RADIO
Justin Carter's fantasy football wide receiver waiver wire pickups before Week 3 of the 2019 NFL season. These are free agent fantasy WRs to potentially add and stash.
Week 2 of the NFL season is (mostly) over. A lot of the best wide receiver performances from the weekend were from players who most folks already own, which makes it a bit tougher to navigate the waiver wire this week. This wasn't like Week 1, where guys like John Ross exploded and were no-doubt waiver adds. Chiefs' wide receiver Demarcus Robinson was probably the week's only "uhh, WHAT???" guy for non-injury reasons, with Nelson Agholor emerging in Philadelphia only due to Alshon Jeffery and DeSean Jackson getting hurt.
So, let's look at this week's wide receiver waiver wire targets. Again, the level of confidence I feel in the guys available this week isn't nearly as high as my level of confidence last week. In a league with waivers that reset each week, go wild. In a league where you hold an early waiver spot or in a FAAB league, maybe look to go wild on a different position unless we hear news about the severity of the injuries in Philadelphia, in which case you should go wild on Agholor.
Not all options are the same. Some players may be better in PPR or deeper leagues, so it’s not a one-size-fits-all comparison. Use your best judgment when deciding which of these players is the right fit for your roster. Check here for a complete list of our Waiver Wire Adds for Week 3 for help at all the skill positions. All players on this list here are around 30% owned or below.
Editor's Note: Identify fantasy football draft busts, overvalued ADPs, and key players to avoid so you can draft with confidence this season.
WR Waiver Wire - Free Agents To Consider Adding
Marquise Goodwin, San Francisco 49ers - 20% owned
Goodwin was expected to be the Niners' deep threat this year, but with so many players in this receiving corps, there were plenty of people who thought he'd be pigeonholed into only being a deep threat and wouldn't be fantasy relevant. That might partially be true, as he was only targeted three times on Sunday, catching all three for 77 yards and a score. Goodwin isn't going to be grabbing eight balls per game or something and it's fair to avoid him in PPR leagues, but his big play potential makes him an interesting option in standard scoring, where the yards and the touchdowns are what matter.
Nelson Agholor, Philadelphia Eagles - 14% owned
Obviously a lot here depends on the injury status of Alshon Jeffery and DeSean Jackson, but if those two miss time then Sunday showed us that Agholor can step into a bigger role. Yes, he dropped an open pass late in the game, but forget about that for a minute. Agholor was targeted 11 times, pulling down eight catches for 107 yards and a score. If injuries lead to him being one of the top-two receivers in Philadelphia for any stretch of time, he should be rostered in most leagues.
Deebo Samuel, San Francisco 49ers - 13% owned
Samuel was a bit of an afterthought in Week 1, but Jimmy Garoppolo targeted him seven times against the Bengals. He grabbed five of those, finishing with 87 yards and a touchdown while also carrying the ball twice for seven yards. Samuel might be the most promising receiver in San Francisco, especially with Dante Pettis getting ignored by the team. He's looking like a solid PPR pickup.
D.J. Chark, Jacksonville Jaguars - 12% owned
So, I guess D.J. Chark's Week 1 breakout wasn't a mirage? Chark brought in seven of his nine targets for 55 yards and a touchdown and looked like Gardner Minshew's top target in this offense. Chark's a threat at multiple levels offensively and is the only real deep threat on this Jaguars team right now. Sunday moved us from "ehh, maybe you should add him" to "alright, you need to add D.J. Chark."
Hunter Renfrow, Oakland Raiders - 6% owned
Renfrow was targeted eight times on Sunday, bringing in four passes for 30 yards. With only three wide receivers even getting targeted by Derek Carr, it's probably worth giving the one who led the others in targets a look. Renfrow's still not a startable fantasy option, but if you have room on your bench for a young player who should continue to develop as a weapon on a team that'll be throwing a lot, look at Renfrow.
Demarcus Robinson, Kansas City Chiefs - 2% owned
A new week and a new Chiefs wide receiver breaking out. This time it was Robinson, who went from having one reception for no yards in Week 1 to having six receptions for 172 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Mahomes just seemed to be able to find Robinson down the field whenever he wanted to, and while Robinson's Week 1 struggles definitely should give you some pause, it's hard to ignore this performance. Mahomes throws the ball so much, and he throws it so well, and that's not going to suddenly change. Robinson won't be this good every week, but he's got familiarity with Mahomes and gives them a good option until Tyreek Hill is back.
Mack Hollins, Philadelphia Eagles - 0% owned
Basically, take the blurb about Nelson Agholor and downgrade your game-to-game expectations by about 50 percent and you get my thoughts on Mack Hollins. If both Jeffery and Jackson miss time, Hollins has a chance to carve out a small role on this team. He'd be rosterable in deep leagues and wouldn't be a consistent fantasy starter, but he'd have some upside. Monitor the injury situation before making any moves on Hollins.
Damiere Byrd, Arizona Cardinals - 0% owned
It should be clear already that the Cardinals will be running a lot of plays and a good chunk of those will be passing plays. Larry Fitzgerald, Christian Kirk, and David Johnson get the most attention as the team's skill position players, but because Arizona rarely uses their tight end, there's room for more production to come from the wide receivers. On Sunday, Byrd was clearly above Michael Crabtree and Keesean Johnson in the pecking order, getting targeted seven times and bringing in six of those passes for 45 yards. He won't be putting up Fitzgerald or Kirk numbers, but he can be a solid bye week fill-in in deeper PPR leagues, with the potential to be more if there are any injuries higher up on the depth chart.
Bennie Fowler III, New York Giants - 0% owned
I'm obsessed with targets. Fowler had 10 of them. He's one of only two players under 30 percent owned to have double-digit targets on Sunday - so if you're in a 14-team league and are looking for someone who has a chance of getting the ball thrown his way, there's Fowler. Yes, a lot will depend on the health and availability of the other Giants receivers, but this is a team that's going to be playing from behind and passing a lot this year, so there's a path to Fowler being a viable option in deeper leagues.
T.J. Jones, New York Giants - 0% owned
Deep, Deep Leaguer of the Week: For the second week in a row, my "maybe this guy in your 16-team league" guy is a member of the Giants. This time it's former Lions wide receiver T.J. Jones, who caught three of his four targets for 38 yards and a score. Sure, the fact that I just mentioned his teammate, Bennie Fowler III, is a good reason to avoid Jones because you don't need two Giants receivers, but in very deep leagues, ehh...Jones is interesting. I have some "I've been interested in Jones for years" bias, I know.
More Waiver Wire Pickups and Advice
