Unfortunately, we have our first fantasy football waiver run that includes a season-changing injury. James Conner is done for the year, as is Najee Harris (both assumedly), but the Conner one is a game-changer. We’ll touch on Trey Benson, obviously, but we also have plenty of new worries, new pickups and more names you need to know in the waivers.
Heads Up
- Players must be under 60% rostered on Yahoo
- Listed in order of preference: I’ll regularly prioritize potential upside over immediate replacement production
- RB backups have a separate secondary list based only on if the lead option got hurt
- No FAB suggestions: It varies wildly by league tendencies and always relative (ex: if you lost your RB1 to injury and there is a clear backup, you’re going to be more aggressive)
- Streaming QB and TE are grouped together — weekly ranking can change once projections/ranks run — DST could shift a bit too
- Emojis for brevity
- 😏 = mentioned multiple times, multiple weeks — either you want him, or don’t
- 🫡 = Next Man Up but with deeper startability
Worry Report
(Scale 1-5: more ducks = more worry)
- Chase Brown, RB, CIN: 🦆🦆🦆 — Let’s start positive. The Bengals were getting obliterated, so Brown’s low rush attempts — even team percentage-wise — came as a result. On the negative side, Brown is averaging just 5.4 YPR on eight catches, and he’s averaging -0.06 YBC. The workload is here, including 100% of the goal-line attempts before the Week 3 embarrassment, but the offensive line is one of the worst in the league. Brown is looking like an RB2 instead of the RB1 many hoped.
- Jerry Jeudy, WR, CLE: 🦆🦆🦆🦆 — Despite a 91.9 Route% and 21 targets for Jeudy (both team-highs), he has a line of just 10-134-0 on 21 targets. Joe Flacco isn’t connecting with Jeudy consistently, and Jeudy has a -0.18 EPA/TGT compared to 0.31 for Cedric Tillman. Jeudy is getting close to droppable.
- Calvin Ridley, WR, TEN: 🦆🦆🦆 — The good: 90.0 Route% with Elic Ayomanor second at 75.0%. A 23.3 TmTGT% with Ayo second at 20.0%. Nice 26.6 1stRead% and 11.24 AirYD/TGT marks. Okay, now the bad: Just 38.1 REC% with 70.0% Catchable. Just one red zone and end zone target compared to three of each for Ayo (with two touchdowns). It’s shocking how Cam Ward is struggling to connect with Ridley to this degree.
Power Up Players
(Scale 1-5: more Mario mushrooms = more excitement)
- Drake Maye, QB, NE: 🍄🍄🍄 — Week 1 was mediocre, but Weeks 2 and 3 are what we wanted from Maye. The numbers aren’t electric, but they’re high quality and even better with Maye’s added rushing. He’s on pace for 500 rushing yards, and if Maye is going to average 260-ish passing yards and 1-2 passing touchdowns per game, a Top 10 finish is on the way.
- Jaylen Warren, RB, PIT: 🍄🍄🍄🍄 — Warren’s workload has increased each week from 54.2 to 66.7 to 82.1% this past week. On top of that, he’s still seeing decent passing-game work with a line of 12-11-142-1 in three games. In fact, rookie Kaleb Johnson saw a whopping zero snaps in Week 3. The Warren wish has finally been answered.
- Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, WR, MIA: 🍄🍄 — Just as with the Eagles wideouts, the Dolphins wide receivers were going to be fine. However, they’re not “Eagles fine.” As Tua Tagovailoa and the offense go, so will Hill and Waddle. Hill isn’t the Top 10 wideout he once was, and Waddle will never return to the level of that one Top 15 season. However, Hill being a nice WR2 and Waddle WR3? Yeah, we can approve that, as long as Tagovailoa is healthy.
Streaming Quarterbacks
- Geno Smith, LV vs CHI — Bears defense vulnerable. Bears offense clicking. Shootout potential.
- Jake Browning, CIN at DEN — Michael Caine “Failed You” GIF. Even as a boom/bust QB, that was way more bust than expected — phrasing GIF. Still has Top 10 weekly upside with those weapons… though, that Swiss cheese offensive line hurts.
- Matthew Stafford, LAR vs IND — Not asked to do a ton, but unlike Browning and me, he won’t let you down.
- Jaxson Dart, NYG vs LAC — Where he’d be if the Giants make the swap. Not an easy first start by any means.
- Tua Tagovailoa, MIA vs NYJ — In his defense, the last time Tagovailoa didn’t throw at least one touchdown was Week 14, 2023 — also the only game that year it happened.
- Sam Darnold, SEA at ARI — Cardinals secondary missing several pieces.
- Carson Wentz, MIN at PIT — Guaranteed floor.
- Trevor Lawrence, JAX at SF
There are 22 QBs with more Fantasy Points than Trevor Lawrence (37.3). Just a few names
11. Russell Wilson — 46.5
15. Spencer Rattler — 44.9
18. Bryce Young — 41.1
21. Sam Darnold — 37.9
22. Jayden Daniels, two games — 37.8
24. Mac Jones, two games! — 35.0, just behind him— Jake Ciely (@allinkid) September 22, 2025
“Thou Shall Not… Pass!”
- Michael Penix, ATL vs WAS
- Aaron Rodgers, PIT vs MIN
- Joe Flacco, CLE at DET
- Bryce Young, CAR at NE
- Russell Wilson, NYG vs LAC
- Cam Ward, TEN at HOU
- Spencer Rattler, NO at BUF
Waiver Wire Running Backs
- Trey Benson, ARI — If he’s available, blow your No. 1 priority spot, spend 60% or more of your FAB, and drop anyone listed below for him — “Next Men Up” included… if that’s your lowest rostered player. Benson has Top 15 ROS upside.
- Chris Rodriguez, WAS — Stepped into the Brian Robinson role, albeit a lesser version.
- Ollie Gordon, MIA — If you had a roster crunch and were unable to be patient, Gordon settled into the role we hoped — nearly a third of the touches and both of the only goal-line rushes.
- Kyle Monangai, CHI — We’re up to a 70/30 split for D’Andre Swift and Monangai.
- Woody Marks, HOU — Approaching 40% of the touches, including a 50/50 split of third-down work.
- Tyjae Spears, TEN — One more week until Spears can return, though he might be eased in before we see Jaylen Warren 2024-like work.
- Tyler Allgeier, ATL 🫡
- Blake Corum, LAR 🫡
- Braelon Allen, NYJ — Let the Benson situation be your warning. Just because a bigger opportunity has yet to present itself, it doesn’t mean you toss aside Allen for a deep flier.
- Miles Sanders, DAL — Can’t start him, but clearly in store for significant work if Javonte Williams were to get hurt.
- Jeremy McNichols, WAS — In somewhat of the Austin Ekeler role but way fewer opportunities (16.7 RBTouch%).
- Tahj Brooks, CIN — Brooks might have supplanted Samaje Perine, given the injury.
Purely Next Man Up Ranks
(if an injury ahead of them)
- Tyler Allgeier, ATL
- Blake Corum, LAR
- Brian Robinson, SF
- DJ Giddens, IND
- Ray Davis, BUF
- Rachaad White, TB
- Tyjae Spears, TEN (injured)
- Ollie Gordon, MIA
- Kareem Hunt, KC
- Rico Dowdle, CAR
- Miles Sanders, DAL
- Tahj Brooks, CIN
- Kendre Miller, NO
- Zavier Scott, MIN
Equipping Dislike
- Kareem Hunt, KC — Backfield is beyond meh and a major timeshare.
- Kenneth Gainwell, PIT — Jaylen Warren actually pulled further ahead, despite Gainwell’s touchdown.
- Rico Dowdle, CAR — Stomping the Falcons workload.
Junk Drop
- Dylan Sampson, CLE — Fell behind Jerome Ford on the depth chart and in the passing game.
- Tyrone Tracy, NYG — I would only drop Tracy if you need help this week and have no one else to drop — I’d only go through Marks on the waiver list above. If no immediate need, Tracy would only be dropped for Benson and possibly Rodriguez.
- Isiah Pacheco, KC — Only for Benson, but yes, I’d make the swap.
Waiver Wire Wide Receivers
- Elic Ayomanor, TEN 😏
- Romeo Doubs, GB — Need a classification for these wide receivers, so I’m breaking them out. Yes, when a team’s No. 1 or 2 option is clear, he needs to be rostered in most leagues (maybe not a 10-teamer). However, a No. 1 or 2 on some teams doesn’t always mean more than WR4 value. Being a WR4 means it’s a rollercoaster, and you can try to play the matchups, but a lot of times riding the wave is the best course of action, so you don’t accidentally miss the good games and only catch the bad ones. That’s Doubs, and it’s also every wide receiver in this group.
- Cedric Tillman, CLE 😏
- Troy Franklin, DEN — Yes, coming off a down game. Franklin was always going to be a WR4 once we saw he was the clear No. 2 in Denver. He still is given his 93.8 Route%, as only Courtland Sutton was higher (100%), and no one else topped 59.4% (Marvin Mims).
- Kayshon Boutte, NE — Still the de facto No. 1, even with two meh games. Stefon Diggs was second in routes, eight behind Boutte’s 34. That said, Boutte is leaving things wide open — stop chuckling — for a lost role/someone else stepping up.
- Darnell Mooney ATL — Only 4-for-44, but 11 targets and still a wide receiver… you guessed it… four (WR4) for fantasy.
- Tre Tucker, LV — Tucker has been the Raiders’ No. 2 receiver this year with over 90% of the routes each week. However, that was true last year with only one game under 89.7 Route% since Week 3 — Week 18 at 78.4%. Week 3 last year was also Tucker’s banner day with 19.1 points on 9 targets and a line of 7-96-1. In other words, we’ve been here, done that. I’m not saying you shouldn’t pick up Tucker. I’m saying the team is still led by Jakobi Meyers and Brock Bowers, so while Tucker is interesting, I wouldn’t expect more than WR4 value, and he could find his way into the group above. So, don’t be surprised to find another Franklin-Boutte-Mooney type on your team. If anything, I’d try the pick up and flip/trade.
- Tyquan Thornton, KC — This could be extremely short-lived. Thornton can hold WR4 boom/bust value with Xavier Worthy back, given Worthy might be a bit limited. However, there is the chance that Worthy’s return ruins the Thornton fun, and even more, Rashee Rice is eligible in Week 7. Until both are in the fold, Thornton will keep his upside and would rank with those other WR4s if at least one of Worthy or Rice wasn’t returning (just for reference).
- Wan’Dale Robinson, NYG — Live by Russell Wilson, die by Wilson… though, Jaxson Dart time might be coming.
- Christian Kirk, HOU — Immediately the No. 2, but we know how limited this offense is.
- Tory Horton, SEA — Cooper Kupp is now 1-for-3 in decent games. The Seahawks could decide to push Kupp to the No. 3 role and three-wide only.
- Luther Burden, CHI — Burden might be the easier to pick up and trade than Tucker, and you should do it even quicker if trying. Burden ran 9 routes (31.0%). More so, I’ll bring up the example I regularly use. The last time we had a consistently fantasy-relevant No. 3 wideout was Tyler Boyd in Ja’Marr Chase’s 2021 rookie season. Chase was WR6 (qualified WRs in FPPG), Tee Higgins WR12 and Tyler Boyd WR38. And that was the best-case scenario we saw since 2008. That’s when Larry Fitzgerald (WR2 in FPPG), Anquan Boldin (WR1) and Steve Breaston (WR30) all topped 1,000 receiving yards. However, Kurt Warner threw for 4,582 yards, and Boldin missed four games. In fact, there are only five times in history with a trio of teammates all topping 1,000 receiving yards, and once included a tight end, Kellen Wilson (1980). The others were in 1989, 1995, and 2004, when Peyton Manning threw 4,557 yards and 49 touchdowns. To add one final point, only twice more did a trio of wide receivers all top 900 yards (1990 and 1991 Houston Oilers, which included Drew Hill). So, I’ll “Never Make a Promise” or suggest that a team’s No. 3 wideout can maintain much fantasy value… unless you believe Caleb Williams is throwing for 4,500+ and Burden’s Route% is going to nearly triple. And yes, I mentioned Hill just to make that song reference.
- Jalen Coker, CAR — The No. 2 role is Coker’s for the taking when he’s back. I would put Coker after Kirk if he were back this week.
- Dontayvion Wicks, GB — Was on the field as much as Matthew Golden but with lesser use. Deep Hail Mary play.
Potential One-to-Two Week Options, Only
- Sterling Shepard, TB — If Mike Evans is out, and Chris Godwin isn’t back, Shepard is a must-add for those needing wideout help this week. Even then, he’d still be a WR4 for me. If Godwin returns, Shepard would still be a WR5, given the Bucs are likely to ease in Godwin.
- Adonai Mitchell, IND — Deep play only, but when Alec Pierce exited (concussion), Mitchell took his spot and leap-frogged Josh Downs.
- Luke McCaffrey, WAS — Only if Terry McLaurin is out, and only if you are rather needy. McCaffrey was next up, but also be cautioned that sometimes in-game injury replacements don’t see the same use with a week of planning.
Speed Run Pod
Stashes
- Brandon Aiyuk, SF — Weekly reminder to stash despite uncertain timeline.
- Isaac TeSlaa, DET —
- Jayden Higgins, HOU — If you didn’t hear me crash out on the pod last week about this, the Texans need offensive line help, draft a second-round wide receiver, guarantee his contract, draft another wideout in Round 3 and… never… use… them! Kirk is back, and Higgins had just 35.7 Route%. He’s the long-term answer as the No. 2, but it’s also mind-blowing that, on this list, Higgins is behind a No. 3 option who needs an injury because TeSlaa’s role is at least clear.
- Isaiah Bond, CLE — Running as the No. 3. Was a Top 5 wideout talent in the NFL Draft. If something happened to Jerry Jeudy or Cedric Tillman, Bond would have value similar to the TeSlaa stash.
Equipping Dislike
- Jalen Tolbert, DAL — It’s been a mix of KaVontae Turpin and Tolbert behind George Pickens, and if you’re desperate in a deep league, maybe Tolbert is fine. However, CeeDee Lamb’s absence is more likely to be a boost to Pickens and Jake Ferguson than any consistency for Tolbert and Turpin.
- Calvin Austin, PIT — Not getting a ticket for this rollercoaster.
- Allen Lazard, NYJ — If it’s your first season of fantasy football, you might not know better, but everyone else will tell you to stay far away.
Junk Drop
- Josh Downs, IND — Pierce got hurt, but Downs remained in his role with Mitchell stepping in for Pierce.
- Hollywood Brown, KC — Worthy could return, Rice is around the corner, and Thornton already took Brown’s job.
- Joshua Palmer, BUF — Can’t even get consistency from Keon Coleman. Not sure why Palmer’s rostership isn’t plummeting.
- Rasheed Shaheed, NO — His Route% dipped and was already an afterthought with Spencer Rattler peppering Chris Olave and Juwan Johnson.
Streaming Tight Ends
Streaming DST
(First team listed is streamer)
Week 4
- LAC at NYG
- SEA at ARI
- SF vs JAX
- NE vs CAR
- WAS at ATL
- LV vs CHI
- LAR vs IND
- CAR at NE
- IND at LAR
- ATL vs WAS
Week 5
- IND vs LV
- CAR vs MIA
- LAR vs SF
- SEA vs TB
- CLE vs MIN
- TB at SEA
- LV at IND
(Photo of Trey Benson: Cary Edmondson / Imagn Images)
Connections: Sports Edition
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