There’s no doubt about it: Week 3 of the NFL season delivered some fireworks.
On Thursday night, Michael Penix Jr. made his triumphant return, while Bijan Robinson took the spotlight, scoring 35.3 PPR points.
On Sunday, the other fantasy superstars answered.
Jahmyr Gibbs had a trio of touchdowns and dropped a 40-burger. Jaxon Smith-Njigba scored another two TDs, bringing his season-long total to six scores. Ja’Marr Chase hit paydirt as well, and Derrick Henry did twice. Brock Bowers took the field for the first time this season and casually scored 27.6 points.
Absolutely wild stuff.
But it’s time to look ahead. More specifically, it’s time to start considering who we might want to add from the Week 4 waiver wire.
Note: Only players rostered in roughly <50% of ESPN leagues will be considered.
Note: This article will be updated as data and news become available.
FANTASY FOOTBALL WEEK 4 WAIVER WIRE TARGETS
QUARTERBACK
SAM DARNOLD, SEA SEAHAWKS (33.9% ROSTERED)
Sam Darnold and the Seahawks found themselves in an unexpected situation in Week 3. They lost to the Jayden Daniels-less Commanders and spent the vast majority of the game trailing.
Brutal for Seahawks fans, but great for fantasy managers. Darnold attempted 45 passes, more than he had in any regular-season game last year, and just the second time he’s eclipsed 40 attempts since the beginning of the 2025 season. On the back of that passing volume, Darnold posted 379 yards and four touchdowns.
Looking ahead, it would be a surprise if we see Darnold racking up dropbacks to this level, but he does have a not-so-secret weapon: JSN.
Even if passing volume is limited, Smith-Njigba has been so wildly efficient overall, and productive in the red zone, that Darnold becomes a viable starting option at QB.
RUNNING BACK
OLLIE GORDON, MIA DOLPHINS (1.1% ROSTERED)
Dolphins’ running back De’Von Achane suffered a knee injury in the team’s Week 3 loss to the Chiefs, and the early reports coming out of Miami don’t paint a pretty picture.
Should Achane miss an extended period of time, and it sounds like he will, there will be plenty of opportunity for another running back (or multiple backs) to take meaningful work in the Dolphins’ backfield.
In Week 3, that was Ollie Gordon. He handled 17 carries, turning them into 41 yards and a score. He also hauled in three receptions for 14 yards on three targets. It wasn’t the prettiest, but Gordon seems to have juice as a bruising, early-down back who can handle goal-line work.
It’s worth noting that the other relevant backup in this backfield, Jaylen Wright, missed this game due to injury.
It remains to be seen how he and Gordon will be deployed in the absence of Achane, so take Gordon’s Week 3 usage with a grain of salt.
This is also the Dolphins offense. We could dive into the numbers, but the bottom line is that they’ve yet to score more than 13 points in a game this year. Not ideal for fantasy production.
With all of that in mind, although Gordon is likely a worthwhile pickup in moderately deep leagues, don’t go crazy.
Note: In 12-team leagues with deep benches, or leagues with more than 12 managers, Jaylen Wright is also worth a look while evaluating how the backfield operates without Achane.
BRAELON ALLEN, NY JETS (14.0%% ROSTERED)
The other notable running back injury on Sunday afternoon was Breece Hall. He went down with a thigh injury in the second half and was ruled out of the game shortly after.
Ideally, we’ll get an update on the severity ahead of this week’s waiver run.
For the time being, though, Braelon Allen is a name to keep an eye on. Per PFF’s Nathan Jahnke, the hulking third-year RB played every snap following Hall’s departure.
If Hall misses time, a 100% snap rate is obviously unrealistic, but he’d function as the Jets’ lead back. With a matchup against an attackable Bears defense on the way, Allen would make for an intriguing spot-start in Week 4.
KEATON MITCHELL, LA CHARGERS (15.6% ROSTERED)
Coming into the year, there was plenty of speculation regarding how the Chargers would deploy Keaton Mitchell. Would he just be the gadgety, change-of-pace RB that we saw in Baltimore, or would he play a real role in Los Angeles?
Three weeks into the year, it seems that Mike McDaniel has legitimate plans for the speedster.
Against the Bills, Mitchell saw strong usage. He played just three fewer snaps than Omarion Hampton (37.6% snap share), led the backfield in routes (36.8% route rate), drew three targets (9.1% target share), and saw playing time in goal-to-go situations.
That sort of usage doesn’t scream “fantasy starter”. However, given his explosive traits and the fact that this role is quite diverse, including its fair share of high-value touches (goal-line opportunities and receiving work), Mitchell is a worthwhile bench stash.
KENDRE MILLER, NO SAINTS (0.8% ROSTERED)
In the deepest of leagues, Kendre Miller is one to watch. Travis Etienne exited with a hamstring injury in the second half, and from there, Miller saw some work alongside Alvin Kamara.
Much like the situation in the Jets’ backfield, we’ll have to know Etienne’s outlook before making any waiver decisions.
But if Etienne does miss time, it’s difficult to imagine Kellen Moore and the Saints would make 31-year-old Kamara a full-blown bellcow. Miller would likely factor in to some degree, as we saw on Sunday.
Again, this is a pickup reserved for leagues with incredibly deep rosters or 14-plus members.
Other Handcuff RBs Worth Rostering: Kaelon Black (43.9%), Emmett Johnson (23.5%), Tank Bigsby (23.0%), Ray Davis (6.4%)
WIDE RECEIVER
ADONAI MITCHELL, NY JETS (33.9% ROSTERED)
Adonai Mitchell found himself in this article last week, and he had garnered plenty of hype as a potential starter ahead of a fantasy-friendly matchup against the Lions.
Mitchell ultimately missed the game after suffering a finger injury in practice.
After a zero in the box score, Mitchell will likely fly under the radar, but he deserves to be rostered in more than 33% of leagues.
Here’s what I had to say last week:
“In Week 1, he flashed his downfield playmaking ability with a 40-yard reception. In Week 2, he showed his status as a legitimate target earner, drawing 12 targets, good for the team lead and a 33% target share.”
All of that holds true. His blend of playmaking and target-earning abilities is exciting, and the Jets’ offense is actually functional this year. They’ve generated at least 330 yards of offense and scored at least 23 points in two of three games.
As long as Geno Smith can keep the train on the tracks, this environment can very well be strong enough to sustain multiple fantasy-relevant pass catchers.
MALIK WASHINGTON (13.4% ROSTERED) AND CHRIS BELL (3.0% ROSTERED), MIA DOLPHINS
The Dolphins were without rookie receiver Caleb Douglas in Week 3, leaving Malik Washington and fellow rookie Chris Bell as the clear top receivers.
Washington led the team with 10 targets (28.5% target share) and once again ran a full complement of routes, posting an 85.7% route rate.
Meanwhile, Bell, who was in his third game since tearing his ACL in his final collegiate season, finally played a full-time role after being slow-played to open the year. He ran 73.8% of the routes and earned five targets, turning those opportunities into 10.7 PPR points.
Douglas’s return will inevitably shuffle things around, in terms of both routes and targets.
Looking ahead, Bell is a strong bench stash in deeper leagues. He offered an intriguing prospect profile, featuring size (6’2″, 228 pounds) and the ability to win on the outside. He also showed some real juice after the catch.
If he can emerge as the WR1 in Miami and consolidate enough volume, he could be fantasy viable. But as we discussed in the running back section, this is the Miami offense, after all.
Washington is more of a short-term FLEX option for rosters destroyed by injury. His role has been strong thus far, with plenty of routes, designed targets, and overall volume coming his way. He’s also seen more downfield looks than years past. Still, we know he doesn’t have much season-long upside, and multiple rookies are right on his heels.
KEENAN ALLEN, IND COLTS (23.8% ROSTERED)
With Alec Pierce out of the picture, the Colts’ passing attack became incredibly condensed in Week 3. Daniel Jones dished out 35 targets against the Texans. 30 of them went to the trio of Tyler Warren, Josh Downs, and Keenan Allen.
Nine of those targets went to Allen, who is still doing his thing in the big ’26.
We all know the story here. No matter how old Allen gets, and no matter how washed you might think he is, he’s simply going to earn targets.
There isn’t much of a weekly ceiling, as his YAC and downfield playmaking abilities are all but nonexistent, but in PPR leagues, Allen can be a contributor in this new-look Colts offense.
TIGHT ENDS
KENYON SADIQ, NY JETS (33.5% ROSTERED)
Following a hernia that saw Kenyon Sadiq miss meaningful stretches of the offseason, the Jets opted to ease him into action to open his rookie year. He did not eclipse a 50% route share in either Week 1 or Week 2.
An injury to Mason Taylor left the Jets no choice, and in his first game in an expanded role (58.1% of routes), Sadiq thrived. He drew eight targets, good for a 22.2% target share and 0.32 TPRR, and posted a 7/105/1 stat line.
Couple encouraging usage with an absolutely freaky athletic profile, and you have a rookie TE who absolutely deserves to be stashed on benches, at a minimum.
We’ll have to see if his role grows (it would be surprising if it doesn’t) and whether he remains this efficient when the Jets aren’t playing a horrific Lions secondary. Still, he’s a priority pickup for TE-needy teams, even if this is a bit of a wait-and-see situation.
