Fantasy Football 2026 Week 3 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

Tyler Shough, QB, Saints (48% Rostered): QBs will be in demand this week on waivers as a slew of injuries struck the position with several highly-rostered players going down. You’d be hard pressed to find a QB running hotter than Shough right now, who is leading the NFL in passing yardage through two weeks and helping the Saints keep pace with some of the best teams in the league. After a 410-yard, three-touchdown showing against the Lions in Week 1, he braved the Baltimore Ravens in their house and threw for 252 yards and a touchdown while adding 23 rushing yards and a rushing score on nine carries. Chris Olave has entered the elite tier of WRs, and it sure seems like his teammate Devaughn Vele is a competent second-in-command while Juwan Johnson remains potent at TE. Shough can be started with confidence, and I suspect this will be his last week on this list for some time.

Khalil Shakir, WR, Bills (46% Rostered): Shakir hasn’t had a big week yet, but Josh Allen is putting up prolific passing numbers to start the season, so pieces of the Bills offense have value. Shakir’s role is very rigid, so my dreams of him evolving past his slot duties are gone. But that’s still a consistent role, and he’s seen six targets in each of the first two games. The snap rates aren’t quite where I’d like them to be, but he’s frequently looked at when the three-receiver sets are on the field and he serves as nice emergency depth.

C.J. Stroud, QB, Texans (38% Rostered): A week after shocking everyone with 353 passing yards in a loss to the Bengals, Stroud went toe-to-toe with Josh Allen and threw for 274 yards and two touchdowns without superstar Nico Collins. Early season production can be deceiving at times, but we have seen Stroud be pretty prolific early in his career. If he can get Collins back it’s not out of the question for him to become a productive passer, and the way he’s stung managers in the past likely keeps him pretty cheap. With upcoming games against the Colts, Cowboys and Titans it sure seems like Stroud can help teams.

Bryce Young, QB, Panthers (33% Rostered): Young has been another stunner to start the year, throwing for 648 yards in two games and throwing for three touchdowns in each one. Young ended 2025 on a high note, and has come into 2026 looking much more like the decisive, accurate player he was at Alabama that made him the No. 1 overall pick. On top of his own play and confidence rising, Jalen Coker has emerged as a bona fide weapon, giving the Panthers multiple big receivers who can move all over the formation. Mix in red zone weapon Darren Waller, and Young is set up for big production. Young might actually be my favorite QB add of the entire week.

Denzel Boston, WR, Browns (32% Rostered): Boston has scored twice in as many weeks, and while a rookie WR on a Browns offense with one of the worst starting QBs in the league doesn’t seem too appealing there’s no denying Boston’s individual talent and the Browns’ dedication to involving him fully. Boston has comfortably cleared 90% of snaps in each of Cleveland’s first two games, and drawn 11 targets in those two games. His average depth of target is sitting at 15.8 yards, so of the two big-investment rookies the Browns are running out there it’s Boston who is getting the chance for chunk plays and long strikes. Now, this is playing with fire. Players of this ilk can be up and down and have low weekly floors when those big shots don’t connect. But he’s incredibly talented, and with this many snaps and targets I believe you can play Boston right now.

Brenton Strange, TE, Jaguars (31% Rostered): Through two games it’s looked like Strange might be falling victim to there being too many mouths to feed in Jacksonville. He’s only been targeted five times in two games, and while he saved his Week 1 with a touchdown, he wasn’t as lucky in Week 2 with just 17 yards of production. Strange did see his snap count rise to 83.1% though, so it’s not time to panic if you already have him, or shy away if you’re trying to find a TE. Strange’s time will come.

Alvin Kamara, RB, Saints (29% Rostered): Kamara’s return to action sent Kendre Miller to the inactives list, and his first game of action showed he remains a part of this offense. Kamara only managed 22 yards from scrimmage, but he logged nine carries and saw six targets, catching five of them for seven yards. That inefficiency is horrific, and if it continues we’ll know Kamara is cooked and discardable. For now though, he saw 15 opportunities in a game that was competitive throughout. He’s not startable outside of byepocalypses or major injury pileups, but he should be more rostered than this given that he’s on the field a bunch and prioritized when he’s out there.

Tre Tucker, WR, Raiders (29% Rostered): Tucker is going to look appealing after Week 2 coming off a long score, and a five-catch, 119-yard line in Week 2 vs. the Chargers. Tucker can be added for sure; he’s running as Las Vegas’ WR1, he’s definitely the top target while Brock Bowers is out, and he’s got a penchant for making huge plays. The problem is that he’s not going to consistently make those plays, and he’s got a very low floor when they don’t come. This kind of player can really come in handy at times, but he’s also a bit of fool’s gold because his role on a team with bad receivers is inflated and can give off a false sense of security when it comes to volume. Be careful, but yes, he’s playable.

Dontayvion Wicks, WR, Eagles (28% Rostered): Wicks is absolutely running as Philadelphia’s WR2 right now, and it resulted in a touchdown in Week 1 followed by a solid five-catch, 74-yard effort on Sunday. Wicks is a pure depth add. He’s a player you can throw in the lineup and ensure you get something right now, but I don’t see a whole lot of upside here either. DeVonta Smith is entrenched as the WR1, and this is an offense that’s focused on running the football. Still, with Dallas Goedert out, Wicks could see an uptick.

Tank Bigsby, RB, Eagles (29% Rostered): Bigsby reverts to pure handcuff if Saquon Barkley is good to go, but we won’t know that by the time waivers run. Bigsby is the clear player to have, even though Will Shipley has established himself as Mr. Passing Downs guy when Barkley’s not available. He rushed for 33 yards on 13 carries vs. the Titans, hardly the stuff of legend, but a touchdown salvaged the inefficient effort. This offense is clearly not the same without Barkley, but Bigsby is a starting RB when Barkley goes down.

Jonah Coleman, RB, Broncos (27% Rostered): Coleman is tricky, because under normal circumstances he has J.K. Dobbins and R.J. Harvey ahead of him. Harvey missed last week though, and Dobbins exited with a hamstring injury, leaving Coleman to rush 10 times for 39 yards and a score. Coleman’s a solid play if Dobbins and Harvey are out, but if either is healthy Coleman’s role is very murky. His Week 1 snap count of 5.9% shows us where he was at before being pressed into duty, and his performance was fine, but not enough to Wally Pip two veterans. Be careful out there because we won’t have certainty on Dobbins or Harvey until later in the week.

Speculative/Deep Cuts

Adonai Mitchell, WR, Jets (16% Rostered): Mitchell has put up back-to-back games with 60+ yards, and he’s gone about it in different ways. Week 1 was efficiency for Mitchell, while last week vs. the Packers he caught six of 12 targets, and drew penalties on the Green Bay secondary. Mitchell is on the field a ton, and he is very clearly the top choice for taking the tops off of defenses. Geno Smith has looked accurate and in control through two games, and while the Jets offense is hardly a juggernaut, it does look far more competent than usual. With this type of snap share, and with the talent he possesses, Mitchell should be rostered in way more leagues than this. It’s okay to believe the Jets might be okay.

Malik Washington, WR, Dolphins (14% Rostered): Washington continues to run like the WR1 for Miami, even if that’s a small passing pie that’s probably got to be thrown in the trash soon. There’s not a lot of value to be mined in this offense since Malik Willis simply doesn’t seem able to support more than one or two pass-catchers at most, but Washington is getting so much run that he’s going to be the one or two players who has any relevance. An injury to rookie Caleb Douglas further secures Washington’s status as the lead dog, and he belongs on teams as a desperation floor play.

Jacoby Brissett, QB, Cardinals (8% Rostered): Brissett sure looked bad in Week 2, which is what most expected from Arizona, but it was against the Seahawks. This Seattle defense looks every bit as ferocious in 2026 as it did last year, so Brissett gets a pass for this one. The prior week saw Brissett throw for 277 yards and a touchdown, and we saw him become automatic for two or more touchdowns a game in 2025. Brissett’s Cardinals have a bad defense, which is lovely for passing offenses. He has the best TE in football (Trey McBride), multiple pass-catching RBs, and two very good WRs in Michael Wilson and Marvin Harrison Jr. (don’t laugh, he is). Brissett’s gonna put up numbers.

Oronde Gadsden, TE, Chargers (6% Rostered): Gadsden hasn’t done much since a quick stretch of dominance last year, and the Chargers sure have looked rotten to start this season. But David Njoku was just placed on IR, leaving Gadsden as the primary TE. Gadsden flashed serious potential last season, and with Njoku not there eating into possible snaps and targets there’s a chance for him to thrive. Pick him up, let him do it for a week or two, and then begin to trust. But if you leave him on waivers and the explosion happens you’ll be spending FAAB to add him.

Emanuel Wilson, RB, Seahawks (1% Rostered): It turns out Wilson is the guy to have if Jadarian Price goes down? This backfield is so tough to decipher, but 21 carries for 92 yards seems pretty emphatic. If Price misses Week 3, obviously Wilson is in the mix to be started. His time in the limelight is likely short-lived with Zach Charbonnet appearing on track to play as soon as he can come off IR, but if you need someone right now this could a good fit.

Handcuffs

Mike Washington Jr., RB, Raiders (43% Rostered)

Emmett Johnson, RB, Chiefs (27% Rostered)

Brian Robinson, RB, Falcons (23% Rostered)

Braelon Allen, RB, Jets (16% Rostered)