Week 4 had some crazy stat-lines, and the craziest goes to Daniel Jones, who absolutely wrecked the Saints’ 7th-ranked defense on Sunday. I talked about Daniel’s potential breakout in my QB Deep Dive last week, so if you are playing Superflex and need to know who is on the rise for your QB2 slot, check back here later in the week for that column.
Waiver Wire Week 4 Quarterbacks
Daniel Jones, 31% rostered, 50% FAAB
Jones is the top WW add in all superflex leagues if available. Hell I would even put in a claim for him in start-1QB leagues just to see if last week was not an aberration. The return of John Ross definitely helped, as he grabbed 77 of Jones’s 402 yards and one of his 2 TDs. Jones’s uncharacteristic performance came against a good defense, and his rushing ability is still there to prop up down passing weeks.
Trey Lance, 31% rostered, 45% FAAB
Just like with Fields, the team is already talking about Garoppolo taking back the starting spot despite his excellent play. This is really the only reason why he is lower than Jones. Lance only completed 50% of his passes, and his long TD to Samuel did come on busted coverage, but his potential alone makes him worth a grab. 7 for 41 rushing in one half of play is pretty nice.
Justin Fields, 41% rostered, 30% FAAB
Nagy continues to invite death by claiming Dalton will start once healthy. Fields, with Lazor calling the plays, looked nothing short of fantastic despite a meager stat line. Unfortunately Nagy, who is the Mississippi to Urban’s Alabama in terms of being the one coach who consistently keeps the other from being the worst coach in the NFL, is apparently hellbent on holding back his team’s offense and marring the development of Justin Fields, who was regularly making plays that Dalton is simply incapable of. One has to take him seriously, though he better hope no one in Chicago knows where he lives if he carries through with his threat against the team. I really can’t think of any other way to describe starting Dalton after what we saw from Fields Sunday.
Taylor Heinicke, 10% rostered, 30% FAAB
I wrote that despite a bad day against the Bills, Heinicke would make for a good start against the Falcons. He did, once again carrying a defense that is supposed to be carrying the team with a 290-3-0 line and a 127 QBR. He also ran 5 times for 43 yards giving him a great fantasy day. This is the last time he will be available, and barring an injury should start over Fitz when he comes back.
Drops: Gentle Ben, Brissett, Jimmy G, Wentz
Waiver Wire Week 4 Running Backs
Kenny Gainwell, 30% rostered, 45% FAAB
I see a changing of the guard in Philly. Gainwell only saw 3 carries to Sanders’s 7, but he averaged over 10 yards a carry and also caught 6 of 8 targets for 58 yards. Sanders only gained 13 miserable yards on 7 carries. It’s Gainwell SZN from now on.
Damien Williams, 10% rostered, 40% FAAB
Dan Graziono just announced that Montgomery will miss 4-5 weeks and could be out until after the week 10 bye. This makes Williams a must-add in all formats.
Jeremy McNichols, 2% rostered, 15% FAAB
McNichols is not going to take any rushes away from Henry, but he caught 8 of 12 targets for 78 yards in a losing effort against the Jets. When Julio and Brown return these targets will go down, but not to nothing. He gets all third down work in front of Henry and is used more when the Titans are playing from behind late in games.
Branden Bolden, 2% rostered, 5% FAAB
We really should know by now. Despite Ivan Fears pumping up Stevenson he was active but non-existent in the game plan. Bolden got most of the vacated James White targets with 6-6 for 51. Taylor fumbled his only catch so Bolden’s role should be safe for a decade or so.
Drops: JJ Taylor, Ronald Jones, David Johnson, Mark Ingram
Waiver Wire Week 4 Wide Receivers
Darnell Mooney, 38% rostered, 45% FAAB
The Bear’s historically bad offense last week likely caused a lot of folks to give up hope. All it took to get the offense going was removing Nagy from the picture and playing the Lions. Mooney looked nothing short of fantastic. If someone could just kidnap Nagy and lock him in a cabin somewhere until the end of the season, Mooney could be a solid WR2 as he has an obvious connection with Fields. However, Nagy unfortunately exists and even more unfortunately is employed as the Bears head coach for some reason. Firing Nagy would require caring about the success of the franchise, something Bears ownership and management has never shown so much as an inkling towards. Still, the skill is there, the connection is there, and the only thing that can derail it is Dalton’s inevitable insertion back into the starting lineup.
AJ Green, 25% rostered, 30% FAAB
Green is getting targets, is in the most fantasy-friendly offense in the league, and has either a TD or over 100 yards in his past three games. His comeback is officially for real and he belongs on a roster if not in a starting lineup.
Kadarius Toney, 3% rostered, 20% FAAB
Toney saw nine targets in his first start and saw 78% of the snaps and a 22.5% target share. He caught 6 of 9 for 78 yards, and the team spent a first-round draft pick on him. And they actually won the game. I think he’s in line for significant targets going forward even when Shepard and Slayton return.
John Ross, 0% rostered, 15% FAAB
Yes that John Ross. His return to the Giants could not have gone much better, catching 3 passes for 77 yards and a touchdown. However as always he will be boom/bust so roster with that in mind.
Drops: JuJu Smith-Schuster, Rondale Moore, KJ Osborne, Darius Slayton
Waiver Wire Week 4 Tight Ends
Dawson Knox, 48% rostered, 20% FAAB
Knox has finally hit his stride with Buffalo, and honestly I didn’t think it would ever happen. But he has 4 TDs through 3 games and his targets have increased every week in that span, Still will be TD dependent, but there are plenty of those to go around in Buffalo’s offense.
Jared Cook, 48% rostered, 20% FAAB
Cook came back to life last night against Vegas and delivered for the faithful with 6 of 7 targets for 70 yards and a touchdown. Buyer beware his 52% snap share, even split with Parham, but Cook is the one that delivered.
CJ Uzomah, 2% rostered, 5% FAAB
Uzomah had an amazing game, and there is really no reason to doubt his ability. The reason I would advise underbidding is that he basically took on the role of Tee Higgins, who is likely back this week. I don’t see his targets sustaining with Higgins back in the lineup, and he likely reverts back to a td-dependent boom/bust TE the rest of the way.
Drops: Evan Engram, Will Dissly, Anthony Firkser
Waiver Wire Week 4 DST
Minnesota DST vs Detroit, 17% rostered, 3% FAAB
The Vikings held Cleveland in check and I like their chances against Detroit. Goff is proving to be wildly inaccurate and neither running back is getting much going on the ground. Detroit’s offense is limited to small gains, and Minnesota should be able to keep them under 17 points.
Dallas DST vs New York Giants, 23% rostered, 3% FAAB
Dan Quinn has this unit improving, even though they surrendered 28 points to the Panthers. I think Daniel Jones will be hard-pressed to repeat his performance and I like the Cowboys to keep them in check, but I don’t love this play. Can be useful in a spot against a team that seems like they could implode.
Drops: Miami, Washington