Waiver Favors: 2018 Week 4 Fantasy Football Pickups

By Ha Kung Wong  Week 4 Fantasy Football Pickups

Twitter: @FBGarbageTime

As I do every week over the last 6 years, I’m back to help with some waiver wire adds via my weekly Waiver Favors article!

Here are a couple suggestions after Week 4 of the 2018 fantasy football season.  You’re welcome.

As usual, all pickups are available in at least 50% of Yahoo standard fantasy football leagues (with some minor exceptions) as of Sunday evening.

Mitchell Trubisky

QB – Chicago Bears – 15% Owned

Mitchell Trubisky has been solid, yet unspectacular in the first 3 games of the season.  He’s done enough to allow the devastating Khalil Mack led defense keep them competitive.  Then came Week 4 where destroyed the Bucs to the tune of 19 of 26 passes for 354 yards and an eye-popping 6 TDs, adding a team leading 53 rush yards.  Even as a Bears fan, I can’t say that this game was any more than an abberation, but it certainly is positive sign as to what upside Trubisky might hold against lesser defenses.  If you need a QB to cover bye weeks, Trubisky is a strong add in 14-team leagues and deeper.

Jameis Winston

QB – Tampa Bay Buccaneers – 11% Owned

With the sound trouncing the Bucs got against the Bears, they finally decided to make some changes.  FitzMagic ran out of magic and the Peyton Barber experiment appears to be over.  First up is Jameis Winston, fresh off a 3 game suspension where he watched Fitzpatrick pass for 400 yards in 3 games in a row, something no other QB in NFL history has ever done.  A 4th game wasn’t in the cards, and Winston was called in relief in the 2nd half, which I suspect will be a permanent move.  He only managed 16 of 20 for 146 yards, a TD and 2 INTs, but I think he’ll shake the rust off, and we saw how good the receivers in Tampa can be, including Mike Evans, DeSean Jackson, Chris Godwin, O.J. Howard and Cameron Brate.  Winston has tons of upside after the Week 5 bye, and is worth a grab in all 12-team leagues or deeper, and in all 2 QB leagues.

Ronald Jones II

RB – Tampa Bay Buccaneers – 24% Owned

So, as I mentioned above, the Peyton Barber experiment appears to be mercifully be over.  Who knows if Barber will be totally out, but when the Bucs drafted Ronald Jones II in the 2nd round of the draft, they didn’t do it to have him ride the pine the entire year.  He had some issues in the preseason, and he only took his 10 carries in Week 4 for 29 yards and had one reception for -1 yards, but as ESPN’s Mathew Berry says, opportunity is half of fantasy football relevance.  If you’re RB needy, feel free to grab him as an RB4/Flex in all 12-team leagues or deeper.

Nyheim Hines

RB – Indianapolis Colts – 14% Owned

The Colts backfield is a hot mess.  Marlon Mack is perpetually hurt, and Jordan Wilkins can’t seem to make anything of his opportunities.  Nyheim Hines also had some issues, but really shined in Week 4, not with his 10 measly rush yards on 4 carries, but with his 9 catches for 63 receiving yards and 2 TDs, now averaging 5.5 receptions per game.  It’s unclear if he’ll ever be a reliable run option, but he certainly has James White-type upside as the clear passing back option in a Colts offense that looks to need to score often to make up for its lack of defense.  Go ahead and grab him as a RB4/Flex in 12-team PPR leagues, or any 14-team league or deeper.

Mike Davis

RB – Seattle Seahawks – 2% Owned

Let’s not get crazy, but with Chris Carson inactive with a hip injury, it wasn’t much hyped first round draft pick Rashaad Penny that got run, it was fourth year journeyman Mike Davis.  He made the most of it rushing 21 times for 101 yards and 2 TDs, also catching all 4 targets for 23 yards.  It may be surprising to hear, but this is the most productive the Seattle backfield has been all season, including with Carson.  If you like to gamble, and are in a deep 16-team league with RB needs, you could do worse than stashing Davis and seeing how this plays out.

Taylor Gabriel

WR – Chicago Bears – 5% Owned

We all knew that Taylor Gabriel had speed when he was in Atlanta, but we haven’t seen much of that in Chicago…until this week.  Gabriel blazed away taking all 7 targets for 104 yards and 2 TDs, also rushing once for 10 yards.  I’m not saying that he’s doing this every week, even again this season, but he certainly showed his upside once he has the ball in his hands.  Feel free to speculate in 14-team leagues or deeper if you need a WR4/5 or Flex.

Taywan Taylor

WR – Tennessee Titans – 3% Owned

So here’s a really deep one.  Rishard Matthews was released prior to Week 4, leaving everyone to speculate who would benefit outside of Corey Davis.  Turns out, Taywan Taylor benefitted, catching 7 of 9 targets for 77 yards.  Who knows if this will continue, but Taylor trended up in targets each week (1, 4, 5, 9) and Marcus Mariota clearly trusts him, targeting him on a critical 4th and 15 in OT, which Taylor caught for 19 eventually leading to the win.  Need a lottery ticket in 16-team leagues or deeper?  Give him a look.

Keke Coutee

WR – Houston Texans – 1% Owned

There are probably too many receiving options in Houston with both DeAndre Hopkins and Will Fuller hogging targets, but Keke Coutee made his rookie debut and managed to catch 11 of his whopping 15 targets for 109 yards.  Sure, the game against the Colts was a shootout, 15 targets is a lot.  Coutee may get plenty of targets out of the slot, and Fuller is battling a recurring hamstring injury, so Coutee is worth a speculative stash in 14-team PPR leagues or any 16-team league or deeper.

Check back for UPDATEs for Monday Night Football!

And here’s who I’ve recommended in previous weeks that I still think deserve a look:

10-Team Leagues

WRs – Calvin Ridley

12-Team Leagues

QBs – Baker Mayfield

RBs – Giovani Bernard (as long as Joe Mixon is out)

WRs – Geronimo Allison, Tyler Boyd, Keelan Cole, Kenny Golladay

14-Team Leagues

QB – Josh Allen, C.J. Beathard

RBs – Javorius Allen, Austin Ekeler, TJ Yeldon (as long as Leonard Fournette is out)

WRs – Antonio Callaway, Chris Godwin, Christian Kirk, Dede Westbrook

16-Team Leagues

WRs – Cole Beasley, Phillip Dorsett, Ted Ginn Jr., Albert Wilson, Jarius Wright

TEs – Dallas Goedert

Check back later this week for pickups from Sunday and Monday night games and every week for more Waiver Favors!