Waiver Wire

Boston Scott is walking into at least one week of pseudo-starter responsibilities. Scott is the next man up, and a short week against the New York Giants ensures that Miles Sanders will sit and that scoring opportunity will be abundant. Doug Pederson has a history of using a committee when no true workhorse is available to carry the load. Still, one week RB2 upside makes Scott a worthy Flex play for those looking to fill bye weeks.

J.D. McKissic has forced himself onto the fantasy radar with at least six receptions in each game since Dwayne Haskins was relinquished to the bench. Kyle Allen is a checkdown machine that helped fuel Christian McCaffrey’s historic 2019 run. McKissic is AFC James White with PPR flex value completely supported by targets. He’s a high-floor PPR Flex option perfect for bye week fill-ins.

Chase Claypool is the hot ticket pickup for Week 6 after a four touchdown performance against the Eagles. His efficiency will obviously come down to Earth, but his profile supports his breakout being for real. The Steelers average 37.2 (No. 16) Team Pass Plays per Game, so there is plenty of opportunity for Claypool. His eruption was seemingly linked to Diontae Johnson being injured. However, the overall productivity of this offense can lead him to weekly fantasy success.

Travis Fulgham looks like 2020’s Phillip Lindsay; the undrafted guy nobody ever heard of who may finish top 24 at his position. Carson Wentz can sill activate high-end fantasy receivers and as of Week 5, his best weapon is Fulgham. Add him in all formats as the ultimate boom/bust acquisition of 2020. His range of outcomes include returning to irrelevancy or ascending to moderate stardom and at least Flex value.

Newly-minted starting QBs always make for priority waiver wire targets. Especially when they have Konami Code upside and are among the most efficient college QBs of all time. Skip the middle man. Get Tua Tagovailoa on your roster now to avoid the inevitable rush to acquire him when he becomes the starter in Miami. If Ryan Fitzpatrick has another dud this week and the Dolphins drop to 1-4, Tua Time may come sooner than anticipated.

With Russell Wilson finally being allowed to play at an MVP-caliber level, it makes sense to target pieces of his passing offense. That includes David Moore, who comes off his best statistical and fantasy outing of the young season. The Snap Share and routes have trended downwards, but Moore still went 3-95-1 on four Week 4 targets, also logging 81 Air Yards despite a season-low 13 routes run. Despite a 7.6 (No. 31 among qualified wide receivers) Weekly Volatility mark, it shows that we want to have him stashed to play in deeper leagues in the right matchups.

PlayerProfiler subscribers already know all about Joshua Kelley’s upside. He’s healthy Sony Michel. His usage was throttled back in favor of Austin Ekeler over these last few weeks, but Ekeler is slated to miss 4-6 weeks with a Grade 2 hamstring strain. The split between Kelley and Justin Jackson is yet to be seen, but both players warrant a bid going into the Week 5 waiver run.

Julio Jones is dealing with lingering hamstring issues, paving the way for more opportunity for Olamide Zaccheaus, who profiles as a proficient slot receiver best comparable to Jamison Crowder. His 34.1-percent (94th-percentile among qualified wide receivers) College Target Share and 19.1 (88th-percentile) Breakout Age suggest that this undrafted free agent belongs on NFL rosters and fantasy teams alike.

Brandon Aiyuk is less widely rostered than Justin Jefferson but unlikely to be available in deep leagues. He is a stronger add than Jefferson and Tee Higgins this week, because he would likely operate as the 49ers’ No. 1 wide receiver until Deebo Samuel is 100-percent back online.

Travis Homer is a more versatile and explosive back than Carlos Hyde and received the first backfield snap in a clutch situation after Chris Carson went down on a dirty play at the end of Seattle’s epic Week 3 win. Like Myles Gaskin last week, Homer is this week’s signature darkhorse free agent fantasy running back and a high priority add. Because he did not pop in the score, he can be added for a small percentage of most FAAB budgets.

A bet on Bryan Edwards is a bet on one of the highest ranking prospects in this year’s rookie class via the Breakout Finder. A player with the second-highest Breakout Age in the entire database and a 48.4-percent (94th-percentile among qualified wide receivers) College Dominator Rating against SEC competition. If he puts up a usable fantasy performance while facing Stephon Gilmore’s coverage, we will unequivocally know that he’s for real.

With Jerry Jeudy a game-time decision for Denver’s Week 3 contest against the Bucs, it’s time to stash K.J. Hamler, who tied Jeudy for the team lead with seven targets last week. Having Jeff Driskel under center lowers his ceiling for now, but Courtland Sutton being unavailable for the rest of the year raises his rest-of-season floor, and Drew Lock’s eventual return will raise the sky-high ceiling back up. He also draws the Jets in Week 4, if exploiting winnable matchups is something you’re interested in.

Jerick McKinnon is the obvious plug-and-play RB1 option for Week 3 with both Raheem Mostert and Tevin Coleman injured. Though his athleticism may have been compromised by his 2018 ACL tear, he was already working with a baseline of “most athletic RB in the entire PlayerProfiler database.” If you didn’t acquire him last week, you need to bid aggressively on his league-winning profile.

Dalton Schultz thrived in Blake Jarwin’s role during Dallas’ Week 2 win against Atlanta. Nine receptions on ten targets for 88 yards in inspiring enough to start Schultz moving forward. After surprisingly leading all Cowboys pass-catchers with 10 targets against the Falcons, Schultz became this week’s free square waiver wire TE pickup.

Jamison Crowder and Denzel Mims are both out for the Jets this week, and Breshad Perriman is not operating at 100-percent. Chris Hogan only caught one of four targets for zero yards in his Jets debut, but that doesn’t matter as much as the projected opportunity spike he’s set to enjoy. He already logged a 100.0-percent Snap Share in his first game with the team, and is now set to become an active member of a passing game that will be active due to trailing in games a good amount.

Jordan Reed is not dead yet; he’s worth a stash and a possible spot start against the Jets. Especially in TE-premium formats. His 55.6-percent Slot Rate ranked No. 2 among all tight ends and only behind Trent Taylor among 49ers pass-catchers in Week 1. His 22.2-percent Hog Rate also ranked No. 2 among all tight ends, meaning he was already a passing game focal point when on the field.

Russell Gage spent the offseason as an intriguing late-round dart throw in Best Ball after a strong finish in 2019. He erupted in Week 1, matching both Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley with 12 targets, nine receptions and over 100 receiving yards. Expect him to be the No. 1 waiver wire target this week as a result. We wouldn’t recommend blowing all of your FAAB or a top priority waiver claim on Gage, but he’s certainly worthy of a bench spot and Flex consideration.

The Logan Thomas breakout is upon us. Many refused to believe that Thomas could be this year’s Darren Waller due to the low probability of having two breakout tight ends in back-to-back years that came from absolutely nowhere. Thomas led the Washington Football team with eight targets and his usage was beyond promising for future success. Add Thomas and insert him into your starting tight end slot unless you already have one of the Big Five on your roster.

James Robinson’s 48.7-percent College Dominator Rating, a 97th-percentile mark, is the best among all incoming rookie running backs. His 107.2 Athleticism Score is the best in this rookie class, and No. 16 among all running backs in the entire database. That fact that he stuck around the team for this long in an offseason where all UDFAs faced a steeper-than-usual uphill climb to make a roster should’ve been the warning flare in the sky for fantasy gamers. The time to acquire him in all formats is running out. Be on the right side of history.

Marvin Hall’s seven (No. 150) receptions for 261 (No. 100) receiving yards helped give him astronomical marks in many of PlayerProfiler’s efficiency metrics, and he did most of that damage with Matthew Stafford healthy. In fact, eight of his 39 career targets have gone for 30-plus yards. Kenny Golladay led all wide receivers with 37 Deep Targets last year, so it would make sense for Hall to slide into that role over fifth-round rookie Quintez Cephus. Especially given his familiarity with the offense and the shortened offseason program.