Top 4 Waiver Wire Wide Receivers for Week 3
There are plenty of choices out there to help deepen your bench for receivers or use them as injury replacements. This list starts off with J.J. Nelson and has a few surprises along the way.
1. J.J. Nelson, Arizona Cardinals | 37% OWN
I know what you are thinking, the Cardinals is the worst team you might want to own and start a player on, let alone a wide receiver with Carson Palmer as the quarterback.
True, it may be a bit on the riskier side, but after two weeks Nelson is second on the team in targets with 13, and is leading the team in receptions with 10 for 163 yards and two touchdowns.
No other player, including future Hall of Famer Larry Fitzgerald is even close in terms of production. If John Brown continues to miss time then Nelson is an even easier player to trust for a fantasy team struggling to find a good WR2 to start.
2. Rashard Higgins, Cleveland Browns | 2% OWN
The Cleveland Browns aren't the deepest team when it comes to wide receivers and with the broken hand to Corey Coleman, it looks like Higgins may be the guy in Cleveland.
Kenny Britt has been a disappointment with only has 5 targets for 2 catches in two weeks whereas Higgins has 11 targets and 7 receptions for 95 yards.
If you own Britt, it may be time to abandon ship and try to go for J.J. Nelson if he is available. Otherwise, Grab Higgins and hope and prey that DeShone Kizer will stay healthy and migraines won't be an issue moving forward.
3. Devin Funchess, Carolina Panthers | 18% OWN
The Carolina Panthers are much like the Cardinals, as in, you cannot trust their offense or even Cam Newton for that matter. The injury to Greg Olsen means more targets will open up for other wide receivers and the biggest beneficiary may be Funchess.
Funchess ended week 2 with 7 targets, just one behind leader Kelvin Benjamin and ended up with 4 catches for 68 yards.
This is not a ringing endorsement for Funchess, but rather a logical move that he will be getting more targets and hopefully Cam Newton can get the ball to the player's he is aiming for more often.
In two weeks Cam Newton has been bad. His completion percentage is only 59% and he keeps missing wide open guys. The Panthers face off against the Saints in Week 3, which makes both Newton and Funchess viable starters.
If the Panthers don't get it together for the Saints, then it is time to start worrying.
4. Jermaine Kearse, New York Jets | 15% OWN
Yet another bad team on this list with a bad offense, but the good news is that bad teams need to pass a lot in order to catch up in games.
Kearse ended Week 2 with 5 targets on 4 catches for 64 yards and two touchdowns. That is a week that any fantasy football owner would love to have in their starting lineup.
In two weeks Kearse is leading the team in targets with 14, and is the only player to have double digit receptions with 11.
You may not feel overly confident with Kearse in your lineup, but chances are he will produce some decent numbers as a WR2 in most fantasy formats.