Waiver Favors: 2019 Week 3 Fantasy Football Pickups

By Ha Kung Wong  Week 3 Fantasy Football Pickups

Twitter: @FBGarbageTime

As I do every year over the last 7 years, I’m back to help with some waiver wire adds via my weekly Waiver Favors article!  I’m assuming if you’re a returning reader, you won your fantasy football championship last year, so congratulations!

But it’s a new year, so I’ll make a couple suggestions after Week 3 of the 2019 fantasy football season.  You’re welcome.  Again.

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

Daniel Jones

QB – New York Giants – 15% Owned

I hated the pick, and so did most of America.  No, I’m not referring to politics, I’m referring to Daniel Jones being selected by the New York Giants 6th overall in the 2019 NFL Draft.  But it was only a matter of time before even the Giants front office would realize that Eli Manning, who was great in his own right, was past his expiration date.  That time was Week 3, as Jones started and completed 23 of 36 passes for 336 yards and two passing touchdowns, adding four runs for 28 yards and two rushing touchdowns in “shocking” win against the Buccaneers.  And he did all that without Saquon Barkley, who missed most of the second half with a high ankle sprain.  I may be jumping on the bandwagon, but Jones is rosterable in all 12-team leagues and deeper.

Kyle Allen

QB – Carolina Panthers – 2% Owned

Cam Newton was out with a foot injury giving Kyle Allen another opportunity to start.  And Allen didn’t disappoint completing 19 of 26 passes for 261 yards and four touchdowns in a huge win over the Cardinals.  Almost everyone on the Panthers offense benefitted from this, and the team looked much more dynamic with Allen.  It’s unclear when Newton will return from injury, though word is he’s more day-to-day than week-to-week.  But if you’re a Newton owner, or desperate for QB help in 14-team two QB leagues or deeper, Allen makes a decent stash.

Wayne Gallman

RB – New York Giants – 3% Owned

As I mentioned above, Saquon Barkley has a high ankle sprain.  He was sporting both a boot and crutches during and after the game, and he’ll undergo an MRI on Monday, so who knows how much time he’ll miss.  In the meantime, someone has to run the ball in New York, and that guy is likely Wayne Gallman.  Go ahead an stash him in all 14-team leagues or if you’re a Barkley owner.

Phillip Dorsett

WR – New England Patriots – 32% Owned

Another notable injury in Week 3 was to Julian Edelman, who was out for about half the game with a chest injury.  There’s no news on the extent of the injury, so who knows if Edelman will miss any time.  But in the meantime, since at least we know that Antonio Brown is definitely gone, you might want to speculate on some Patriots WRs, the first of which is Phillip Dorsett.  Dorsett snagged 6 of 7 targets for 53 yards and a touchdown also adding two carries for 12 rush yards against the Jets.  Even if Edelman doesn’t miss time, Dorsett is likely guaranteed the bulk of 3-wide sets going forward, so he’s worth a stash as a WR5/Flex in 12 team leagues and deeper.

Jakobi Meyers

WR – New England Patriots – 1% Owned

And the second Patriots WR you should consider is preseason star Jakobi Meyers.  He’s probably not going to get significant volume if Edelman doesn’t miss time, but if Edelman does miss time (he managed to grab 2 of 3 targets for 38 yards today with Edelman missing half a game), he could be a serviceable WR6/Deep Flex in 14-team leagues or deeper.

Cole Beasley

WR – Buffalo Bills – 8% Owned

Here’s your PPR special.  The Bills look like a half decent team who are now undefeated through 3 weeks.  And part of the reason for that is the consistency shown by Cole Beasley.  Beasley managed to catch 8 of 10 targets for 48 yards against the Bengals, which is crap if you’re in a standard league, but is amaze-balls if you’re in a PPR league.  He’s worth a pickup as a WR5/Flex in 12-team PPR leagues.

Diontae Johnson

WR – Pittsburgh Steelers – 4% Owned

We all wondered who new Steelers QB Mason Rudolph would target after JuJu Smith-Schuster, and many pundits thought it would be James Washington.  But Diontae Johnson told reporters last week that he’ll be starting “from here on out.”  Turns out, at least based on Rudolph’s first start, he was right as Johnson managed to catch 3 of 6 targets for 52 yards and a touchdown.  Sure, most of that was on one 39-yard touchdown catch, but it all counts the same.  He’s worth a stash as a WR5/Flex in 14-team leagues or deeper.

Dawson Knox

TE – Buffalo Bills – 0% Owned

I mentioned how good the Bills have looked over the first 3 games of the season, much of which is also due to Josh Allen.  And Allen not only went to John Brown and Cole Beasley, he also went to rookie TE Dawson Knox with Tyler Kroft out with an ankle injury.  Knox took advantage catching 3 of 4 targets for 67 yards and a touchdown, and he may continue to be a factor as long as Kroft is out.  With a weak TE position, Knox is worth a look for those hurtin’ for a TE in 14-team leagues or deeper, particularly in light of his outstanding draft pedigree.

UPDATE for Sunday and Monday Night Football

Check back tomorrow for all updates!

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

10-Team Leagues

WRs – John Brown, Marquise Brown 

12-Team Leagues

QB – Jimmy Garoppolo

RBs – Carlos Hyde, Raheem Mostert, Adrian Peterson

WRs – DJ Chark Jr., Mecole Hardman, DK Metcalf, Terry McClaurin, Demarcus Robinson, John Ross III

TE – Will Dissly

14-Team Leagues

QB – Case Keenum, Gardner Minshew, Mason Rudolph

16-Team Leagues

RB – Ronald Jones II

Check back every week for more Waiver Favors!