Fantasy Football: Waiver Wire Rankings (Week 4)

Another one bites the dust and while Darren Sproles may not be the star running back that crushes your fantasy team, it does leave a question mark in Philly. Then there’s Kelvin Benjamin who hurt his knee, but appears to have avoided a significant injury. Injuries are something that fantasy football players have to live with and that’s where you’ll need to do your best to make the right pickup off the waiver wire.

Our table below combines the rankings of multiple experts to tell you who the best readily-available players (under 50% consensus ownership) are to snag. We’ve also got quick-hitting analysis from our featured pundits listed below on which defenses you should consider streaming.

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Featured Experts:
Mike Tagliere – FantasyPros
John Halpin – RotoWire.com
KJ – Fantasy Team Advice
Mike Wright – The Fantasy Footballers
Staff Rankings – Pyromaniac

*Ownership % derived from a consensus of Yahoo & ESPN leagues

On a mobile device? Click here for rankings table >>

Q1. Give us your thoughts on a waiver wire target (or two) you especially like as a pickup.

“While it was something I talked about last week on our podcast, D’Onta Foreman is someone who needs to be owned. There are a lot of running backs out there who are in a timeshare, but would require an injury to see any significant work. Foreman doesn’t really fall into that category. It’s similar to the way everyone viewed Joe Mixon – that he would take the job because he was the most talented back on the roster. It’s a similar situation with Foreman and Lamar Miller might just be best suited as a timeshare running back. Every time he’s on the field he’s making plays, and because of that, you’ve seen his snaps rise from just two in the opener, to 17 snaps in each of the last two weeks.”
– Mike Tagliere (FantasyPros)

“As bad as Cam Newton has been, I’ll go with Devin Funchess. Greg Olsen will be out for awhile, and Kelvin Benjamin’s status is TBD after a Sunday knee injury. Funchess is 8-126 on 16 targets over the last two games and should be on the field ALL THE TIME. At worst, he’ll be Newton’s #2 target behind Christian McCaffrey.”
– John Halpin (RotoWire.com)

“There aren’t many options readily available in most leagues this week, making Wendell Smallwood one of the top pickups of the week. Darren Sproles is out for the season, and Smallwood led the Eagles with 43 snaps against the Giants. Wendell is the best fit for the Darren Sproles role in the offense and should be a decent flex option going forward.”
– KJ (Fantasy Team Advice)

“Everyone in fantasy football should be looking to add RB depth to their roster. With the season ending for Darren Sproles, I’m looking to pick up Wendell Smallwood. He’s not going to be a roster-changing player, but his snaps went from 20% to over 50% and who knows what the team is doing with LeGarrette Blount. The Eagles have a great offensive line and Smallwood could see enough work moving forward to be startable.”
– Mike Wright (The Fantasy Footballers)

“Yesterday, Jamaal Charles looked more like the running back that used to dance all over the Denver Broncos defenses while he was running and catching balls for the Chiefs in seasons past. Now suited up in orange, Broncos fans must be elated to have Charles on their team after his 9 carries for 56 yards and a 12-yard touchdown game in a losing battle against the Bills. Charles is only getting 20 snaps per game for the Denver Broncos through 3 weeks with a healthy C.J. Anderson leading the way, but look for Jamaal's snaps to increase if he keeps this production up. If C.J. was to get hurt at any point, Jamaal could venture into the backend RB2 discussion. Remember this, 3 games into his new stint as a Bronco, months after every NFL team passed on signing him and whispers that he was a washed up bum, he has more rushing yards so far than big named highly drafted running backs like LeSean McCoy (on 20 fewer carries), Marshawn Lynch, Isaiah Crowell, and Mark Ingram.”
– Staff Rankings (Pyromaniac)

Q2. For owners renting a D/ST in Week 4, what readily available option should they target and why?

“This feels like cheating, but the Jaguars are somehow still less than 50 percent owned. Their defense really doesn’t have a weakness and they’ve now racked up 13 sacks through three games and will go up against a Jets offensive line that has allowed seven sacks through three games. There isn’t a way that the Jets move the ball on this defense and it’s more than likely they leave this game with multiple turnovers.”
– Mike Tagliere (FantasyPros)

“The Jacksonville Jaguars at 43 percent ownership against the Jets is a strong option – this unit is very good. If you can’t get the Jags, you can take a flier on the other sideline with the Jets (2% owned). How many QBs are more likely to throw a pick-six than Blake Bortles?”
– John Halpin (RotoWire.com)

“Jacksonville has now held two of their opponents this season to 7 points while also posting 25+ fantasy points. In week 4 they get the New York Jets making them one of the top options available off waivers”
– KJ (Fantasy Team Advice)

“It’s a gimmie pick up here. You gotta grab the Jaguars D/ST and fire them up against the Jets. The Jags defense is legit, the only concern for them is the offense putting them in a bad spot. The Jets offense isn’t going to be able to get anything done against the Jacksonville pass rush. Jax will be a top D/ST option this week and they are widely available.”
– Mike Wright (The Fantasy Footballers)

Thank you to the experts for naming their top waiver targets. Be sure to give them a follow on Twitter if you’re not already doing so and check out our latest podcast below for more great advice.