Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Week 4: Trey Benson is a league-winner

Week 3 is one game away from being in the books. That means it’s time for another run of waivers. With injuries striking the league like a plague, this is the most pivotal run of waivers this year. Everyone in this article—with one exception—is available in over half of all Yahoo leagues.

Quarterback

Bryce Young, Panthers

Young is officially back…until the next time he struggles, at which point the Brycessance will be called off again. Young’s Week 3 box score was actually his most underwhelming of the year. He threw for 121 scoreless yards. A rushing touchdown saved an otherwise awful fantasy outing. Bryce, however, did something far more important than score fantasy points. He protected the ball and took the layups. Young was sacked once on 27 dropbacks and did not turn the ball over. His team won 30-0, so playing things safe was all that was required. A Week 4 date with a bottom-feeder Patriots defense will keep Young in the QB2 mix.

Carson Wentz, Vikings

J.J. McCarthy is expected to return in Week 7. The Vikings have a Week 6 bye after heading to Europe for a pair of international games, giving Wentz at least two more starts. Wentz had an easy job in Week 3, picking apart a Bengals team whose offense had already given the game away. Still, he crushed their defense, ranking third in EPA per play and 10th in CPOE on the week. Wentz tossed a pair of touchdowns to his tight ends for a modest QB2 fantasy outing. Now he gets a Steelers defense that has surprisingly struggled this year, ranking 26th in EPA per passing play allowed.

Tua Tagovailoa, Dolphins

The Dolphins looked like an FCS team when they faced the Colts in Week 1. Indy has since proven to be a legitimate contender in the AFC and the Dolphins have fared better in their subsequent two showings. Tagovailoa has multiple passing touchdowns in back-to-back weeks and gets a premier streaming matchup versus the Jets on Sunday. New York ranks 30th in EPA per dropback allowed. They have given up the eighth-most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks.

Sam Darnold, Seahawks

For the second week in a row, Darnold looked like he could’ve dropped 30 fantasy points if his opponent didn’t roll over and die. Darnold threw for 295 yards and two scores against the Steelers two weeks ago in a 14-point win. He only attempted 18 passes in Week 3 but still managed to throw for 218 yards and two touchdowns in a 44-13 win over New Orleans. Darnold is currently the QB7 in EPA per play and the QB2 in CPOE.

Darnold gets a date with the Cardinals on Thursday. Arizona has generally kept opposing quarterbacks in check this year, but a -1.5 spread should ensure Darnold avoids runaway game script for Week 4.

Running Back

Trey Benson, Cardinals

Benson is technically rostered in just over half of all Yahoo leagues, but I couldn’t leave him out. James Conner is expected to miss the remainder of the season with an ankle injury. Conner went down at the top of the second half. Here is how the backfield shook out after he departed:

CarriesSnapsRoutesTargetsTrey Benson62181Emari Demercado2721

We should expect an uptick in Emari Demercado’s role to help keep Benson fresh, but this is what Benson was drafted for in the third round. He was already playing a prominent role in passing downs and now the runway is clear for him to dominate carries. This is the bet you unload the FAAB clip on.

Chris Rodriguez, Commanders

I have no clue what the Commanders are doing with their backfield, and I don’t think they do either. Rodriguez led them in carries with 11, followed by Jacory Croskey-Merritt at eight. Bill once again did not play a snap on either of the Commanders’ first two drives. He did, however, set a new high in route rate at 30 percent. Bill also found the end zone for the second time this year. Jeremy McNichols’ role was largely unchanged. He played on a quarter of the team’s snaps and was primarily on the field for passing plays. McNichols made the most of his four rush attempts with a 60-yard house call.

With JCM already rostered in most leagues, Rodriguez is the clear target on waivers, though I wouldn’t be spending much FAAB on him. McNichols is just a deep league stash.

Ollie Gordon, Dolphins

The Dolphins got Jaylen Wright back from his knee injury in Week 3. What did they do because of that? They gave Ollie Gordon a season-high in carries, of course. Gordon had three attempts heading into Week 3 and left Miami’s matchup versus Buffalo with an additional nine carries for 38 yards and a score. Gordon has four red zone carries to De’Von Achane’s two. He also has a 2-0 lead on carries inside the five. This is the fabled “Raheem Mostert role”, even if some of the appeal of that job has faded since Mostert scored 21 touchdowns in 2023.

Rico Dowdle, Panthers

The Panthers walloped the Falcons 30-0 in Week 3, so it’s hard to take away much from their backfield split. It is still notable that Dowdle set season-highs in snap share (38 percent) and carry share (37 percent). He ran 10 times to Chuba Hubbard’s 17 and stole a short touchdown. Dowdle is only vaguely playable in deep leagues, but he does have the slightest bit of standalone value on top of his role as one of the league’s most obvious handcuffs.

Wide Receiver

Tre Tucker, Raiders

Just as we all suspected, Tre Tucker was the player you needed to win a million dollars in DFS on Sunday. Tucker caught 8-of-9 targets for 145 yards and three touchdowns. He accounted for 36 percent of Geno Smith’s targets, ran nearly every route, and logged a 43 percent air yards share. He gets a Chicago defense that has given up the second-most fantasy points to wide receivers in Week 4. A new deep threat breaks a few long plays every week. They typically recede into the ocean of waiver wire fodder the next week, but Tucker’s upcoming matchup will give him a shot at at least one more blowup performance.

Elic Ayomanor, Titans

Tennessee’s lone bright spot on offense this year has been its fourth-round rookie from Stanford. Ayomanor scored for the second week in a row and out-produced Calvin Ridley once again. He caught four passes for 38 yards and a touchdown. Ridley caught one pass for 27 yards despite seeing two more targets. Ayomanor’s 1.2 yards per route isn’t awfully impressive. It also ranks second among the team’s receivers and first among the starting trio of himself, Ridley, and Tyler Lockett. The same is true of his .2 targets per route. Cam Ward has to play better for Ayomanor to take the next step. Even with weak quarterback play, the rookie is hanging around the WR4 ranks.

Luther Burden, Bears

Bears head coach Ben Johnson talked about changing some things heading into Week 3, and he did just that with his rookie wide receiver getting more involved. Burden ran a route on 31 percent of Caleb Williams’ dropbacks and saw three targets, both of which were career-highs. He cashed in on the expanded role by coming down with this missile from Williams.

Burden’s role isn’t big enough to play him in Week 4, but he was an elite prospect who just earned more playing time and then made his presence undeniable. He is one of the best long-term plays on waivers this week.

Tory Horton, Seahawks

The rookie from Colorado State was the talk of the town during training camp and his role hit a new high-water mark in Week 3. He ran a route on 76 percent of Sam Darnold’s dropbacks and earned a 22 percent target share. Like Burden, Horton left no room for his coaches to put the genie back in the bottle. He caught a touchdown pass for the second week in a row and returned a punt for a touchdown as well. Horton should still be considered third on the team in the pecking order for targets, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see him overtake Cooper Kupp at some point this year.

Tyquan Thornton, Chiefs

Through three weeks, your NFL leader in air yards is…Malik Nabers. But Thornton and his 151 air yards at a 25.2 aDOT are in second place. His 53 percent air yards share trails only Nabers and Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Unlike those two players, a 19 percent target share places Thornton at 44th in that metric. Thornton has scored in back-to-back weeks while operating as the Chiefs’ only source of big-play potential. He will go for 19 yards on two catches the moment you put him in your starting lineup, but that might be a risk worth taking if you need a FLEX play.

Adonai Mitchell, Colts

Alec Pierce left Week 3 with a concussion and did not return. He is probably on the wrong side of questionable for Week 4 as of Monday, though we likely won’t know his status until Friday at the earliest. If he does miss Sunday’s game, Mitchell could be in line for a starting role with frequent opportunities for deep receptions. Pierce currently leads the Colts with eight targets 15+ yards downfield. Mitchell is tied for second on the team with four such looks. It might only be a one or two-week rental if you plan on adding Mitchell, but he could provide multiple spike weeks just as injuries and bye weeks are hitting.

Parker Washington, Jaguars

Washington excelled in a part-time role two weeks ago and Liam Coen rewarded him with a 75 percent route rate in Week 3. Washington was targeted 11 times versus the Texans but only managed to bring in four of his looks for 36 yards. He earned a 26 percent target share and has now been targeted on a stunning 29 percent of his routes this year. Washington could turn into a PPR WR4 if this role sticks. He could also return to obscurity if Travis Hunter or Brian Thomas Jr. get it together.

Tight End

Chig Okonkwo, Titans

Okonkwo quietly sits at 10th among tight ends in target share at 18 percent. He leads the Titans’ starters in yards per route run (1.3) and is coming off season-highs in catches (five) and yards (66). Okonkwo is a reliable check-down option for his rookie passer, even if his ceiling is limited by both his low-aDOT role and the quarterback throwing him the ball. He makes for a solid streaming option if the bets you made during the draft have failed to pan out.

Harold Fannin, Browns

It was another quiet week for Fannin, but his role is still among the best for a No. 2 tight end. He was targeted on an impressive 21 percent of his routes in Week 3. At a 50 percent route rate, that only resulted in four targets, three of which he brought down for 25 yards. Fannin leads the Browns in yards per route and targets per route. He also leads the team in total yards after the catch and total missed tackles forced. Fannin is dynamite with the ball in his hands and gets open at will. His breakout game is coming.

Oronde Gadsden, Chargers

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