Looking for advice customized to your team? Try our award-winning My Playbook tool. My Playbook allows you to sync your team for free in seconds and will provide news and alerts specific to your squad. It also offers personalized advice via our Start/Sit Assistant, Waiver Wire Assistant and Trade Analyzer. Join over 1 million teams that have been synched for custom advice, rankings, and analysis!
We asked our writers to name their top waiver-wire targets at running back and wide receiver for the week. Here’s what they said.
Get free start/sit and waiver wire advice for your fantasy team 
Who’s your top running back pickup of the week?
Jaylen Samuels (PIT)
Samuels isn’t a likely starter like Ronald Jones may be, but he does have much more in the way of upside because of the offensive line he plays behind. With James Conner potentially dealing with an injury, Samuels is an excellent add this week seeing that he had 10 carries, eight receptions, and completed three passes Monday night.
– Bobby Sylvester (@bobbyfantasypro)
It is not the strongest week for fantasy running backs on the waiver wire, but Samuels had a nice role this week against the Cincinnati Bengals with 10 rushing attempts for 26 yards and one touchdown. He also added adding eight receptions on eight targets for 57 yards. This is coming off a Week 3 game where he had zero touches. Most backup running backs do not have 18 touches in a game, so the fact that he is having that much involvement in the offense is encouraging. He is a player that could have stand-alone value, even if James Conner stays healthy. He is volatile going from zero touches to 18 touches, but he should be trending upward after his Week 4 performance, and if something were to happen to Conner, Samuels would go from a matchup streamer to a weekly fantasy option.
– Derek Lofland (@DerekLofland)
This is a tough week to target running backs off the free agent wire. I prefer Ronald Jones (owned in 43% of leagues) but will settle for Jaylen Samuels since he is owned in 25% of leagues. Samuels rushed for 26 yards and one touchdown on 10 carries, adding eight catches for 57 yards on eight targets in Monday night’s 27-3 win over Cincinnati. This is a remarkable turnaround since Samuels didn’t receive a single carry last week. He was also used in goal-line situations and lined up at quarterback in wildcat formations multiple times. James Conner only received 10 carries, the split was 50-50 between Samuels and Conner. If you have Conner or the roster space and Ronald Jones isn’t available, Jaylen Samuels is the top add at running back this week.
– Brad Camara (@beerad30)
Alexander Mattison (MIN)
Jaylen Samuels is arguably the week’s top add, but he’s already mentioned in this column, so I’m going with the lightly owned Alexander Mattison instead. On a team that figures to remain stubbornly committed to the run, even if it costs them games, Mattison is the top handcuff to own in football right now. He only garnered three touches in Minnesota’s defeat against the Bears this week, but he’s averaging a robust 5.07 yards per carry on 27 attempts. For what it’s worth, he did haul in his only target for eight yards this week as well, so he may not be limited to a two-down role if Dalvin Cook misses time. Whatever Wayne Gallman went for in FAAB last week, Mattison would probably go for double if Cook found himself sidelined for close to two months. Any player worth that much FAAB should already be owned. If nothing else, you could trade him to the Cook owner as soon as Dalvin gets hit with a questionable tag. After two lost seasons, that alone should spark enough worry to elicit an overpay. However, stashing Mattison is a fine play as well. He has league-winning ability and opportunity if Cook misses significant time. Even if Cook stays healthy all year, the Vikings will most likely try to scale back his workload (he’s currently on pace for 284 carries, a total he hasn’t approached since 2016 when he was still at Florida State).
– Paul Ghiglieri (@FantasyGhigs)
Who’s your top wide receiver pickup of the week?
A.J. Brown (TEN)
The Tennessee offense can be maddening, as they are one of the least productive passing teams in the league, but this is more than Brown just having two touchdowns in Week 4. If you go back to Week 1, he also had three receptions for 100 yards. He is averaging 22.3 yards per reception, and he scored his first two touchdown passes this last weekend. He has big-play potential, evidenced by his stellar games in Week 1 and Week 4. He has a low floor too, evidenced by his bad games in Week 2 and Week 3. The point is that if he can average 22.3 yards per reception, and he can score long touchdowns, he is a streamer that could have value during the bye weeks. He is the definition of a boom/bust player, but his two boom games early in the season make him a player that needs to be added in all formats. He is a rookie, so he has a chance to keep growing in his first year in the league.
– Derek Lofland (@DerekLofland)
In Sunday’s Week 4 win over the Falcons, A.J. Brown finished third on the team in targets and receptions, but he led the Titans in receiving yards. He hauled in all three of his targets for 94 yards and two touchdowns. He has just 17 targets and 10 receptions through four games, but he has quickly proven to be a big-play threat by averaging 22.3 yards per reception. Brown did look good in Week 4, but keep in mind this is the Titans’ passing offense, which has struggled for a majority of two seasons. Brown is the top add (especially in leagues that add bonus points for touchdown distance), but if Golden Tate or Mohamed Sanu are available, I would prefer those two over Brown.
– Brad Camara (@beerad30)
Diontae Johnson (PIT)
Many speculated that James Washington would be the receiver to own behind JuJu Smith-Schuster in Pittsburgh when Mason Rudolph took over at quarterback, but Johnson has led the team in receiving the last two weeks with a combined nine catches for 129 yards and two touchdowns. Washington and Rudolph starred together as teammates at Oklahoma State, but Johnson is the better add right now, especially now that he has replaced Donte Moncrief in the starting lineup while Washington serves mostly as a backup to Smith-Schuster and role player in three-wide receiver sets. Johnson is getting the snaps and targets, and he’s making the most of both. The target totals will likely regress some, but as the primary downfield threat, Johnson is always one play away from a big day. Finding a WR3 owned in less than 10% of Yahoo leagues a quarter into the season is a gift. It shouldn’t cost much to acquire him.
– Paul Ghiglieri (@FantasyGhigs)
Mohamed Sanu (ATL)
Sanu has minimal upside unless Julio suffers an injury, but he is a safe flex play week-to-week during bye weeks and in place of injuries. With 31 targets through four weeks, he makes for a solid streamer in what should be a useful game script versus the Texans.
– Bobby Sylvester (@bobbyfantasypro)
Get a free analysis of your team with My Playbook
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Play | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | TuneIn | RSS
