We are three full weeks into the 2025 NFL season, and with that, you are three weeks into your fantasy football season. Plenty of standout performances from key players, as well as goose eggs from highly-drafted players, has made this season tough to predict thus far.
The depth of your fantasy football roster is already being tested, as a plethora of quarterbacks have already missed time this season. All major offensive positions have been hit by injuries so far this season, as the quarterback (Joe Burrow), running back (James Conner), wide receiver (CeeDee Lamb), and tight end (George Kittle) spots have all had key players go down.
The following list includes players (except one) who are rostered on fewer than 50 percent of all ESPN rosters, making the chances you can pick them up pretty high. Heading into Week 4, try your best to button up the edges of your roster as you look to start the season strong.
Week 4 Waiver Wire Pickups
1. RB Trey Benson, Arizona Cardinals
54.8% Rostered
Trey Benson kicks off our Week 4 waiver wire pickups, and he technically is breaking the only rule of this article, as he is rostered on more than 50 percent of ESPN teams. However, with James Conner going down for the rest of the season with a foot injury, Benson skyrockets up the RB rankings and becomes a league winner for you to target.
Even when Conner was healthy, Benson was still seeing work, so he has already been a valuable part of the Arizona Cardinals' offense. Expecting Benson to slide into 100 percent of Conner’s workload right off the bat isn’t realistic, but expecting 15-plus touches from the former Florida State running back on a weekly basis is, presenting solid value for your fantasy football roster.
2. WR Elic Ayomanor, Tennessee Titans
21.1 Rostered
Rookie Elic Ayomanor was at the bottom of the Week 3 waiver wire pickups, but he has strung together two consecutive weeks with a touchdown, elevating him into the top wide receiver spot this week. While trusting members of the Tennessee Titans offense can be a tough pill to swallow, it is clear that the Calvin Ridley experiment is struggling to get off the ground, as rookie Cam Ward prefers Ayomanor.
Another week, another TD for Elic Ayomanor. You love to see it. pic.twitter.com/tafvYdb5hG
— Wyatt 🥃 (@WyattB_FF) September 21, 2025
The Stanford rookie has caught a touchdown in back-to-back weeks and has been the lone bright spot in TEN’s passing attack, having earned at least five targets in each of his first three career games.
3. RB Bhayshul Tuten, Jacksonville Jaguars
48.1% Rostered
Another rookie, Bhayshul Tuten, finds himself in these Week 4 waiver wire pickups, as he has looked the part as the RB2 for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Playing second fiddle behind Travis Etienne, Tuten scored his second-career touchdown this past week, the first of his career on the ground, as he has now earned six-plus carries in back-to-back contests.
Tuten earned a valuable red-zone touch, as he plunged into the end zone from a yard out for his TD in Week 3. While he still ranks behind Etienne in both rushing and receiving work, look for Tuten to continue to carve out a fantasy-relevant role as he looks to grow into an RB3 option that you should target for your fantasy football roster.
4. WR Troy Franklin, Denver Broncos
49.4% Rostered
While a two-catch, eight-yard performance is nothing to be excited about, it is the consistent workload for Troy Franklin that should excite you. His WR2 role looks to be growing more concrete as the weeks go on, as the former Oregon Duck wideout logged a 79-percent snap share and ran 28 routes, tying Courtland Sutton for the team lead.
The passing attack for the Denver Broncos is struggling a bit to start the season, but as Bo Nix looks to use his rookie season as a stepping stone, Franklin’s consistency will improve as well. Target him now before he becomes a weekly flex piece for someone else.
5. WR Tre Tucker, Las Vegas Raiders
2.0% Rostered
The biggest surprise of Week 3 was Tre Tucker, who caught all three of Geno Smith’s passing touchdowns this past week on his way to an eight-catch, 145-yard performance. It was easily Tucker’s best showing of the 2025 season, as he looks to solidify himself as one of the top pass catchers for the Raiders.
Outside of Tucker, you expect Jakobi Meyers and Brock Bowers to command a major target share in the passing game, but Tucker has had a consistent role this season too. Tucker has earned 20 targets so far and has four touchdowns as well, and a Week 4 matchup against a maligned Chicago Bears secondary should give Tucker another shot at a good game.
6. QB Geno Smith, Las Vegas Raiders
27.7% Rostered
The second member of the Raiders offense in the Week 4 waiver wire pickups is Smith, who is also the only quarterback to make the list this week. While there are turnover concerns with Smith (four interceptions in his first two games), the Raiders will likely need to throw the ball a ton this year, giving Smith a solid leg to stand on.
In his Week 3 matchup with the Washington Commanders, Smith threw for three touchdowns and 289 yards, and he had his first turnover-free contest of 2025. With key injuries hitting the QB position hard so far this year, you can turn to Smith for the next few weeks in a pinch as an upside QB2 play.
7. RB Woody Marks, Houston Texans
8.9% Rostered
The backfield for the Texans is lacking a ton of punch with Joe Mixon without a timetable to return. While Nick Chubb holds down the starting role for the time being, USC rookie Woody Marks has started to carve out a valuable role in the HOU offense.
Marks has earned three, four, and seven touches across each of his first three weeks, and his snap percentages have increased each week as well. Game script that leans more pass-heavy naturally is more beneficial for Marks, but his six carries in Week 3 went for 27 yards, averaging a healthy 4.5 yards per carry. Chubb is doing well as the in-between-the-tackles runner but offers little outside of that, which is exactly where Marks fits in.
8. TE Chig Okonkwo, Tennessee Titans
15.1% Rostered
As was mentioned previously in the section about Ayomanor, trusting players in the Titans offense can be a bit unsettling. However, as they look to be playing from behind more often than not, players like tight end Chig Okonkwo can offer up some under-the-radar value this season.
Especially in point-per-reception formats, Okonkwo presents a safer floor than some of his fellow tight ends. Having earned a top-10 target share among the TE position so far in 2025, target Okonkwo if your roster needs a better option at tight end.
9. WR Luther Burden III, Chicago Bears
9.3% Rostered
Head coach Ben Johnson looks to be a man of his word when talking about rookie wideout Luther Burden III, as Johnson did say they wanted to get the Mizzou rookie more involved in the offense. Burden had his first breakout game of his young career, hauling in three catches for 101 yards and his first career touchdown.
The Bears have an impressive set of receivers around Caleb Williams, and even though Burden has been overshadowed by both DJ Moore and Rome Odunze, Week 3 was the first look at how all three can co-exist, something that hopefully will continue this year.
10. WR Tory Horton, Seattle Seahawks
1.1% Rostered
The final member of the Week 4 waiver wire pickups is another rookie wide receiver, as Tory Horton racked up two touchdowns against the New Orleans Saints in Seattle’s Week 4 win. Horton returned a punt 95 yards for a score and hauled in a 14-yard pass from Sam Darnold for his second touchdown of the game.
Horton’s impressive start to his career puts him in unique territory, as he is one of only three players to have multiple receiving touchdowns and a return touchdown through his first three career games.
