Uh oh, the intern did enough work to get some looks at a Big Boy Early Week 4 Waiver Wire article! Someone let my mom know that I made it.
Week 3 is one of those weeks that helps separate last year’s stats from this year’s reality. Many of the articles you read by experts in the early weeks are based on a lot of discussion between opportunities from off-season changes and a small sample size.
In Week 3, Wolf came out smelling like roses, where he was consistently higher on breakout players than the Expert Consensus Rankings. Even better, many players, the fine folks at RSJ mentioned in waiver and sleeper articles, bloomed this week. This week, we saw players solidify roles that, in the right situation, could be legitimate league winners, and you buy in early enough.
Note: Roster % based on Yahoo and Sleeper
EARLY WEEK 4 WAIVER WIRE TARGETS
Bucky Irving, RB Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Sleeper: 44%, Yahoo: 35%)
A glimpse behind the curtain here- at 2:56 PM on Sunday, I had to tell the Wolf that he is 100% right on Bucky Irving. Irving has shown all the potential to be a league-winning back if Rachaad White pulls up lame. However, this week marks the first week that Bucky Irving out-snapped White even while he is healthy.
Many sharp experts, led by the team at RSJ, have been calling for this switch since week 1. The stats support this! Before Week 3, White had 25 carries for 49 yards, averaging less than two yards per carry. In the same games, Irving ran the ball 16 times for 84 yards, averaging 5.25 yards per carry. Week 3 saw much of the same.
Irving finished the week with a stat line of nine rushes for 70 yards, while White finished with six carries for 17 yards. The three receptions that Irving found himself in were even more encouraging, only two less than White.
Irving should be the first place you look during your waiver period this week and can be a legitimate season-changer for you moving forward.
Jauan Jennings (Sleeper: 43%, Yahoo: 30%)
If you read our Week 3 Sleeper article this week, you’d know Kayla was not ready to count out Brock Purdy and the San Fransisco 49ers offense. If you played this week scared like I did, you had Jauan Jennings burning a hole in your bench while he went wild. Jennings finished with an incredible line of 11 receptions for 175 yards and three touchdowns on 12 targets. Ravi did his best to warn fantasy owners to play Jennings with Deebo Samuel and George Kittle out, but I couldn’t stomach it, which cost me my week.
Jennings stepped up quickly while fellow wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk continued to leave his fantasy owners worrying about the future. Jennings commanded more targets, had more receptions, and finished with more receiving yards than Aiyuk. Oh, did I mention he had three touchdowns?
With Deebo being such an early scratch from Week 3, look for the opportunity to get Jennings in your starting lineup next week. Even with Samuel in the lineup, Jennings has proved to the 49ers coaching staff that he deserves targets and could prove to take some value away from Aiyuk in the upcoming weeks.
Braelon Allen (Sleeper: 46%, Yahoo: 36%)
It looks as though the New York Jets may have an embarrassment of riches at the running back position. Only two years were removed from drafting stud Breece Hall, and it looks like they may have hit on fourth-round RB Braelon Allen. Now, why did Allen fall to the fourth round? Well, in his words:
Nathaniel Hackett has opted to ramp up Allen’s usage. In return, his skill was displayed Thursday night against Patriots. Allen finished with 11 carries for 55 yards and contributed in the passing game by hauling all three of his targets for 13 yards.
We warned you early on that it was time to pick up the youngest player in the NFL. I am telling you now: pick up Braelon Allen before anything happens to Hall that could make Allen a league-winner.
Rico Dowdle (Sleeper: 49%, Yahoo: 42%)
I never thought it would be possible for someone to put up less than 8 fantasy points and be on a waiver article short of “put this bum on the waivers,” but here we are.
This is less of a pro-Rico Dowdle article than an anti-Ezekiel Elliott article. As I’ve written before, Zeke is one of my least favorite players in the NFL, getting by on name recognition alone. I firmly believe he has incriminating photos of Jerry Jones (more incriminating than those from 1957 in Little Rock, IYKYK). Zeke’s employment lasts as long as Jones’ heartbeat does.
The Cowboys are a much better team than they have played the first three weeks, and stability in the backfield may help them get better. The hope is that they stop alternating snaps/series with Zeke and give Dowdle a legitimate chance to establish the run, which can open up passing opportunities for Dak and the Cowboy’s offense.
Courtland Sutton (Sleeper: 66%, Yahoo 66%)
After a disappointing two weeks to start the 2024 season, take a quick look at your waivers to see if Courtland Sutton made it to the waivers of your league. I know I am breaking the rules here since he is rostered in 2/3rd of the leagues in both Sleeper and Yahoo. Still, Bo Nix has shown where he wants to target when he finally has the time to let routes develop. Sutton finished with seven receptions for 68 yards and was only a few inches away from catching Nix’s first touchdown throw in the fourth quarter.
Finishing with 11 targets in Week 3, this was two of the first three games where he commanded over 10 targets. Give a quick peek at the waivers to ensure Sutton is owned. If not, get him on your team
