2020 Fantasy Football Week 4 Waiver Wire: Start, Stash and Stream

While there weren't a barrage of injuries in Week 3, there are some valuable pieces on the Week 4 Waiver Wire.

Welcome to the 2020 Fantasy Football Week 4 Waiver Wire: Start, Stash, and Stream, where we break down the fantasy free agent landscape and give you the best picks for the short and long haul.

We have our three groups of ‘starts’ ‘stashes’, and ‘streams.’ The starts can be inserted into your lineup immediately, the stash guys add depth to the end of your bench and can provide longer-term benefits, and the streamers are generally D/ST’s and QBs that are matchup dependent.

So let’s look back at Week 3 and see our prospects moving forward for the Week 4 Waiver Wire.

Note – Ownership % based on Yahoo and must be under 50% owned

START

  1. Myles Gaskin, RB Miami Dolphins (47% owned)
  2. Justin Jefferson, WR Minnesota Vikings (31% owned)
  3. Brandon Aiyuk, WR San Francisco 49ers (28% owned)
  4. Allen Lazard, WR Green Bay Packers (49% owned)

It should be his last week qualifying for this article, but Myles Gaskin is the clear bell cow of Miami’s offense. Gaskin played 75 percent of the team’s snaps, had 22 of the teams 36 carries, and even caught 5 balls for 30 yards. He has been heavily involved in this offense and is averaging double-digit fantasy points each week. The only drawback of Gaskin’s usage has been at the goal line, where Jordan Howard has taken over as the league’s most savage vulture.

The Vikings offense needed a bump, and Justin Jefferson stepped up to the plate this week. Playing 78 percent of the team’s snaps, Jefferson went for 7-175-1 on 9 targets, all team-highs on the day. Jefferson might be slipping into the Stefon Diggs’ role of Vikings past as the team desperately needs a second WR across from Thielen. With Minnesota’s defense playing so poorly, the offense will need to keep up often.

With all the injuries to the 49ers offense, Brandon Aiyuk was finally able to capitalize on his chance and produce like the late-round draft target he was billed as. Aiyuk was out there for 71 percent of snaps and was a focal point of the offense in Week 3. Aiyuk was targeted 8 times for a 5-70 receiving day and carried the ball 3 times for 31 yards and a score. He’s like a Deebo Samuel-lite out there, and the offense should be getting better once Jimmy G returns. Aiyuk can play a big role going forward.

The main benefactor from Davante Adams’ absence in Week 3, Allen Lazard is building his rapport with Aaron Rodgers who is playing very much like his old MVP self. Lazard played 59 of 62 snaps and finished with a 6-146-1 receiving line on 8 targets. While MVS is nowhere to be seen, Lazard has been the clear WR2 for Rodgers behind Adams. Assuming Rodgers keeps up this stellar play, Lazard will be a must-start WR, and even more so if Adams remains sidelined.

STASH

  1. Mecole Hardman, WR Kansas City Chiefs (31% owned)
  2. Dalton Schultz, TE Dallas Cowboys (31% owned)
  3. Mo Alie-Cox, TE Indianapolis Colts (11% owned)
  4. Tee Higgins, WR Cincinnati Bengals (9% owned)
  5. Logan Thomas, TE Washington Football Team (33% owned)
  6. Jimmy Graham, TE Chicago Bears (9% owned)
  7. Keelan Cole, WR Jacksonville Jaguars (42% owned)
  8. Nick Foles, QB Chicago Bears (3% owned)
  9. Eric Ebron, TE Pittsburgh Steelers (27% owned)
  10. Andy Isabella, WR Arizona Cardinals (1% owned)
  11. Cedrick Wilson, WR Dallas Cowboys (0% owned)
  12. Rex Burkhead, RB New England Patriots (11% owned)
  13. Anthony McFarland, RB Pittsburgh Steelers (1% owned)

Anytime you find yourself in an offense led by Patrick Mahomes, you find yourself with a high ceiling. Mecole Hardman has just needed snaps and the opportunity in KC’s offense in order to be fantasy relevant. Following Week 3, it appears he will be getting both going forward. Another deep ball speed threat alongside Tyreek Hill, Hardman went for 4-81-1 on 6 targets and easily could have had a second touchdown of 40+ yards that went off his hands in the end zone. He’s been a boom or bust guy, but his floor appears to be rising as he should be the WR2/WR3 in this prolific offense.

Cowboys TE Dalton Schultz came back down to Earth a bit compared to Week 2, but his usage and snap count remained the same. Schultz put up 4-48 on 6 targets on a day where the Cowboys threw the ball 57 times. Cooper, Gallup, and Lamb will always be the three top dogs and Zeke will be involved as well, but the Cowboys have thrown the ball a lot and that will keep up for the remainder of the season.

Despite the RSJ’s love of Jack “The Beanstalk” Doyle, there may be a changing of the guard at the Colts TE position. Mo Alie-Cox has been thriving in Doyle absence, and in Week 3 continued to put up good fantasy numbers despite Doyle back in the lineup. Doyle drew the start for the game, but in the end Cox finished with three more snaps (35-32) and went for 3-50-1 to Doyle’s goose egg. QB Philip Rivers has always been friendly to his tight ends, and Cox somewhat fits the Antonio Gates former basketball player style narrative the veteran QB is familiar with.

One of the few bright spots to come out of that abysmal game between Philly and Cincy was the usage of Tee Higgins. Out on the field for 79 percent of the team’s snaps, Higgins went for 5-40-2 on 9 targets. AJ Green was useless on the day, but he’s just old and washed up at this point. Higgins and Boyd were able to capitalize on their matchups, and the youngsters look like much better fits for Burrow in the offense. His role should only grow as he develops alongside Burrow.

Logan Thomas has been such an enigma. He’s played 84 percent of snaps, ran a route on 96 percent of Haskins dropbacks, has played in the slot or out-wide for 71 percent of snaps, and has a 23.8 percent target share. However, despite all those amazing numbers, Thomas has only caught 12-of-24 targets for 94 yards and a touchdown. Haskins’ play is holding him back, and with time, one can hope Thomas will put it together and enter a high level of tight end play.

Bears TE Jimmy Graham was looking like he reverted to his Saints days after his Week 3 showing, finishing with 60 yards and two touchdowns on six catches. Graham was a red zone beast and with Nick Foles taking over, the Bears offense as a whole should be elevated.

Really emerging as the Jags WR2, Keelan Cole will be on the positive side of a horrendous Jacksonville defense. With DJ Chark out, the team struggled to do anything aside from James Robinson, but Cole still plays a high percentage of snaps (76 percent last game) and draws a high target share. Jacksonville will throw the ball a lot this year.

It was only a matter of time that Nick Foles took over the QB1 spot from Mitchell Trubisky, as Foles responded with 188 yards and 3 touchdowns on his way to a comeback victory for the Bears. The offense looks significantly better with him at the helm, and he has plenty of quality pass catchers to work with and put up numbers.

It was a big day for Eric Ebron in Pittsburgh’s offense as he played 75 percent of snaps and led the team in targets (7), receptions (5), yards (52), and scored a touchdown. The boost in numbers could have been helped by Diontae Johnson’s concussion that kept him out basically all game, but he’s always been a target hog in the red-zone. This could be what lights the spark for his rest of season outlook.

There’s no denying the talent that former UMass/#WRU standout Andy Isabella has at his disposal. It’s a matter of Kingsbury and the Cardinals staff giving him the opportunity to make the most of what he’s got. A fantastic route runner with elite speed, Isabella would work great in this Air Raid offense benefitting from all the attention Hopkins draws each game. However, the Cardinals refuse to give him a heavy workload (26 of 65 snaps, WR4 on the team) despite the fact that he usually produces when given the ball. His stock is high on individual and surrounding talent, but if the opportunity and usage get a boost then Isabella can be a dangerous fantasy asset.

After CeeDee Lamb got rocked on a punt return, he started seeing fewer snaps and those snaps went to something called Cedrick Wilson. Wilson capitalized, going 5-107-2 on 7 targets which I’m totally not mad over after having complete exposure to Lamb everywhere last week. It was Wilson’s first game of the year and he was making plays like crazy out of the slot as Dallas tried to play catchup. It could just be a flash in the pan, but Wilson turned some heads in his limited action.

With James White out once again, Rex Burkhead feasted on the increased workload in New England’s offense. The king of the dump-offs against Las Vegas, Rex could do no wrong with a team-high 10 targets and 3 total touchdowns. Rex has always played some role in the offense, popping up for big games here and there. White has been dealing with a horrific off-field situation, and if that keeps him out for an extended period of time then Burkhead should be a huge add.

If you are a James Conner owner, or just looking to piss off the guy who does then Anthony McFarland can be a nice end of bench stash after seeing his first action of the season in Week 3. He was the RB3 for the Steelers but flashed what ability he has in limited work going for 42 yards on 6 carries. While he’s still behind Snell on the depth chart, the team did use a pick on him this year. Consider him if you are in very deep leagues.

STREAM

  1. Denver Broncos D/ST (35% owned)
  2. Ryan Fitzpatrick, QB Miami Dolphins (7% owned)
  3. Corey Davis, WR Tennessee Titans (49% owned)
  4. Carlos Hyde, RB Seattle Seahawks (18% owned)
  5. Jimmy Garoppolo, QB San Francisco 49ers (36% owned)
  6. Baker Mayfield, QB Cleveland Browns (43% owned)
  7. Greg Ward, WR Philadelphia Eagles (1% owned)
  8. Jeff Wilson, RB San Francisco 49ers (22% owned)

The Broncos play the Jets in Week 4.

Averaging 25 fantasy points over his last two games, Ryan Fitzpatrick is finding that swag all over again for Miami. Even though it was against Jacksonville, he looked great in Week 3 and still managed big numbers in a run-heavy and clock-killing game script. Next up he faces Seattle, who has struggled defensively, but Miami is going to have to put up huge numbers if they want to stay in the game.

With AJ Brown likely out, Corey Davis has played a much larger role in Tennessee’s offense. He had 5 catches for 69 yards last week and works as an emergency WR play for those desperate on the waiver wire.

Seahawks RB Chris Carson went down late in the Week 3 game after a dirty play by Dallas that twisted his knee when he was already down on the ground. He didn’t return to the field after the injury and those snaps were split by Carlos Hyde and Travis Homer. Hyde has been operating as the RB2 in Seattle, and would be thrust into the lead role if Carson was to miss any time. The injury is not believed to be too serious, but it’s also too early to tell the extent of the immediate impact for Week 4.

Jimmy Garoppolo is likely to be back starting under center in Week 4. The 49ers play the Eagles on Sunday Night football, and they just let Burrow and the Bengals take them to overtime for a tie. Even very shorthanded, the 49ers offense was up to par, and if Garoppolo is back in the fold he can pick on a weak secondary aside from Darius Slay.

While he stinks overall, Baker Mayfield is going to have to throw the football a lot next Sunday against the Cowboys. Luckily, Dallas’ defense has been atrocious, so there’s a chance Mayfield could actually put up decent numbers.

With the entire shit show that is the Eagles offense and injuries to Goedert, Jackson, and Reagor, Greg Ward feasted with 8-72-1 off 11 targets. The 49ers are up next and will be without their top three corners most likely. Wentz needs to throw the ball to somebody and Ward looks like a beneficiary of all these injuries.

Jimbo’s big brain had a hunch that Jeff Wilson would have a large role in Week 3, which ultimately resulted in two touchdowns on the day. Involved in both the ground and passing game, Wilson only played half of McKinnon’s snaps but made the most of his work. Coleman is already out for Week 4, and there’s a good chance that Mostert will remained sidelined.

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