Waiver Favors: Early Week 3 Fantasy Football Pickups

By Ha Kung Wong  Fantasy Football Pickups

Twitter: @FBGarbageTime

Week 3 is almost over, so we’re back to help you keep your fantasy football team competitive!

As usual, all pickups are available in at least 50% of Yahoo standard fantasy football leagues as of Sunday evening.

Michael Vick

QB – Pittsburgh Steelers – 2% Owned

Sure, it’s not 2010 or 2011.  It’s 2015.  And Ben Roethlisberger is in charge of the high flying Pittsburgh Steelers offense.  So what happens when Big Ben goes down with a left knee injury that looks to be at least a torn MCL that will sideline him for a minimum of 4 weeks?  Well, you go to backup QB Michael Vick.  Vick didn’t look great in limited play, completing 5 of 6 conservative passes for 38 yards.  But the weapons are still there in Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell.  I’ll make it simple.  You get the ball to Brown and he’ll make things happen.  Vick will probably be asked to manage the game and remain conservative, and you’ll likely want to avoid him in Week 4 when he faces the Baltimore Ravens on a short week, but he could be a decent flyer as a backup QB in 14-team and deeper leagues, or 12-team 2 QB leagues and deeper.

Ted Ginn Jr.

WR – Carolina Panthers – 9% Owned

Tedd Ginn Jr. has been around the league.  He’s in his 9th year and just made his 5th team move.  It’s tough to get excited about this football journeyman as he’s never been a real difference maker on offense.  But this year, in his second stint with the Panthers, he seems to be taking advantage of Carolina’s lack of receiving options.  He was 6 of 16 for 95 yards and a TD in his first two weeks and continued drawing effective targets in Week 3 catching 4 of 6 for 93 yards.  That makes it three straight weeks with at least 6 targets.  Carolina has been looking for someone to step up with Greg Olsen after Kelvin Benjamin went out for the season.  Ginn is probably not the long term answer.  But for now, you could do worse for WR4/Flex in 12-team and deeper leagues.

Rishard Matthews

WR – Miami Dolphins – 31% Owned

Jarvis Landry and DaVante Parker are all the rage at WR in Miami.  But let’s not overlook Rishard Matthews.  He’s been a steady presence in the receiving corp and broke out in Week 3 with 6 of 10 for 113 yards and 2 TDs.  Is he going to do this every week?  Unlikely.  But he certainly could garner 4-6 targets a week with upside on a Miami offense that will be frequently playing from behind.  Worth a gander as WR4/Flex in 12-team and deeper leagues.

Marvin Jones

WR – Cincinnati Bengals – 19% Owned

Remember Marvin Jones?  In 2013, he had a breakout season in Cincinnati for 712 yards and a whopping 10 TDs.  Then injury struck and he missed all of 2014.  Well, he’s back.  In Week 2, he warmed up snagging 2 of 5 for 48 yards and a TD.  He followed that up in Week 3 by catching 5 of 8 for 94 yards and a TD.  He’s not going to gobble up yards every week, and he’s not going to be consistent, but if you’d like a TD lottery ticket, Jones is your man.  Worth your consideration as a WR4/Flex in 12-team and deeper leagues.

Charles Clay

TE – Buffalo Bills – 16% Owned

Charles Clay was an important part of the Miami Dolphins offense in 2014, and the Dolphins used they’re transition tag to try and keep it that way for 2015.  Unfortunately, the Bills made Clay an offer he couldn’t refuse and the Dolphins failed to match it, meaning Rex Ryan got the guy he wanted at TE.  And Clay hasn’t disappointed, snagging 7 of 9 for 62 yards and a TD in Week 2 and 5 of 7 for 82 yards and a TD in Week 3.  There are plenty of receiving options in Buffalo, particularly with the reinvigorated Percy Harvin, but with Sammy Watkins going out with a calf injury, perhaps Clay will maintain his role going forward. Check him out as a backup TE in 12-team leagues or a low end starter in 14-team and deeper leagues.

Gary Barnidge

TE – Cleveland Brown’s – 0% Owned

Here’s an instance were the player is completely dependent on who is under center.  In this case, whether Gary Barnidge can be useful is entirely dependent on whether Josh McCown is in charge.  In Week 1, where McCown and Johnny Manziel split time, Barnidge had 5 targets, and in Week 2 with just Johnny Manziel, he had only 1 target.  But in Week 3, when McCown played the entire game, Barnidge grabbed 6 of 10 targets for 105 yards and TD.  Assuming McCown keeps the job, which is no sure thing, Barnidge can be a useable backup TE in 14-team and deeper leagues.  Keep an eye on him.

Antonio Andrews

RB – Tennessee Titans – 1% Owned

I have no idea what’s happening in the Tennessee Titans backfield.  But it’s clear they’re not happy with the production their getting out of Bishop Sankey and Dexter McCluster.  In steps 2nd year RB Antonio Andrews.  Who?  Yeah, that’s the same reaction I had.  Turns out he was the 2013 Sun Belt Player of the Year in college, so it’s not like he doesn’t have any potential.  It’s just that Andrews had not been given a single carry until today.  And he was surprisingly effective with 12 carries for 49 rush yards, 12 receiving yards and a TD.  I’m fairly certain Sankey and McCluster aren’t going away, so at best, we’re looking at a RBBC with Andrews potentially getting early down carries.  But every starting RB has value, so if you need a flyer RB4 in 14-team and deeper leagues, feel free to give him a look.

And here are pickups from previous articles which I still recommend:

Bishop Sankey, James Jones, Tyrod Taylor, Percy Harvin, Terrance Williams, Chris Johnson, David Johnson, Donte Moncrief, Travis Benjamin, Matt Jones

Keep coming back for updates all week!