Week 3 is in the books, and if you're 2-1 or better, you have to be feeling pretty good out of the gate. Some high draft picks are panning out - LeSean McCoy, how you doing? - and some are probably killing you; Arian Foster, anyone?
But hey, enough patting yourself on the back. You gotta turn the page, son! It's time to focus on Week 4, and the six must have waiver pickups for your team.
Bilal Powell
Coming into the season, we all figured the Jets to be a mess. We also figured that Chris Ivory would be the one dependable cog in the broken machine, toting the rock 20-25 times a game in attempt to keep the raft afloat, MJD-style. Nope.
Under the surprisingly competent guidance of Geno Smith, the Jets have turned out how to be decent, with several rosterable fantasy options in tow. The top pick should be Bilal Powell; he's not the most talented runner in the world, but he's clearly taken over as the #1 option and despite all logic otherwise, Mornhinweg seems to favor a more balanced attack than ever before. Powell will never be higher than a Flex, but he'll be a solid option on bye weeks and against weaker matchups, starting with next week in Tennessee.
(Note: This is under the assumption that there is no chance Fred Jackson is available in your league. If he is, go there now. Now!)
Ryan Broyles
Here is what I wrote about Nate Burleson, pre-pizza:
Old man football keeps doing it, week after week. While it's likely true that last week was the week to pick him up - after all, no secondary is worse than the Redskins - Nate Burleson is getting WR2 targets on a team that throws the ball like it's in the arena league.
Megatron will obviously get his, but in the absence of a true third option stepping up - Reggie Bush is hurt, Joique Bell is competent but not great, Ryan Broyles isn't back to form - Burleson is a safe bet to put up flex-able yards week in and week out. I wouldn't expect anything monstrous, but if you need 7-10 points to fill out your roster and avoid a Bowe-esque bagel, there are worse options.
(Note: Last week, I said to pick up DeAndre Hopkins. If you didn't and he's still available for some reason, take him first. The same goes for Kendall Wright.)
Now that Burleson is likely out for the next six weeks due to breaking his arm, it's time for Broyles to show what he can do in the slot for Detroit. He may not be up to complete form, but he's got a much higher upside than Burleson had. He's a must-add in all formats.
Isaiah Pead
Not a lot of depth available on the RB waivers, is there?
First things first: don't do anything stupid like add Chris Ogbonnaya. Now that we've gotten that out of the way, let's do something a bit speculative and look at Isaiah Pead.
The Rams are in disarray, that much is pretty clear. It's also clear that while Daryl Richardson was the workhorse back prior to this week, he just re-injured his foot and may be out for a significant amount of time; not to mention there was already some question to how long he would stay RB1 with higher-upside backs like Pead and Zac Stacy hanging around. Either way, Pead lead all Rams backs with 42 total snaps in Week 3, and while his production didn't burn up the charts, he's got a decent enough path to RB1 to make him an intriguing option for deeper leagues and GMs playing the upside game.
If you're in a PPR league and you're really, really desperate to get something together quickly, you can consider Brandon Bolden to be a poor man's Danny Woodhead; look at him if the actual Danny Woodhead isn't available. Both are capable in a pinch for 0.5 PPR leagues and above, but they'll never have the week-by-week startability potential of Pead.
Brian Hartline
I wanted to wait another week on him, but damn if he isn't pulling the old Greg Camarillo "8 targets, 6 catches, PPR gold" routine on us. With Mike Wallace remaining the focus on the opposing defense, Brian Hartline is the dependable, third-down option with occasional bursts of downfield goodness.
I wouldn't view him as anything higher than a WR4, but with 6-8 targets every week, he's definitely playable in PPR leagues and he's also a great start against the Saints next week; I smell a sell-high trade opportunity brewing.
Stephen Hill
I'm not going to spend a ton of time on this one, because I don't expect Geno Smith to perform like he did again this season. Still, someone is going to have to be the WR1 in that offense - like I alluded to earlier, Mornhinweg loves to throw - and Santonio Holmes (too old), Jeremy Kerley (too injury-prone), and Braylon Edwards (too no longer in the league) aren't the answers. Stephen Hill just might be.
Best case here is a high-upside WR3/Flex that is borderline startable on bye weeks and in good matchups - his home run ability also carries strong weight in yardage-bonus and big-play bonus leagues. That doesn't seem like writing a paragraph about, but frankly waivers are meant to find replacements for your fringe, not your main guys.
Ryan Tannehill
Two QBs impressed me quite a bit this past week: Ryan Tannehill and Jake Locker. Both played excellent and both shows quite a bit of skills development from the last time we saw them. I think it's time to start to roster them for their upside and their continued growth, and bench the underperforming, you-know-what-they-are likes of Eli Manning, Ben Roethlisberger, and Joe Flacco.
I'm giving Tannehill the nod this week simply for matchup reasons; he's going to have to throw to beat the Saints in New Orleans, and beyond that, home vs. Baltimore and home vs. Buffalo are quite juicy as well. He's very much in play for a sell-high trade if you get him now and wait for a QB1 to get injured.
Maybe next week: Jason Snelling, Brandon Bolden, Jacquizz Rodgers, Jake Locker, LeGarrette Blount, Danny Woodhead
Better luck tomorrow: Santonio Holmes, Donnie Avery, Nate Washington, Jason Avant, Geno Smith, Scott Chandler, Luke Wilson