Fantasy football waiver wire targets for Week 3

Every Monday during the NFL season, I am going to be presenting you with my top three waiver wire claims to prioritize for your fantasy football teams. I will also include a shortlist of “ther options. These are players worth consideration if your team is in a bind, but not ones that take priority over the top three. I will also make a point to focus on players that are rostered in under 50% of ESPN leagues.

Week 2 was a telling week in the fantasy football realm, as we got a glimpse of whether or not some Week 1 performances were real or a fluke. For those that were real, it’s time to pay attention. Many of them can still be found on the vast majority of waiver wires.

Below are my top three priorities.

K.J. Osborn is a must-roster receiver | Fantasy football waiver wire targets

(1.1% rostered in ESPN leagues)

If I told you that the overall WR19 was sitting on the waiver wire in 98.9% of leagues right now, I’m sure you’d call me crazy. Well, here we are. K.J. Osborn has been a fixture early on in the Vikings’ aerial attack, accounting for 17.44% of the overall target share with 15 targets through two games. He has more receptions (12) than Justin Jefferson (11) and has scored the same number of touchdowns (1) as the second-year phenom. 

I’m not advocating for prioritizing Osborn over Jefferson, but if Kirk Cousins’ volume (40.5 attempts per game) is here to stay, then there’s an ample amount of room for Osborn to continue to produce. Even if his volume decreases incrementally, he has a home-run threat ability about him that makes him worth a stash too:

Rondale Moore is the WR2 in Arizona | Fantasy football waiver wire targets

(19.2% rostered in ESPN leagues)

Rondale Moore was a darling of many in the fantasy community all offseason and his early-season performance has those reaping the rewards of their proactive analysis. With aging veteran A.J. Green and often-absent Christian Kirk as the other two receivers fighting him for targets behind DeAndre Hopkins, Moore could very well be a mainstay in this Cardinals’ offense.

After a rather quiet Week 1 (4-68-0 on five targets), Moore exploded in Week 2, posting seven receptions for 114 yards and a touchdown on eight targets. After this performance, he ranks second on the team in target share (18.75%) behind only Hopkins (20.31%).

The Cardinals have been arguably the most explosive offense through the first two weeks, averaging 36.0 points per game. After an explosive Week 1 from them, FTN’s Ray Garvin told you to pick up Moore. The window is closing, but it’s not too late. This is your last chance.

The time to buy Darnell Mooney is now | Fantasy football waiver wire targets

(49.0% rostered in ESPN leagues)

Darnell Mooney was a favorite for Chris Meaney last week but wasn’t featured in this article as his roster percentage at the time was north of 50%. Well, that number has since gone down, sitting at a healthy 49% across ESPN leagues.

After logging only 26 yards on five catches (seven targets) in Week 1, Mooney topped all three of those marks in Week 2, posting six catches on eight targets for 66 yards. These aren’t eye-popping numbers, but he also led the Bears in targets when Justin Fields was in the game, recording 4 of his 13 targets. With Andy Dalton’s health in flux, Fields could be ruled the starter as soon as Week 3, making Mooney a priority add as one of his favorite targets, especially considering the fact that he’s played 94.8% of the offensive snaps so far this season.

Others to consider

• Cordarrelle Patterson, RB, Atlanta Falcons (8.0% rostered in ESPN leagues)
• Zach Pascal, WR, Indianapolis Colts (14.0%)
  Derek Carr, QB, Las Vegas Raiders (16.6%)