Week 4 Fantasy Football Waiver Wire: Top Pickups & Adds

Week 4 Fantasy Football Waiver Wire: Top Targets

1. Braelon Allen
2. Malik Washington
3. Keenan Allen
4. Kenyon Sadiq
5. Kalif Raymond

Welcome to Week 4 of the waiver wire.

Recommended adds are available in at least 60% of ESPN leagues, and the watch list consists of players worth monitoring.

The deep cuts section for running backs and receivers highlights players who are rostered in fewer than 5% of ESPN leagues, for all you “not in my league” degens.

I do not list recommended FAAB percentages for every player because a much better resource for researching what you need to bid is available, thanks to our friends at FAABLab.

Finally, I do not rank kickers and defenses because, frankly, I don't care about them and would like to see them disappear from the game.

With those caveats out of the way, let's get to it.

Week 4 Quarterback Waiver Wire Targets

1. Marcus Mariota
2. Geno Smith
3. Jacoby Brissett

Week 4 Running Back Waiver Wire Targets

1. Braelon Allen
2. Ollie Gordon
3. Jaylen Wright
4. Emanuel Wilson
5. Keaton Mitchell
6. Kendre Miller

Week 4 Wide Receiver Waiver Wire Targets

1. Malik Washington
2. Keenan Allen
3. Kalif Raymond
4. Mack Hollins
5. Konata Mumpfield
6. Brycen Tremayne
7. Jauan Jennings

Week 4 Tight End Waiver Wire Targets

1. Kenyon Sadiq
2. Darren Waller
3. Tyler Higbee
4. Oronde Gadsden

Week 4 Quarterback Fantasy Football Waiver Targets

1. Marcus Mariota, Commanders – Available in 96.7% of ESPN leagues

Last week, I wrote that Mariota would be a viable streaming option in better matchups. Well, it turns out he was a viable option even against the Seahawks. Touchdowns masked some rough underlying numbers in that game, but he should have an easier time against the Colts in London. Since the start of last season, Mariota is 12th in fantasy points per dropback among all quarterbacks with at least 200 dropbacks. The one concern this week is the availability of Jayden Daniels, who will travel with the team and get in some practice reps.

2. Geno Smith, Jets – Available in 92.9% of ESPN leagues

Smith was our top streaming target last week, and that worked out pretty well. Might as well swing again. Chicago's defense has played much better since Week 1, though one of those performances came against Carson Wentz in bad weather, and the other was against a struggling Eagles passing attack. Especially if Adonai Mitchell returns this week, the Jets have a sneakily good set of weapons following Kenyon Sadiq‘s breakout.

3. Jacoby Brissett, Cardinals – Available in 95.5% of ESPN leagues

I like Brissett's matchup better than Smith's, but I am not sure the Giants will push the Cardinals enough to really get a ceiling game. The Cardinals are under their expected pass rate through three games, but that is partly because they threw in the towel against the Seahawks in Week 2. If Brissett gets 35 dropbacks, he should have a decent game against a beatable Giants defense.

Watch List: Case Keenum lit up the Eagles on Monday night, and I would have no issue using him as a QB2 in a Superflex league if he gets the start this week against the Jets. I just can't quite get there with him as a real 1QB option against a defense that I think is quietly pretty good…Kirk Cousins has thrown 3 touchdowns in each of his first three games. Perhaps he keeps running that hot from a touchdown perspective. That is what he needs to do to be a viable 1QB play…Deshaun Watson is the QB10 in rushing fantasy points per game and has yet to score a touchdown on the ground. I'm not a fan of this week's matchup, but those rushing numbers do give him a nice fantasy floor…The Bucs offense was bad with Baker Mayfield. I don't have much hope for Jalon Daniels, but he did have 14 rushes on 97 snaps in the preseason. His 11.3% preseason scramble rate would put him in the Malik Willis area.

Week 4 Running Back Fantasy Football Waiver Targets

1. Braelon Allen, Jets – Available in 86% of ESPN leagues

Breece Hall is only expected to miss a couple of games. De'Von Achane is out for the season. If predicting who will score the most fantasy points for the rest of the season, you would bet on one, if not both, of the Dolphins' backs before Allen. However, fantasy football is not a full-season game. It is a weekly game, and unless one of Miami's backs becomes the clear workhorse and really surprises, they will not be exciting fantasy starters most weeks. Allen can be that for as long as Hall is out, starting this week against the Bears.

2. Ollie Gordon, Dolphins – Available in 98.9% of ESPN leagues
3. Jaylen Wright, Dolphins – Available in 98.3% of ESPN leagues

I made the case above for why I will not be bidding much on either Wright or Gordon, so I probably will not end up with either on my team. I expect a timeshare in an offense that was not creating many fantasy opportunities for De'Von Achane, who is more talented than his replacements. If I had to pick one, I would go with Gordon because he is currently healthy and most likely to get the goal-line chances. For his career, though, Gordon has averaged 2.7 yards per carry.

4. Emanuel Wilson, Seahawks – Available in 65.5% of ESPN leagues

It did not really work out for our top target from last week, though that was true of all of the running backs, but there is still reason to stash Wilson to see what happens. Jadarian Price fumbled early against the Commanders. In the final three quarters, he saw just 3 touches, compared to 6 for Wilson and 7 for George Holani. The game script favored Holani over Wilson because the Seahawks were trailing, but that's unlikely to be Seattle's situation many times this season.

5. Keaton Mitchell, Chargers – Available in 84.4% of ESPN leagues

I do not want to spend a ton on Mitchell and put him right into a lineup, but I do think his usage growth was interesting for an offense looking for a spark. Omarion Hampton still had 15 carries, 62.5% of the backfield attempts, but Mitchell set season-highs in snap count, touches, carries, routes, targets, and catches.

6. Kendre Miller, Saints – Available in 99.2% of ESPN leagues

Alvin Kamara was the one running back target from last week that appreciated in value, but I still think it makes sense to look at Miller in deeper leagues while we wait for more word on Travis Etienne. Kamara played 11 snaps to 5 for Miller in the fourth quarter of Week 3, but Miller did end up with 3 touches.

Watch List: Braelon Allen appears to be headed toward his time to shine as a handcuff. Other high-upside guys I am targeting for bench spots: Ray Davis, Emmett Johnson, Mike Washington, Brian Robinson, Samaje Perine, and Tyler Allgeier…Chris Rodriguez got 30.8% of the backfield carries and a touchdown against the Patriots, but he looks more like a Bhayshul Tuten handcuff through three weeks…Kaleb Johnson has played more snaps and gotten more carries than MarShawn Lloyd over the last two weeks. Unfortunately, this is not a rushing game to target, especially since it remains a three-person timeshare with Chris Brooks.

Deep Cuts: I wonder if the Commanders added Austin Ekeler because they are unhappy with the backfield or because we will get a mid-week update on a Rachaad White injury…Ty Johnson is back and serving as the Bills' passing-down back. That matters more for James Cook‘s ceiling than it does for trusting Johnson as a standalone fantasy play, but he may still return value in deep PPR formats…The Vikings clearly do not trust DeeJay Dallas or Demond Claiborne for a real role behind Aaron Jones, who has 87% of the running back carries in the last two games…Tyler Goodson has taken over as the No. 2 option in Dallas behind Javonte Williams.

Week 4 Wide Receiver Fantasy Football Waiver Targets

1. Malik Washington, Dolphins – Available in 86.6% of ESPN leagues

I guess I am just going to have to relent on Washington. He has run a route on 87.9% of the dropbacks this season, has been targeted on 24.5% of those routes, and has a 27.1% target share. He is 15th among all receivers in raw targets through three weeks. Caleb Douglas was out last week, but nothing really changed for Washington's usage. I still wonder if Douglas and Chris Bell take over as the Dolphins settle into their tank season, but every early indication is that Washington is the clear No. 1 receiver on the team.

2. Keenan Allen, Colts – Available in 76.3% of ESPN leagues

Even though he is not a real replacement for Alec Pierce, Allen was a target for us last week because the Colts simply had no other option but to get him on the field and send him targets. In Week 3, he ran a route on 75.6% of the dropbacks and saw 25.7% of the team's targets. Those were still lower rates than Josh Downs and Tyler Warren, but this is suddenly a hyper-condensed target tree.

3. Kalif Raymond, Bears – Available in 89.8% of ESPN leagues

Much like with Washington, I am just going to have to give in on Raymond. He saw another 7 targets on Monday night and turned those into 90 yards and a touchdown. After three weeks, he is 24th among receivers in targets and 13th in yards per route run. Case Keenum getting a few more starts would seemingly be a great thing for Raymond's target share.

4. Mack Hollins, Patriots – Available in 94.7% of ESPN leagues

Last week, I said I didn't want to give up on Hollins as a viable fantasy option while A.J. Brown is hurt, and he delivered 6 catches for 87 yards. Hollins leads the team in targets and is tied with Romeo Doubs for the team lead in routes run over the last two games.

5. Konata Mumpfield, Rams – Available in 99.5% of ESPN leagues

It is tough for Mumpfield this week. The upside is certainly there if Puka Nacua misses another game, but we have seen early optimism this week that Nacua will return against the Eagles. Also, while the Eagles were shredded by Case Keenum on Monday night, they still have good outside corners, where Mumpfield plays two-thirds of his snaps.

6. Brycen Tremayne, Panthers – Available in 100% of ESPN leagues

I expect Jalen Coker to miss at least one game, which opens up an opportunity for Tremayne in a great matchup against the Lions. Tremayne ran a route on 93.5% of the dropbacks in the second half against the Browns, earning 5 targets and 36.3% of the team's air yards. The Lions have given up the fifth-most fantasy points to receivers this season. John Metchie also deserves a mention for extremely deep leagues.

7. Jauan Jennings, Vikings – Available in 95% of ESPN leagues

Perhaps Jennings should be higher, but the news on Justin Jefferson‘s injury seems positive. Jennings also did not draw a ton of targets even with Jefferson out in Week 3, and the Vikings will probably be able to sit on the ball as much as they want against the Dolphins.

Watch List: Nico Collins seems likely to return this week. That plus an unknown injury for Xavier Hutchinson keeps me away from any Texans receivers on the wire. Kayshon Boutte did run a lot of routes again but struggled to draw targets against the Colts. Jared Wayne is a name to know in deep leagues if Collins and Hutchinson miss this week…Tyreek Hill says he is ready to play. It remains to be seen if any team will take him up on the offer, but there are worse stashes than one of the best receivers over the last 10 years…Ryan Flournoy is one of the better wide receiver stashes because of his contingency value, and he is starting to make a case for deep league usability with his target share in a good passing game.

Deep Cuts: If Baker Mayfield were healthy, Ted Hurst would have been a priority add. Jalen McMillan is headed to injured reserve, and Hurst had a 78.3% route rate against the Vikings. He also brings a downfield element the Tampa offense desperately needs…There will be opportunity available if Mike Evans sits out this week, but I am not that interested in chasing Jacob Cowing or Jordan Watkins against the Broncos…Tre Harris is certainly worth adding in deep leagues, but he was fourth on the team in routes run despite leading the team in targets on Sunday…Josh Cameron is stealing snaps from Brian Thomas Jr, which is not something I expected before the season…As mentioned in the Malik Washington writeup, I still think we see Chris Bell become a bigger factor in the offense before the end of the season…With injuries around him, Dohnte Meyers is now the clear No. 3 receiver in Cincinnati…Green Bay's offense is a mess, but Skyy Moore appears to have stepped into the Jayden Reed role.

Week 4 Tight End Fantasy Football Waiver Targets

1. Kenyon Sadiq, Jets – Available in 66.5% of ESPN leagues

Sadiq only got the bump in playing time because of injury, and he still ran a route on only 56.8% of dropbacks against the Lions. I kind of view this like Harold Fannin last season. I was late to the party on Fannin because his usage numbers did not support some of his early production, but that early production for a young player made it impossible to keep him off the field. I think we see something similar for Sadiq, who is used enough like a wide receiver to make it possible for him and Mason Taylor to coexist.

2. Darren Waller, Panthers – Available in 89.6% of ESPN leagues

Waller was targeted 8 times against the Browns, but it is more interesting when those targets happened. With Jalen Coker out in the second half, Waller ran a route on 64.5% of the team's dropbacks and earned all 8 of his targets. I expect Coker to sit this week, and the Panthers get a juicy matchup against the Lions. Detroit has allowed the most real and expected fantasy points ot tight ends this season.

3. Tyler Higbee, Rams – Available in 99.7% of ESPN leagues

We targeted Terrance Ferguson last week because of his usage with Puka Nacua out. Well, Ferguson was hurt early against the Broncos, and Higbee stepped right into that role. Higbee ran a route on 79.7% of the dropbacks on Sunday night, turning 11 targets into 8 catches for 62 yards and a score. If Nacua and Ferguson remain out, Higbee looks like a primary target.

4. Oronde Gadsden, Chargers – Available in 84.2% of ESPN leagues

The catches weren't there, but Gadsden's underlying numbers were what we wanted to see. He ran a route on 73.7% of the Chargers' dropbacks, the third-most routes on the team behind Ladd McConkey and Quentin Johnston. If he is on the field that much, he will put up usable fantasy weeks.

Watch List: Zach Ertz ran a route on 41.9% of the dropbacks in his first game back with the Eagles. He will need much more than that to be a usable fantasy option, and Dallas Goedert won't be out that long…The game script forced the Seahawks to throw more, but it is interesting that AJ Barner immediately saw a spike in target rate per route with Sam Darnold back…Greg Dulcich continues to run a decent route share, and those turned into targets last week. Let's see if that continues…Noah Fant has 3 touchdowns on 44 total routes this season. I don't think that rate will continue, but it is impressive.