Fantasy Football Week 4 FAAB RB/WR Bids: Trey Benson, Tre Tucker, and More

It's weekly FAAB time again. This portion of the week causes as much consternation and debate as any, including setting lineups, because owners are tasked with finding guys who will help while trying to save money for waivers on a rainy day. Every week tempts us more and more.

Let's look at reasonable FAAB bids for some of the hottest running backs and wide receivers on the waiver wire. Your roster needs and FAAB budget may vary your specifics just a bit, but this is a good baseline from which to start. Numbers are based on a $100 FAAB budget.

Check out FantasySP's waiver wire tool to find the hottest names each week that owners are adding in fantasy leagues.

Running Back

Trey Benson, Arizona Cardinals

James Conner was leading the way for Arizona, but Benson, a second-year player, was getting his work in as well, taking about two-thirds as many carries as the veteran. Including Week 3, Conner had 32 carries and eight catches and Benson 21 carries and eight receptions of his own.

Benson gained more yards with his touches, totaling 125 rushing yards and 45 receiving yards while Conner had 95 rushing and 38 receiving. A huge portion of Benson's came from a 52-yard run, but the younger player was outperforming the starter.

Conner is done for the season after suffering an ankle injury on Sunday, so Benson will now get his chance to lead the backfield. Emari Demercado is there to back up Benson, but the latter will likely have a clear top role, as Demercado got his first two rush attempts of the season only after Conner went down.

A starting running back with a path to a bell cow role is worth his weight in gold; this is one of the few big-time FAAB players to come available. If you're short at running back and Benson is available (he's owned in about 60% of leagues), he is worth throwing money at in this waiver period.

Conservative Bid: $6-10

Need Bid: $11-21

Desperation Bid: $31-41

Ollie Gordon II, Miami Dolphins

Gordon popped onto the waiver radar after getting nine carries for 38 yards and a touchdown on Thursday night against the Bills. The TD was a two-yard plunge, showing what some fantasy owners projected before the season: Gordon will get work near the goal line.

He was dropped en masse after receiving just three touches in Week 1 and two touches in Week 2 while De'Von Achane led the way in both the rushing and receiving department. Seeing a little spike in volume will cause owners to run back out and try picking up Gordon.

Gordon still played just 15 snaps to Achane's 47 in Week 3, close to the distribution of the whole season. Even if he does see a few more touches and gets those juicy carries near the end zone, we haven't seen Gordon involved enough compared to his cohort to make him a big fantasy name.

This is more about upside and getting a lottery ticket onto your roster who could find a nice role if either Achane gets hurt or the team improves and gets more touches for their backs. I'm still looking at Gordon as a non-starter in fantasy, but there's room for him on someone's bench, especially if you're short at RB.

Conservative Bid: $1-2

Need Bid: $3-5

Desperation Bid: $6-8

Jeremy McNichols and Chris Rodriguez Jr., Washington Commanders

With Austin Ekeler done for the season, it is left to Washington's young/depth backs to pick up the slack. Seventh-round rookie Jacory Croskey-Merritt will probably lead the way. In kind, he is owned in nearly every fantasy league.

McNichols and Rodriguez will serve as the backups, though this might be more of a timeshare than we'd like as fantasy owners. That gives these guys a little value, but I can't recommend either as more than a deep bench stash until we see how things play out.

Rodriguez got his first snaps of the season this week, and while he led the team with 11 carries, that was while Washington was blowing out the Raiders; we need to see a closer game to see a real distribution. McNichols had a 60-yard touchdown run that accounted for most of his day, otherwise taking just three carries for 18 yards.

There's risk involved with both players listed here. I'm fine grabbing them off the free agent market for the bottom of my bench but spending real FAAB budget isn't a smart play.

Conservative Bid: $0-1

Need Bid: $2-3

Desperation Bid: $4-6

Wide Receiver

Elic Ayomanor, Tennessee Titans

Ayomanor caught a touchdown last week, and he was a major waiver pickup because of that and his 13 combined targets over the first two games. Six catches for 69 yards was hardly a blistering start, but Ayomanor was second on the team in targets behind Calvin Ridley and had scored Tennessee's only receiving touchdown.

Ayomanor followed it up with four catches, 38 yards, and another touchdown in Week 3. He now is second on the team in targets and receptions and third in receiving yards; Ayomanor also has the only two receiving touchdowns for the team.

His spot in the hierarchy seems clear, but the level of play of both rookie QB Cameron Ward and the Titans' offense is the main worry. Ward is completing less than 55% of his passes for 168.6 yards per game on just 5.1 yards per attempt, well below average (which is around 7.0). He has two touchdowns and just one interception, but that was a pick-six on Sunday, and Ward has also lost two fumbles while being sacked 15 times, more than any other quarterback.

Ayomanor is the second receiver and third pass-catching option on a poor passing team. The two touchdowns are great, but again, he still has just 10 receptions for 107 yards, an average of 3.3 catches for 35.7 yards. Ayomanor is a decent fantasy bench player right now with hope he can put up bigger games as he keeps getting more experience.

Conservative Bid: $1-2

Need Bid: $3-4

Desperation Bid: $5-6

Demarcus Robinson, San Francisco 49ers

We'll make this one quick: Robinson is returning from suspension to a San Francisco team hurting for receivers. Brandon Aiyuk is out, Jauan Jennings has been dealing with a lingering injury and missed Week 3, and Ricky Pearsall is the only wide receiver with double-digit catches or more than 105 yards (Christian McCaffrey leads the team with 32 targets and 25 receptions).

Robinson is a fine complementary receiver but nothing more. That's enough for a little fantasy intrigue, particularly in deeper leagues, and he's a name to add given San Fran's WR woes, but don't expect him to come in and take a weekly starting WR spot in your lineup; he's a streamer at best.

Conservative Bid: $1-2

Need Bid: $3-4

Desperation Bid: $5-6

Tyquan Thornton, Kansas City Chiefs

Thornton now has two straight games with at least 59 yards and a touchdown. In all three games this season, he topped 40 yards total and had one catch for over 30 yards. Thornton has been a downfield threat making big plays when Kansas City is perilously short on real receiving talent.

I'm not big on expecting explosive plays from a player who hasn't shown he can do it on a near-weekly basis. Before this season, Thornton had never had a catch of at least 30 yards in 28 games over three seasons. His 171 yards are only 76 from his career high set in 2022. Thornton's two touchdowns equal his total before this season.

Joining the Patriots in the post-Tom Brady era wasn't the best thing for his NFL prospects, but Thornton has been anonymous since he was a second-round pick in 2022. Despite being fourth on the Chiefs in receptions, he's tied for the team lead in receiving yards. There's way too much depending on those deep shots.

Thornton's value is also short term. Xavier Worthy's status is unknown, and he could come back as soon as next week. Rashee Rice must miss three more games, then he will probably take over the WR1 spot again. Thornton, Marquise Brown, and JuJu Smith-Schuster have essentially split snaps, something that will change once those top two receivers are on the field.

Don't pick up Thornton as anything more than a deep-league lottery ticket who could catch another long pass. He's not a consistent fantasy player, and his value will mostly dry up very soon.

Conservative Bid: $0

Need Bid: $1-2

Desperation Bid: $3

Tre Tucker, Las Vegas Raiders

Tucker had the game of his life on Sunday, catching eight passes for 145 yards and three touchdowns. Prior to Week 3, he had five receptions, 66 yards, and a touchdown. He had reached 50 yards just seven times in 33 games the past two seasons.

Two of the touchdowns came in garbage time in the fourth quarter, and while those still count for fantasy purposes, it's not quite the same when your team is down by 24 points late. The question is whether he can carry over any of these good vibes into future weeks.

He is on the field a lot; Tucker has played at least 90% of the snaps in all three games this year. There's not much pass-catching talent around him, as Jakobi Meyers and Brock Bowers are the only guys who might top him in the hierarchy. Tucker has opportunity.

I'm skeptical of his potential overall impact, even as Geno Smith has two separate games in which he averaged at least 10 yards per pass thrown. Like Ayomanor, there is a receiver and tight end ahead of Tucker, so those opportunities might not come as often.

To be fair, Tucker is just one target and one reception behind Bowers and has 32 more yards than the tight end. Tucker has also caught all four touchdown passes that Smith has thrown this year. When things average out over a longer time frame, the scores will come down, and Tucker will need volume to sustain weekly value.

I see him only as a fantasy bench player unless you're in a deep league with three starting WR spots, though he has more value than a guy like Thornton for sure and probably even more than Ayomanor.

Conservative Bid: $1-2

Need Bid: $3-4

Desperation Bid: $5-6