Fantasy Football 2025 Week 4 Waiver Wire Pickup Advice

Is your fantasy team in need of new blood? Each week I’ll bring to you the best pickups to make ahead of the waiver deadline. All the players I list will be rostered in fewer than 50 percent of leagues, with the roster percentages coming from Yahoo.com.

Immediately Useful

Harold Fannin Jr., TE, Browns (47% Rostered): Fannin had a quiet week vs. the Packers, who might be the NFL’s most fearsome defense this year. That was to be expected, and there’s still plenty of value here in a guy who is rostered well below the rate of teammate David Njoku and yet is outperforming him and playing just as many snaps. This is obviously not an appealing offensive environment, and the QB situation could change and worsen if the Browns lose more games, but a W over Green Bay likely extended Joe Flacco’s time at the helm, which is good for all pass catchers. I continue to have faith in Fannin as a startable option.

Rachaad White, RB, Buccaneers (44% Rostered): A week after a very useful game, White was invisible vs. the Jets. That’s going to be the story this year for him, as he’s clearly well behind Bucky Irving in the pecking order. He’s been below 30% snap share in two of three weeks, but when he had chances in Week 2 he delivered 66 yards from scrimmage and a TD. White can still be a desperation FLEX play, even though he probably belongs more in the handcuff category. He’s here though because of his standalone value, small as it is, and his massive upside in the event of an Irving injury.

Troy Franklin, WR, Broncos (43% Rostered): Franklin’s ascent slowed abruptly last week, but like Fannin, we shouldn’t be too surprised. The Chargers have performed like a top defense this season, and against a struggling second-year QB in Bo Nix, they put the clamps on most of Denver’s skill players. Aside from a long bomb to Courtland Sutton, it was a quiet day for Broncos. Better times lie ahead for Franklin, who hovered near 80% of the snaps. Combined with some missed connections to Marvin Mims, Franklin seems to be the surest bet for WR2 duty here and that can be a playable guy if Bo Nix gets his act together.

Cedric Tillman, WR, Browns (37% Rostered): Tillman failed to find the end zone for the first time this season, and it resulted in a dud. Tillman might be looking like a TD-or-bust FLEX right now, but I believe he’s a better player than that, and his low output in Week 3 has to be forgiven as it came vs. the Packers. The snap count is still high, Flacco is still the QB, and the Browns will still be playing from behind more often than not.

Jonnu Smith, TE, Steelers (33% Rostered): Smith remains a heavily involved player in a muted Steelers offense. I don’t really like this offense much, but role is key. Beyond D.K. Metcalf this team is devoid of quality pass catchers, and Smith is probably their second-most potent playmaker. It’s been slow going thus far, and he is really looking like he needs a TD to be of value in your lineup, but here there aren’t many better bets for TDs than him. I’ll give him another week.

Kareem Hunt, RB, Chiefs (31% Rostered): The Chiefs offense is depressing when we think back to Patrick Mahomes’ prime, as we have an all-time great QB slumming it with subpar players at just about every position around him while we strain ourselves to find value. Hunt is no great shakes anymore, but his snaps are rising to the point he’s arguably their lead back. It’s more like a 50/50 situation with Isaiah Pacheco, but Hunt is the better pass catcher and seems to be preferred in short yardage. If this offense ever picks up, and it should when Xavier Worthy and Rashee Rice return, Hunt could be a surprising source of TDs. He’s playable now in a pinch, but might return bigger value down the road.

Speculative/Deep Cuts

Geno Smith, QB, Raiders (28% Rostered): Smith isn’t someone I expected to be here either, but despite the Raiders’ record and what your eyes will tell you on many plays, his numbers are there. He’s averaging 277 yards per game, and threw three touchdowns on Sunday. We don’t get points for how pretty it looks folks, and these three scores went to Tre Tucker. Smith has far better weapons than that in his arsenal, so we could be looking at a very productive offense even if the team is no good. It wouldn’t surprise me at all to see him be startable in many leagues with the QB injuries that have hit early this season.

Sam Darnold, QB, Seahawks (19% Rostered): Darnold is another player that our community struggles to take seriously, but has been high level for a while now. He struggled in Week 1, but has thrown two touchdowns in back-to-back games and he hasn’t even run the ball at all, which is something he can do. With upcoming matchups at Arizona, vs. Tampa Bay and at Jacksonville, there could be some blowup games coming.

Elic Ayomanor, WR, Titans (21% Rostered): Ayomanor is taking full advantage of Tennessee’s weak WR depth chart to get on the field. He’s been on the field for 70% of snaps or more in each of the Titans’ first three games, and he has scored in back-to-back weeks. Right now the Titans’ offense is stagnant and low-scoring, which caps his upside, but he also has a big chunk of an admittedly small passing pie. He has chemistry with fellow rookie Cam Ward, and as Ward improves, so should Ayomanor’s production.

Kenneth Gainwell, RB, Steelers (10% Rostered): Gainwell posted his lowest snap count of the year on Sunday, but found the end zone for the first time. He’s closer to a handcuff than a FLEX, but he does have a small standalone role in Pittsburgh with Kaleb Johnson chained and sedated in Mike Tomlin’s doghouse, and he’s as good a bet as anyone to score since the skill players after Metcalf have no hierarchy.

Woody Marks, RB, Texans (9% Rostered): Marks saw his snaps leap up to 47.6% in Week 3 vs. the Jaguars, and while it didn’t amount to much production, it’s a warning sign for Nick Chubb managers that time is almost up. It’s very clear that while Chubb still runs with physicality, his burst has been sapped. Marks is just a more explosive player at this point, and with the offensive line struggling to let C.J. Stroud throw comfortably, big plays need to come from somewhere. Marks is about to take over lead back duties, so getting him now while the numbers are still depressed is wise.

Chris Rodriguez, RB, Commanders (5% Rostered): Rodriguez saw his first action of the season in Week 3, and was on the field for about 38% of snaps. He carried the ball 11 times for 39 yards, and looked fine. This backfield is now wholly indecipherable; Jacory Croskey-Merritt did score, but he’s far from a clear bell cow with Austin Ekeler out, and Jeremy McNichols is still hanging around vulturing touchdowns and touches. I wouldn’t want to play any Commanders backs, but if double-digit carries can become a regular thing, Rodriguez becomes a viable dart throw.

Tre Tucker, WR, Raiders (4% Rostered): Tucker put forth an early WTF game of the year candidate on Sunday, going crazy with eight catches, 145 yards and three touchdowns. While the output was insane and unrepeatable, he has drawn 17 targets in the last two games after leading the Raiders in routes run in 2024. I’m not telling you that Tucker is all of a sudden some kind of fringe WR2, I think he’s Wan’Dale Robinson from a week ago. But the target share can’t be completely ignored, and if you are truly desperate, maybe in a super deep league with some injuries, you can count on Tucker to be out there getting his cardio in.

Tyquan Thornton, WR, Chiefs (3% Rostered): In the never-ending search for receiving game value in Kansas City, I present Tyquan Thornton. He’s been on the field for 72.1% or more snaps in every game this year and has scored in back-to-back games. There’s a lot of danger that his value immediately plummets to the core of the Earth the minute Xavier Worthy is back in the lineup, but he may also spell doom for Hollywood Brown. We just don’t know. What we are sure of though, is that Thornton is ridiculously fast and can uncover down the field for Mahomes.

Tory Horton, WR, Seahawks (2% Rostered): Horton is a baller, and while his receiving stats aren’t gaudy, he’s scored twice in three games and he showed off electric playmaking as a returner on Sunday too. Jaxon Smith-Njigba has become a dominant alpha for this passing game, but Cooper Kupp is clearly in the role-player phase of his career, leaving a spot wide open for Horton to be a real-life WR2.

Devin Singletary, RB, Giants (1% Rostered): Singletary is back in our lives! The snap reaction to Tyrone Tracy’s ugly looking arm/shoulder injury is that Cam Skattebo just became a lead back. Maybe. Skattebo is fun, and he has a useful skill set, but his utter lack of long speed likely excludes him from being a top guy, and his ultra physical running style is bound to wear him down. With the Giants looking like a team that’s going to run almost entirely through its RBs, Singletary is going to see a good deal of work, if not lead the way for this backfield. Does that mean he’ll produce? Not really, but volume is king so grab volume when it’s available even just as depth.

Sterling Shepard, WR, Buccaneers (0% Rostered): Shepard is in line for a bump up in targets in a very pass-friendly offense now that Mike Evans is out of action for a bit of time. This would be a short-term add, and it makes sense to wait a week before playing Shepard to ensure that no other Bucs receivers leap frog him. But in the first three games Shepard was on the field for 60%+ snaps, and he’s had three, four and four receptions in each game. Shepard is already involved, and now may be in line as the primary possession receiver with breakout rookie Emeka Egbuka shouldering more of the big play load.

IR Stashes             

Tyjae Spears, RB, Titans (30% Rostered)

Jalen Coker, WR, Panthers (8% Rostered)

Handcuffs

Tyler Allgeier, RB, Falcons (39% Rostered)

Ray Davis, RB, Bills (21% Rostered)

Blake Corum, RB, Rams (18% Rostered)

Ollie Gordon II, RB, Dolphins (20% Rostered)

Rico Dowdle, RB, Panthers (13% Rostered)

Miles Sanders, RB, Cowboys (4% Rostered)