Week 3 Waiver Claims

Quarterback #1: Gardner Minshew

I’m just gonna assume that you all know that Ryan Tannehill should be the No. 1 QB claim in 1QB leagues this week after he was QB4 (!!) over his 11 starts last year & has shown in the first two games this year that it was absolutely NOT a fluke. So despite him being owned in just 34% of leagues, I’m not gonna spend too much time on Tanny. Let’s talk about another guy who deserves your love in 1QB leagues – Gardner Minshew. He’s probably rostered in just about every Superflex league, but the love still hasn’t come around for him in 1QB leagues yet. It’s time for that to change. He’s thrown 3 TD’s in consecutive games & is your QB9 through two weeks. On top of that, he’s sneakily rushed for 19 yards in each game – a 16-game pace of 304 rushing yards & the fantasy-equivalent of an additional 760 passing yards added to his year-end passing totals. If you’re streaming QB & in need of wins the next few weeks – Minshew is your guy with matchups against MIA, CIN, HOU, & DET. Even if you don’t like using players with a TNF matchup, he’s in prime position for a top-8 QB finish next week against Cincinnati.

Quarterback #3: Justin Herbert

Rule #2 is don’t invest in rookie QB’s in redraft. But Rule #1 is invest in running-QB’s NO MATTER WHAT. And Herbert is absolutely a running-QB. His 13 rushing TD’s in 4 years at Oregon highlight a willingness to run & his combine numbers (4.68 40/35.5” vertical/4.46 shuttle) confirm his athleticism. Seeing him rush 4 times for 18 yards & a TD in his debut was music to my ears (yes my ears can see)… The Josh Allen comparisons look as spot-on as they ever have. We may have found ourselves another Konami-Code QB.

Quarterback #3: Jeff Driskel

Would you believe me if I told you that Jeff Driskel is also a Konami-Code QB & that in his 3 starts last year he rushed for 5/37, 8/51/1, and 9/63, finishing as QB12, QB5, & QB13 those 3 weeks? Because, he is… and he did… In desperation-mode in Superflex or 2QB leagues, you could do a hell of a lot worse.

Running Back #1: Jerick McKinnon

14 carries for 12 yards! Are you kidding me, Tevin Coleman? In a game in which Raheem Mostert & Jerick McKinnon averaged OVER 10 YPC (!!), the stark contrast couldn’t be made any clearer. Tevin Coleman sucks. He’s probably a really nice dude. Like, probably a really, really, really nice dude… but he sucks. Ever since I found out about his putrid 1.8 & 1.4 yards after-contact per-attempt the last two years, I’ve been banging away at the Tevin-Coleman-sucks-drum, and you better believe when he rushes 14 times for 12 yards I’m gonna beat that thing to death. At worst, McKinnon’s a decent flex option as the second-best back on the roster alongside Raheem Mostert. At best, he’s the No. 1 RB in a Kyle Shanahan coached offense…

Running Back #2: Joshua Kelley

Kelley is definitely the add if you’re in an 0-2 spot & in need of a plug-and-play Week 3 RB. He’s sliding right in to the old Melvin Gordon role usage-wise  with 37 touches in 2 games, including a whopping 25 in Week 2. The best part? He faces Carolina Week 3, by far the easiest fantasy-matchup for RB’s last year & a defense that’s carried their awfulness into 2020 by allowing Josh Jacobs to rush for 3 TD’s (while Devontae Booker took his 4 carries for another 29 yards) Week 1 & Leonard Fournette & Ronald Jones to combine for 19-carries, 126-yards, & 3 TD’s Week 2.

Running Back #3: Darrell Henderson

I didn’t feel great about listing Malcolm Brown as one of my top-4 RB waiver adds last week (because Brown did the same thing last year by blowing up Week 1 only to disappear the rest of the season) and I don’t feel particularly great about listing Henderson this week either. But when it comes down to it, and we find ourselves splitting hairs between currently-stuck-in-a-committee backs like Henderson or Myles Gaskin, the tiebreaker should always be upside & what sort of fantasy potential would exist were each back to end up in a featured role. Looking at it that way, the Rams RB trio has scored 58 combined PPR points through 2 games, while the Dolphins RB trio has scored 45. That’s a 16-game pace of 464 combined RB fantasy points for Rams RB’s compared to a 16-game pace of 360 combined fantasy points for Dolphins RB’s. That gives Henderson a ceiling edge that Gaskin just can’t sniff.

Running Back #4: Devonta Freeman

I’m gonna go out on a bit of a limb here and prioritize Devonta Freeman over Myles Gaskin. I’m banking on Dave Gettleman, who could (should) be on the hot seat, feeling the pressure to win-now and bringing in the veteran RB. I think the Giants are a much better offense than Miami (I’m not giving up on Danny Dimes after two tough matchups) & as mentioned above, there’s not a whole lot of ceiling upside for Gaskin. If I have only one roster spot & I have to choose (and I don’t need to fill a RB slot in my starting lineup for this week), I’m willing to take a chance on a guy who could end up in close to a 3-down role if he does end up signing in NY.

Wide Receiver #1: Laviska Shenault Jr.

The difference between Laviska Shenault the WR & Laviska Shenault the Weapon is the difference between a 576-yard pace & a 952-yard pace… Through 2 games, Viska has a role in the run-game that, to be honest, isn’t matched by any WR in the NFL right now… He’s seen 7 carries in 2 games (a 16-game pace of 56 carries) & lined up in the backfield as a RB 8 times (!!) last week after doing so twice in Week 1… He might legitimately be the Jaguars’ RB2. I feel good about having had two rookie WR’s (Reagor & Viska) as my top-2 WR claims after Week 1 & I’m keeping it that way this week too. The only difference is I’m bumping Shenault ahead of Reagor. Go get Viska before it’s too late.

Wide Receiver #2: Jalen Reagor

I still love the upside Reagor possesses & bumping Shenault ahead of him isn’t so much about any concern for Reagor as it is about my optimism for Shenault… but the offensive line in Philadelphia is a legitimate concern at this point & it’s fair to wonder whether that caps this offense’s ceiling. Let’s not overblow it though, because more offenses in the NFL have offensive line issues than not, and the Eagles are still very likely to be an above-average offense. They will figure out ways to get the ball out quicker – and that bodes well for a YAC-beast like Jalen Reagor. If you’ve got the depth, stash this kid now & reap the rewards later. His target floor is starting to stabilize & he saw a full snap count (61 snaps) in Week 2.

Wide Receiver #3: Corey Davis

Davis might be more than just a nice fill-in for AJ Brown… and when people want to say he’s having “the Devante Parker 4^th year breakout,” can you really blame them? He’s got the size (6’3”/209), athleticism, first-round draft capital, & (inconsistent) flashes of brilliance through his first 3 years. Arthur Smith has been brilliant as a playcaller dating back to last year & Ryan Tannehill has been just piping hot. Even when AJ Brown returns, this passing offense could be hyper-funneled through the trio of Brown, Davis, and Jonnu Smith – we know Derrick Henry isn’t going to catch the ball. If Davis stacks a few more weeks with double-digit fantasy points, we won’t just be talking about him as a fill-in, but as a matchup-based WR2.

Wide Receiver #4: Russell Gage

I don’t generally like recommending team’s No. 3 WR’s over guys who are their team’s No. 2’s, but I can’t ignore Russell Gage in my column for a second-consecutive week. Not only has he out-produced Julio Jones through 2 weeks, but he’s out-targeted him 23-16 through 2 weeks as well. He won’t out-target Julio all season, but Gage has already shown that Hayden Hurst having a good game doesn’t disqualify him from having one too. There might really be so much passing volume in Atlanta this year from both a completion total (PPR) & yardage perspective that this team is legitimately able to support 3 WR’s & a TE as weekly fantasy-starters.

Tight End #1: Dalton Schultz

This was a major whiff across the industry – myself included. After Blake Jarwin went down for the year Week 1, Dalton Shultz still somehow inexplicably remained rostered in only .9% of leagues heading into Week 2 – meaning nobody claimed him. But the fact of the matter is Shultz is now the starting TE for the Dallas Cowboys – a position we saw compile over 90 receptions, 950 yards, & 7 TD’s last year between Jason Witten & Blake Jarwin. How so few of us were recommending Shultz as a stash is beyond me… I don’t think I even had him on my “Just Missed the Cut” list last week…

Tight End #2: Logan Thomas

I’d actually prioritize Shultz over Logan Thomas at this point. But I wouldn’t drop Thomas like many are apt to do after he put up “only” 4/26 against Arizona this past week. He still saw 9 targets (a 27% share) & has been this team’s No. 2 receiving option from a reception & target standpoint in both of the first two games. He’s still got a chance to emerge as a guy who you feel comfortable with in your starting lineup on a weekly basis.

Tight End #3: Drew Sample