Guiding you through the NFL's top Fantasy Football waiver wire targets ahead of Week Four in the 2024 season; watch the Dallas Cowboys take on the New York Giants on Thursday night, live on Sky Sports NFL from 1.15am Friday morning
Monday 23 September 2024 18:08, UK
From Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Justin Fields to another Aaron Rodgers target in New York, we look at some of the NFL's top Fantasy Football waiver wire targets ahead of Week Four in the 2024 season...
Matt LaFleur's young Green Bay Packers offense continues to dazzle as one of the league's most free-flowing and creative units, as much evidenced in Sunday's win over the Tennessee Titans behind an impressive Malik Willis at quarterback in place of the injured Jordan Love.
Wilson was among the standout performers as the 2023 undrafted running back logged 12 carries for 50 yards alongside two catches for 35 yards and a first career touchdown, finding the end zone from a beautifully designed screen. While Josh Jacobs will continue to see the main bulk of the work out of the backfield, Wilson's ability in the passing game offers LaFleur another weapon to his art of pre-snap misdirection.
Next up for the Packers, though, is a meeting with a Minnesota Vikings team that surrendered just 274 yards of total offense against the Houston Texans in Week Three.
It proved quite the week for the Carolina Panthers, who began by benching No 1 pick quarterback Bryce Young before seeing veteran Andy Dalton lead them to a 36-22 victory over a Las Vegas Raiders team that had beaten the Baltimore Ravens a week earlier. Dalton himself holds a case for being a strong waiver candidate this week after tossing three touchdown passes, but among the other shining lights in Dave Canales' first win as head coach was running back Hubbard.
The 2021 fourth-round pick rushed for 114 yards off 21 carries while making five catches for 55 yards and a touchdown as a welcome complement to Diontae Johnson's eight catches for 122 yards and a touchdown through the air. It marked the second-highest touch total in a game of his NFL career, while seeing him targeted in the passing game five times for the second week in a row.
No Deebo Samuel, no Christian McCaffrey, no George Kittle. It was Jauan Jennings' time to shine for the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday as he produced the game of his life in their defeat to the Los Angeles Rams, making 11 catches - including a stunning Randy Moss-style grab - for 175 yards and three touchdowns.
It was the latest reminder of the incredible depth of talent at Kyle Shanahan and Brock Purdy's disposal, Jennings seeing the bulk of the targets ahead of Brandon Aiyuk only to see his efforts go unrewarded courtesy of a Matthew Stafford-led Rams fightback.
Jennings has long been admired by head coach Shanahan, who would often hail his ability to buy separation without being the quickest receiver of the slickest route-runner. He has a knack for getting open, and that pays well. With McCaffrey out for a few more weeks and Samuel and Kittle recovering, he will be called upon as the 49ers look to ignite their season after a 1-2 start.
Fun fact: Tyler Badie loves Looney Tunes. His favourite character growing up was Tasmanian Devil. The joys of pre-Draft interviews that can be resurfaced in the wake of NFL success! Badie has had to be patient for opportunities since being drafted in the sixth round by the Ravens in 2022, arriving in Denver shortly after before finding himself playing behind the likes of Latavius Murray, Melvin Gordon III and Javonte Williams.
His moment to shine came on Sunday when he had nine catches for 70 yards while averaging 7.8 yards per carry as the Broncos beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 26-7. The running game is crucial to Sean Payton's side as they look to set rookie quarterback Bo Nix up for success, Badie trending towards an increased role amid a slow start to the year from backfield partner Williams.
Aaron Rodgers has arrived, the New York Jets have awoken and suddenly it appears as though there is a new contender in the AFC. While Garrett Wilson and Allen Lazard lead Rodgers' trusted targets, tight end Tyler Conklin has emerged as a prominent figure on the Jets offense and underlined his value with five catches for 93 yards in Thursday night's win over the New England Patriots.
He continues to see one of the highest snap counts on a week-to-week basis while running routes on the majority of Rodgers' dropbacks. The talent around him casts doubt over the consistency of his production and use, but Conklin has little competition in the tight end position in New York.
Mike Tomlin's hard-nosed Pittsburgh Steelers are 3-0 to start the year and it doesn't appear as though Russell Wilson is coming in to replace Justin Fields at quarterback once he returns from injury. Fields made more strides in his bid to cement the starting position on Sunday as he completed 25 of 32 passes for 245 yards, one touchdown and one interception in a 20-10 win over the Los Angeles Chargers.
He continues to look more comfortable in the pocket and operating in Arthur Smith's offense, and has a perfect record - regardless of the nature of the wins - to show for his work so far this season. His best throw at the weekend came on a 55-yard house call from Calvin Austin III, Fields threading the needle with a bullet through traffic before seeing his receiver race away for the touchdown. Can the former Chicago Bear breathe new life into his career?
Watch the Dallas Cowboys take on the New York Giants to kick off Week Four on Thursday night, live on Sky Sports NFL from 1.15am Friday morning; Also stream with NOW.
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