Dynasty Fantasy Football Waiver Wire: Week Four

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In case you are reading this, there is one bit of information to know before you start reading names. Just like last year’s series, we will be utilizing player rostership percentages, courtesy of real dynasty rosters from 1,700 MFL leagues. While this may not be entirely accurate for every individual league, it is very reflective of how managers view who is worthy or not of a roster spot. Now that that’s covered, let’s dive into the waiver wire after week four!

Players to double-check availability and immediately add:

• Kenny Pickett, QB PIT (in superflex leagues)
• Tyler Allgeier, RB ATL
• Kyle Philips, WR TEN
• Nelson Agholor, WR NE
• Hayden Hurst, TE CIN
• Daniel Bellinger, TE NYG

Bailey Zappe, QB NE

This one is specifically for superflex leagues, as Zappe is rostered in only 37% of them on MFL. Honestly, unless you were super desperate at quarterback, Zappe can probably remain on waivers, or only toss a couple of bucks on him just in case, but his emergency performance on Sunday wasn’t awe-inspiring. The Patriots team as a whole has been really uninspiring just from an offensive perspective as a whole, with Mac Jones’ best fantasy performance being only 18.9 points, with two weeks under 14 points. It seems unlikely that the day three rookie would come in and immediately produce better in his first official start next week (assuming he even does start).

But, we don’t actually know if that will be the case, which is why Zappe is here and could be worth a couple of bucks of FAAB just to see what happens, unless you’re really desperate and lost one of or multiples of Dak Prescott, Trey Lance, and Mac Jones so far and really need a body in your quarterback slot.

Deon Jackson, RB IND

FINALLY! I’m surprised we made it until October for there to finally be a handcuff running back pickup who is widely available on dynasty waivers, but here we are with Deon Jackson. If you follow our content on the DLF YouTube channel, you might have heard me highlight Jackson as a pickup before the season began for this exact reason: what if Jonathan Taylor got hurt? Well, Taylor got hurt and even though I don’t know the severity of the injury right now (I’m writing this on Sunday night), Taylor said himself after the game that he’s unsure if he’ll play in week five, considering they play on Thursday night.

If Taylor actually misses the game, the only two running backs on the Colts’ active roster right now are Nyheim Hines and Deon Jackson. I would imagine Philip Lindsay gets called up from the practice squad for depth during the game, but Jackson has been their RB3 all off-season and up to this point.

What I think we have here is a D’Ernest Johnson situation – remember last year when Nick Chubb missed a couple of games and we thought Kareem Hunt would get more work, but the Browns kept him in his same role and gave Johnson the Chubb role? Yeah, that’s what I see here in Indy where Hines maintains his role, and Jackson gets the JT role as the early-down guy. Obviously, Deon Jackson isn’t Jonathan Taylor, but if Jackson sees 15 touches, he could be viable as a spot starter, especially if you’re missing Taylor or guys like D’Andre Swift or Elijah Mitchell and haven’t had good replacements for them.

The Colts also play Denver on Thursday, who have been a team that hasn’t done well against the run so far this season. Rashaad Penny went 12-60 and caught a couple of passes in week one. Dameon Pierce went 15-69 against them in week two. Jeff Wilson went 12-75 in week three, and this week the Broncos allowed Josh Jacobs to run for over 140 yards and score twice. Like I said, if Jackson were to get 12-15 rush attempts and maybe catch a couple of passes on Thursday night, he could be a flex option or better if he were to find the end zone.

Mike Boone, RB DEN

Another running back who could add value as a spot starter is Boone, who became the RB2 behind Melvin Gordon after Javonte Williams was carted off the field with a knee injury. Again, I’m sure of the severity since it’s Sunday night, but if Williams were to miss the rest of the season, Boone could be a big pickup for any dynasty team this season. We know the Broncos have been running a committee backfield all season with Williams and Gordon, so I would imagine a similar situation could occur with Gordon and Boone, especially since they both saw the same number of rush attempts this week, albeit only three each.

However, Boone was way more explosive with his three carries, totaling 20 yards compared to Gordon’s eight, plus Boone caught his only target for nine yards, while Gordon didn’t reign in his lone target. Like the Jackson situation, I would imagine the Broncos bring in other backs if Williams’s injury is that serious to keep him out all season, but Boone will get the first shot at reps with Gordon, and if he sticks, he could be a valuable asset to pick up now off waivers for potentially the entire season.

Josh Reynolds, WR DET

Moving over to the wide receiver position, Reynolds showcased again why he is just a very solid receiver for both the NFL and fantasy, stepping up to the plate as the Lions’ WR1 without Amon-Ra St. Brown and DJ Chark. He flashed similar production at times with the Rams in similar situations, but this week was able to haul in seven of his eight targets for 81 yards and a score. If Reynolds is still available in your league, he’s worth an addition to the back end of your wide receiver depth as a guy that has shown he can be a legit fantasy starter when his opportunity path is clear.

St. Brown was actually unable to practice all week with an ankle injury he suffered late in week three, which could mean he misses another game in week five against the Patriots. If he were to miss again (even better if Chark missed again), I would be willing to flex Reynolds straight from the waiver wire if needed, which is why he should be added in every dynasty league.

Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, WR TEN

This one is a total shot in the dark. Treylon Burks was carted off the field Sunday and was seen in a walking boot and crutches after the game, so as of right now, the Titans receiving room is bleak. One possibility is this just means more targets get funneled to Robert Woods, Kyle Philips, and the running backs, while everyone else just gets inconsistent shares of the scraps while Burks is out, or maybe Westbrook-Ikhine reappears as a possible flex option like he did for us last year in place of AJ Brown.

I wish we could draw some conclusions from their game this week, but they found themselves up 24-10 at halftime, then had three consecutive three-and-outs in the second half before finally just running out the clock to end the game. Ryan Tannehill only threw 21 times, two of which came after Burks got injured, and Derrick Henry actually led the team in targets, so it was a weird game in general for Tennessee. I’m really not expecting much here, but if you have an open roster spot and feel like throwing a dollar on Westbrook-Ikhine just to see what happens. There are worse moves to make this week.