Fantasy football can be an extremely fun game to play. It can also be highly frustrating at times. Nothing is more annoying than needing to make a last-minute waiver wire move because someone in your starting lineup is out for the week.
Sadly, there isn’t much you can do about it. However, I’m going to try and help.
Every week I will have six players you can grab off the waiver wire at the last minute and throw into your lineup. Some will succeed, while others will fail. Unfortunately, that’s how the game of fantasy football is played.
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All the players in this article are rostered in under 35% of ESPN leagues.
C.J. Stroud (QB – HOU) vs. Pittsburgh Steelers (26.8% Rostered)
The 2023 NFL Draft quarterback class had several big-name players in it. While Anthony Richardson was labeled the best quarterback for fantasy football this year, Stroud has been impressive. The No. 2 overall pick struggled in Week 1. Yet, he has been outstanding the past two weeks, averaging 332 passing yards, two touchdowns, and 21.03 fantasy points per game, scoring 20.6 or more in both contests. While Stroud has faced two below-average secondaries, the rookie has another appealing matchup in Week 4.
Pittsburgh has made life difficult for opposing quarterbacks with sacks and turnovers. The Steelers have forced seven turnovers and sacked the quarterback 13 times over the first three weeks. However, Stroud has done well protecting the ball, throwing zero interceptions this season despite being pressured on nearly 38% of his dropbacks. Meanwhile, the Steelers have struggled to defend the pass, giving up 259.7 passing yards and 1.7 touchdowns per game. If he can protect the ball, Stroud can be a low-end QB1 this week despite facing a talented pass rush unit.
Rico Dowdle (RB – DAL) vs. New England Patriots (4.9% Rostered)
Tony Pollard has been a top-five fantasy running back this season. Last week, he was the RB14, scoring 13.6 half-point PPR fantasy points. However, Dowdle has started to earn a larger role on offense. The veteran played only 14% of the snaps in Week 3 but had four rushing attempts for 21 yards, three receptions for 25 receiving yards, and a touchdown against the Arizona Cardinals, scoring 12.1 fantasy points. More importantly, Dowdle has at least seven touches in back-to-back contests.
Meanwhile, the Patriots have surrendered 19.5 fantasy points per game to running backs this season, slightly worse than the league average. However, they have struggled over the past two weeks, giving up 176 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns to running backs. Furthermore, New England has faced Kenneth Gainwell and an awful New York Jets offensive line this season. While Pollard remains the featured back, Dowdle could steal a red zone touchdown, score double-digit fantasy points, and finish inside the top 20 running backs for the second consecutive week.
Latavius Murray (RB – BUF) vs. Miami Dolphins (3.2% Rostered)
Almost everyone in the fantasy football community loved James Cook entering the 2023 season. Yet, his one fantasy flaw is that the Bills won’t give him the goal-line work. Instead, that role has belonged to Murray and Damien Harris. However, Murray has pulled ahead of Harris on the depth chart, playing more snaps in every game. Furthermore, Murray is the RB38 this year, averaging seven half-point PPR fantasy points per contest. The veteran has been the RB24 since Week 1, averaging 9.4 fantasy points per game and scoring a touchdown in both games.
Last week, the Dolphins running backs had a historic performance against the Denver Broncos. However, Miami’s run defense hasn’t been very good this season. They have surrendered 22.2 fantasy points per game to running backs, the ninth-most in the NFL. Furthermore, the Dolphins have surrendered over 4.7 yards per rushing attempt and three rushing touchdowns to the position this year. The over/under for this game is 53.5, far and away the highest in Week 4. When Buffalo gets near the goal line, expect Murray to punch it in.
Marvin Mims Jr. (WR – DEN) vs. Chicago Bears (15.2% Rostered)
I rarely ask for favors, but I have one for Sean Payton and the Broncos – can you PLEASE give your star rookie wide receiver more snaps? Mims leads the team in receiving yards (195), yards per route run (7.22), and target per route run rate (33.3%). Yet, he has only 27 routes run this season, 41 fewer than Brandon Johnson and 15 fewer than Lil’Jordan Humphrey. The former Oklahoma star has five receptions for nearly 200 receiving yards over the past two weeks. Furthermore, he has been the WR9 since Week 1, averaging 17.2 half-point PPR fantasy points per game.
Hopefully, this is the week the Broncos wake up and give their star rookie more than the 11 routes he ran in Week 3. Chicago has given up 178.7 receiving yards and 29.8 fantasy points per game to wide receivers this season. More importantly, they have struggled to defend the deep ball, allowing eight competitions of 30 or more yards. Mims is averaging 10.94 yards and 2.02 fantasy points per route run over the past two weeks. He could be a top-five wide receiver against the Bears.
Josh Downs (WR – IND) vs. Los Angeles Rams (9.7% Rostered)
Many discounted the Colts’ pass catchers this year because of the quarterback situation. Yet, Michael Pittman Jr. is a top-15 wide receiver. Meanwhile, the rookie has surpassed Alec Pierce as the No. 2 pass catcher in the offense. Downs hasn’t scored double-digit fantasy points in any game. However, that likely changes this week. The former UNC star had eight receptions on 12 targets for 57 receiving yards and 9.7 half-point PPR fantasy points last week, all season-highs. He has the second-highest target per route run rate on the team behind Pittman.
More importantly, the Rams have been awful at slowing down opposing wide receivers the past two weeks. They have surrendered 61.7 fantasy points to the position since Week 1. Furthermore, the Cincinnati Bengals’ passing attack struggled over the first two weeks. Then they were outstanding in Week 3 against the Rams. The Bengals’ wide receivers had 20 receptions for 207 receiving yards and scored over 30 fantasy points. Meanwhile, Downs only had a slight bump in target share with Gardner Minshew under center (21.4%) compared to Anthony Richardson (19.2%). While Pittman has top-10 upside, the rookie is an appealing flex option.
Logan Thomas (TE – WAS) vs. Philadelphia Eagles (4.8% Rostered)
After suffering a concussion in the first half against the Denver Broncos in Week 2, Thomas missed last week’s matchup against the Buffalo Bills. Thankfully, he cleared the concussion protocol and will play this week. The veteran tight end has six receptions on 11 targets for 65 receiving yards and 15.5 half-point PPR fantasy points in six quarters of play this season. Thomas is averaging 10.3 fantasy points per game if you adjust for the second half he missed in Week 2, a higher average than Mark Andrews. More importantly, Eric Bieniemy loves his tight ends.
The Commanders have given their tight ends 29 targets this season, the fifth-most in the NFL. Thomas has a 19.2% target per route run rate year. Meanwhile, Cole Turner and John Bates had a 22% target per route run rate last week, with the veteran unable to play. Meanwhile, the Eagles have surrendered 15.2 fantasy points per game to tight ends this season, the most in the NFL. They have also given up a league-high three touchdowns to the position. Washington will trail most of this game, leading to plenty of targets for Thomas.
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Mike Fanelli is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him @Mike_NFL2.