Dynasty Fantasy Football Waiver Wire: Week Three
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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 two!
Players to double-check availability and immediately add:
- Kyren Williams, RB LAR
- Gus Edwards, RB BAL
- Justice Hill, RB BAL
- Rico Dowdle, RB DAL
- Puka Nacua, WR LAR
- Tutu Atwell, WR LAR
- Hunter Renfrow, WR LV
- Cade Otton, TE TB
Gardner Minshew, QB IND
As if week one was just an appetizer for fantasy stars getting hurt, week two became the entrée as Anthony Richardson left the game with a concussion after rushing for two touchdowns almost immediately to start the game. But Minshew actually performed well in Richardson’s stead. He completed 83% of his passes and threw for 171 yards and a touchdown in a little over one half of play. We know Minshew has fantasy upside from his days in Jacksonville, acting as this generation’s Ryan Fitzpatrick so to speak, so if Richardson were to miss a week or two being in the concussion protocol, Minshew could offer QB2 appeal if you need a spot start from losing Richardson, Aaron Rodgers, or maybe even Joe Burrow.
Jake Browning, QB CIN
This brings me nicely to Joe Burrow’s backup, Browning. Why would I recommend picking up Burrow’s backup? Because it was reported after the Bengals game that Burrow tweaked his calf, which was the same injury he suffered in August in training camp. There’s a real chance that Burrow is benched so he can fully heal and not risk a bigger injury to their franchise quarterback.
If Burrow is benched for a period of time, Browning would be the guy to take over unless they sign someone instead. The Bengals actually have a relatively soft schedule for passing production over the next month, with games against the Rams, Titans, Cardinals, and Seahawks. If you’re extremely desperate in superflex leagues, Browning could spot-start you some QB2 weeks throwing to Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins.
Matt Breida and Eric Gray, RBs NYG
We can’t have nice things, can we? After an excellent game totaling almost 100 total yards and scoring twice, Saquon Barkley injured his ankle on one of the last plays of the game and looked extremely frustrated on the sideline after the injury. We really didn’t get to see anyone take his place, Breida played the one offensive snap the Giants had after Barkley left, but it would be believed that Breida would be the guy to take over the workhorse role if Barkley missed any time. I’m not sure you would want to play him this week against the Niners (though they did just get torched by Kyren Williams, so, maybe?), but then they also get Seattle, Miami, and Buffalo after San Francisco this week. But if Barkley were to miss an extended period of time, Breida is the guy to roster in that backfield.
I will give a shout-out to Gray. He was one of my favorite fourth-round rookie picks this year with the potential to be the handcuff behind Barkley. He was a very productive player in college at Oklahoma, utilized as both the primary between-the-tackles runner and a good pass-catcher too with 33 receptions last season. If Barkley misses an extended period of time, I expect Breida to be the guy to start, but Gray could work his way into that role and should also be rostered.
Craig Reynolds, RB DET
In other injury news, David Montgomery was carted off the field with a thigh injury. In his stead, Reynolds was the next man up, totaling seven yards on three carries, plus one reception. The Lions didn’t have many opportunities to run the ball after Montgomery got hurt, they had to come back from a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter, but if Montgomery were to miss any games, the assumption is that Reynolds would pick up his workload and Jahmyr Gibbs would maintain his role.
We’ve already seen that the Montgomery role is valuable for fantasy this season (and last season with Jamaal Williams), and Reynolds has flashed in his limited opportunities to be a starter – averaging 75 rushing yards in his three games with 11+ carries. It’s not always pretty, but sometimes you just need a guy with projected volume to toss into your flex spot to cover an injury (or bye weeks in a couple of weeks), and Reynolds could be that guy with Montgomery out.
Ronnie Rivers and Royce Freeman, RBs LAR
So, I don’t know what’s going on in LA, but Kyren Williams looks really good and Cam Akers was a healthy scratch and thrown on the trade block. Under this new situation, the backups behind Williams are Rivers and Freeman (called up from the practice squad). Sixth-round rookie Zach Evans was also a healthy scratch today and played behind both Rivers and Freeman in the preseason as well. So… yeah, this is where we’re at. Let’s just hope Williams stays healthy and continues to do what he’s been doing so far this year.
Josh Reynolds, WR DET
Somehow Reynolds is still not rostered in over 95% of leagues, but will most certainly be after the week he just had. But hopefully you ran to your waiver wire after I highlighted Reynolds in this article last week, and then (shameless plug) hopefully you started him after seeing my tweet Sunday morning calling him a top-20 wide receiver this week against a weak Seahawks secondary.
Reynolds could continue being a weekly flex option while Jameson Williams is out (and maybe even when Williams returns too), especially since Detroit plays Atlanta, Green Bay, and Carolina over the next three weeks, two of those games at home. He needs to be rostered in every dynasty league.
John Bates, TE WAS
More injury news from this week: Logan Thomas left the game early with a concussion after scoring a touchdown. In his place, Bates took over as Commanders receiving tight end, finishing second on the team in targets (5) and yards (46). Thomas actually had great volume in week one, hauling in four receptions for 43 yards on eight targets against the Cardinals, then caught a touchdown this week on three targets before halftime. We know how involved the tight end position was for Eric Bieniemy in Kansas City, and that utilization has seemed to transfer nicely to Washington so far through two games. The tight end position is so ugly for fantasy after the elite few, so any player at the position that can see 7+ targets per game is instantly thrown into top-12 consideration every week. We can’t ignore Bates if he is the guy for Washington with Logan Thomas out.
I will also give a shoutout to Cole Turner as well as a deep stash as the other tight end in Washington. Turner was a fifth-round pick for Washington in the 2022 NFL Draft (Bates was a fourth-round pick in 2021), and ran a slightly faster 40 than Bates with similar agility metrics. He snagged a couple of passes too after Thomas left and could be an interesting stash as well.
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