With two weeks of the 2023 fantasy football season down, you probably have an idea as to what type of roster you have for the season. However, your Week 3 waiver wire pickups can help you get over that hump or even compound your early season success.
Puka Nacua has been the waiver wire darling this season so far, but his rostership is quite high, and he likely is not sitting out for the taking in many leagues anymore. Neither is Nico Collins, the clear WR1 for the Houston Texans who has a great relationship with rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud.
As always, the following list includes players that are rostered on fewer than 50 percent of all ESPN rosters, making the chances you can pick them up pretty high. With some big injuries taking place in Week 2, there's no better time than right now to upgrade your roster, so let's dive into the list.
10. Tony Jones Jr., New Orleans Saints – RB
0.1% Rostered
After Jamaal Williams went down with a hamstring injury, the New Orleans Saints had to turn to Tony Jones Jr. to be their lead running back. After scoring two touchdowns, it looks like the backfield should be Jones' for their Week 3 tilt against the Green Bay Packers. With Alvin Kamara needing to serve one more game of his suspension and rookie Kendre Miller still not healthy enough to make his NFL debut, Jones looks to be the starter for at least Week 3, making him a worthy streaming option on the waiver wire.
9. Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers – QB
39.8% Rostered
Speaking of Green Bay, their quarterback looks to be quite comfortable leading this team to a 1-1 record to start the year. With Jordan Love playing turnover-free ball across his first two starts this year, it’s very possible that he has QB1 potential this season.
Love's game is going to be reliant on scoring touchdowns, as he doesn’t seem like a high-yardage QB in the Packers run-heavy offensive scheme so far. But as long as he takes care of the ball, you should have Love in your waiver wire pickups before Week 3.
8. Justice Hill, Baltimore Ravens – RB
30.1% Rostered
There still is no established leader in the Baltimore Ravens running back as they look to replace J.K. Dobbins, but Justice Hill was utilized just as much as Gus Edwards in Week 2. A two-man attack looks to be how Baltimore is operating right now, which caps Hill’s ceiling, but still making him a relevant fantasy player.
11 carries and 3 receptions is a healthy usage for Hill, and while Edwards earned the lone touchdown between the two (more on him later), Hill was the only back to earn any sort of receiving work in their win over the Cincinnati Bengals.
7. Tutu Atwell, Los Angeles Rams – WR
31.7% Rostered
With the Los Angeles Rams still without Cooper Kupp, it has been the Puka Nacua show through the first two weeks of the season. But Tutu Atwell has been forgotten a bit, and his target share with Matthew Stafford has been pretty strong as well.
The Rams will likely be thrust into playing from behind a good chunk of the season, and Atwell finally looks to be holding down a solid role in their offense. When Kupp returns, it’s possible that his role will diminish, but that’s a down-the-road problem that your roster doesn’t need to worry about right now.
6. Tank Dell, Houston Texans – WR
3.8% Rostered
Welcome to a new age where the Houston Texans boast two wide receivers who are relevant in the fantasy football landscape – and one is a rookie. Tank Dell was touted by C.J. Stroud pre-draft, even going as far as advocating to the front office for them to draft him.
Flash forward to this season, and Stroud has established solid connections with Nico Collins, Robert Woods, and Dell, with the latter being the speediest option of the bunch. While Collins will likely lead the receiver room most weeks, it’s Dell who could give you enough boom weeks as your WR4/5.
5. Matt Breida, New York Giants – RB
1.1% Rostered
In the final minutes of the New York Giants come from behind win over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, Saquon Barkley limped off the field with an ankle injury, which ultimately was confirmed to be a sprained ankle. With Barkley out for likely the next two or three games, the next man up is Matt Breida.
The long-time veteran has been a fill-in for previous Barkley injuries and has done alright, so temper your expectations. If Joshua Kelley’s performance in relief of Austin Ekeler for the Los Angeles Chargers this past week was any sign for how not to trust backup running backs with a ton of volume, then tread cautiously with Breida.
Ultimately, the volume alone for Breida makes him a pickup, even if you don’t start him confidently on a short week against the San Francisco 49ers.
4. Sam LaPorta, Detroit Lions – TE
49.5% Rostered
Our third and final rookie on this week’s waiver wire pickups list is Sam LaPorta, a safety blanket tight end for the Detroit Lions that Jared Goff has regularly targeted. LaPorta entered a tight end room devoid of talent after last season’s trade of T.J. Hockenson, so there will be plenty of opportunities for LaPorta to continue to take advantage of as the season goes on.
3. Gus Edwards, Baltimore Ravens – RB
32.0% Rostered
Back comes Gus Edwards for our waiver wire pickups list, and again he is near the top of it. While not having stood out more than Justice Hill, Edwards was the beneficiary of a goal-line touchdown against the Bengals, something that stands out more than the receiving work that Hill received.
Again, don’t use a ton of FAAB on any of the two Baltimore running backs – there is far too much uncertainty at this point to know which option to trust the most. For now, Edwards has the higher ceiling if he continues to earn the goal-line touches, but even that is still undecided.
2. Zack Moss, Indianapolis Colts – RB
32.1% Rostered
Welcome back, Zack Moss! The backup who stepped up when Jonathan Taylor was hurt last season, Moss now steps back into the lead-back role amidst Taylor’s injury and holdout. In his first game back from a now-healed broken arm, Moss was the clear lead back, taking 22 total touches (18 carries) for over 100 yards and a rushing TD.
Facing a few tougher rushing defenses over the next few weeks (Ravens, Rams, Tennessee Titans) may not give Moss the same kind of output as he got in Week 2, but if you need running back depth, he should be near the top of your waiver wire pickups this week.
1. Jerome Ford, Cleveland Browns – RB
9.1% Rostered
An unfortunate injury to Nick Chubb that looks pretty serious means that Jerome Ford is in line to take over as the lead running back, potentially for the rest of the season. Having found the end zone once and rushing for 106 yards, Ford is the lead back until a veteran (potential Kareem Hunt reunion?) is brought in for competition.
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