Dynasty Waiver Wire: Week 4 (Fantasy Football)

Levi Chappell discusses which players you should consider grabbing from your dynasty league’s waiver wire in Week 4.

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We have another week down of the NFL season, and some fantastic games and storylines have emerged from another crazy weekend. The Browns won. Yes, you heard me right. They won a football game.

The Lions stomped all over the Patriots Sunday night. That awful Lions defense held Tom Brady and company to 10 points, and the Lions had a 100-yard rusher in a game for the first time since Vine mash-up videos were popular and the Harlem Shake was a thing.

The Vikings who were favored by 17 points, scored six points against the lowly Bills, the Chicago Bears lead the NFC North, and Ryan Fitzpatrick is the first quarterback in NFL history to start a season with three consecutive 400+ yard games. The NFL can produce utter chaos on any given weekend.

Fantasy football can be a cruel game that we subject ourselves to. When you think you have it figured out, you play the guy who started Matt Ryan and Calvin Ridley. You go through the rollercoaster of emotions while watching Ryan toss it all over the field and Ridley run amok in the Saints secondary. Maybe you were the last guy in your league to believe that Amari Cooper is a top-15 dynasty wide receiver, yet you watch him catch two balls for 17 yards, and you mutter something under your breath about Jon Gruden that probably shouldn’t be repeated.

Regardless of the circumstances for your team or matchup, we as fantasy owners are always looking for ways to improve our team. I will list some players below that will hopefully produce for your team and ultimately help you win a championship so that you don’t have to dress up like a princess at the next draft or get a tattoo of a unicorn.

Some of the names that I will be listing below and in future articles will already be owned in your league. If you are in a 10-team league, many of these players may be available, but if you are in a 12- or 14-team league, fewer may be available. For the most part, I will be listing players that are owned in less than 40% of 12-team leagues.

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Wendell Smallwood (RB – PHI)
I expected a hefty workload for Corey Clement in Week 3 after hearing the news that Jay Ajayi and Darren Sproles were both out. He received a decent workload of 19 touches, but was not all that efficient. Smallwood, on the other hand, received 13 touches, averaged over five yards per carry, and found the end zone. While the fact is that Ajayi and Sproles will come back at some time, Smallwood has proven to be explosive enough that if any other backs are injured or out of the lineup, he is worth a deep play.

Tyler Boyd (WR – CIN)
I have to be completely honest; I did not see this one coming. I was about to write off Boyd before the beginning of the season since he looked like he was going to shape up as the WR4 or WR5 on his team. Instead, he has been the second-most consistent wide receiver on the roster and is carving out a nice role in the offense. The Bengals desperately need playmakers opposite of Green, and many thought it would be Ross (it may still be), but at this point, Boyd is playing better than anyone not named A.J. He is consistently seeing about seven targets a game and has found the end zone two times in three games. Things are looking up for Boyd. Consider this your number one waiver wire priority.

Jakeem Grant (WR – MIA)
Virtually unowned in every single league, Grant looks like one of the most explosive players in the league. He is still relied on as a deep/home-run threat for the Dolphins instead of an every down wide receiver, but the Dolphins need some consistency opposite of Kenny Stills. DeVante Parker, and Danny Amendola can’t stay healthy, and Albert Wilson is hit and miss, which leaves a big opening for some playing time. He only has nine catches on the year, but after he took two to the house on Sunday, the Dolphins will have no option but to start involving him more in the offense.

Jordan Matthews (WR – PHI)
This waiver wire pickup doesn’t have so much to do with this past week’s performance as it does with performances years ago. As most of us know, Mathews has bounced around the league after leaving the Eagles. He has struggled to stay healthy, which has resulted in him being very inconsistent. But the injury bug struck the Eagles wide receiving corps, and they are in desperate need of bodies...insert Matthews. He is not a fantastic player, but he did put up good stats with the Eagles in prior years and could look to carve out a decent role in the offense while many other receivers are sidelined.

Jalen Richard (RB – OAK)
Richard has always been a guy that looks talented when given a chance, but is never relied on heavily in Oakland’s offense. He will do very little to no damage carrying the ball, but he has shown to be an outstanding receiver out of the backfield. Think of him as a poor man’s James White. He was a complete afterthought in Week 2, but in Week 3 he caught six passes for 59 yards and now has 15 catches for 114 yards in just Weeks 1 and 3. When the Raiders get down and have to rely on the pass, Richard becomes a valuable target. He will probably never be a guy that you want to rely on starting week in and week out, but he is a good target for bye weeks or injury concerns.

Ryan Grant (WR – IND)
Andrew Luck has a ton of weapons around him, he has T.Y. Hilton and...and...ok never mind. With that said, I would like to introduce you to the second wide receiver on the depth chart for the Indianapolis Colts, Ryan Grant. While the targets have been inconsistent, Grant is reppin’ an impressive catch rate just over 86%. This means if Luck throws it his way, he is most likely catching it. He found the end zone last week, and in Week 1 he saw nine targets. There is loads of opportunity in Indy, and Grant may look to capitalize on that. He is worthy of a roster add in deep leagues.

Other players to check on:

Cameron Meredith (WR – NO)
Tavon Austin (RB/WR – DAL)
Chris Ivory (RB – BUF)
Mark Andrews (TE – BAL)
Vance McDonald (TE – PIT)

View your league’s top available players with My Playbook >>

F F N Tom Brady Ryan Fitzpatrick Matt Ryan Calvin Ridley Amari Cooper Wendell Smallwood Corey Clement Jay Ajayi Darren Sproles Tyler Boyd Jakeem Grant Kenny Stills DeVante Parker Danny Amendola Albert Wilson Jordan Matthews Jalen Richard James White Ryan Grant Andrew Luck T.Y. Hilton Cameron Meredith Tavon Austin Chris Ivory Mark Andrews Vance McDonald