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With so many injuries surrounding key fantasy players, you may find yourself digging deeper on the waiver wire than you ever expected heading into the third week of the season. Here are five players to consider adding from the waiver wire heading into Week 3 if you’re in a pinch due to injury.
QB Carson Wentz, Minnesota Vikings
Kevin O’Connell’s offense has consistently provided good fantasy QB production, from Kirk Cousins to Sam Darnold to even Joshua Dobbs and Nick Mullen in spot starts. Wentz has scored 22-plus fantasy points in four of his eight starts with 20-plus passing attempts since 2022, including a 26-point performance in his last start (Week 18, 2023 with the Los Angeles Rams). The Vikings should be getting a significant upgrade to their offensive line this Week with left tackle Christian Darrisaw expected to make his season debut. Wentz gets a good matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals’ defense, which allowed Trevor Lawrence to pass for 271 yards and three touchdowns last weekend. It won’t be pretty, but if you need to grab a quarterback on waivers to start in Week 3, Wentz has a good shot to be a top-12 fantasy producer.
Available in 97% of ESPN leagues and 95% of Yahoo! Leagues.
RB Tyler Allgeier, Atlanta Falcons
Most fantasy rankings will have Bijan Robinson as their RB1 for Week 3; however, there is plenty of room for both Robinson and Allgeier to have a big day. The Carolina Panthers have allowed the most fantasy points and rushing yards to running backs since the start of the 2024 season. In their two matchups against the Panthers last year, Robinson averaged 139 scrimmage yards and 28.4 fantasy points per game, while Allegier averaged 88.5 scrimmage yards and 14.4 fantasy points per game.
Allgeier has been involved in the Falcons’ backfield this season, seeing double-digit carries in both of the first two weeks. The Falcons’ Week 3 game script could be similar to their Week 2 matchup against the Vikings, who allowed Allgeier to stack up rushing yards while he closed out the game with a big lead in the fourth quarter.
Available in 63% of ESPN leagues and 62% of Yahoo! Leagues.
RB Kyle Monangai, Chicago Bears
Bears’ starting running back D’Andre Swift is dealing with a groin injury that has limited him in practice this week and could keep him out or limited in their Week 3 game. If Swift misses the game or is unable to take on a full workload, Monangai would be the next man up. There were multiple reports throughout the summer that Monangai was impressive at Bears’ training camp, and he has been playing as Swift’s backup through the first two weeks, even with Roschon Johnson active in Week 2. Monangai saw his snap share increase from 13.4% in Week 1 to 41% in Week 2 — he received eight touches for 26 yards last weekend.
If Monangai sees an increased workload this weekend, he could have a big game against the Dallas Cowboys‘ weak defense. The Cowboys allowed Cameron Skattebo and Tyrone Tracy Jr. to combine for 23 fantasy points against them in Week 2 and Saquon Barkley to score 18.4 points against them in Week 1.
Available in 95% of ESPN leagues and 92% of Yahoo! Leagues.
WR Calvin Austin III, Pittsburgh Steelers
Austin has played on 87% of the Steelers’ offensive snaps this season – he and DK Metcalf are the only wide receivers on the team to play on at least 30% snaps or have three or more targets through the first two weeks. Austin already has one great fantasy performance under his belt this season, finishing with 70 receiving yards and a touchdown for 17 fantasy points in Week 1 against the New York Jets.
Steelers receivers have an excellent matchup this weekend against the New England Patriots, who have allowed the second-most receiving yards per game and fantasy points to the wide receiver this season. No team has allowed more receptions of 20-plus yards to wide receivers this season than the Patriots, while Austin leads the Steelers with three receptions of 20-plus yards. The Patriots have already allowed three wide receivers to score 17-plus fantasy points against them through the first two weeks (Jaylen Waddle, Tyreek Hill and Jakobi Meyers).
Available in 89% of ESPN leagues and 83% of Yahoo! Leagues.
WR Elic Ayomanor, Tennessee Titans
Ayomanor fell to the fourth round of the 2025 NFL draft after being considered a potential first-round pick entering his final season at Stanford. Unfortunately, Stanford’s struggling offense last season didn’t allow Ayomanor to put up big numbers, which led to his slide in the draft. He offers good size, speed and body control to be a good receiver in the NFL, and he is already proving that over his first weeks in the league.
Ayomanor leads all rookie wide receivers with a 23.2% team target share this season and has had at least six targets in both games — with a solid 56-yard and one-touchdown performance in Week 2.
Ayomanor gets a favorable matchup this Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts, who are dealing with injuries in their secondary — Jaylon Jones is on injured reserve and Charvarius Ward is currently in concussion protocol. With these injuries, Ayomanor should see a heavy dose of Xavien Howard in coverage, and he gave up a lot of big plays to Denver Broncos’ receivers last weekend.
Available in 81% of ESPN leagues and 81% of Yahoo! Leagues.
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