Fantasy Football ‘24: Waiver wire, Week 4 edition

Welcome to the Fantasy Football Waiver Wire for Week 4! Injuries continue to be a big story in the young season, and while we’ll hopefully get some injured stars back in Week 4 (I’m looking at you, Kenneth Walker and A.J. Brown), the first Bye Week is right around the corner, and roster management will only get harder. Sorry to be the bearer of that bad news. Working the Waiver Wire to your advantage is something you need to keep doing each week.

Here’s a tip as the Bye weeks approach: If you’ve got the roster space, plan ahead, and especially at the “onesie” positions of QB, TE, PK and D/ST, where you’re typically going to roll with a streaming option as opposed to playing someone off your bench. Example: If you know you need a quarterback in Week 5 because your starter is on a Bye, peek ahead at the Week 5 matchups and grab that QB now, ahead of the competition that might be looking for a Bye week or injury replacement a week from now. It’s like beating the Christmas rush, back when people shopped in stores. Shhh…don’t tell anyone.

The Process: Each week, I try to identify the top Waiver Wire targets and evaluate the short- and long-term prospects of those players. I also do my best to reveal which players who are coming off a big week are fool’s gold. Finally, I look at streamers who might help you in a pinch (this is usually more important during Bye weeks). Note that I’m writing this column BEFORE the TWO Week 3 Monday night games.

Some players discussed won’t be available in your league. I try to list players who are available in more than 50% of leagues. But what does that even mean? A 10-team league with six bench spots will have a much larger FA pool than a 14-team league with eight. Most leagues fall somewhere in between. This isn’t “one size fits all.” By way of example, I won’t list Sam Darnold, Cam Akers, Carson Steele, or Quentin Johnston this week. All were hot adds last week and probably aren’t available in any of your leagues.

Let’s look at what’s available this week.

Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images

WEEK 4 BYES: NONE

Week 4 Waiver Wire

Quarterback:

Aaron Rodgers. A-Rod is a hot name this week, after a good game in Week 3. He has shaken off the rust of his missed season and showed on Thursday night that at age 40 he can still make plenty of throws. He’s got good weapons around him and won’t make many mistakes, but I also think his upside is capped by the quality of the Jets’ defense and running game. He’s not likely to get into shootouts, or put up the kind of gaudy stat lines we got used to in the 2010s. Still, as long as his O-line and top weapons stay healthy, he’s a solid QB2 in a Superflex format, with streaming QB1 upside.

Geno Smith. I’ve listed Smith multiple times now, and at this point he should be rostered in most 1-QB leagues. He’s playing very well and has very good weapons in a QB-friendly offense for the first time in his Seattle stint. Smith is a borderline starter in 1-QB leagues, depending on your other options.

Andy Dalton. Dalton led the Panthers to more points in the first half on Sunday than they scored in their first two games with Bryce Young under center. He threw for three TDs and more than 300 yards in his Panthers debut. Was this a fluke/quick honeymoon against an unprepared defense that was missing its best player, or can Dalton sustain fantasy relevance as the starter? My guess is it’s more the former, and I wouldn’t be expecting too many games like this one. If nothing else, it was fun to see the red rifle spark a team that looked dead. Add him if you want, but don’t blow your budget or waiver priority on him. It’s still the Panthers.

Daniel Jones. Yeah, really. Don’t yell at me. I’m listing Jones mainly because Malik Nabers is a stud, and Jones has the good sense to throw him the ball. A lot. Nabers has a whopping 30 targets over the past two games and he’s turned them into 18 catches for more than 200 yards and three TDs. His third down stats are insane. Jones has a legit WR1 for the first time in his career, and that matters. On top of that, Jones can run, which is a big plus. As bad as Jones was in Week 1, he’s turned it around and believe it or not he’s the QB7 over the past two weeks (pending Monday night’s games). Jones was a Top-10 QB in 2022, so this isn’t completely fluky. It can be hard to watch at times, but Jones has better upside than a lot of the other QB2s.

A quick note on the rookie QBs: Bo Nix just had his first good game as a pro (Caleb Williams too, but he is heavily rostered). I’m skeptical of him having any consistency going forward, and wouldn’t be running to my waiver wire to add him. Drake Maye is someone I’d think about as a longer-term stash in a Superflex, as he could be starting as early as Week 5, vs. MIA. He’s got some decent upside as a runner. I don’t expect ANY of the rookies to be consistent on a week-to-week basis, other than possibly Jayden Daniels because of his rushing upside.

Finally, I’d stay away from whoever the Miami Dolphins are about to run out at quarterback. Snoop Huntley has rushing upside, but this whole offense is in shambles right now.

Photo by Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Running Back:

Bucky Irving. I‘ve listed him every week so far this season, and will do so until he’s 100% rostered. OK, that’s not true. But what is true is that he’s the best runner on his team, and it’s not close. The stats don’t lie. Rachaad White does a lot of things well, but his inefficiency was a problem last season and it’s only gotten worse. Irving is averaging 6.2 yards per carry to White’s 2.1. You don’t need to be a math major to figure this out. Irving has two runs of 30-plus yards on 25 carries while White’s long run on 31 carries is 15 yards. It’s only a matter of time before Irving is the “starting” RB1 in Tampa. If he’s still available in your league don’t be afraid to drop some coin to get him.

Braelon Allen. I listed Allen last week as well. He’s showing each week that he’s very talented, and that he’s got some stand-alone value to go with massive handcuff value. He should be rostered in all leagues, ideally by the manager who used a Top-5 pick on Breece Hall.

Roschon Johnson. Much like the situation in Tampa, the RB1 in Chicago (D’Andre Swift) is struggling with inefficiency. Swift is averaging less than two yards per carry on the young season. The presence of Khalil Herbert makes this a pretty muddled situation, but Johnson is worth a stash as he got his first action of the season on Sunday and did more with his rushing opportunities (8 for 30) than Swift did with his (13 for 20), with Herbert (four carries) as this week’s afterthought. Plus, the offense finally looked OK this week. Stash Johnson.

Others: This happens every season—it’s really hard to find RB help on the waiver wire. It’s why I always advise loading up on backup RBs in the late rounds of fantasy drafts. It’s much easier to find help on the wire at every other position. Anyway, if you need immediate help at RB or added depth for the bye weeks, consider Emmanuel Wilson, Justice Hill, Ty Chandler, Tyrone Tracy, Jr., Ray Davis, and Miles Sanders (whoever is available).

Wide Receiver:

Jauan Jennings. There’s going to be a waiver stampede for Jennings this week. When a guy explodes for 11-175-3, that’s going to happen. Nothing is more natural in fantasy than chasing a monster performance. You don’t need me or any other analyst to tell you to try to get Jennings. The real question is how much to spend in doing so. To figure that out, we need to look at the opportunity. Deebo Samuel and George Kittle both missed the Week 3 game, as did Christian McCaffrey (again). That’s three of the team’s top four receiving targets, and there’s a good chance that none (or only one) of them will play for at least two more games. Jennings has shown his talent before, so it’s really a question of how long he’ll have the opportunity to be on the field for the majority of snaps. He’s definitely a priority short-term add with upside if injuries continue to allow him to start. I wouldn’t completely empty the bank to get him, because long-term I think he’s still going to be a rotational player who’ll have to fight for snaps and targets in a talent-laden offense. But if you need help right away, don’t be shy.

Darnell Mooney. Mooney was on my preseason sleepers list and I featured him here last week as well. Through three games he leads the Falcons in receiving yards and yards per catch, and has almost as many targets and catches as presumptive WR1 Drake London. Mooney is the team’s best downfield threat and is looking like a reliable WR3/Flex.

Allen Lazard. I’ve resisted listing Lazard in this column, but with three TDs in as many games, he needs to be included. He’s not dynamic, and his best days are probably behind him. But Rodgers trusts him, and at 6-foot-5, he’s an attractive end zone target. Lazard can help you in a pinch and is good bench depth.

DeMarcus Robinson, Jordan Whittington, and Tutu Atwell. Sure, why not? It could be several weeks before Cooper Kupp or Puka Nacua is back, Matt Stafford is still slinging it, and the Rams’ defense is one of the few in the league that’s giving up lots of points. Shootouts are going to keep happening. Good luck guessing which Rams’ WR is the best play each week, though. Robinson is already rostered in the majority of leagues but the other two are not. Pick your poison…

Others: As noted above, it’s always much easier to find help at WR than at RB and this week is no exception. If you need WR depth, consider Demario Douglas, Jakobi Meyers, Jalen Nailor, Adam Thielen (note: he left Sunday’s game with a hamstring injury, and that makes Xavier Legette worthy of consideration too), Wan’Dale Robinson, Michael Wilson, JuJu Smith-Schuster, and Jalen Tolbert.

Tight End:

Note: Sam LaPorta and Trey McBride both left the Lions-Cardinals game with injuries, so between injuries and several high-profile TE1s continuing to struggle, tight end is once again becoming a wasteland. If you need help, consider:

Tyler Conklin. Another Jet! That’s four, which is probably too many, and a bit of an overreaction to a game that completely went their way. Conklin was on my preseason sleepers list, but with just one catch in each of the first two games, that was starting to look like a pretty bad call. He was a big part of the Jets’ offense on Thursday night, with a 5-93-0 line on six targets. Rodgers likes to involve his tight end and especially in the red zone, so Conklin is a good add if you need TE help.

Cole Kmet. I’ll take the “L” on this one, at least for Week 3. I’ve been way down on Kmet and through two weeks that looked like a good call, but then he super-novaed in Week 3 (10-97-1 on 11 targets). The Colts are a bad defense, and Caleb Williams has a long way to go, so this is hard to trust as anything more than an outlier performance. I’m dubious, but Kmet is a very good player and after what he did this week, it would be foolish to ignore him. He’s been dropped in a lot of leagues and is worth a pickup and especially considering that the TE position is once again a big old train wreck.

Others. If you need help at tight end, or a streamer for an upcoming week, consider these dart throws, in whatever order you like them (good luck picking the right one): Noah Fant, Chig Okonkwo, Theo Johnson, Hunter Henry, Zach Ertz, or Cade Otton. Also note that T.J. Hockenson could be back in a month or so. If you have the space (ideally in an IR spot), now would be a good time to stash him if he’s available.

PK and D/ST Streamers, Week 4 (ranked outside the Top-12 for the season):

PK: G. Zuerlein (vs. DEN), C. Santos (vs. LAR), and M. Prater (vs. WAS),

D/ST: CIN (@CAR), and TEN (@MIA).

Good luck with your waiver claims!

***This column appears each Monday right here at Big Blue View. Each Thursday, my weekly fantasy preview with my rides, fades and sleepers (start/sit) appears here, and on Fridays you can find my weekly Giants Props of the week, also right here. ***