Week 2 in the NFL was an absolute blood bath for veteran quarterbacks. If you missed it, the 2019 Fantasy Football Week 3 Waiver Wire is here to give you the gory details. Our Week 2 Trends piece will go over snap and target counts and help you find diamonds in the rough.

Ben Roethlisberger left Sunday’s game after appearing to hurt his elbow in the first quarter. After further evaluation, Pittsburgh received to worst news possible, Big Ben will require surgery and will miss the rest of the season.

JuJu Smith-Schuster‘s value hangs in the balance and on the arm of Mason Rudolph who steps into the starting role with the Steelers.

Drew Brees also left Sunday’s game with what appeared to be a thumb injury.

#Saints QB Drew Brees has a torn ligament in his throwing thumb and he’s going to require surgery, sources say. The timeframe depends on the surgery, but he’s likely out 6 weeks. That’s the initial estimate. — Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 16, 2019

Michael Thomas and Alvin Kamara are the biggest losers with Brees out. Both will continue to see huge volume but will see big decreases in efficiency.

As always the Waiver Wire will list players owned in under 35% of Yahoo leagues. Players owned in less than 50% of leagues will be listed in the Other Options section.

2019 Fantasy Football Week 3 Waiver Wire

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Quarterbacks

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The sky might not be falling in Indy after all. After a tough Week 1 loss to the Chargers, Brissett was able to lead the Colts to a gritty win over the Titans.

While Brisket hasn’t put up gaudy numbers, he’s been consistent and thrown multiple touchdowns in each of the first two weeks. This past week the former-Patriot tossed three touchdowns against a tough-Titans defense on the road.

His home debut will come in Week 3 against the Falcons and their less than stellar defense. According to Pro Football Focus, the Atlanta defense received a 49.0 grade for coverage against receivers, good for 25th in the league.

Poor defense combined with a decent game script should make Brissett a solid target in deeper and two QB leagues.

Through two weeks the Bengals offense has been much better than advertised. Although their run game hasn’t gotten off the ground (1.9 YPC) the passing game has done what their best to make up for it.

The emergence of John Ross has helped Dalton become a low-end QB1 through two weeks. Thanks to a porous defense, Dalton has been forced to throw the second-most passing attempts in the league. All the volume has led to him putting up the second-most passing yards (729) and 11th most fantasy points among QBs.

A tough matchup against the Bills should temper expectations. However, the volume should remain as both Sam Darnold and Eli Manning threw more than 40 passes in their respective matchups.

Other Options: Jimmy Garoppolo (49% owned), Josh Allen (40% owned), Matthew Stafford (35% owned)

Running Backs

Frank Gore, Buffalo Bills (8% owned)

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Everyone keeps making age jokes but the old man just won’t go away. One week after leading the Bills in carries, the 36-year old took full control of the backfield.

Devin Singletary left the game with five minutes remaining but was firmly behind Gore throughout the game. Gore dominated the snaps (45-25) and carries (19-6) in the win over the Giants.

Singletary’s status for Week 3 is in question and if out, Gore will be the main back for the Bills in a plus matchup against the Bengals.

Raheem Mostert, San Fransisco 49ers (16% owned)

With Tevin Coleman our until after the 49ers bye week, Mostert became San Francisco’s RB2. Matt Breida started the game but Mostert out-snapped (34-21) and out-carried him (13-12) in the blowout win.

Mostert was very efficient with his touches, gaining 153 yards on 16 opportunities, including a 39-yard touchdown catch. Kyle Shanahan looks to have simply slid the depth chart up and will split carries between the two RBs.

It may be a strategy to preserve the fragile Breida’s health, but Mostert has earned every opportunity he receives.

The 49ers have a matchup with the Steelers in Week 3. Through two weeks, Pittsburgh has allowed big rushing days to both committees in New England and Seattle.

Other Options: Carlos Hyde (43% owned), Justin Jackson (33% owned), Rex Burkhead (14% owned), Darwin Thompson (18% owned)

Wide Receivers

Deebo Samuel, San Francisco 49ers (14% owned)

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Samuel led the Niners in snaps in Week 1, then led the team in targets in Week 2. The rookie caught 5-of-7 passes for 87 yards and a touchdown. The 49ers are insistent on finding ways to get him touches, as he also received two carries.

Dante Pettis has been an afterthought in the offense through two weeks and Marquise Goodwin has seen six totals targets through two weeks.

Owners shouldn’t be concerned about his snap count dipping so drastically between Weeks 1 and 2. If the Bengals were able to keep the game close the snaps would have been more consistent.

There was a lot of hype surrounding Samuel in the preseason and he seems to be cashing in on that potential early in the season. Owners with space on their bench can add him as a bench flier or FLEX option in deep leagues.

Demarcus Robinson, Kansas City Chiefs (7% owned)

Robinson was the latest beneficiary of being one of Patrick Mahomes‘ receivers. With Tyreek Hill out of the lineup, Robinson caught all six of his targets for 172 yards and two touchdowns.

Obviously that kind of production isn’t repeatable but any player in Kansas City offense can produce big numbers. For now, Robinson looks to be the deep threat for Mahomes, meaning he’ll have plenty of opportunities to score.

He was tied for third in targets (six) with rookie Mecole Hardman and should continue to hover around that number until Hill returns.

His big-play potential is very enticing and he should be owned in every league moving forward.

Other Options: Mecole Hardman (40% owned), Geronimo Allison (32% owned), Randall Cobb (24% owned), Nelson Agholor (15% owned)

Tight Ends

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If you’re looking at tight ends under 35% owned, you’re looking directly into the void of extremely touchdown dependent options.

Witten only has 45 total yards this season but has caught two touchdowns in two weeks. The former ESPN commentator is fourth on the team in targets and is a clear red-zone option for Dak Prescott.

Consistent targets and red zone opportunities make Witten a decent TE2 or streamer for owners who were on the wrong end of Hunter Henry‘s injury.

Tyler Eifert, Cincinnati Bengals (9% owned)

Speaking of touchdown-dependent players, Eifert is healthy (for now) and working his way back into the Bengals offense.

The oft-injured tight-end has seen five targets in each of the first two games. He hasn’t done a lot with those targets, gaining just 36 yards on eight catches.

He caught a touchdown in Week 2 but managed just nine yards on his three catches. Like Witten, Eifert needs to find the endzone to be Fantasy relevant.

Other Options: Will Dissly (3% owned)

Deep League Specials

D.J. Chark, Jacksonville Jaguars (13% owned)

Raise your hand if you thought the second-year receiver would be Jacksonville’s best Fantasy option? Through two games, Chark has caught 11-of-13 targets for 201 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Chark was able to follow up his 146-yard performance with another solid performance in Week 2. He was clearly the favorite target of rookie sensation Gardner Minshew, catching 7-of-9 passes for 55 yards and a touchdown.

It was a genuine concern for owners that his Week 1 performance wasn’t repeatable but another solid week has somewhat calmed those concerns.

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A slow-paced Thursday night game against the Titans is on tap, but it looks like Chark will continue to get more opportunities than Dede Westbrook and Chris Conley.

Make sure to visit the F6P Fantasy Football Page for more advice to help you dominate the 2019 season.