No matter how deep your league is, Week 3 offered plenty of injuries or potential breakout performances to make sure your waiver wire has intriguing names on it.
Our three expert fantasy football analysts break down five names you'll be either bidding on or considering with your top waiver claim.
RB Khalil Herbert, Bears
Sean Koerner: Herbert should already be rostered in most leagues due to his RB2 upside in the event David Montgomery misses time.
And with Montgomery now dealing with a potential multi-week injury, Herbert is a high priority add – unless Jamaal Williams or Alexander Mattison happen to also be available.
The risk in going all-in to get Herbert is we do not know exactly how many games, if any, Montgomery will miss due to his knee/ankle injury. Montgomery has typically returned faster than expected with previous injuries.
Samantha Previte: Herbert was near-perfect with David Montgomery exiting in the first quarter with an injury. The backup had 20 carries for 157 yards and two touchdowns in the Bears' last-minute 23-20 win over the Texans. He also caught both of his targets for 12 yards and was the RB1 for Week 3.
Herbert was a popular waiver wire add after outperforming Montgomery in Week 1. He promptly fell off the radar in Week 2, which means he could be available in some of your leagues.
Montgomery is day-to-day and could miss the next game. Regardless, Herbert is by far the best running back add if available and is worth a premium bid for those playing in FAAB waiver systems. He is one of the best backups and has a soft schedule on deck.
Chris Raybon: Herbert is a priority add as an RB2 with RB1 upside in Chicago’s run-heavy offense for as long as David Montgomery (ankle) is out.
Matt Eberflus hasn’t ruled out a trip to the IR for Montgomery, but did call him day-to-day on Monday. It’s looking unlikely Montgomery plays against the Giants, so Herbert should be useful for at least the next week, if not longer.
The second-year back is intriguing not just because of volume, but also because of how efficient he’s been. Among 59 RBs with 10-plus carries, Herbert ranks first in yards after contact per attempt (4.82, per PFF).
WR Mack Hollins, Raiders
Sean Koerner: Hollins should remain on the waiver wire. He is going to be a weekly boom-bust player considering he is seeing massive playing time (93% routes run rate on the season), but will typically be Derek Carr’s No. 4 target.
Hollins benefited in Week 3 with Hunter Renfrow being out, but he will be impossible to trust when Renfrow, Davante Adams and Darren Waller are all active.
He will offer high-upside WR4/5 value in the event any one of those three miss time. Not worth it in my opinion.
Samantha Previte: Hollins has been a sneaky start in each of the last two weeks. In Week 2, he caught 5-of-8 targets for 66 yards and finished as the WR41. He followed that up with eight catches on 10 targets for 158 yards and a touchdown in the Raiders' 24-22 loss to the Titans.
In contrast, $140 million Davante Adams caught 5-of-10 targets for 36 yards and a touchdown. Hollins has 14 catches on 19 targets for 240 yards and a touchdown on the season, and he leads all Las Vegas receivers (including Adams) in yardage.
It's worth noting Hunter Renfrow missed Week 3 with a concussion, though Hollins is looking like a solid add regardless — especially if the winless Raiders are going to be playing from behind frequently.
Chris Raybon: If you have Hollins on your roster, he’s a sell-high candidate. If not, he’s no better than a WR5.
While Hollins has been playing over 90% of pass plays, he has seen a target on just 14% of his routes. He took advantage of a perfect storm in Week 3, with both Davante Adams and Darren Waller having down games and Hunter Renfrow (concussion) sidelined.
WR Romeo Doubs, Packers
Sean Koerner: Doubs is proving why he should have been a high-upside WR stash to begin the season. It took him a few games to get going, but he is clearly taking over the Davante Adams role in this offense.
No, I am not suggesting that he is even remotely close to being the caliber of player Adams is, or will ever be. But Aaron Rodgers has to throw to someone, and that is clearly Doubs right now.
He has a solid 22.2% target per route run rate on the season, so once his playing time went up from around 55% after two games, to 94% in Week 3, the breakout party was bound to happen against the Bucs.
He opens the week as my WR35 and has room to grow.
Samantha Previte: Doubs also made it into thelookahead waiver article with multiple Green Bay receivers popping up on the injury report. Rookie Christian Watson and veteran Sammy Watkins both sat out the Packers' Week 3 contest against the Buccaneers with hamstring injuries and opened up an opportunity for Doubs to break out.
He led the team in every receiving category and caught all eight of his targets for 73 yards and a touchdown. Doubs, who garnered significant hype during the preseason, was likely dropped in a number of leagues after a disappointing start to the season.
I would scoop him up in any league if he's available, especially with the chemistry brewing between him and four-time MVP Aaron Rodgers.
The Packers have a friendly stretch of games coming up, which could lead to more big performances from Doubs.
Chris Raybon: Doubs needs to be rostered in all leagues.
Before the season, I said Doubs had a legit path to being the Packers' WR1. Through three weeks, it appears he has arrived, as the fourth-round rookie leads the team in targets (16), catches (14) and yards (137).
With Sammy Watkins (hamstring) on IR, it appears the team has settled on a starting group of Doubs, Allen Lazard and Randall Cobb, with Christian Watson as a big-play/gadget WR4. The key for Doubs is that he leads Packers WRs with a target rate of 22% per route, which means he gets open the most.
TE David Njoku, Browns
Sean Koerner: Njoku has always possessed massive upside, but he has never seen enough playing time to be a consistent fantasy option.
However, he is clearly the No. 2 target in the Browns offense and has cleared an 80% routes run rate in back-to-back weeks.
It’s unfortunate that he had to erupt for a 9/89/1 line in Week 3, because it’s going to be even tougher to get him for cheap now.
He opens up Week 4 as my TE11, and there is a chance he could be providing top-10 value later in the season once Deshaun Watson is under center, making Njoku a solid short- and long-term investment for TE-needy teams.
Chris Raybon: Njoku’s underlying metrics are strong: He has run a route on 77% of Browns dropbacks and been targeted on 20% of his routes.
He is worth adding and starting against a Falcons defense that has allowed the fourth-most receiving yards per game to TEs (73.7).
TE Jelani Woods, Colts
Sean Koerner: I’m not interested in Jelani Woods … yet. He’s still in a volatile three-way committee with Mo Alie-Cox and Kylen Granson.
The two TDs were nice and could earn him more playing time going forward. But let O.J. Howard’s 2/38/2 in Week 1 be a lesson here as he has gone for 1/7/0 in two games since.
I wouldn’t trust Woods until he starts running a route on at least 50% of Matt Ryan’s dropbacks and/or Alie-Cox or Granson miss any time.
Samantha Previte: Woods wowed in the Colts' 20-17 upset of the Chiefs. He logged his first two career catches (on three targets) for 13 yards and two touchdowns and is the TE4 heading into Monday night.
Woods was one of my favorite prospects coming out of the 2022 draft and a deep sleeper I had my eye on. The third rounder from Virginia is an absolute unit, standing at 6-foot-7 and 259 pounds (think: Martellus Bennett). Scouts reported he has good blocking skills and hands — attributes that were clear as day on Sunday.
I hope he takes over the position completely from Mo Alie-Cox, though that may be a lofty wish in Woods' inaugural season. Regardless, he should be on your radar in deep leagues or keeper leagues as a potential star in the making.
Chris Raybon: Leave him on the wire. Despite catching two TDs in Week 3, Woods ran a route on just 26% of Matt Ryan’s dropbacks.
He would need that rate to more than double to be fantasy relevant, which is unlikely as long as the Colts deploy a three-way committee also featuring Mo-Alie Cox and Kylen Granson.
