Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Week 3: Elic Ayomanor and Troy Franklin break out

The waiver wire is lively heading into Week 3 with breakout wide receivers at every turn. As always, every player I list here is available in over half of all Yahoo leagues unless otherwise noted.

Quarterback

Daniel Jones, Colts

The breakout quarterback of 2025 kept the ball rolling in Week 2 with 316 yards and one score through the air plus a goal line touchdown on the ground. Jones currently has the second-most carries inside the five, trailing only Josh Allen. His 588 passing yards trail only…Russell Wilson. Colts coach Shane Steichen is making things easy for Jones with a high rate of RPO and play-action looks. The Colts are fourth in the league in play-action dropbacks and seventh in YPA (10.3) on these plays. Jones did more than survive his tough matchup with the Broncos. Now he gets a date with the Titans for Week 3.

Jake Browning, Bengals

Joe Burrow is undergoing surgery on his foot after suffering a severe turf toe injury in Week 1. He is expected to be sidelined for three months, making Browning a must-add in Superflex and 2QB leagues.

Per usual, Zac Taylor made life easy on his backup on Sunday. Browning threw to his first read on 23-of-33 attempts. He averaged 7.2 YPA on these throws and both of his touchdowns (plus two interceptions) came on his first-read throws. Taylor also dials up a healthy screen game for Browning whenever he starts, creating more easy-button attempts for the understudy quarterback. Browning will settle in as a QB2 for the foreseeable future.

Mac Jones, 49ers

Kyle Shanahan got away with it again. Jones threw for 279 yards and three scores with no picks in his first start as a 49er. Jones ranks 10th in EPA per dropback on the week heading into Monday Night Football. Brock Purdy looks unlikely to play in Week 3 and could be out for a few more weeks beyond that. Jones looks like a capable point guard in a kingmaker scheme for players of his ilk.

Russell Wilson, Giants

If you’re desperate, Wilson has to be in consideration as a dart-throw streamer. The Giants have a +7% pass rate over expected through two weeks. Only three quarterbacks have more dropbacks than Russ. Wilson is in DGAF mode with a 12.0 average depth of target. Only Jordan Love is pushing the ball farther down the field. Wilson is playing in a way that is wildly conducive to scoring fantasy points. Sometimes he will get there like he did in Week 2 with 31.3 points. Sometimes he will implode, as he did in Week 1 with 11.1. His upcoming date with the Chiefs looks like the latter, but Wilson at least has a ceiling.

Running Back

Rookie Roundup

The following players have roster rates in Yahoo leagues between 50 and 65 percent. I normally avoid writing about players rostered in over half of leagues, but this group deserves some recognition. Cam Skattebo seemingly overtook Tyrone Tracy Jr. last week, out-carrying him 11-5. He ran for 45 yards and a score, making him the top add of the week if he’s available. Fellow rookie Bhashyul Tuten earned 10 touches with Tank Bigsby gone. He’s still firmly behind Travis Etienne but should be rostered in all formats. Quinshon Judkins returned to action and out-carried his backups 10-5. Trey Benson, the lone “veteran” of the group, has forced a committee with James Conner, giving him some slight standalone value and elite contingent upside.

Jeremy McNichols, Commanders

Now we’re on to players available in a majority of Yahoo leagues. McNichols is the top add from this group. Austin Ekeler suffered a torn Achilles in Week 2, leaving his pass-catching role up for grabs. Pro Football Focus’s expected fantasy points tool has Ekeler with the third-most expected receiving yards among running backs based on his usage. That is despite leaving Week 2 early. McNichols was already pitching in for some infrequent work on passing plays before Ekeler went down. Now he is in line to fully consume Ekeler’s role.

Blake Corum, Rams

Corum doesn’t have a fantasy-viable standalone role, but he is seeing the field more in his second season. His 30 percent snap share in Week 2 was the second-highest of his career. He saw five carries and looked like a powerful complement to Kyren Williams on his limited work, averaging 8.8 YPC. He also punched in a short touchdown. No other LA backup saw a snap in Week 2. Corum would likely take over Williams’ role if anything happens to the veteran runner.

Tyler Allgeier, Falcons

Allgeier has double-digit touches in back-to-back games to start the year. The Falcons are committed to a ground-heavy approach, logging a pass rate over expected of -7% through two weeks.

They are fourth in rush attempts per game. Allgeier was on cleanup duty in Week 2 and posted a 16/74/1 rushing line. Even as the clear RB2 in the backfield, Atlanta’s weekly rushing output has given Allgeier some fantasy potential. A date with the Panthers in Week 3 will keep him in the FLEX ranks.

Kyle Monangai, Bears

The rookie did not see a carry in Week 1 and upped his attempts total to seven in Week 2, albeit with six of his attempts coming on Chicago’s final two drives with Tyson Bagent under center. Still, D’Andre Swift coughed up a fumble in this game and is currently PFF’s lowest-graded running back with at least 15 totes. Monangai showed well in camp and could see his workload increase sooner rather than later.

Wide Receiver

Wan’Dale Robinson, Giants

There’s a truckload of viable receivers to talk about this week, so I’ll be keeping things brief to make room for as many as I can. Robinson ranked 11th in targets among receivers last year and currently sits at 14th with 18 total looks. His aDOT of 10.4 is up tremendously from 4.8 in 2024. He was exclusively a PPR scam in 2024 but is now looking like a legit wide receiver. He’s scoring like one too. Robinson went 8/142/1 in Week 2. The Giants’ difficult schedule will keep them in negative game script for most of the year, juicing the fantasy stats of Robinson and Malik Nabers.

Troy Franklin, Broncos

In Week 2, the second-year wideout from Oregon led the Broncos in:

• Routes – 31 (86 percent route rate)
• Targets – 9 (29 percent target share)
• Catches – 8
• Yards – 89

Franklin also scored a touchdown and added an 11-yard carry to his box score. Franklin appears to have locked up a starting role in the Broncos’ offense and Sean Payton is no longer rotating his WR2 and WR3 positions. That puts Franklin on a breakout path.

Elic Ayomanor, Titans

Ayomanor didn’t have quite the same target-commanding role as Franklin in Week 2, but he’s also on the right trajectory. The rookie paced Tennessee with six targets and a 22 percent target share, both of which were tied with Calvin Ridley. He also dialed back his aDOT to 11.5. Ayomanor’s weekly output will be far more stable if he continues to mix in more intermediate looks instead of seeing exclusively deep shots like he did in Week 1.

Hunter Renfrow, Panthers

Renfrow saw nine targets in Week 1, though that was only good for a 17 percent target share because of the absurd passing volume thrust upon Bryce Young. Renfrow also saw just 19 percent of the team’s air yards, but he accounted for a third of the red zone targets with five such opportunities. Renfrow cashed in with a pair of touchdowns. They were his first scores since 2021. Renfrow isn’t a high-ceiling bet and he will likely turn back into a pumpkin when Jalen Coker returns from IR, but he is locked in for WR4 output until that day comes.

Cedric Tillman, Browns

Through two games, Cedric Tillman trails only CeeDee Lamb in total routes run, with Jerry Jeudy not far behind. The Browns have a +2% pass rate over expected and that jumps to +5% when you exclude garbage time. Tillman has 15 targets and the only red zone or end zone looks for a Cleveland wideout. He has found the end zone in both outings this year. Tillman is largely a bet on the passing volume of the Browns offense, but it’s a bet worth making as long as Joe Flacco remains under center.

Dontayvion Wicks, Packers

With Jayden Reed expected to miss upwards of two months, the Packers’ receiver rotation became less messy in Week 2. Wicks led the group with 13 slot routes, meaning he took over Reed’s role in the offense. He also led the Packers’ wideouts in all receiving categories with four catches for 44 yards on six targets, though Romeo Doubs did best him in the touchdown department. Wicks will be a frustrating player on a weekly basis, but he has shown an ability to earn targets on an offense we expect to put up points.

Dyami Brown, Jaguars

The Jags rolled out Brown as their No. 2 receiver again this week, saving Travis Hunter for slot duties and limiting his snaps in the process. Brown now has at least 50 yards in back-to-back games. He scored in Week 2 and surprisingly has three rush attempts on the season. Brown stunningly leads the Jaguars’ starting receivers in yards per route run at 1.5. He isn’t going to see his role grow going forward, but it looks like a stable WR5 floor is here to stay.

Tight End

Juwan Johnson, Saints

I said it last week and I’ll say it again, Johnson’s role is among the best in the league for a tight end. He ran a route on 91 percent of Spencer Rattler’s dropbacks and saw nine targets, good for a 24 percent target share. Johnson scored his first touchdown of the season in Week 2 and leads the position in scoring heading into Monday night’s doubleheader.

Harold Fannin Jr., Browns

Fannin came back to Earth in Week 2 after breaking out in his debut. However, a five-catch, 48-yard “down game” is the best kind of down game.

Fannin had a route rate of 65 percent. That’s nothing to write home about, but he continued to earn targets at an elite per-route clip. The lack of routes could keep his ceiling in check over the coming weeks, but his role as a schemed-targets weapon will sustain low-end TE1 production.

J’Tavion Sanders, Panthers

Sanders is a solid add for Week 3 if Fannin and Johnson have already been scooped up, though those two rank ahead of him for waiver priorities. His route rate was nearly identical to Fannin’s, but his talent profile pales in comparison. Still, Week 2 was promising for the young tight end. He racked up seven catches for 54 yards on nine targets in a frantic comeback effort from Bryce Young and the Panthers. With more failed comebacks in his future, Sanders should provide TE2 value based on volume alone.