A little further down the page is a list of potential free agents who could be available on your Week 3 waiver wire. I’ve included players who are owned in fewer than 60 percent of Fantrax leagues. There are some obvious pick ups like Corey Clement, but he’s not in here because he’s owned in more than 60 percent of leagues. I’d like to think it’s because I told you to draft him. Jokes aside, go get him if you can as Jay Ajayi is just one of several running backs dealing with an injury.
Before we get to the Week 3 Waiver wire, though, I’ve included a list of key injuries to offensive and defensive players that we’ll be monitoring as the week progresses. It was a tough week for running backs as we lost Joe Mixon, Devonta Freeman, and perhaps LeSean McCoy.
The Falcons are unsure how long Freeman will be sidelined, making Tevin Coleman a low-end RB1 in the meantime. Coleman finished with double-digit carries five times last season. He had at least 19 carries in two games (mostly three) without Freeman. 36 percent of Coleman’s rushing yards and four of his five rushing touchdowns came with Freeman out. He was solid in Week 2 as well: 16 carries for 107 yards with four catches.
Following successful arthroscopic knee surgery today, #Bengals RB Joe Mixon’s timeframe for return is roughly between 2 and 4 weeks, source said. The extra time between games should help, but likely to miss at least 1.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 15, 2018
Rough news for Joe Mixon owners as he’s looked like a true bell-cow running back to start his sophomore campaign. Mixon’s 179 rushing yards are the second most and just six back of the league-lead. He also has six grabs for 57 yards and a rushing touchdown. He’s now three back of tying his rookie mark. Gio Bernard isn’t quite as valuable as Coleman, but he’s been in this role before and produced RB2 numbers in PPR formats.
There have been multiple reports surrounding LeSean McCoy and his rib injury from Sunday. Early reports suggested McCoy had fractured his ribs, but the news got better after more tests.
Bills’ RB LeSean McCoy has cracked rib cartilage, leaving him questionable for Sunday’s game at Minnesota against the Vikings, per source. McCoy should not miss more than one game, if that. McCoy has had this injury before, and it is not expected to sideline him very long.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 17, 2018
Key Week 3 Injuries
Joe Mixon (knee) – expected to miss 2-4 weeks
Dalvin Cook (hamstring) – did not practice Wednesday
Melvin Gordon (upper-body)
LeSean McCoy (ribs) – dealing with cracked rib cartilage; may miss one game
Leonard Fournette (hamstring) – inactive Sunday
Devonta Freeman (knee) – expected to miss at least 2-3 weeks
Jay Ajayi (back) – ‘good chance’ sidelined Week 3
Darren Sproles (hamstring) – missed practice Wednesday
Marlon Mack (hamstring) – missed practice Wednesday
Tarik Cohen (ankle) – left Monday’s game
Rob Kelley (toe) – placed on IR
Julio Jones (calf) – missed practice Wednesday
T.Y. Hilton (quad) – missed practice Wednesday
Jarvis Landry (knee) – limited Monday
Alshon Jeffery (shoulder) – limited Wednesday
Larry Fitzgerald (hamstring) – expected to play Week 3
Marquise Goodwin (deep thigh bruise) – limited Wednesday
DeVante Parker (finger) – inactive Sunday
Mike Wallace (fractured fibula) – placed on IR
Donte Moncrief (knee) – left game Sunday
Carson Wentz (knee) – cleared to start Sunday
Marcus Mariota (elbow) – limited Wednesday
Jack Doyle (hip) – missed practice Wednesday
Greg Zuerlein (groin) – out at least a few weeks; Rams sign Sam Ficken
IDP
C.J. Mosley (knee) – doesn’t look long term
Cam Robinson (ACL) – done for season
Darius Slay (concussion) – missed practice Wednesday
Trey Flowers (concussion)
Patrick Chung (concussion)
Week 3 Waiver Wire (under 60% Owned on Fantrax)
*I’m assuming Tevin Coleman, Giovani Bernard, Austin Ekeler, Corey Clement and Latavius Murray are already owned as their ownership is well above 60 percent in Fantrax leagues. The same can be said for Keelan Cole, DeSean Jackson, Kenny Golladay and Chris Godwin.
Antonio Callaway, Cleveland Browns – 29%
Aside from all the injuries to running backs, Josh Gordon getting released over the weekend, then unreleased, only to get traded to the Patriots is by far the biggest news heading into Week 3. Gordon may be the most overhyped player of all time, and now he’ll have an opportunity to prove himself with Tom Brady and company. Gordon has the potential to light it up with Brady and Bill Belichick but it’s been a long time since we’ve seen any consistent play on the field from him.
This trade opens things up for Rishard Higgins and Antonio Callaway, who are both available in Fantrax leagues. It was Higgins who had more snaps, targets and catches than Callaway last week, but it’s the rookie wideout I want. Callaway has more upside and he showed it Sunday with a 47-yard touchdown against the Saints. Callaway hit a top speed of 21.48 mph on his TD grab, according to Next Gen stats. It’s the third fastest top speed reached so far this season, second to Tyreek Hill who owns the top two speeds. Higgins may be the No. 2 wideout in Cleveland for now, but it may not be for long.
Javorius Allen, Baltimore Ravens – 53%
There have been a lot of concerns regarding Alex Collins’ play and usage so far.
#Ravens RB split through 2 games:
Snaps: Javorius Allen 44%, Alex Collins 42%
Touches: Allen 20, Collins 20
Carries inside 10-yard line: Collins 3, Allen 2
Carries inside 5-yard line: Allen 2, Collins 1
Yards Per Carry: Collins 3.0, Allen 2.5
Targets: Allen 13, Collins 5— Evan Silva (@evansilva) September 14, 2018
While those numbers are certainly interesting, game script has played a big part in what we’ve seen so far. The Ravens blew out the Bills in Week 1 and there was no need to feed Collins. Baltimore played from behind in Week 2, which means more snaps and work in the passing game for Javorius Allen. When the Ravens are down in games they are going to use Allen as he’s their pass-catching back. It’s not that Collins can’t catch it’s just, Allen has been used in that role for a couple seasons now. He was also the goal line back in 2017 so there should be no surprise with his work in the red zone so far. Allen had 32 red zone rushing attempts in 2017, to Collins’ 27. He also out-touched Collins from the 10 and 5-yard line. I still feel like Collins will be fine, but Allen should be rostered.
John Brown, Baltimore Ravens – 59%
John Brown appeared in last week’s waiver wire piece, and for whatever reason, people were not buying in as his ownership only jumped four percent. This will likely be your last chance to pick him up and I don’t expect him to be here for Week 3’s edition. Brown has 14 targets, seven catches, 136 yards and two touchdowns in his first two games in a Ravens’ uniform. He’s had a touchdown in each game and he leads Baltimore with three red zone targets. Michael Crabtree is expected to be the guy in the red zone for Joe Flacco, but it’s been Brown to start the season. If you missed out on Brown, Willie Snead is interesting as well. Even, though, he’s the number three in Baltimore he has 14 targets, nine catches, 103 yards and a touchdown in his first two games. The catches, yards and touchdown in his first two games are already more than he had in eight games last season.
Dede Westbrook, Jacksonville Jaguars – 58%
Keelan Cole leads the Jaguars with 10 catches and 170 yards, looking much like the breakout wideout many of us predicted after the team lost Marqise Lee for the season. There’s no question that Cole is the number one in Jacksonville, but the number two is available in Fantrax and that’s Dede Westbrook. He’s second on the team with 134 yards, has a touchdown and has pulled in nine of his 11 targets. The Jacksonville schedule is really easy on wideouts, and Westbrook has a ton of upside.
Brandon Marshall, Seattle Seahawks – 53%
Brandon Marshall leads the Seahawks with 12 targets in his first two games. Tyler Locket is the wideout you want, but it’s Marshall who is available in Fantrax leagues. He has seven grabs for 90 yards and a touchdown, which is just about half the production he put up in five games with the New York Giants last season. There are a lot of issues going on with the Seahawks, so Russell Wilson will no doubt be playing a lot of catch-up. Marshall leads the team with two red zone targets, and should be the go-to for Wilson when they get inside the 20.
Tyler Boyd, Cincinnati Bengals – 13%
If I were a John Ross owner I’d trade him in for Tyler Boyd, especially in PPR formats. I get that Ross is the more flashy wideout and has a high ceiling given his speed, but he’s been outperformed. Boyd is locked into the slot and is in line for more consistency than Ross.
Tyler Boyd: 14 targets, 9 catches, 117 yards, 1 TD, 10% owned
John Ross: 6 targets, 2 catches, 11 yards, 1 TD, 51% owned— Chris Meaney (@chrismeaney) September 14, 2018
Kamar Aiken, Philadelphia Eagles – 1%
This is a deep, deep, deep league add, but one worth monitoring. With Alshon Jeffery weeks away from returning and Mike Wallace potentially done for the season, someone in Philly will be given the opportunity for targets and it may be Kamar Aiken. Nelson Agholor and Zach Ertz are no doubt the first two options for Carson Wentz (who returns this week) as they’ve racked up 25 targets in the first two games. It remains to be seen if the Eagles will go out an acquire a wideout, but for now Aiken is worth a look. He finished with six targets, five catches and 39 yards in his Eagles’ debut and will face his former team in the Colts this week. Look, nobody is going and adding Aiken in a 10-team or starting him in a 12-team league, but he may become valuable in a 14-team league or in DFS should he take advantage of his opportunity. By holding off on acquiring a WR, it seems the club will give Aiken a chance to see what he has to offer. Keep in mind this was one of the highest scoring teams in the league last season.
*Update – Philadelphia signed Jordan Matthews on Wednesday, making this a wait and see approach between Matthews and Aiken. Matthews played under Doug Pederson in his first season as the Eagles’ head coach.
Jesse James, Pittsburgh Steelers – 29%
Jesse James is your TE1 in full point PPR leagues after Week 1, so we’re not just going to ignore him. James has had five targets in each of his first two games, and has reeled in eight of those balls for 198 yards. James had five catches for 138 yards and a touchdown last week, even with the return of Vance McDonald. There are a lot of mouths to feed in Pittsburgh right now, but I’d give the edge to James over McDonald for now. He’s nothing more than a TE2, but the Steelers’ defense has not looked good to start the season which has resulted in Ben Roethlisberger throwing the ball a league-high 101 times so far.
Ito Smith, Atlanta Falcons – 10%
As the number two running back in Atlanta last week, Ito Smith had 46 rushing yards on nine carries to go along with one catch. Smith is about to get more run with Freeman sidelined for the next couple weeks (maybe longer). Make no mistake, Coleman is the man to own and start in Atlanta, but should something happen to him, Smith would be the next man up. This is a great example, of planning ahead. We’ve already seen a ton of injuries to running backs here in 2018. If you are playing in a big enough league, with big enough benches, go and stash Smith while you can.
Like these Week 3 Waiver Wire Pickups? Get more Chris Meaney on his new podcast, By Any Means. Each week he’ll bring in guests from around the industry to break down all the fantasy news you need to know for your march to the championship.