• Geno Smith is a top-12 QB option in Week 4:  Smith is coming off a season-best 26.1 fantasy points performance in Week 3, after throwing three touchdowns in the game. Now, he gets to face a Chicago Bears defense that has allowed a league-high eight passing touchdowns this year.
   
• Stop letting rookie Elic Ayomanor sit on waivers: Ayomanor has scored at least 13 fantasy points in each of the last two weeks. Ayomanor and Tampa Bay Buccaneers first-rounder Emeka Egbuka are the only rookie wide receivers who have scored 13-plus fantasy points in multiple games this season.
• Unlock your edge with PFF+: Access Premium Stats, dominate fantasy with in-season tools and projections and make smarter bets with the new PFF Player Prop Tool.

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

With already so many injuries surrounding key fantasy players, you may find yourself digging deeper on the waiver wire than you ever expected heading into the fourth week of the season. Here are five players to consider adding from the waiver wire heading into Week 4 if you’re in a pinch due to injury.

Through his first three games with the Raiders, Smith has one solid (17.5 points in Week 1), one terrible (3.2 points in Week 2) and one great (26.1 in Week 3) fantasy performance. Smith threw three touchdowns last Sunday and should continue to find success this weekend against the beatable Chicago Bears’ defense. No team has allowed more passing touchdowns than the Bears this season, and they have also allowed the seventh most passing yards per game in the league. 

The Bears shut down Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys‘ offense in Week 3, but I believe that has more to do with the Cowboys’ fragility than the Bears’ defense. In the first two weeks of the season, both J.J. McCarthy (22.2 points) and Jared Goff (34) had good fantasy days in their matchups against the Bears. 

Available in 69.4% of ESPN leagues and 51% of Yahoo! Leagues.

Gordon has yet to play on more than 26% of the Dolphins’ offensive snaps, which is not ideal for his fantasy floor. Still, he had a career-high nine rushing attempts in Week 3, while stealing both of the team’s two goal-line carries from starter De’Von Achane in the game – Gordon was able to get into the end zone on one of those attempts. The Dolphins used a committee approach on the ground in Week 3 for the first time this season, as Gordon received just three fewer carries than Achane (12) in the game. Gordon should continue to be utilized as the Dolphins’ power back to go with Achane, who is explosive and a great pass-catcher. If you are desperate to fill your RB2 spot, Gordon is a viable option with his expected increased workload, especially around the goal line, at home against the New York Jets in Week 4.

Available in 72.5% of ESPN leagues and 70% of Yahoo! Leagues.

Marks has seen his snaps increase significantly each week of his early NFL career. In Week 1, he played on just 11% of the Texans’ offensive snaps, which jumped to 27% in Week 2 and then rose all the way up to 48% in Week 3. Texans starting running back Nick Chubb has been struggling on the ground, averaging just 3.9 yards per carry over the last two weeks, despite having a 25-yard carry in Week 2. Outside of that 25-yard carry, Chubb is averaging a measly 2.8 yards per attempt. At the same time, Marks has averaged 4.6 yards per carry over the last two weeks. 

Marks has yet to see more than seven touches or score more than 6.1 fantasy points in a game, but he is slowly taking over the backfield from Chubb, and the opportunities should continue to increase as long as Joe Mixon is sidelined. 

Available in 70.5% of ESPN leagues and 74% of Yahoo! Leagues.

Ayomanor is, for some reason, still available in over 70% of ESPN and Yahoo! leagues despite scoring more than 13 fantasy points in each of the last two weeks. Ayomanor is averaging the third-most fantasy points per game among fantasy WRs this season, behind only Emeka Egbuka and Tetairoa McMillan, who were both drafted in the first round. Ayomanor and Egbuka are the only rookie WRs who have scored at least 13 fantasy points in multiple games this season. From Weeks 2-3, Ayomanor is the WR20 in fantasy points per game at 14.7. Scoring more than Justin Jefferson, DeVonta Smith, Michael Pittman Jr., DK Metcalf, Courtland Sutton and Terry McLaurin during that span.

If you read this article last week, you hopefully already picked him up, but if you skipped over him, don’t make that mistake again. As I mentioned last week, Ayomanor’s fall to the fourth round of the draft had more to do with him playing in a terrible Stanford offense in college than it did with his skill set as a potential good NFL wide receiver. 

Available in 70% of ESPN leagues and 70% of Yahoo! Leagues.

This is a risky pick-up and play since Otton only has three receptions for 25 yards on the season, but there is hope his usage will increase significantly while Mike Evans is out due to a hamstring injury. Last year, while Evans was sidelined due to a hamstring injury from Weeks 7-10, Otton averaged 9.8 targets, 7.5 receptions and 19.3 fantasy points per game. Otton saw double-digit targets and scored at least 18 fantasy points in three of those four weeks. He stepped up big time when the Buccaneers needed him despite barely being utilized before or after Evans’ injury last season — Otton averaged just 6.3 fantasy points in all other games outside of Weeks 7-10 in 2024. If you are in desperation mode at the tight end position, Otton is not a bad bet off waivers, as there is a good chance he can see upwards of eight to 10 targets this Sunday in what should be a high-scoring affair against the Philadelphia Eagles. 

Available in 89% of ESPN leagues and 94% of Yahoo! Leagues.