2015 Fantasy Football, Week 4 Waiver Wire: Target Karlos Williams
Week three of the National Football League is officially in the books. And with that, fantasy football fans are looking towards the waiver wire to see if their team can be improved in any way. Some fantasy footballers will react — or, overreact — to their players performances unjustly during this period. Plenty of buzz and player recommendations will surface in preparation of your league’s waiver period causing owners to make rash decisions and drop players they spent months researching. But if I had one recommendation at all, it would be to sit back, relax and let your league mates be the ones to overreact.
Before we get to this week’s potential waiver wire pickups, it’s important to note that I WOULD spend my first waiver priority on only Karlos Williams from the list below. Also, players listed below are in no particular order.
Teams on a bye in week four: Patriots, Titans
Karlos Williams | Bills
LeSean McCoy is a bit banged up. And at this time we’re hearing that the Bills may provide their star ball carrier with some rest in week four. There’s been a lot of Karlos Williams love going around fantasy community prior to this week, but if you’ve yet to jump on the bandwagon, the time is now. McCoy’s injury aside, Williams now has 28 carries for 186 yards (7.8 yards per carry) and three touchdowns on the season. He’s found the endzone in each of the first three weeks and averaged an incredible 9.2 yards per carry in both week one and three. Also of note in weeks one and three, Karlos Williams broke off long runs of 26 and 41 yards respectively. Williams has only hauled in two of his three targets for 16 yards on the season, so despite appearing in almost an equal amount of running and passing plays for the Bills (24 run plays, 22 pass plays), he doesn’t appear to be all that involved in the passing game. Karlos Williams is your number one waiver add this week and you could consider your number one priority on him.
Consider in leagues: All
Waiver Priority Worthy: 1 and lower
Spend this much FAAB to acquire: 25%
Players I’d drop for him: Darren McFadden, Fred Jackson, Benny Cunningham
Marvin Jones | Bengals and Rishard Matthews | Dolphins
Rishard Matthews graduated from this column last week, so we won’t spend a lot of time discussing why you should be adding him here. Just know that Matthews earned five targets in week one, seven targets in week two and ten targets in week three. Earning more looks each week is a good thing. On the season, Matthews has 16 receptions for 262 (16.4 yards per reception) and three scores. He should be your top pass catching waiver add this week.
The Bengals picked apart the Ravens secondary on Sunday, allowing Marvin Jones to catch five of his six targets for 94 yards and a touchdown. He’s now hauled in 9-of-17 targets on the season for 161 yards (17.9 yards per reception) and scores in consecutive weeks.
Consider in leagues: All
Waiver Priority Worthy: 4 and lower
Spend this much FAAB to acquire: 15-20%
Players I’d drop for him: Brandon Coleman, Eddie Royal and Devin Funchess
Derek Carr | Raiders
We didn’t see a ton of volume in the passing game during week one’s debacle against the Bengals — just 7-of-12 for 61 yards — but in each of the past two weeks, Derek Carr has dropped back 79 times, attempted 78 passes and connected with his intended target 50 times. He’s eclipsed the 300-yard passing mark in each of the past two weeks (351 yards in week two, 311 in week three) and connected with teammates for five passing touchdowns (three in week two, two in week three). Based on the volume and the improved play of the personnel around him — Latavius Murray and Amari Cooper — Carr becomes intriguing as more than just a bye week fill-in.
Tyrod Taylor is still available in 60% of Y! leagues, by the way. He needs to be owned way more than that.
Consider in leagues: All
Waiver Priority Worthy: 5 and lower
Spend this much FAAB to acquire: 10-15%
Players I’d drop for him: Colin Kaepernick, Sam Bradford, Jay Cutler
Lance Dunbar | Cowboys, Alfred Blue | Texans and Thomas Rawls | Seahawks
These are the adds you’re considering for depth. Lance Dunbar is more valuable in points-per-reception formats — he hauled in each of his ten targets in week three for 100 yards — as he should continue to be a prominent figure in the Cowboys’ passing game. Dunbar has appeared in just two running plays compared to 69 pass plays for Dallas, so it’s not hard to see how they’ve utilized him to date.
Arian Foster is due to make a game appearance in the near future, hopefully in week four, so Alfred Blue’s value should take a hit. But if by chance Foster doesn’t make it back to the field or gets bit by the injury bug again in the near future, Blue would be a pretty nice option for your fake football teams. Blue earned a full complement of work in week three, carrying the rock 31 times for 139 yards and a touchdown.
Thomas Rawls carried the ball 16 times for 109 yards (6.5 yards per carry). He’s a speculative add mostly for Marshawn Lynch owners, but also for these in deeper leagues who may have an empty stable of ball carriers.
Consider in leagues: All
Waiver Priority Worthy: 8 and lower
Spend this much FAAB to acquire: 10%
Players I’d drop for him: Darren McFadden, Fred Jackson, Benny Cunningham
Ty Montgomery | Packers
There are a ton of mouths to feed in Green Bay, but with Jordy Nelson out and Davonte Adams a bit banged up, the rookie out of Stanford could see an increased workload. Last night, Aaron Rodgers targeted Montgomery only twice, but they connected on each of these targets for 14 yards and a touchdown. Deep leaguers need apply.
Consider in leagues: 12-team
Waiver Priority Worthy: 10 or lower
Spend this much FAAB to acquire: 0-5%
Players I’d drop for him: lowest ranked receiver or a second defense
Indianapolis Defense/Special Teams
If by chance the Packer defense is available in your league, go ahead and make them your defensive add of the week. But in deeper leagues, the Colts could be an option as they face the Jacksonville Jaguars in week four.
Consider in leagues: 10-team
Waiver Priority Worthy: 10 or lower
Spend this much FAAB to acquire: 0-5%
Players I’d drop for him: Titans, Saints, Lions
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