by Nate Polvogt

Share

Published On: September 17th, 2024

If you like winning, come back every week for under-the-radar fantasy waiver wire pickups to keep you in contention until the final contest. We leave no stone unturned to ensure we give you the BEST chance to win week in and week out. Let’s get to it with our Week 3 waiver wire pickups.

Check out our Week 3 Fantasy Football Rankings ~

Fantasy managers: “Week 1 was a brutal way to start the fantasy football season.”

Week 2:” Hold my beer.”

It was that kind of week, and it started on Thursday night. The Miami Dolphins offense crapped the bed, putting up a pedestrian 10 points, with Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle combining for seven catches, 65 receiving yards and no TDs. To add insult to injury, Miami also lost QB Tua Tagovailoa and RB Jeff Wilson for an undetermined amount of time. 

Need more? Good. 49ers multi-tool Deebo Samuel will miss multiple weeks with a calf injury, Rams WR Cooper Kupp left State Farm Stadium on Sunday in a walking boot, Chiefs RB Isaiah Pacheco is heading to IR with a fractured fibula and the list goes on. 

It might feel like your options are becoming slight, but plenty of value exists. Here are my favorite low-cost additions and streaming D/STs on the Week 3 waiver wire. 

Week 3 Waiver Wire Pickups

Terms to Know:

  • PPR – Point Per Reception
  • FAAB – Free Agency Acquisition Budget
  • IR – Injured Reserve
  • FUBAR – IYKYK

 Week 3 Waiver Wire QBs

Justin Fields (QB – PIT) | 31.9%

Football feels more fun when Justin Fields is on the field, and the first two weeks of the season have given us just that. 

It isn’t always pretty. 

It isn’t always fruitful in the real world of football.

But, when it comes to fantasy football, Fields produces when he gets the chance.

The Fields-led Steelers being 2-0 is one of the bigger surprises two weeks into the 2024 season. It hasn’t been flashy or fruitful for fantasy football so far – Fields is currently the overall QB22 – but it’s worked. Fields got off to a slow start in 2022, clocking in as the overall QB31 through four weeks before finishing the season as QB6 despite missing two games down the stretch. 

Week 3 sees Pittsburgh hosting the Chargers, who have allowed a league-low 7.4 fantasy points to QBs. 

Los Angeles could be a tough matchup for Fields, but it could also force him to go off-script and play street ball, which is when he is most effective for fantasy football.

More than anything, the Steelers love winning, and Mike Tomlin will stick with what’s working. The team is 2-0 on the back of Fields, and right now, there is an opportunity to get him rostered at a discount. Hedge your bets on the athleticism and play-making ability – and drop five to seven percent of your remaining FAAB to get Fields on your squad.  

Tyler Huntley (QB – MIA) | 0.1%

Former Baltimore Ravens legend Tyler Huntley has a new home, folks. With Tagovailoa out for the foreseeable future, Miami hit free agency and snagged Huntley off the Ravens practice squad this past weekend.

Huntley won’t be the starter immediately for the Dolphins’ speedy offense, but it’s likely only a matter of time. Skylar Thompson, the current next-man-up for Miami, has logged one career start. That came back in 2022, and he completed 21 of his 30 passing attempts for 152 yards. 

While it was an admirable performance, this team has playoff aspirations, and Huntley has more experience. 

Huntley has logged nine starts, 11 total touchdowns, seven interceptions, and 509 rushing yards in four seasons. While that’s more experience than Thompson, it still isn’t much. 

The bet is on Mike McDaniel getting creative and finding ways to use Huntley’s rushing acumen.

If you have some free bench spots – who doesn’t with all the injuries – Huntley is worth an emergency stash. He’ll be free this week and likely next, but once he sees the field, his price will go up. Get your security blanket now, and save your FAAB for later.        

Week 3 Waiver Wire RBs

Jaylen Wright (RB – MIA) | 25.2%

The NFL moves fast, and Week 3 has me very high on some of the less-coveted Miami Dolphins offensive assets. Leading up to Week 1, I wouldn’t have believed you if you said I’d be telling people to roster rookie RB Jaylen Wright.

However, no one could foresee the rash of injuries in Miami and league-wide to start the season.

Wright has seen limited work so far this season, partly due to his continued recovery from a hand injury suffered at the end of last season. He was inactive in Week 1 against Jacksonville and saw five carries for four yards on Thursday night against Buffalo. 

However, despite a minimal sample size at the NFL level, Wright will likely be thrust into a more prominent role in Week 3 in Seattle. Raheem Mostert is unlikely to play despite avoiding IR thus far, and Jeff Wilson suffered an oblique injury against the Bills and did not return. Wilson may be a game-time decision, but Wright will be active and have an opportunity to earn more work. 

With Tua out indefinitely, the Miami run game will be crucial to bridging the gap and staying in contention in the AFC East. 

That makes Wright a valuable fantasy acquisition, whether as a handcuff to De’Von Achane or a stand-alone flex option down the line. 

Less than three percent of your remaining FAAB should land you a share of Wright as a solid wait-and-see bench addition.  

Cam Akers (RB – HOU) | 0.5%

The Houston Texans are legit, folks. The offseason additions of WR Stefon Diggs and RB Joe Mixon have proved fruitful, with the pair contributing three touchdowns and 298 yards of total offense. A less talked about addition, RB Cam Akers, could also have a fantasy impact on a powerful Texans team.

Akers was a highly-touted prospect heading into his rookie season, but his progress was slowed by a multitude of injuries, culminating in an Achilles tear in OTAs in 2021. Akers hasn’t been quite the same explosive back he was before the Achilles injury, which isn’t surprising. However, now three full years removed from the injury, he could find himself fantasy-relevant again. 

While Mixon has been nothing short of elite in his first two games in Houston – he is the PPR RB10 with 39 carries for 184 yards and a TD plus six catches for 44 yards – the NFL isn’t a one-back-system kind of league.

Akers isn’t going to light your roster on fire. He was inactive in Week 1 and saw seven carries for 32 yards in his season debut last week. However, with injuries piling up, getting anyone who can provide points on your roster could be the difference between a fantasy football win and a loss. Akers likely will clear your Week 3 waiver wire and be ripe for the picking on Wednesday morning.     

Week 3 Waiver Wire WRs

Tyler Johnson (WR – LAR) | 12.9%

With Kupp & Nacua set to miss extended time, Johnson is falling into opportunity. The healthy Rams WR corps consists of Johnson, Demarcus Robinson, Jordan Whittington and Tutu Atwell. Robinson and Johnson have separated themselves from the other two WRs, earning 10 targets this season. Their stat lines are nearly identical, and they now find themselves as the WR1 and WR2 in an offense that has thrown the ball almost 80 times in two games. 

While Stafford and the Rams are without their start WR duo, Tyler Johnson will get plenty of opportunities to score fantasy points. 

It’s not pretty, and Johnson is anything but a long-term solution for your fantasy football roster woes. However, Johnson will be the WR2 in a pass-forward offense for the next four to six weeks. 

Times are desperate. If you want Johnson, you’ll have to spend money. Get ready to drop five to seven percent of your FAAB to get in on Johnson. If the Kupp and Nacau injuries linger, Johnson could become a long-term value addition.         

Elijah Moore (WR – CLE) | 0.8% 

You don’t have to be a fan of the Cleveland Browns offense to like what you’ve seen from Elijah Moore. The fourth-year WR out of Ole Miss has drawn 14 targets through two games this season, totaling nine catches for 53 yards. While Moore is listed as the WR3 on the Browns’ depth chart, behind fellow veterans Amari Cooper and Jerry Jeudy, it hasn’t shown in his usage and opportunity. 

Moore is currently second on the team in targets (14) and leads the team in catches (9) and route participation percentage (93.3). His Week 2 stat line (6 catches, 44 yards receiving) was good enough for 10.4 PPR fantasy points, or WR29 overall. 

There are many questions surrounding the Browns – chiefly QB Deshaun Watson’s long-term viability as a starter – and very few answers right now. However, Moore is getting volume – thanks to his mastery of short and intermediate routes – which matters most in fantasy football. 

Like most players you’re rostering off the waiver wire, Moore’s long-term viability in fantasy isn’t excellent. However, given the rash of injuries fantasy managers are trying to navigate right now, he can provide a solid flex play over the next few weeks as your roster gets healthy.  

Cleveland’s next three opponents are in the league’s bottom half in fantasy points allowed to WRs.

Drop into the waiver wire and get Moore for two to three percent of your remaining FAAB budget.        

Week 3 Waiver Wire TEs

Hunter Henry (TE – NE) | 10.1%

We weren’t supposed to be excited about any part of this 2024 New England Patriots offense. To be clear, we still aren’t, but we do have an answer to who will be the primary receiving target in this offense. 

It’s Hunter Henry. 

Through two weeks of play, Henry is outpacing the rest of the receiving corps by almost double in targets (15) and catches (10). The next closest receiver to Henry in yards (127) is the Patriots TE2, Austin Hooper (36). 

This isn’t rocket science. Henry is the proverbial WR1 in New England. You don’t have to like the offense to love the volume. 

Adding Henry to your roster is a no-brainer in a landscape devoid of TEs drawing a high target share. If you must spend 10 to 15 percent of your remaining FAAB, do it. Only a handful of TEs will get as much of their team’s target share as Henry is seeing, and you want that on your roster.  

Jonnu Smith (TE – MIA) | 2.3%

There is zero chance I will get through a season of fantasy football waiver wire articles without writing up Jonnu Smith. Somehow, someway, he always finds a way to make us believe he will be relevant. It just isn’t usually this early on in the season. Yet, here we are after a Week 2 Miami meltdown against Buffalo.

Despite the offensive meltdown that saw Hill walk away with a scant three receptions for 24 yards to add to one carry for 12 yards, Smith was a bright spot. He caught six of his seven targets for 53 yards, locking in 11.3 PPR fantasy points and finishing the week as the overall PPR TE6. 

Miami has a quarterback conundrum with Tua likely out for the foreseeable future. The aforementioned Huntley will likely come into play as the starter, but for Week 3, we are looking at Thompson behind center.

The veteran Smith provides a dynamic, versatile weapon for whichever QB is behind center in Tua’s absence. While Hill and Waddle limit his opportunities, the bar at TE is low this season. One big play, or a peppering of targets, could get you a top-12 finish from Smith.

He isn’t a hot commodity among Week 3 waiver wire targets, so drop one percent of your remaining FAAB budget if you think other managers are as savvy as you, just to be safe.        

Streaming D/STs

Chicago Bears (CHI) @ IND 

Second-year QB Anthony Richardson has been fun to watch through two weeks of the NFL season, but to say he has been elite would be a lie. Richardson’s PFF passing grade of 54.6 is 25th amongst all QBs this season, and his 4 INTs are tied with Broncos rookie Bo Nix for the most in the league through Week 2. 

The Colts draw the third-highest-rated D/ST in the league this week in the Chicago Bears. Through two games, they are tied for ninth in total sacks (6) and QBR allowed (74.8), eighth in yards allowed per game and sixth in points allowed per game (18). 

It’s too early to tell if this defense will continue this trend through the 2024 season, but it’s unlikely to change versus a young, inexperienced Colts offense.

Look for a multiple turnover and sack effort from the Chicago defense, making them a top-tier D/ST streaming option for your Week 3 fantasy football squads.        

Las Vegas Raiders (LV) vs Carolina

Bryce Young is out at QB, and veteran Andy “The Pale Squirtgun” Dalton is in. That doesn’t change the fact that Carolina’s offense is putrid.

Dalton might breathe some life into this team, but it won’t be in Week 3 on the road against a Raiders defense that just held the explosive Ravens offense to 23 points.

Maxx Crosby and Company should get Dalton rattled early and generate turnover opportunities. The Las Vegas D/ST won’t be a unit you can rely on every week, but against a ragtag Panthers team with no identity, they’re an easy fantasy football streaming option in Week 3.    

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (TB) vs DEN

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are on a roll. While a considerable part of that has been the efficiency of the offense and the resurgence of quarterback Baker Mayfield, their D/ST has also contributed to their early-season success. Through two weeks, the Bucs D/ST unit ranks eighth in total QBR allowed (72.3) and seventh in points allowed per game (18) despite having faced rookie Jayden Daniels and the high-powered Detroit Lions defense this season. 

Week 3 has Tampa Bay up against Denver and rookie QB Bo Nix, who can’t seem to get out of his own way.

Last week was a masterclass in ineptitude from Denver, where Nix added to his three Week 1 INTs with two more against the Steelers staunch D/ST.

The team has managed just one TD through two games and boasts Nix as their leading rusher (60 rushing yards) through two weeks of the season. 

This matchup screams big-time fantasy points for the Bucs D/ST. Ride them out this week, but beware: You’ll want to ditch them before their Week 4 matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Nate Polvogt is a Co-Founder and the lead senior analyst for Optimus Fantasy Football. Find more from Nate on X (formerly Twitter) @NatePolvogt and on Optimus Fantasy.   

September 17th, 2024

by Nate Polvogt

Share

If you like winning, come back every week for under-the-radar fantasy waiver wire pickups to keep you in contention until the final contest. We leave no stone unturned to ensure we give you the BEST chance to win week in and week out. Let’s get to it with our Week 3 waiver wire pickups.

Check out our Week 3 Fantasy Football Rankings ~

Fantasy managers: “Week 1 was a brutal way to start the fantasy football season.”

Week 2:” Hold my beer.”

It was that kind of week, and it started on Thursday night. The Miami Dolphins offense crapped the bed, putting up a pedestrian 10 points, with Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle combining for seven catches, 65 receiving yards and no TDs. To add insult to injury, Miami also lost QB Tua Tagovailoa and RB Jeff Wilson for an undetermined amount of time. 

Need more? Good. 49ers multi-tool Deebo Samuel will miss multiple weeks with a calf injury, Rams WR Cooper Kupp left State Farm Stadium on Sunday in a walking boot, Chiefs RB Isaiah Pacheco is heading to IR with a fractured fibula and the list goes on. 

It might feel like your options are becoming slight, but plenty of value exists. Here are my favorite low-cost additions and streaming D/STs on the Week 3 waiver wire. 

Week 3 Waiver Wire Pickups

Terms to Know:

  • PPR – Point Per Reception
  • FAAB – Free Agency Acquisition Budget
  • IR – Injured Reserve
  • FUBAR – IYKYK

 Week 3 Waiver Wire QBs

Justin Fields (QB – PIT) | 31.9%

Football feels more fun when Justin Fields is on the field, and the first two weeks of the season have given us just that. 

It isn’t always pretty. 

It isn’t always fruitful in the real world of football.

But, when it comes to fantasy football, Fields produces when he gets the chance.

The Fields-led Steelers being 2-0 is one of the bigger surprises two weeks into the 2024 season. It hasn’t been flashy or fruitful for fantasy football so far – Fields is currently the overall QB22 – but it’s worked. Fields got off to a slow start in 2022, clocking in as the overall QB31 through four weeks before finishing the season as QB6 despite missing two games down the stretch. 

Week 3 sees Pittsburgh hosting the Chargers, who have allowed a league-low 7.4 fantasy points to QBs. 

Los Angeles could be a tough matchup for Fields, but it could also force him to go off-script and play street ball, which is when he is most effective for fantasy football.

More than anything, the Steelers love winning, and Mike Tomlin will stick with what’s working. The team is 2-0 on the back of Fields, and right now, there is an opportunity to get him rostered at a discount. Hedge your bets on the athleticism and play-making ability – and drop five to seven percent of your remaining FAAB to get Fields on your squad.  

Tyler Huntley (QB – MIA) | 0.1%

Former Baltimore Ravens legend Tyler Huntley has a new home, folks. With Tagovailoa out for the foreseeable future, Miami hit free agency and snagged Huntley off the Ravens practice squad this past weekend.

Huntley won’t be the starter immediately for the Dolphins’ speedy offense, but it’s likely only a matter of time. Skylar Thompson, the current next-man-up for Miami, has logged one career start. That came back in 2022, and he completed 21 of his 30 passing attempts for 152 yards. 

While it was an admirable performance, this team has playoff aspirations, and Huntley has more experience. 

Huntley has logged nine starts, 11 total touchdowns, seven interceptions, and 509 rushing yards in four seasons. While that’s more experience than Thompson, it still isn’t much. 

The bet is on Mike McDaniel getting creative and finding ways to use Huntley’s rushing acumen.

If you have some free bench spots – who doesn’t with all the injuries – Huntley is worth an emergency stash. He’ll be free this week and likely next, but once he sees the field, his price will go up. Get your security blanket now, and save your FAAB for later.        

Week 3 Waiver Wire RBs

Jaylen Wright (RB – MIA) | 25.2%

The NFL moves fast, and Week 3 has me very high on some of the less-coveted Miami Dolphins offensive assets. Leading up to Week 1, I wouldn’t have believed you if you said I’d be telling people to roster rookie RB Jaylen Wright.

However, no one could foresee the rash of injuries in Miami and league-wide to start the season.

Wright has seen limited work so far this season, partly due to his continued recovery from a hand injury suffered at the end of last season. He was inactive in Week 1 against Jacksonville and saw five carries for four yards on Thursday night against Buffalo. 

However, despite a minimal sample size at the NFL level, Wright will likely be thrust into a more prominent role in Week 3 in Seattle. Raheem Mostert is unlikely to play despite avoiding IR thus far, and Jeff Wilson suffered an oblique injury against the Bills and did not return. Wilson may be a game-time decision, but Wright will be active and have an opportunity to earn more work. 

With Tua out indefinitely, the Miami run game will be crucial to bridging the gap and staying in contention in the AFC East. 

That makes Wright a valuable fantasy acquisition, whether as a handcuff to De’Von Achane or a stand-alone flex option down the line. 

Less than three percent of your remaining FAAB should land you a share of Wright as a solid wait-and-see bench addition.  

Cam Akers (RB – HOU) | 0.5%

The Houston Texans are legit, folks. The offseason additions of WR Stefon Diggs and RB Joe Mixon have proved fruitful, with the pair contributing three touchdowns and 298 yards of total offense. A less talked about addition, RB Cam Akers, could also have a fantasy impact on a powerful Texans team.

Akers was a highly-touted prospect heading into his rookie season, but his progress was slowed by a multitude of injuries, culminating in an Achilles tear in OTAs in 2021. Akers hasn’t been quite the same explosive back he was before the Achilles injury, which isn’t surprising. However, now three full years removed from the injury, he could find himself fantasy-relevant again. 

While Mixon has been nothing short of elite in his first two games in Houston – he is the PPR RB10 with 39 carries for 184 yards and a TD plus six catches for 44 yards – the NFL isn’t a one-back-system kind of league.

Akers isn’t going to light your roster on fire. He was inactive in Week 1 and saw seven carries for 32 yards in his season debut last week. However, with injuries piling up, getting anyone who can provide points on your roster could be the difference between a fantasy football win and a loss. Akers likely will clear your Week 3 waiver wire and be ripe for the picking on Wednesday morning.     

Week 3 Waiver Wire WRs

Tyler Johnson (WR – LAR) | 12.9%

With Kupp & Nacua set to miss extended time, Johnson is falling into opportunity. The healthy Rams WR corps consists of Johnson, Demarcus Robinson, Jordan Whittington and Tutu Atwell. Robinson and Johnson have separated themselves from the other two WRs, earning 10 targets this season. Their stat lines are nearly identical, and they now find themselves as the WR1 and WR2 in an offense that has thrown the ball almost 80 times in two games. 

While Stafford and the Rams are without their start WR duo, Tyler Johnson will get plenty of opportunities to score fantasy points. 

It’s not pretty, and Johnson is anything but a long-term solution for your fantasy football roster woes. However, Johnson will be the WR2 in a pass-forward offense for the next four to six weeks. 

Times are desperate. If you want Johnson, you’ll have to spend money. Get ready to drop five to seven percent of your FAAB to get in on Johnson. If the Kupp and Nacau injuries linger, Johnson could become a long-term value addition.         

Elijah Moore (WR – CLE) | 0.8% 

You don’t have to be a fan of the Cleveland Browns offense to like what you’ve seen from Elijah Moore. The fourth-year WR out of Ole Miss has drawn 14 targets through two games this season, totaling nine catches for 53 yards. While Moore is listed as the WR3 on the Browns’ depth chart, behind fellow veterans Amari Cooper and Jerry Jeudy, it hasn’t shown in his usage and opportunity. 

Moore is currently second on the team in targets (14) and leads the team in catches (9) and route participation percentage (93.3). His Week 2 stat line (6 catches, 44 yards receiving) was good enough for 10.4 PPR fantasy points, or WR29 overall. 

There are many questions surrounding the Browns – chiefly QB Deshaun Watson’s long-term viability as a starter – and very few answers right now. However, Moore is getting volume – thanks to his mastery of short and intermediate routes – which matters most in fantasy football. 

Like most players you’re rostering off the waiver wire, Moore’s long-term viability in fantasy isn’t excellent. However, given the rash of injuries fantasy managers are trying to navigate right now, he can provide a solid flex play over the next few weeks as your roster gets healthy.  

Cleveland’s next three opponents are in the league’s bottom half in fantasy points allowed to WRs.

Drop into the waiver wire and get Moore for two to three percent of your remaining FAAB budget.        

Week 3 Waiver Wire TEs

Hunter Henry (TE – NE) | 10.1%

We weren’t supposed to be excited about any part of this 2024 New England Patriots offense. To be clear, we still aren’t, but we do have an answer to who will be the primary receiving target in this offense. 

It’s Hunter Henry. 

Through two weeks of play, Henry is outpacing the rest of the receiving corps by almost double in targets (15) and catches (10). The next closest receiver to Henry in yards (127) is the Patriots TE2, Austin Hooper (36). 

This isn’t rocket science. Henry is the proverbial WR1 in New England. You don’t have to like the offense to love the volume. 

Adding Henry to your roster is a no-brainer in a landscape devoid of TEs drawing a high target share. If you must spend 10 to 15 percent of your remaining FAAB, do it. Only a handful of TEs will get as much of their team’s target share as Henry is seeing, and you want that on your roster.  

Jonnu Smith (TE – MIA) | 2.3%

There is zero chance I will get through a season of fantasy football waiver wire articles without writing up Jonnu Smith. Somehow, someway, he always finds a way to make us believe he will be relevant. It just isn’t usually this early on in the season. Yet, here we are after a Week 2 Miami meltdown against Buffalo.

Despite the offensive meltdown that saw Hill walk away with a scant three receptions for 24 yards to add to one carry for 12 yards, Smith was a bright spot. He caught six of his seven targets for 53 yards, locking in 11.3 PPR fantasy points and finishing the week as the overall PPR TE6. 

Miami has a quarterback conundrum with Tua likely out for the foreseeable future. The aforementioned Huntley will likely come into play as the starter, but for Week 3, we are looking at Thompson behind center.

The veteran Smith provides a dynamic, versatile weapon for whichever QB is behind center in Tua’s absence. While Hill and Waddle limit his opportunities, the bar at TE is low this season. One big play, or a peppering of targets, could get you a top-12 finish from Smith.

He isn’t a hot commodity among Week 3 waiver wire targets, so drop one percent of your remaining FAAB budget if you think other managers are as savvy as you, just to be safe.        

Streaming D/STs

Chicago Bears (CHI) @ IND 

Second-year QB Anthony Richardson has been fun to watch through two weeks of the NFL season, but to say he has been elite would be a lie. Richardson’s PFF passing grade of 54.6 is 25th amongst all QBs this season, and his 4 INTs are tied with Broncos rookie Bo Nix for the most in the league through Week 2. 

The Colts draw the third-highest-rated D/ST in the league this week in the Chicago Bears. Through two games, they are tied for ninth in total sacks (6) and QBR allowed (74.8), eighth in yards allowed per game and sixth in points allowed per game (18). 

It’s too early to tell if this defense will continue this trend through the 2024 season, but it’s unlikely to change versus a young, inexperienced Colts offense.

Look for a multiple turnover and sack effort from the Chicago defense, making them a top-tier D/ST streaming option for your Week 3 fantasy football squads.        

Las Vegas Raiders (LV) vs Carolina

Bryce Young is out at QB, and veteran Andy “The Pale Squirtgun” Dalton is in. That doesn’t change the fact that Carolina’s offense is putrid.

Dalton might breathe some life into this team, but it won’t be in Week 3 on the road against a Raiders defense that just held the explosive Ravens offense to 23 points.

Maxx Crosby and Company should get Dalton rattled early and generate turnover opportunities. The Las Vegas D/ST won’t be a unit you can rely on every week, but against a ragtag Panthers team with no identity, they’re an easy fantasy football streaming option in Week 3.    

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (TB) vs DEN

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are on a roll. While a considerable part of that has been the efficiency of the offense and the resurgence of quarterback Baker Mayfield, their D/ST has also contributed to their early-season success. Through two weeks, the Bucs D/ST unit ranks eighth in total QBR allowed (72.3) and seventh in points allowed per game (18) despite having faced rookie Jayden Daniels and the high-powered Detroit Lions defense this season. 

Week 3 has Tampa Bay up against Denver and rookie QB Bo Nix, who can’t seem to get out of his own way.

Last week was a masterclass in ineptitude from Denver, where Nix added to his three Week 1 INTs with two more against the Steelers staunch D/ST.

The team has managed just one TD through two games and boasts Nix as their leading rusher (60 rushing yards) through two weeks of the season. 

This matchup screams big-time fantasy points for the Bucs D/ST. Ride them out this week, but beware: You’ll want to ditch them before their Week 4 matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Nate Polvogt is a Co-Founder and the lead senior analyst for Optimus Fantasy Football. Find more from Nate on X (formerly Twitter) @NatePolvogt and on Optimus Fantasy.   

By Published On: September 17th, 2024

Related Posts

  • Hey folks! We cannot understate the importance of being in on Week 13’s waiver wire players early while the free agency acquisition budget (FAAB) price is cheapest (or free!), so you can add them to your roster. This is not just for adding them to your roster so your league mates don’t get them first; […]

  • Every week, Kacey Kasem will bring you WR2s primed to exceed their slot in the weekly WR fantasy rankings and could help bolster your chances at fantasy football glory. With Thanksgiving sneaking up on us, it’s time to think about the foods, the football, and, of course, the fantasy implications. Let’s be real: Thanksgiving isn’t […]

  • If you like winning, come back every week for under-the-radar fantasy waiver wire pickups to keep you in contention until the final contest. We leave no stone unturned to ensure we give you the BEST chance to win week in and week out. Let’s get to it with our Week 12 waiver wire pickups. It’s […]

  • Sometimes, when I tell someone about my family dynamic, it strikes them as peculiar. “Are you and your wife going to have any more kids?” Absolutely not. One sixth grader is enough, and we have a mountain of cats—five of them. Add in our frenetic border collie, Rosie, and the house is full. My parents […]

  • Hey folks! We cannot understate the importance of being in on Week 12 waiver wire players early while the free agency acquisition budget (FAAB) price is cheapest (or free!), so you can add them to your roster. This is not just for adding them to your roster so your league mates don’t get them first; […]

  • Every week, Kacey Kasem will bring you WR2s primed to exceed their slot in the weekly WR fantasy rankings and could help bolster your chances at fantasy football glory. Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and I’m all about savoring the season before the Christmas rush kicks in. I’m not one of those people who […]

  • The holiday season is underway. I say this with confidence because November’s arrival ushers in auto-rejections to any time-off requests as a retail employee. It’s a timeless tradition where work-life balance is shelved for bending to consumerism’s staggering demands. Every year, I promise myself it will be my last in the suffocating, anxiety-riddled suck. It […]

  • Hey folks! We cannot understate the importance of being in on Week 11 waiver wire players early while the free agency acquisition budget (FAAB) price is cheapest (or free!), so you can add them to your roster. This is not just for adding them to your roster so your league mates don’t get them first; […]

  • Every week, Kacey Kasem will bring you WR2s primed to exceed their slot in the weekly WR fantasy rankings and could help bolster your chances at fantasy football glory. Thanks for checking out The WR2 Radar each week! Writing this series has been one of my favorite parts of the season. I love diving into […]

  • The fantasy football playoffs are mere weeks away, and squaring away your rosters is becoming more critical. Here are the top Week 9 Waiver Wire QBs and how to approach them before locking in your claims ahead of Wednesday morning. 

  • The fantasy football playoffs are mere weeks away, and squaring away your rosters is becoming more critical. Here are the top Week 10 Waiver Wire QBs and how to approach them before locking in your claims ahead of Wednesday morning. 

  • Unless you asked me a direct question about food or sports, I was a child who was very shy around adults. Fighting a reputation for being “rude” to small-town folks because I couldn’t even muster please and thank you on Halloween or at the grocery store was tough. The best way to hone interpersonal communication […]

  • Hey folks! We cannot understate the importance of being in on Week 10 waiver wire players early while the free agency acquisition budget (FAAB) price is cheapest (or free!), so you can add them to your roster. This is not just for adding them to your roster so your league mates don’t get them first; […]