Fantasy football waiver wire targets for Week 4

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 “other 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 3 was a brutal one, as we saw the top two consensus running backs either miss their game entirely or leave their game due to injuries. While all of the attention will understandably be on their backups, a handful of players made some leaps to warrant rostering ahead of Week 4. Did they make the cut? Let’s find out.

Below are my top three priorities.

A quick note: It was reported that Josh Gordon is intending to sign with the defending AFC Champion Kansas City Chiefs. While a sexy name to target given his lengthy battle off the field and the upside we’ve seen, it’s important to note that we haven’t seen him put together a meaningful season in eight years. If you’re in a deep league, he’s worth a speculative add, but don’t overreact here.

Chuba Hubbard is a must-add | Fantasy football waiver wire targets

(11.3% rostered in ESPN leagues)

Injuries are never fun, especially when they happen to superstars. Unfortunately, there’s an angle that fantasy managers must take when this happens, and it often comes down to prioritizing the next man up. This time, it’s Chuba Hubbard. While Christian McCaffrey is expected to avoid the IR and be back within the next three weeks, he will likely miss at the very least the next 1-2 weeks. Insert Hubbard. He handled 40 snaps once McCaffrey went down with Royce Freeman handling only 11. 

While there could be some type of timeshare, last season’s use of Mike Davis has me believing that it’ll be closer to a 70-30 split than a 50-50 split. Hubbard was also used as the third-down back, catching three of five targets for 27 yards. With such a voluminous role to fill, Hubbard is my top priority ahead of Week 4.

Tim Patrick is a wide receiver to target | Fantasy football waiver wire targets

(14.0% rostered in ESPN leagues)

Tim Patrick was a feature in this article in the “others to consider” section ahead of Week 3, but with K.J. Hamler tearing his ACL in Week 3, Patrick becomes a must-add. Patrick logged three catches of over 20 yards in Week 3, falling only two yards short of the century mark on five catches. 

Using the FTN Fantasy splits tool, Patrick has averaged four catches for 67.5 yards in two games without Jerry Jeudy and the absence of Hamler only strengthens his floor. As crazy as it may sound, Patrick can be viewed as a WR3 with upside going forward after posting at least 90 yards or a touchdown in every game so far this season.

Time to buy Rashod Bateman | Fantasy football waiver wire targets

(7.0% rostered in ESPN leagues)

Rashod Bateman was an offseason darling of many in the industry, only to have to go under the knife and miss a projected 6-8 weeks. Fast forward to today, and it was reported Bateman will resume practice ahead of Week 4. Will he be active? That remains to be seen, but it’s better to be proactive than reactive on the waiver wire.

After a week where Marquise Brown struggled mightily with drops and with the rest of the receiver room being rather unreliable, Bateman will bring some much-needed upside to this passing game. If you somehow missed the plethora of Bateman content that consumes Derek Brown’s timeline, indulge yourself:

The targets will be there, as many may not believe. He may be eased in, but adding Bateman into this offense provides another level of challenge for a defensive unit, so it’s hard to imagine the Ravens holding him back too long as long as he’s healthy. Buy now before it’s too late.

Others to consider

• A.J. Green (not dust?), WR, Arizona Cardinals (24.6% rostered in ESPN leagues)
• Royce Freeman, RB, Carolina Panthers (0.1%)
• Sam Darnold, QB, Carolina Panthers (9.0%)