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Week 3 Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Targets

September 22, 2020

It was an absolute blood bath in the NFL this week. Big names like Joey Bosa, Solomon Thomas and Saquon Barkley are likely done for the season with torn ACLs and RBs Raheem Mostert (sprained MCL) and Cam Akers (Ribs) may miss a few weeks as they recover from their injuries. With these injuries come players that could step up and put up some fantasy football production these next few weeks.

Mike Davis – TB – Carolina Panthers (2% rostered)

RB Christian McCaffrey left Sunday’s game with an ankle injury and Mike Davis stepped in to catch 8 balls for 74 yards and a TD. CMC will miss “multiple weeks” according to Adam Schefter, so Mike Davis is arguably one of the top waiver adds this week.

Darrell Henderson – RB – Los Angeles Rams (32% rostered)

Henderson’s value took a bit of a swan dive after he was out touched by both rookie Cam Akers and veteran Malcolm Brown last week, but Week 2 was a new day for Henderson. Akers landed awkwardly and left the game for what the Rams called a rib injury, but it looked more like a shoulder injury to me. If there is a multi-week absence for Akers, Henderson could be an RB2 with RB1 upside.

Jerick McKinnon – RB – (23% rostered)

Both RBs Raheem Mostert and Tevin Coleman were forced to leave the game with knee injuries on Sunday during “Sunday Bloody Sunday” for the 49ers. Ironically, Jerick McKinnon was the only RB to come out unscathed and was actually far more effective than Tevin Coleman. Coleman should be fine for Week 3, but McKinnon now has back to back weeks with TDs to open the 2020 season after missing all of 2018 and 2019 due to a knee injury and I’d expect Raheem Mostert to have a multi week absence with his sprained MCL. The 49ers will lean on the running game now that Nick Mullens is at QB and McKinnon could be the main benefactor.

Russell Gage – WR – Atlanta Falcons (22% rostered)

I didn’t take Gage’s Week 1 production seriously and it bit me in the ass in one league as my opponent picked him up and started him against me…sending me to a 1-1 record (well not just because of Gage, but it certainly didn’t help). I went into 2020 thinking that the Falcons would feature RB Todd Gurley a bit in the passing game, but it’s been WR3 Gage who saw another 9 targets and a TD in the Week 2 implosion against the Cowboys. The volume seems there to have Gage as your WR3/FLEX each week

Garnder Minshew – QB – Jacksonville Jaguars (32% rostered)

OK, now it’s time to take Gardner Minshew seriously. Hand up, I thought he was just a fun gimmicky guy, but he’s the real deal. He has been a low end QB1 and is sandwiched between Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson through 2 weeks. With plus matchups against Miami, Houston and Cincinnati coming up on the schedule, I may seek out Minshew as my QB1 in a few leagues where I am hurting at the position (thanks Carson Wentz)

Myles Gaskin – RB – Miami Dolphins (15% rostered)

If you are like me (and most of the fantasy football community), you probably didn’t think much of Myles Gaskin leading the Dolphins RBs in Week 1 against the Patriots since he is only 15% rostered. That will change this week. He finished Week 2 with the most touches (13) out of all the Miami RBs and put up respectable numbers. If you are in a pinch after losing Raheem Mostert or Saquon Barkley, Gaskin isn’t a bad option for your RB2/FLEX spot.

Dalton Schultz – TE – Dallas Cowboys (2% rostered)

With Blake Jarwin on the shelf for the season due to a torn ACL, Schultz stepped up and delivered a 9/88/1 game in Dallas’ come from behind win against the Falcons. Obviously, game script dictated this, but Schultz was a target of QB Dak Prescott 10 out of 47, which is pretty damn impressive. There will be games where Schultz is the odd man out, but for those who need a TE2 or have to replace George Kittle, you could do worse.

Mo Alie-Cox – TE – Indianapolis Colts (1% rostered)

The day started off poorly for Allie-Coz when he dropped a TD that turned into an INT for the Vikings, but he eventually found his way and put up a 5/111 stat line on 6 targets. If starting TE Jack Doyle is forced to miss multiple games, Allie-Cox is a great streaming option considering Philip Rivers’ love of checking down.

Jordan Reed – TE – San Francisco 49ers (7% rostered)

With George Kittle out due to a knee injury, Reed made the most of his opportunity and found the end zone twice. We may need to temper expectations moving forward as QB Jimmy Garoppolo is likely out for a few weeks with an ankle injury and George Kittle may be back next week, but it is good to see Reed producing again. Also, it should be noted that there are a few better waiver TE options available

Dion Lewis – RB – New York Giants (5% rostered)

This is purely a desperation play. If Saquon Barkley was having trouble finding space to run behind the Giants O-Line, Dion will struggle as well…but he is a warm body in a season littered with long term injuries. RB Wayne Gallman could get some run and I think the Giants may reach out to a FA vet like Devonta Freeman to fill the void of Saquon. Either way, I was fading Saquon before the injury…I’ll definitely be fading his replacement.

Keelan Cole – WR – Jacksonville Jaguars (3% rostered)

OK, you have my attention Keelan. With 2 TDs in the first 2 weeks, it looks like Cole could be a legit fantasy asset. He is at best the #2 option behind DJ Chark and maybe Laviska Shenault, so I don’t think we will see consistent TD production for him, but I like him as a bench stash.