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Waiver Wire Rankings and FAAB Advice: Week 3 (2020 Fantasy Football)

Waiver Wire Rankings and FAAB Advice: Week 3 (2020 Fantasy Football)

It’s only the third week of the NFL season, but it might be the most important waiver wire period of 2020.

With a litany of notable fantasy stars on the shelf – including Christian McCaffrey, Saquon Barkley and Michael Thomas – you’re going to need all the help you can get to ensure you make the right additions this week.

Here are Dan Harris, Mike Tagliere and Kyle Yates with their waiver wire rankings and FAAB recommendations for Week 3:

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Waiver Wire Rankings powered by FantasyProsECR ™ – Expert Consensus Rankings

 

Q1. Who is your top waiver wire option of the week, and why?

It’s Mike Davis and, in my opinion, he’s the only one worth spending significant FAAB on. Christian McCaffrey is expected to miss 4-6 weeks with his high-ankle sprain, opening up the door for Davis, who caught all eight of his targets for 74 yards on Sunday. He isn’t going to get the workload that McCaffrey usually does, but he should be the lead back and has the pass-catching chops to thrive on a team that will likely be playing from behind often. He has the clearest road to guaranteed touches of anyone available and is a must-add in nearly every format.
– Dan Harris (@danharris80)

You should be shooting for the sky with waiver wire picks, so why not snag the running back who’s tied to one of the best offensive play-callers out there? Darrell Henderson is by no means a “can’t miss” waiver wire addition, but if there’s someone on the wire who could potentially be a league winner, it’s him. Against a tough Eagles run defense, he managed to rack up 121 total yards and a touchdown on just 14 touches.
– Mike Tagliere (@MikeTagliereNFL)

Mike Williams just squeaks by in our criteria for waiver wire pickups, but he’s absolutely the number one option here if he is still available. Williams didn’t have a great week this Sunday, but Justin Herbert just missed connecting with him on a shot in the end zone. With Tyrod Taylor most likely back at QB this Sunday, Williams jumps back up into FLEX consideration that always has the possibility to find the end zone. He deserves to be rostered everywhere.
– Kyle Yates (@KyleYNFL)

Q2. Which high-end waiver wire option for Week 2 was the most difficult to rank?

Jerick McKinnon. There’s a lot of upside with McKinnon with both Raheem Mostert and Tevin Coleman set to miss next week’s game against the Giants. He reportedly looked good in camp and has been dynamic in his few touches this season. But we’ve also seen Kyle Shanahan consistently rotate backs in and out of his lineup, and it’s not clear that he will lean on McKinnon heavily even if with Mostert and Coleman out. Even if he does, it sounds unlikely that Mostert will miss much time, so McKinnon’s long-term value is questionable. There’s an argument to be made that he should be the top or number 2 pickup this week. There’s an argument to be made that he should be outside the top-five. I side with the latter.
– Dan Harris (@danharris80)

It was Dion Lewis for me, because although he took over in the lead role once Saquon Barkley went down, I can’t see the Giants riding it out with him moving forward. Wayne Gallman is someone who’s likely to have a role, though we don’t know what that role will be. I’d say it’s entirely possible that Gallman is the back to roster in this backfield, making Lewis a tough one to crack.
– Mike Tagliere (@MikeTagliereNFL)

Mike Davis was extremely difficult for me to rank. Even though a lot of people are going to be clamoring to pick him up off of waivers, I don’t believe that he’s going to see anywhere near the type of work that CMC was in this offense. Davis can be a factor through the air, but I expect this to become a platoon backfield with Trenton Cannon, Curtis Samuel seeing some carries, and maybe even Reggie Bonnafon being promoted from the practice squad. This is going to be a messy situation and I’m fine letting someone else spend up and deal with the potential outcomes. It’s definitely going against the grain to have him ranked where I do, but I couldn’t find a way to rank him any higher.
– Kyle Yates (@KyleYNFL)

Q3. For managers renting a D/ST in Week 2, what readily available option (under 40%) should they target?

Scans to see who is playing the Jets and … it’s the Colts. There’s just such a small chance that the Jets are going to be able to put up many points, especially given their injuries. It’s really the perfect match for any D/ST, as the Jets struggle to run, pass, and execute anything offensively. If the Colts are snapped up, the Bucs make a decent play against a Denver team missing it’s quarterback and top receiver.
– Dan Harris (@danharris80)

The Colts’ defense. Have you watched Adam Gase run an offense? I’m not sure a whole lot more needs to be said. This team is fielding five new offensive lineman, so they’re far from an in-sync unit, and they’ve lost two of their top playmakers on offense. The Colts secondary may be a mess, but their front seven is generating a lot of pressure and have the highest sack rate in the league.
– Mike Tagliere (@MikeTagliereNFL)

The Colts’ defense has been hit or miss through the first two weeks, but they get an amazing matchup next Sunday against the New York Jets. The Jets have essentially no one playing on offense for them at WR and the Colts run defense should be able to easily handle Frank Gore and company. The Jets aren’t going to be putting up points and the Colts could easy walk away with an INT and a couple of sacks in this one.
– Kyle Yates (@KyleYNFL)

Notable Week 3 FAAB Recommendations (in %)

POS PLAYER TEAM HARRIS TAGS YATES AVG.
1 Devonta Freeman FA 10 35 30 25.0 
T2 Mike Davis CAR 30 25 10 21.7
T2 Darrell Henderson LAR 20 25 20 21.7
T4 Mike Williams LAC 15 15 20 16.7
T4 N’Keal Harry NE 15 15 20 16.7
6 Russell Gage ATL 15 15 18 16.0
7 Michael Pittman IND 15 10 15 13.3
T8 Keelan Cole JAC 10 7 15 10.7
T8 Jalen Reagor PHI 10 7 15 10.7
10 Jerick McKinnon SF 15 6 10 10.3
11 Drew Sample CIN 5 10 5 6.7
12 Dalton Schultz DAL 5 7 4.0

__________

Q4. Which Week 3 waiver wire option carries the biggest risk of being a waste of FAAB dollars?

Devonta Freeman. You’ll see I’m much lower than what I imagine the consensus will be on Freeman. I’m not sure why this is the world’s most exciting situation to everyone. He’s been just sitting out there, where any team who desperately needed a running back could have made him a lucrative offer. We have no idea what type of shape he’s in, he’s walking into a brand new team where he doesn’t know the offense, and will be playing on a team that will probably be behind in the majority of their games. Wayne Gallman and Dion Lewis are serviceable, so it’s more than plausible that Freeman barely cracks the list of startable running backs each week. He could be valuable – we’ve seen it happen before in situations like this – but there’s a bigger chance that he’s a large waste of FAAB dollars in my opinion.

– Dan Harris (@danharris80)

This is likely Jordan Reed. There will be some TE-needy teams that break the bank for him, only to find out that George Kittle will be back this week or next. On top of that, the 49ers just downgraded at quarterback during the remaining time that Kittle might miss. We can’t just forget all the injury question marks that Reed had prior to this season, either.
A lot of people are going to be clamoring to get Marquez Valdes-Scantling with the news that Davante Adams might miss next week with a hamstring injury. But MVS gets a tough matchup next week against the New Orleans Saints defense. MVS has put together nice performances against two mediocre defenses, but there’s a very good chance that he isn’t able to do as much against this stout Saints pass defense. I’d recommend looking elsewhere.

– Kyle Yates (@KyleYNFL)

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.

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