Week 3 Fantasy Football Wide Receiver Waiver Options: Wan'Dale Robinson, Elic Ayomanor and More

Welcome to this week's wide receiver breakdown! I'd like to start with a brief victory lap, as two of the hottest WR pickups this week, Wan'Dale Robinson and Elic Ayomanor, were featured in this article last week. Of course, I was also all-in on Marquise Brown as a streamer while Xavier Worthy was out … I guess they can't all be winners. 

Hopefully, this week we can keep up the trend of more good picks than bad. Without further ado, here are the best waiver wide receivers to add to your fantasy football rosters ahead of Week 3.

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Wan'Dale Robinson, New York Giants (26.4% Rostered)

As mentioned, I suggested Robinson last week. However, even I didn't give him enough credit. I called him low-upside thanks to his tiny ADOT. Against the Cowboys, he racked up 24.2 half-PPR points on a 16.8-yard ADOT, literally over five yards ahead of his previous career high. 

Most likely, this will be Robinson's best game of the season. But he's always been a capable target-earner, and it seems that, with Russell Wilson under center, some of those targets might be further down the field this season. At this point, he's worth adding in all formats. 

Elic Ayomanor, Tennessee Titans (13.4% Rostered)

Speaking of being worth adding in all formats, Ayomanor immediately made good on the encouraging usage I mentioned last week. He caught four of six targets for 56 yards and a touchdown, finishing as the WR20 (pending MNF). 

On the pessimistic side, Ayomanor's route participation rate actually declined from Week to Week 2 (74% to 56%). This entire Tennessee offense is also still clearly a work in progress. But we want to be early to rookie wide receivers who have paths to production, and the fourth-rounder out of Stanford clearly fits that bill.

Troy Franklin, Denver Broncos (4% Rostered)

Warning: Investing in the Broncos' offense under Sean Payton is a recipe for some very frustrating Sunday afternoons. Add any Denver player at your own risk.

With that out of the way, Franklin's usage in Week 2 was incredibly encouraging. Not only did he clearly separate himself from Marvin Mims, Trent Sherfield Sr., and Pat Bryant, but he actually ran four more routes than Courtland Sutton, who had previously been the only reliable member of this offense. Franklin was busy on those routes, too, catching eight of nine targets for 89 yards and a touchdown. 

Now, we know that Sean Payton is liable to completely change his personnel usage from week to week. Four of Franklin's targets this week were designed looks (screens, etc.), and all but one were first-read targets. Normally, that would be a great sign that he is a priority in the offense. With Payton at the controls, there's a chance that usage goes to Adam Trautman next week. 

Still, Franklin is a 22-year-old receiver in an offense with no clear WR2, and he posted excellent numbers both in the box score and in terms of usage this week. Let's not overthink things. He's a great add in all but super-shallow formats.

Dontayvion Wicks, Green Bay Packers (2.5% Rostered)

Just like Jayden Reed (too soon?), I am ready to get hurt again. The Packers' slot receiver is out for the foreseeable future with a broken collarbone. That opens up a space for Wicks, a long-term favorite of mine, to once again see the field for the Green Bay Packers. 

At worst, Wicks will be the team's WR3 behind constant Romeo Doubs and first-round pick Matthew Golden. At best, he will play ahead of Golden in some scenarios — they ran the same amount of routes on Thursday. 

And, so far in his career, Wicks has consistently earned targets when he is on the field. Even across the first two weeks of this season, in which he hasn't done much, he leads currently healthy Packers WRs with a very solid 2.39 yards per route run (that ranks 16th in the NFL among qualified WRs, by the way). Perhaps I'm being baited once again, but Wicks is worth adding in case he can finally put together a consistent stretch of games where he is on the field catching footballs. 

Romeo Doubs, Green Bay Packers (18.3% Rostered)

If you want a more sane way to chase after Reed's vacated usage, Doubs may be the way to get it. Over the last few years, Doubs has been the only Green Bay receiver we can count on to consistently be on the field. That trend continued this season, as he easily led the team's WRs with a 74% route participation rate in Week 1. That number should move up a bit more with Reed out, and he will also theoretically earn more targets with lesser competition.

The only real issue with Doubs is that, because he already had a solid role, Reed being out doesn't actually have a massive impact on his outlook. He's probably still the same fantasy WR3/WR4 he was before. That's why I prefer to swing for the fences with Wicks, who has at least flashed elite target-earning ability … but Doubs is probably the safer pickup.

Hunter Renfrow, Carolina Panthers (1.6% Rostered)

Thanks to two touchdowns, Renfrow currently ranks as the WR7 of Week 2 with 20.7 half-PPR points. But his big day wasn't all about reaching the end zone, as he also tied for the team lead with nine targets. Through two weeks, he has a respectable 16% target share in the Panthers' offense. And, although it feels like a lifetime ago, it was only four years ago that Renfrow finished as the WR11 overall in half-PPR formats — he missed a year with an autoimmune disorder but is still just 29 years old.

However, with all that said, I don't recommend adding Renfrow outside of deep PPR leagues. A 16% target share in what is not likely to be a good Carolina offense isn't exactly something to write home about. First-round rookie Tetairoa McMillan is the clear alpha in this offense, and we have no reason to believe Bryce Young can support two fantasy-relevant WRs. 

We also can't forget that Jalen Coker, who flashed talent as a UDFA rookie last season, will eventually return to compete with Renfrow in the slot. Add Renfrow if you like, but don't go crazy — he'll likely be back on waivers at some point this season.  

Ted Chmyz is a fantasy football contributor for FantasySP. Find him on Twitter and Bluesky @Tchmyz for more fantasy content or to ask questions.