Early fantasy football waiver wire adds for Week 4

Time to get ready to attack Week 4’s fantasy football waiver wire! If Week 2 was the week of injuries, then I’m calling Week 3 the week of rookie wide receivers making an impact because boy did a bunch of them come out to play this week.

With most of the games this week complete, here is an early look at 10 players — all under 50% rostered — who you should be targeting and working hard to get onto your fantasy team for Week 4 (percent rostered in Yahoo leagues).

QB Nick Foles, Chicago Bears (2% rostered)

We knew this day was going to come and come it did! The Bears finally recognized their wrong and benched Mitchell Trubisky. What did Foles do in his first Bears action? He strode right in and casually tossed 188 yards and three touchdowns, leading the Bears to a comeback win over the Falcons. All hail Nick Foles!

RB Jeff Wilson, San Francisco 49ers (22% rostered)

Welp, it’s becoming readily apparent that no matter who the running back is in San Fran, they will have fantasy value. Jerick McKinnon was the popular add last week and he finished with 14 carries for 38 yards, a touchdown, and three catches for 39 yards. Wilson took the cake though carrying the ball 12 yards for 15 yards and a touchdown, plus three catches for 54 yards and another score. With Tevin Coleman on IR and Raheem Mostert still recovering, Wilson needs to be rostered.

RB Rex Burkhead, New England Patriots (8% rostered)

It always feels iffy to buy into the Patriots backfield given how often they love to rotate their running backs. But it’s hard to ignore Burkhead’s Week 3 putting in which he ran the ball six times for 49 yards and two touchdowns plus caught seven balls on 10 targets for 49 yards and a touchdown. Burkhead seems to have the role of passing back locked down for as long as James White is off the field. With the running back position likely picked thin on your waiver wire, getting any kind of production is important.

RB Brian Hill, Atlanta Falcons (2% rostered)

Hill has had a small but steady role to start the season, but broke out against the Bears. Hill carried the ball nine times for 58 yards and a touchdown while also catching the ball once for 22 yards. Hill likely won’t offer you week-to-week value but he’s worth stashing for matchups (the Falcons get to play the Panthers twice) and if Todd Gurley were to ever miss time with an injury.

WR Justin Jefferson, Minnesota Vikings (27% rostered)

Week 3 saw a lot of rookie wide receivers breakout, but no one more than Jefferson. He caught seven of nine targets for 175 yards and a touchdown. Jefferson is a must-add this week as the Vikings are set to face the Texans, Seahawks, and Falcons next, all secondaries who love giving up fantasy points to wide receivers.

WR Brandon Aiyuk, San Francisco 49ers (27% rostered)

Finally, healthy, we’re starting to see how Kyle Shanahan plans to use the rookie Aiyuk and early signs look quite good for fantasy. Aiyuk caught five of his eight targets for 70 yards and also carried the ball three times for 31 yards and a touchdown. With the 49ers offense dealing with countless injuries, I would expect Aiyuk to remain a focal part of their offense moving forward.

WR Cole Beasley, Buffalo Bills (9% rostered)

It doesn’t seem like Josh Allen will ever throw for under 300 yards again which means you want to buy any piece of the Bills passing game. Through three games, Beasley is averaging over 6.5 targets, five catches, and 76 yards. These numbers might increase even more if John Brown, who left Sunday’s game with a calf injury, misses any time. We saw Allen and Beasley develop a strong connection last year and it’s gotten better to start 2020.

WR Tee Higgins, Cincinnati Bengals (4% rostered)

With John Ross a scratch against the Eagles, Higgins came in and saw nine targets, catching five of them for 40 yards and two touchdowns. At 6-foot-4, Higgins has the size to be a red zone monster for the Bengals. With Ross in and out of the lineup and A.J. Green still not quite making an impact, Higgins might emerge as the Bengals No. 2 receiver in the coming weeks.

TE Mo Alie-Cox, Indianapolis Colts (9% rostered)

If you didn’t add Alie-Cox last week, you best be doing it this week. Alie-Cox followed up his last week performance (one in which he went five for six for 111 yards) by catching all three of his targets for 50 yards and a touchdown. Even if Jack Doyle comes back healthy, Alie-Cox has clearly taken the starting gig from him and proven to be a reliable fantasy stud in this Colts offense.

TE Jimmy Graham, Chicago Bears (8% rostered)

Not only did Nick Foles lead the Bears to a come-from-behind win, he also revitalized Jimmy Graham! Remember him!? Graham finished with TEN targets, catching six of them for 60 yards and two touchdowns. There’s nothing Foles likes more than tossing to his tight end so getting in on the ground floor is not a bad move.