NFL Waiver Wire Week 4: Top Selections and Pickups to Target

I hope everyone has had a successful Week 3 and is celebrating on this fine Victory Tuesday!

Week 4 is a very different waiver wire to the opening couple of weeks. We now have three games of actual usage to work with, but we have also had a brutal run of injuries that has suddenly created genuine opportunities at running back, wide receiver and tight end.

The key this week is separating real opportunity from box-score chasing.

A touchdown does not automatically make someone a good waiver addition. I want routes, targets, snaps, valuable touches and, most importantly, a realistic path for those numbers to continue.

All ownership data comes from Yahoo.

Without further delay, let’s dive into the Week 4 Waiver Wire.

QUARTERBACK

Kirk Cousins – Las Vegas vs Kansas City – 14% rostered

This isn’t the Kirk Cousins most fantasy managers expected to see in 2026.

Cousins has thrown three touchdown passes in all three games this season. He completed 22-of-33 passes for 248 yards and three touchdowns against New Orleans in Week 3, scoring 22.2 fantasy points. More importantly, Brock Bowers is now back in this offense.

FantasyPros also has Cousins completing 67.4% of his passes and averaging 7.2 yards per attempt through three games.

There is an obvious problem. Cousins offers virtually nothing with his legs, so we are almost entirely reliant on passing touchdowns for his fantasy ceiling.

But Las Vegas is 3-0, the offense is moving the football and the Raiders could be forced to score against Patrick Mahomes this week.

This isn’t a player I suddenly want to start over an established QB1. However, if you have lost a quarterback, are streaming the position or play Superflex, Cousins has done enough to stop being ignored.

Jacoby Brissett – Arizona @ New York Giants – 8% rostered

This is probably my favourite quarterback streaming option of the week.

Brissett finished as the QB7 from Week 6 onwards last season, averaging 19.9 fantasy points, 280.5 passing yards and 13.8 rushing yards per game over that stretch.

Then in Week 3 he completed 38-of-52 passes for 280 yards and two touchdowns while adding another touchdown on the ground. That was good for 25.6 fantasy points. There is some box-score inflation there. Fifty-two attempts isn’t something I expect every week.

However, Arizona has Trey McBride and Michael Wilson, is likely to find itself chasing points regularly, and Brissett gets the Giants followed by Detroit. Fantasy managers should not suddenly convince themselves Brissett is a top-10 quarterback.

But as a short-term streamer? I like this quite a lot.

NOTABLE MENTION

If Geno Smith is somehow still available, he remains a player I want rostered.

He was one of my waiver recommendations earlier in the season and finally produced the fantasy performance his underlying play had been hinting at, completing 31-of-37 attempts for 321 yards and three touchdowns against Detroit.

SumerSports now has Smith at 783 passing yards, four touchdowns, zero interceptions and 7.68 yards per attempt through three games.

And now he gets Chicago.

RUNNING BACK

There is no debate about the position of the week.

The injuries to Breece Hall and De’Von Achane have created two backfields fantasy managers need to attack. But there is a massive difference between buying opportunity and spending half your FAAB because you assume you have just acquired a season-long RB1.

Braelon Allen – New York Jets @ Chicago – 16% rostered

Braelon Allen is my number one waiver addition this week.

And the reason isn’t simply that Breece Hall got hurt.

Allen played all 17 offensive snaps after Hall left the game against Detroit. He also saw three targets while running a route on 64% of the Jets’ passing plays during that period. Isaiah Davis didn’t play a single offensive snap.

Allen ultimately finished the game with four carries for 14 yards, three catches and a 52% overall snap share. Fantasy Points believes he could see 15+ carries if Hall misses time.

That’s the good news. Now for the bit where I pour some cold water on it.

Allen has not actually been a particularly efficient runner so far. SumerSports has him at 61 yards from 19 carries, which is just 3.21 yards per carry. This is a bet on workload rather than a bet on someone who has suddenly become an elite running back.

There is also some conflicting early reporting around Hall. One of the Week 3 usage reports suggested Hall was already expected to miss Week 4, but the more recent update has Hall considered questionable with Aaron Glenn expected to provide another update on Wednesday.

That matters for FAAB.

Allen is worth an aggressive bid because the evidence tells us he is the next man up. But I’m not throwing 40-50% at him under the assumption Hall is definitely disappearing for a month.

I wouldn’t spend more than $15 FAAB personally.

Ollie Gordon II – Miami @ Minnesota – 3% rostered

This one is much messier.

De’Von Achane is done for the season after tearing his ACL. With Jaylen Wright already inactive because of foot and stinger issues, Gordon suddenly inherited the Miami backfield.

He finished Week 3 with 17 carries for 41 yards and a touchdown, adding three catches for 14 yards. Most importantly, he received essentially all of Miami’s running-back work after Achane went down.

The cramping that Gordon suffered during the game is not considered a significant injury and he is expected to be available for Week 4.

So just add him everywhere, right? Not quite.

Jaylen Wright was ahead of Gordon earlier in the offseason and personally, I give Wright the slight edge if both are completely healthy. Miami also has Jarquez Hunter available, so there is a very realistic scenario where this becomes an annoying two- or three-man committee.

Not to mention this is hardly an offense we desperately want a piece of right now. Gordon is absolutely worth adding because running backs who can receive 15+ touches don’t sit on waiver wires for long.

Just don’t confuse available volume with guaranteed fantasy production. And, with that, I can’t spend more than 12% of FAAB on Gordon unless I am desperate for short term success.

NOTABLE MENTION

Jaylen Wright is worth adding in deeper leagues.

If you have the bench space, there is a perfectly plausible scenario where Wright gets healthy and eventually becomes Miami’s preferred option.

Fantasy managers will naturally chase Gordon because he scored the touchdown and handled 20 touches. That may be correct.

But if Gordon costs 15-20% of your FAAB and Wright costs 3-5%, I don’t hate taking the cheaper side of what could ultimately become a committee.

WIDE RECEIVER

This isn’t an incredible wide receiver waiver week.

There are some useful players, but I would be extremely careful about convincing yourself that every Week 3 breakout is suddenly an every-week fantasy starter.

Roles matter more than touchdowns.

Jakobi Meyers – Jacksonville @ Cincinnati – 44% rostered

If Meyers is available in your league, this is one of the safest additions at the position. Week 3 finally gave us the production to match the opportunity.

Meyers led Jacksonville with eight targets, a 28% target share, seven catches and 64 receiving yards, adding a touchdown for 19.4 fantasy points. He also played an 81% snap share.

Meanwhile, Brian Thomas played just 37% of Jacksonville’s snaps. That is what I care about.

I’m not adding Meyers because he scored. I’m adding him because Jacksonville is treating him like one of its primary receivers and he has earned significant route participation and targets.

There will be quieter weeks. Parker Washington remains involved and the Jaguars aren’t going to suddenly throw 45 times every Sunday.

But a receiver seeing this level of usage should not be sitting on waiver wires in more than half of Yahoo leagues.

Keenan Allen – Indianapolis @ Washington – 21% rostered

It feels strange recommending Keenan Allen on a waiver wire in 2026, but here we are. Alec Pierce aggravated his heel injury and has landed on injured reserve.

Allen responded with a season-high nine targets, catching six passes for 63 yards and a touchdown against Houston. That represented a 25% target share while Allen played 73% of the snaps.

That is useful fantasy football. We aren’t getting prime Keenan Allen. He is 34 years old, and I don’t expect explosive plays or 140-yard performances.

What you can get is volume. And in PPR formats, volume from a veteran receiver who knows how to get open has value.

Washington is also a matchup worth attacking this week, particularly if you need someone you can immediately put into your FLEX. Allen isn’t the highest-ceiling receiver on this list.

He might have the highest floor.

Malik Washington – Miami @ Minnesota – 20% rostered

If there is one Miami player outside the running backs I want to target after the Achane injury, it is Malik Washington.

Washington caught five passes for 56 yards in Week 3. That isn’t particularly exciting. The underlying numbers are.

He saw 10 targets, a 28% target share and an 86% snap share. NFL.com highlighted that Washington ran a team-high 34 routes against Kansas City.

Across the season, SumerSports has Washington at 23 targets on 97 routes, which is roughly 0.24 targets per route run, while producing 1.57 yards per route run.

That target-earning ability is far more important to me than whether he has scored a touchdown yet. Achane’s injury could also lead to Miami creating a few manufactured rushing opportunities for Washington.

The quarterback situation limits the ceiling significantly. But in PPR leagues, Washington is quietly developing one of the safest volume profiles available on this week’s wire.

Mack Hollins – New England @ Buffalo – 3% rostered

This is not a sexy addition. But again, opportunity matters.

A.J. Brown’s high-ankle injury has opened up the New England receiving corps, and Hollins responded with nine targets, six catches and 87 yards in Week 3. That was a 29% target share.

NFL Next Gen Stats has Hollins at 2.3 yards per route run with a team-leading 19.5% target share this season.

The problem is Drake Maye. The New England passing game has been ugly, and Hollins isn’t suddenly going to become a weekly WR2 simply because Brown is unavailable.

But we’re looking at a near-free receiver who just earned nine targets and now has a legitimate short-term path to being his team’s leading wide receiver.

In deeper leagues, that is exactly the sort of bet I want to make.

NOTABLE MENTION

Tre Harris remains a deeper-league stash.

He led the Chargers in Week 3 with six catches, seven targets and 76 yards. His receiving yardage has increased in every game, and he is starting to make a legitimate argument for more work ahead of Quentin Johnston.

He isn’t someone I want to throw straight into a Week 4 lineup against Seattle. But at 4% rostered, you are buying the possibility that his role continues expanding before everyone else notices.

And finally, if Dontayvion Wicks was somehow dropped after Philadelphia’s disastrous Monday night performance, don’t panic and throw him away.

I highlighted him back in Week 2 because the Eagles were using him as a starting receiver and giving him valuable downfield opportunities, not because of one touchdown.

Philadelphia’s entire offense was dreadful in Monday’s 27-7 defeat to Chicago. One awful team performance doesn’t erase the previous role.

TIGHT END

This is arguably the most interesting tight end waiver week we have had so far. And there is one player who stands comfortably above the others for me.

Kenyon Sadiq – New York Jets @ Chicago – 18% rostered

Don’t add Kenyon Sadiq because he scored 23.5 fantasy points. Add him because the usage behind those points suddenly became extremely interesting.

Sadiq caught seven of eight targets for 105 yards and a touchdown against Detroit. He saw a 22% target share while playing 58% of the offensive snaps.

Now go a level deeper. His Week 3 route share reached 57%. He was targeted on 32% of the routes he ran.

And perhaps most importantly, his average depth of target jumped from 1.3 yards over the first two weeks to 9.8 yards in Week 3.

That changes the conversation completely. SumerSports has Sadiq at 12 catches for 143 yards on only 60 routes this season, producing 2.38 yards per route run and a 23% targets-per-route-run rate.

Mason Taylor’s thumb injury helped create the Week 3 opportunity, so we cannot simply project eight targets every week.

But Sadiq was the 16th overall pick for a reason. This is exactly the sort of tight end profile worth betting on before the breakout becomes permanent.

He is my favourite longer-term waiver addition, along with Braelon Allen.

Darren Waller – Carolina vs Detroit – 14% rostered

Darren Waller isn’t playing a traditional every-down tight end role anymore. That doesn’t mean he cannot be useful.

Waller posted season highs with eight targets, five catches and 51 yards in Week 3 despite playing only around half the offensive snaps. He has always been dangerous around the end zone, and Jalen Coker’s quad injury potentially moves Waller higher in Carolina’s target hierarchy.

The injury analysis you shared puts Coker’s more realistic return around Week 5 or Week 6 despite some optimism he could potentially return earlier. That creates a short-term window.

Tetairoa McMillan is obviously the number one option. But Waller could realistically become Bryce Young’s second or third target while Coker is unavailable.

At tight end, that is enough to make him streamable.

NOTABLE MENTION

If Juwan Johnson is available in your league, ignore the rest of this section and add him.

He entered Week 3 still available in a surprising number of leagues, then caught eight passes for 53 yards and two touchdowns. Through Sunday he was the TE3 in fantasy football.

At this point, he is no longer really a waiver-wire streamer. He should simply be rostered.

KICKER

Spencer Shrader – Indianapolis @ Washington – 15% rostered

Shrader has scored a combined 31 fantasy points over the last two weeks, including 17 in Week 3. He converted four field goals against Houston, including kicks from 58 and 53 yards, with the latter winning the game.

There is one thing to monitor. Shrader injured his groin during pregame warm-ups before still managing to kick.

If he is healthy, I like the opportunity. If Indianapolis shows any hesitation about his availability, don’t try to be clever with your kicker spot.

Chris Boswell – Pittsburgh @ Cleveland – 17% rostered

This is exactly the sort of kicker matchup I like. Boswell went 3-for-3 on field goals and 3-for-3 on extra points in Week 3.

Cleveland has already allowed 10 field goals through three games, with Yahoo noting the Browns are allowing the third-most fantasy points to kickers.

Thursday night Cleveland-Pittsburgh isn’t necessarily a game I expect to turn into a shootout. That isn’t a bad thing for Boswell.

A lower-scoring game where drives stall around the 25-35 yard line can be exactly what we want from a fantasy kicker.

D/ST

Buffalo Bills vs New England – 24% rostered

This is my favourite defensive streamer of Week 4. New England has already committed eight giveaways, tied for the most in the NFL, while Drake Maye has been sacked nine times.

Now they travel to Buffalo. Fantasy defense is less about finding the best real-world defense and more about creating opportunities for sacks, turnovers and defensive touchdowns.

New England is providing those opportunities. Buffalo should be the priority streaming defense this week.

Green Bay Packers @ Tampa Bay – 32% rostered

Green Bay disappointed anyone who streamed them last week. Don’t chase last week’s fantasy score.

Chase this week’s environment. Baker Mayfield suffered a dislocated thumb on his throwing hand and is expected to miss at least the next few weeks, leaving undrafted rookie Jalon Daniels in line to start.

A rookie quarterback making his first NFL start is exactly the type of matchup we should be targeting. The Packers don’t need to be an elite defense.

They just need Daniels to make rookie mistakes.

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That will do it for the Week 4 Waiver Wire.

The biggest message this week is don’t confuse injuries with guaranteed season-long value. Braelon Allen is the priority because the Jets showed us exactly who takes over when Hall leaves the field. Ollie Gordon has opportunity, but his backfield is considerably murkier.

Kenyon Sadiq is the player I want to gamble on before everyone accepts that the Week 3 breakout might actually be real.

And at wide receiver, prioritise routes and targets over chasing whoever happened to find the end zone last Sunday.

Best of luck for Week 4. I will see you all next week.

Don’t forget to join Kadeem and I on Thursday to talk through some Starts/Sits on the pod. You can also tune into my channel, 5 Yard Rush.