Fantasy Football 2019 Week 4 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 owned in fewer than 50 percent of leagues, with the ownership percentage coming from Yahoo.com.

Quarterbacks

Jacoby Brissett, Colts (20% Owned): Brissett is not a flashy option, but if you have quarterback problems, and your league mates with QBs to spare are playing hardball, you can get by with Brissett, whose next two games are home for Oakland, and at Kansas City. Brissett had his best game of the year on Sunday, piling up 310 yards and tossing two touchdowns against the Falcons. He has thrown just one pick on the year, so he won’t carelessly cost you, and he does have some rushing upside; he picked up 25 yards on the ground in Week 2 against the Titans. Keep an eye out for T.Y. Hilton’s status, as losing him would definitely hurt Brissett’s stock. It could also be an opportunity for rookie Parris Campbell to break out.

Running Backs

Chris Thompson, Redskins (45% Owned): At the beginning of the season I said Thompson may be the Redskins’ best receiver. While I’ve come to think that is WR Terry McLaurin, Thompson has just one fewer target on the season and the same number of receptions (16). While his ceiling is capped, Thompson’s role in this offense is matchup-proof as the passing downs back, and in any given game Thompson could go off if the game script gets away from Adrian Peterson. Thompson is a safe, low-end FLEX option in any given week in standard and half-PPR formats, and an RB2 in full-PPR leagues.

Wayne Gallman, Giants (8% Owned): Gallman will likely be the most-added player in fantasy this week as he steps in for a lengthy stay as the Giants’ lead back, but I wouldn’t be so quick to back up the FAAB Brinks truck. Yes, he’ll probably see a fairly heavy workload moving forward, especially with rookie Daniel Jones at QB, but Gallman just isn’t very good. Gallman might wind up as a useful RB2 if he sees enough carries, and he can contribute some in the passing game too, but anyone thinking that he can remotely make up for the loss of Barkley will be sadly mistaken. He is a mere band-aid, and Barkley owners have suffered a shotgun wound.

Darrel Williams, Chiefs (8% Owned): Williams worked ahead of rookie Darwin Thompson last week when LeSean McCoy exited with an injury, and will be a must-start if Damien Williams and McCoy fail to suit up. If McCoy is playing, leave Williams on the bench, but you can’t wait to pick him up.

Wide Receivers

DJ Chark, Jaguars (41% Owned): I’m sold. Chark, a complete bust last season, has sufficiently thrown people off his scent. A 6’4, 200-lb. burner, Chark has clearly become the Jaguars’ No. 1 option in the passing game with touchdowns in three straight games, and at least four catches. No one will confuse him for a target hound like Keenan Allen, but he’s been extremely efficient with the targets he’s gotten from Gardner Minshew/Nick Foles, and averaging 18.5 yards per reception with an 83% catch rate. I wouldn’t call him a WR1 because this touchdown pace he’s on is not realistic, but I now believe in him as a high-floor WR2.

Mecole Hardman, Chiefs (49% Owned): Hardman has higher upside than Chark, but he also has a much lower floor and potentially shorter shelf life (for 2019). Hardman is a massive threat in any game that Tyreek Hill is not active. Despite having only six receptions on the season, Hardman has tallied 158 receiving yards and two touchdowns, while averaging an absurd 26.3 yards per catch. With Pat Mahomes throwing the ball, I honestly wouldn’t be surprised to see Hardman’s yards per reception stay at this level, and with Hill out he’s seen six and five targets, respectively, in the last two games. If available, Hardman is a superb add for at least the next few weeks. He may retain his value too when Hill comes back, at the expense of DeMarcus Robinson, but that’s not a given.

Preston Williams, Dolphins (3 % Owned): Williams has been a lone bright spot in a truly, embarrassingly despicable offense. Williams has been targeted 23 times in three games, and turned it into a respectable 11 receptions, 151 yards and one touchdown campaign. He is obviously the most trusted WR in this receiving corps, and at this point a return from Albert Wilson probably won’t hurt his value. Even in an offense that sucks as much as this one does, someone will accrue a few points. Preston Williams is that Dolphin, and he’s a middling FLEX option in full-PPR formats.

Cole Beasley, Bills (8% Owned): Beasley is a high-floor, full-PPR guy. Full stop. The ceiling here is very low, as Beasley isn’t a particularly explosive receiver, and his offense is run-heavy with an inaccurate QB. With that said, he’s been targeted 23 times in three games with a 73.9% catch rate. That works out to 5.7 catches per game, with 57 yards per game. Nobody really wants to start Cole Beasley, but he’s the type of player you can throw in your lineup in a pinch and feel reasonably sure he won’t turn around and throw up a doughnut.

Parris Campbell, Colts (4% Owned): Campbell is a very risky, very speculative add. The talent is tremendous here, but he lost nearly all of his value in the preseason when Andrew Luck retired, and he lost training camp time with injury. So far this year he’s done nothing to warrant a pickup; but T.Y. Hilton pulled up lame in the first half last week, and if he misses time Campbell is the best bet to replace Hilton’s over-the-top ability. Campbell isn’t established, but he is a physical mismatch down the field, and he’s plenty fast enough to take short passes to the house. Should he wind up in a position to see a bunch of targets, I wouldn’t be surprised at all if he took advantage and had a blowup game.

Tight Ends

Will Dissly, Seahawks (46% Owned): Dissly is quickly rising up the tight end rankings, and so far it doesn’t seem like a fluke. Three touchdowns in two weeks makes him instantly interesting, but he’s been targeted 12 times in these two games and managed at least 50 yards. That gives him the look of more than a TD-or-bust TE in the mold of Jimmy Graham or Kyle Rudolph, especially in a passing offense that is light on dominant options (excluding Tyler Lockett). Dissly could be a breakout.