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Another week is in the books, and with each new game, it’s becoming more and more clear just how good our fantasy teams are this season. Each week offers new surprises, and it’s always important to keep churning that roster. With that in mind, here are this week’s top waiver wire suggestions.
QUARTERBACK
Nick Foles, Chicago Bears (2% owned)
The Bears offense provides opportunity in the passing game as they have nine passing touchdowns on the year, which is good enough for third-best in the league. And because of that, you’ve seen Mitchell Trubisky’s name show up on the waiver add in a previous article. The switchover to Nick Foles came a little sooner than some may have expected, but there is some upside appeal if he plays well and the Bears passing game remains effective.
Kirk Cousins, Minnesota Vikings (26% owned)
The Vikings quarterback was once a regular starter, but now he’s been reduced to a streaming option. After producing negative points against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 2, Cousins isn’t exactly drawing any interest from fantasy owners. What might be somewhat interesting is a favorable stretch of three games coming up against Houston, Seattle, and Atlanta. The Seahawks are in regular shootouts and their defense is averaging over 430 passing yards allowed per game. While Cousins is still having issues with picks, he could make for a nice start in coming weeks if you need help at quarterback.
RUNNING BACK
Carlos Hyde, Seattle Seahawks (16% owned)
It’s unclear the extent of Chris Carson’s knee sprain he suffered on Sunday, but early reports are that he could miss 1-2 weeks of action. If that holds true, Carlos Hyde jumps in the ranks as a starting running back. The Seahawks offense is a force, and while most of the good eats come in the passing game, Hyde’s ability as a receiver means he should have a good target share when he is thrown into the starter’s gig.
Jeff Wilson, San Francisco 49ers (22% owned)
It can be a frustrating ordeal trying to guess your way around the 49ers running back shuffle, but if you guess right, it could pay off. With Raheem Mostert out with a knee injury, San Francisco relied on the duo of Jerrick McKinnon on Jeff Wilson to handle the load. Both were fantasy viable on Sunday as they had 17 and 15 touches respectively. They both also found the end zone. While it’s tough to take a timeshare running back, Wilson’s goal line appeal combined with his usage as a receiver could make for a solid play if you need help at the running back spot.
WIDE RECEIVER
Justin Jefferson, Minnesota Vikings (27% owned)
After a slow first two weeks, rookie receiver Justin Jefferson had his breakout party against the Titans as he caught seven passes for 175 yards and a touchdown. While the departure of Stefon Diggs was expected to increase the fantasy value of Adam Thielen, it could actually open the door for another young talent to step in and grab some of those points. Jefferson would make a great add right now as the next three weeks feature games with the Texans, Seahawks, and Falcons - all of which offer great fantasy opportunities.
Alshon Jeffrey, Philadelphia Eagles (16% owned)
The Eagles are a hot mess right now as they couldn’t even pull out a home win against the Bengals. Philadelphia has all kinds of injuries to their receivers, and one of those has been the foot of Alshon Jeffrey. He is expected to make his season debut soon, and while he doesn’t offer any high upside appeal, if he can emerge as Carson Wentz’ go-to receiver, he would have some fantasy relevance going forward.
TIGHT END
Jimmy Graham, Chicago Bears (9% owned)
Not known as a high volume guy, Graham is very touchdown dependent. If you’re rolling with him, it’s probably going to be hit or miss any given week with a good game just being okay and a bad one being a complete flop. Graham did see 10 targets on Sunday, and found the end zone twice, putting up a 21 point fantasy performance in half-PPR leagues. And when you consider a quarterback change could shift the target share depending on who Foles likes to go to, Graham’s stock has a shot to rise if he’s on the favorable end of that shift.
Eric Ebron, Pittsburgh Steelers (27% owned)
Similar to Graham, Ebron is going to need to find the end zone to be fantasy relevant. The good news is he found it on Sunday, producing a solid TE performance. The better news is that he is steadily seeing an increase in his targets from week to week. And if any of the Steelers receivers succumb to injury (which looks like Diontae Johnson fits that description right now), Ebron’s role in the offense could expand a bit.
DEFENSE
New York Jets (6% owned)
When in doubt, prey on a team relying on a struggling quarterback. And right now, the team that fits that bill the Jeff Driskel led Denver Broncos. The idea of playing the Jets defense is a little scary, but they’re not all that bad. They’ve played some tough offenses over the first three weeks and they’ve still managed to finish 15th in passing yards and 12th in passing touchdowns allowed. They should be able to cause a little bit of trouble for the Broncos offense if you’re desperate for a defense play in Week 4.