Week 3 of the 2022 fantasy football season is nearly in the books! And it’s time to improve our rosters on the Week 4 waiver wire. Let’s take a look at the top Week 4 waiver wire pickups and targets that fantasy managers should consider adding to their rosters.
Note: All roster percentages are from Yahoo.
Waiver wire pickups to target in Week 4 | Quarterbacks
Jared Goff, Detroit Lions (45% rostered)
If you look purely at Jared Goff’s Week 3 fantasy points, you’d be unimpressed. However, Goff attempted 41 passes and threw for 277 yards. The Lions scored three touchdowns, but two of them happened to be on the ground. That’s just variance.
Goff gets the Seahawks next week and will be one of the top streamers. He may not be a top waiver priority pickup, but he’s worth a 3-5% FAAB bid.
Waiver wire pickups to target in Week 4 | Running backs
Khalil Herbert, Chicago Bears (48% rostered)
David Montgomery left the Bears’ win over the Texans early in the game. In his place, Khalil Herbert balled out, ripping off 157 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries.
Last season, filling in for Montgomery for four weeks, Herbert averaged a very respectable 13.7 fantasy points per game. He looks even better this year and is this week’s top pickup if Montgomery is going to be out for any extended period of time.
As for specific FAAB recommendations, that all depends on how long Montgomery is expected to miss. We will have more specific recommendations well before you need to finalize them for your weekly waiver period.
Alexander Mattison, Minnesota Vikings (54% rostered)
Dalvin Cook left the game late against the Lions with a shoulder issue. Cook has dealt with recurring shoulder issues throughout his career, including multiple torn labrums and separations.
Early reports are Cook will play in Week 4, but this is a reminder that he’s always at risk of missing time. In his career, Alexander Mattison averages 20.38 PPR fantasy points per game when filling in for Cook. He would be an immediate top 12 option.
We should know more about Cook by the time waiver wire claims are due Tuesday night. The length of his absence, if any, will determine how aggressively to target Mattison.
J.D. McKissic, Washington Commanders (26% rostered)
There’s nothing flashy about J.D. McKissic. He’s never going to win you a matchup, but with injuries mounting and bye weeks imminent, fantasy managers may have use for a floor guy like McKissic.
With the Commanders facing negative game script throughout, McKissic saw nine targets against the Eagles, catching six of them for 32 yards. It’s not always easy to project game script, but if you do project the Commanders to be trailing, you can confidently project McKissic for at least five targets. He’s worth a 5-7% FAAB bid.
Waiver wire pickups to target in Week 4 | Wide receivers
Greg Dortch, Arizona Cardinals (17% rostered)
Greg Dortch is averaging over 15 PPR fantasy ppg through three weeks. He’s now seen 23 targets on the season. This is no fluke. Dortch is the WR2 on this team behind Marquise Brown.
Fantasy managers in need of a wide receiver should look to Dortch. He’s proven to be a reliable weekly WR3, especially in PPR formats. Dortch is my top WR waiver add this week and worth a 10-15% FAAB bid.
Romeo Doubs, Green Bay Packers (25% rostered)
It’s difficult to know what to make of the Packers’ wide receivers. It seems to be a different guy each week. In Week 3, Sammy Watkins and Christian Watson were out. As a result, Romeo Doubs stepped up and caught all eight of his targets for 73 yards and a touchdown.
Is this legit? I’m not sure. But if there’s any chance Doubs is Rodgers’ WR1 going forward, it’s a shot worth taking. He’s worth a 10-15% FAAB bid.
Russell Gage, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (42% rostered)
Whenever someone sees 13 targets, we take notice. Russell Gage caught 12 of them for 87 yards and a touchdown. He was one of the highest-scoring wide receivers in Week 3.
Mike Evans will be back next week and reclaim his spot as Tom Brady’s top target. But even so, Brady needs a WR2, and until Chris Godwin returns, that guy may very well be Gage. He’s worth an add and a 10-15% FAAB bid if you need a receiver.
DeVante Parker, New England Patriots (25% rostered)
Heading into Week 3, DeVante Parker had a grand total of one reception for nine yards on the season. Suffice it to say his 5-156 explosion was not something I saw coming.
While it’s fair to attribute Parker’s blow-up to Jakobi Meyers’ absence, the fact remains Parker is clearly still capable of playing at this high of a level.
We don’t know if Meyers will return next week, but we do know Parker is viable when Meyers doesn’t play. Parker led all Patriots with a 96% snap share, 40 routes run, and 10 targets.
I wouldn’t go too crazy for Parker in light of Mac Jones’ potential extended absence, but he needs to be on more rosters than he is. Parker is worth a 5-10% FAAB bid.
Zay Jones, Jacksonville Jaguars (10% rostered)
Zay Jones will never be a consistently reliable fantasy starter. However, his Week 3 performance didn’t totally come out of nowhere. Jones caught 10 of 11 targets for 85 yards and a touchdown. He had an uneventful Week 2 but did see nine targets in Week 1. Entering Week 3 with a 19% target share, we have evidence of an intent to use Jones.
Fantasy managers can certainly do worse than Jones as we approach bye weeks. He looks like a serviceable WR4 with WR3 upside. Jones is worth an add on a 5-7% FAAB bid.
Mack Hollins, Las Vegas Raiders (1% rostered)
Similar to Parker, Mack Hollins also benefited from the absence of a starting receiver on his team. Hunter Renfrow missed this game due to a concussion and Hollins stepped up. He played just two fewer snaps and ran just two fewer routes than Davante Adams, and out-targeted him 9-8. When a receiver puts up 8-158-1, we take notice.
With that said, I would not consider Hollins a priority add this week. Renfrow should return next week, and even if he doesn’t, this feels like an anomaly from Hollins. He’s literally never done this in his career and he’s 29 years old. If you need a receiver, you can throw a couple of bucks of FAAB on Hollins, but I will be passing this week.
K.J. Osborn, Minnesota Vikings (6% rostered)
After logging just an 8% target share over the first two weeks, Week 3 was the K.J. Osborn show.
Osborn still only played 72% of the snaps and ran seven fewer routes than Adam Thielen (who was two behind Justin Jefferson). However, Osborn matched Thielen with a team-high eight targets, catching five for 73 yards and the game-winning touchdown.
Osborn will have games like this, but he’s still the clear WR3. Unless Jefferson or Thielen gets hurt, Osborn won’t be a reliable starting option. He’s worth throwing on the back of your bench in deeper leagues, but Osborn is not a priority waiver wire pickup in Week 3.
Josh Reynolds, Detroit Lions (0% rostered)
The Lions almost exclusively ran 11 personnel in Week 3. DJ Chark and Josh Reynolds each had an 80% snap share. Amon-Ra St. Brown was slightly behind them because he missed a couple of snaps with an ankle tweak.
Reynolds led the Lions with 10 targets, one more than St. Brown, and four more than Chark. Prior to this week, Reynolds had a total of six targets on the season. This looks more like a random occurrence than any deliberate turn to Reynolds as a main guy. I would pass on Reynolds this week.
Waiver wire pickups to target in Week 4 | Tight ends
David Njoku, Cleveland Browns (51% rostered)
David Njoku is rostered in over half of leagues but is still worth mentioning after his performance on Thursday night. Njoku played nearly 90% of the snaps and caught nine of 10 targets for 89 yards and a touchdown.
Given the state of the tight end position, Njoku needs to be added onto fantasy rosters just based on the fact that he has this in his wheelhouse. If you need a tight end, Njoku is worth a priority add and an 8-12% FAAB bid.
Tyler Conklin, New York Jets (26% rostered)
C.J. Uzomah returned this week, but Tyler Conklin’s status as the Jets’ clear TE1 was unaffected. Conklin played 85% of the snaps and ran 44 routes. He commanded eight targets — which is his average this season — and has reached double-digit fantasy points in each of the first three weeks.
Much like with Njoku above, tight ends seeing targets need to be rostered. Conklin looks like an every-week back-end TE1. He’s worth a 6-8% FAAB bid.