FAAB Waiver Wire Bids - Tight Ends
Will Dissly (TE, SEA) - FAAB Bid: 3-5%
44% owned
Dissly caught a four-yard TD on the final play of the game in Week 3, punctuating a nice 6-62-1 line after catching two scores with 50 yards in Week 2. If available, Dissly should be your top streamer for Week 4 against a Cardinals team that has surrendered over 100 yards with a touchdown per game to opposing TEs thus far. It only helps him that Seattle’s rushing attack is on thin ice right now with Chris Carson fumbling and Rashaad Penny banged up.
Vernon Davis (TE, WAS) - FAAB Bid: 1-2%
20% owned
Davis only caught two balls for 30 yards against the Bears in Week 3, as Washington’s receivers put in work during garbage time. Davis hasn’t done much with Jordan Reed on the shelf, but Week 4 against the Giants offers a juicy get-right spot. He’s still freakishly athletic and Washington gets the Dolphins in Week 6 after a scary matchup with the Pats in Week 5.
Dawson Knox (TE, BUF) - FAAB Bid: 0-1%
0% owned
Knox has played between 54-56% in each of Buffalo’s first three games, but Week 3 saw him flash his athleticism with a 49-yard reception that featured multiple broken tackles. After finding just two catches for 19 yards in his first two games, Knox’s 3-67-1 line from Sunday should afford him more work with Tyler Kroft injured. Week 4 against the Patriots should force Buffalo into passing, and their schedule really opens up after their Week 6 bye. They come out against Miami in Week 7 before facing Philly and Washington.
FAAB Waiver Wire Bids - Defense/Special Teams
Indianapolis Colts D/ST - FAAB Bid: 1-2%
14% owned
The Colts aren’t a spectacular defense, but they did have four sacks in each of their first two games (against the Chargers and Titans) before coming up blank against the Falcons in Week 3. Luckily, they host a Raiders team in Week 4 that is simply not very good. Darren Waller is great, Tyrell Williams is solid and Josh Jacobs has potential, but Derek Carr puts a cap on the offense as a whole.
Pittsburgh Steelers D/ST - FAAB Bid: 0-1%
18% owned
The Steelers’ early-season defensive stats are juked from the Patriots’ Week 1 pain train, but they’ve notched five sacks and seven turnovers in their past two weeks (vs. SEA, at SF). This unit has more pressure on it with Mason Rudolph as QB, but a Monday night home date against the Bengals could yield profits. Cincinnati has given up the seventh-most points to opposing defenses through three weeks per traditional DEF scoring.
