Frey’s Fantasy Focus: Week 3 Waiver Wire Pickups
Josh Frey
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If you’re stuck in an 0-2 rut in your fantasy football league, or you just got the living hell beaten out of you this week (ahem, like me), you’re probably looking for some fresh, new faces to add your squad. Luckily, there are plenty of guys still available across the board. Here are just a few players to consider adding to this weekend’s lineup, and in parentheses will be their roster percentage in ESPN leagues.
RB Cordarrelle Patterson (44.1%)
The importance of Cordarrelle Patterson in the Atlanta Falcons offense is undeniable. He has gotten consistent carries alongside Mike Davis, but more important are his receptions out of the backfield. The jack-of-all-trades has gotten seven carries in each of the first two games, and last week he caught six passes for 58 yards.
The veteran RB is a touchdown threat every week at this point, but especially so against this New York Giants defense. New York has given up nine red zone attempts already this season, the third-most in the NFL. Especially in PPR leagues, Patterson is set to have a massive week.
QB Kirk Cousins (29.7%)
This may be the last chance for a lot of people to be early on this, so if you want to make a move on the Vikings QB, now is the time. Despite Minnesota being 0-2, Cousins has had a fabulous start to 2021, passing for 595 yards, five TDs, and no INTs. He’s also eclipsed 22 fantasy points in each of the first two games.
This week, he and the Vikings offense get a very favorable matchup against a Seattle defense that on its own isn’t elite, and even more so after getting beaten up by Derrick Henry last Sunday. In addition, each of the last two games played between these teams have been shootouts, so history is on Cousins’ side as well.
Raiders D/ST (12.1%)
Las Vegas’ defense has not put up outstanding fantasy numbers to this point in the year, but they’ve also gone up against two quality playoff contenders in Baltimore and Pittsburgh. Even with the lackluster point outputs, they’re doing things you like to see out of a fantasy defense. They’ve gotten multiple sacks in each of the last two weeks and have forced three turnovers.
This week they aren’t going up against nearly as much offensive firepower, either. They get the Miami Dolphins at home after they just lost their starting quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa, to fractured ribs. This offense probably won’t be putting up massive yardage or point totals on the board this week, so the Raiders are a quality streaming option.
TE Dan Arnold (0.8%)
If you’re feeling lucky, this is the flyer of the week. After a week one matchup against the Jets where he did diddly squat, Dan Arnold had a very productive day against the Saints. He caught three of four targets for 55 yards, and he has taken the TE1 lead in Carolina.
It’s definitely a risky choice given that Ian Thomas is still around. That said, Carolina’s offense looked decent against the Saints this past weekend, and their next matchup is against the Houston Texans who just gave up 107 yards to Cleveland’s tight ends. This is a good chance to jump on a player at a thin position.