Week 3 Waiver Wire: MUST-ADD Pickups & Deep Sleepers

This Week 3 waiver wire episode from Theo Gremminger arrives after a brutal Week 2 injury wave — Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, Saquon Barkley, Mike Evans, Jake Ferguson, David Njoku, and others all went down — forcing a "daily fantasy mindset" on redraft managers. Gremminger's central argument is that this carnage has created a flood of legitimate, actionable pickups across every position, and he runs through them position by position with specific priority levels for shallow, deep, and Superflex formats.

The arguments

Bryce Young is having a real, sustainable QB1 season, not a mirage. Gremminger points to back-to-back top-five scoring weeks and 287 yards/3 touchdowns in a shutout of Atlanta, then places Young in the historical bucket of high-pedigree quarterbacks who broke out unexpectedly (Daniel Jones, Sam Darnold, Baker Mayfield, Geno Smith). He argues Young should be rostered even by managers already deep at quarterback, if only to price-enforce the wire so no one steals him cheap.

Superflex quarterback options extend well past Young this week. Gremminger flags C.J. Stroud (627 yards, zero picks through two weeks, just no touchdowns) as a yardage-league grab, Geno Smith for a soft two-game stretch against Detroit and Chicago, and specifically pitches Tyson Bagent as a priority Superflex add given his contract extension and strong preseason, while Marcus Mariota gets a lukewarm add recommendation as Washington's stopgap given his history of scrambling production.

Direct handcuffs are the running back priority given the injury landscape, led by Tank Bigsby and Emmanuel Wilson. Gremminger argues Bigsby is the true replacement for Saquon Barkley's rushing role despite being out-snapped by Will Shipley, citing a physical goal-line carry sequence as evidence. He separately calls Emmanuel Wilson the top running back add for managers without shallow-league access, pointing to 21 carries on 92 yards as a signal Seattle trusts him amid Kenneth Walker and Jarran Price injuries.

Alvin Kamara still has standalone value as a receiving-down back even as his rushing efficiency craters. Gremminger notes Kamara's 14 touches and five catches in a road win over Baltimore as "signal," arguing Travis Etienne's role is shrinking (losing goal-line work to Kendre Miller and passing-game work to Kamara) and that Kellen Moore's scheme historically funnels targets to backs.

Wide receiver adds cluster around injury-driven opportunity: Rashad Bateman, Dontayvion Wicks, Keon Coleman, and Adonai Mitchell. Bateman's seven catches for 88 yards and a touchdown make him a must-start if Zay Flowers sits again against Dallas, per Gremminger. Wicks looks like Philadelphia's clear No. 2 target behind A.J. Brown given Jake Ferguson's injury; Coleman played 70% of snaps after DJ Moore's injury and profiles as a touchdown-upside piece behind Dalton Kincaid. Mitchell, a Gremminger favorite dating back to preseason coverage, led all Jets receivers in targets across two weeks and is being teed up for a spike game against Detroit or Chicago.

Tight end is thin, so touchdown-role players like Darren Waller and injury beneficiaries like Rondale Fowler-Gadsden and Hunter Henry matter more than usual. Gremminger highlights Waller's two touchdown catches (plus one called back in Week 1) as evidence Bryce Young trusts him in the end zone, calling him a must-add in tight end premium leagues. He also flags Gadsden's likely expanded role with both Njoku and Kolar banged up, and Henry's target bump now that rookie Elic Ayomanor (referred to as "Raritan" in transcript) is hurt.

What it means for your roster

• Add Bryce Young now, even in one-QB leagues where you're set, purely to prevent a cheap streaming claim by a leaguemate; Gremminger suggests bidding around 6% FAB just to price-enforce.
• Prioritize Tank Bigsby and Emmanuel Wilson at running back if available — both are framed as direct top-15/starter-value plays pending Barkley's and Walker's practice status.
• Grab Alvin Kamara in PPR/passing-game formats as a lower-cost pass-catching back play; he's not a runner right now but the receiving role is real.
• Claim Rashad Bateman and Dontayvion Wicks aggressively — Bateman is a top-30 WR play this week if Flowers sits, and Wicks is being positioned as Philadelphia's clear No. 2 behind Brown.
• Stash Darren Waller in tight end premium/FFPC leagues given his red-zone role; add Rondale Gadsden as a speculative add given the crowded Chargers tight end room thinning out.
• Superflex managers should target Tyson Bagent and Marcus Mariota if Bryce Young is already gone in your league — Bagent specifically graded as a top-18 QB streaming option.