Fantasy Football Week 4 Waiver Wire: Last-Minute Adds, Drops For Your Lineup

After three weeks, it’s a little clearer how your fantasy football players will pan out over the regular season. But for some people, it’s now clear that your fantasy team needs work if it has any chance at a playoff run.

It’s luckily still early in the season, so if you’re sitting at 0-3, there’s no need to panic. There are some quality players on the waiver wire ahead of Week 4’s Sunday slate of games, so even if you didn’t do anything when waivers opened this week, you can still bounce back.

Here are some suggestions to get back on track.

ADDS
Quarterback: Jared Goff, Los Angeles Rams (21 percent owned in Yahoo! leagues)
Carson Palmer or Alex Smith, whom we suggested below, are better options this week, but Goff is much more widely available. But that’s not to say we’re low on Goff. The 22-year-old has improved greatly in his sophomore season and could potentially be an asset to your fantasy team. The Dallas Cowboys are pretty middle-of-the-road when it comes to giving up fantasy points to quarterbacks, so Goff might not be as risky of a play as he seems on paper.

Other quarterbacks to watch: Carson Palmer (ARI); Alex Smith (KC)

Running back: Wendell Smallwood, Philadelphia Eagles (55 percent owned)
With Darren Sproles on injured reserve, Smallwood is a must-add. The Eagles running back out-touched LeGarrette Blount in Week 3, too. Blount still will be the early-down back, but Smallwood now has a clear role in Philly.

Other running backs to consider: Duke Johnson (CLE); Jamaal Charles (DEN)

Wide receiver: Sterling Shepard, New York Giants (54 percent owned)
The Giants’ offense is sporadic at best, but Shepard is worth at least a stream in Week 4. The 24-year-old gets to face a Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense that’s given up the most fantasy points to wideouts this season, and he’s the clear No. 2. There’s a lot of potential for targets for Shepard on Sunday.

Other wideouts to check out: Paul Richardson (SEA); Josh Doctson (WAS)

Tight end: Cameron Brate, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (47 percent owned)
Just as the Bucs give up a lot of fantasy points to wide receivers, the Giants give up a lot of points to tight ends — the fourth most in standard scoring, in fact. And with Tampa Bay using O.J. Howard primarily as a blocker, Brate should be that guy Sunday. He also has the potential to be a good fantasy tight end in the long run, and that could become clearer when the Bucs play their third game in Week 4.

Other tight ends to add: Charles Clay (BUF); Vernon Davis (WAS)

DROPS
Quarterback: Cam Newton, Carolina Panthers (86 percent owned)
Yes, it looks to be time to make the move. Newton simply hasn’t looked good at all in the first three weeks, and he’s thrown for just 566 yards total in that span. Newton also has a 69.7 quarterback rating and threw three interceptions against a weak New Orleans Saints defense in Week 3. Even with an ideal matchup against the New England Patriots, Newton so far has shown no reason to start him confidently.

Running back: Thomas Rawls, Seattle Seahawks (31 percent owned)
The good news is that a lot of fantasy owners haven’t hesitated to drop a lot of under-performing running backs. But a decent amount of you still are holding onto Rawls, who can safely be dropped. The Seahawks’ backfield isn’t anything to call home about in the first place, and rookie Chris Carson is getting all of the work. It’s tough to trust anyone behind that offensive line, too.

Wide receiver: Cooper Kupp, Los Angeles Rams (45 percent owned)
Everyone rushed to get Cooper Kupp after a big game in Week 1, but he fell off almost immediately. Goff has been slinging the ball more than he did last season, meaning Kupp hasn’t been seeing much out of the slot. He could possibly bounce back, but there’s no need to stash Kupp at this point.

Tight end: Austin Hooper, Atlanta Falcons (59 percent owned)
Hooper is in a similar situation as Kupp, but we probably should have seen the signs after Week 1. The Falcons tight end racked up nearly 20 points in standard Yahoo! leagues, but that was on just two targets and two receptions. Quarterback Matt Ryan targeted Hooper twice in Weeks 2 and 3, too, so it doesn’t look as though his situation will get any better.

Thumbnail photo via Bill Streicher/USA TODAY Sports Images