CFB Waiver Wire: Players to Pick Up Week 3

Waiver Wire Watch: Players to Pick Up Week 3

What an exciting Week 2 in the college football world as I recommended some studs; RB Jonathan Taylor (223 yards and three touchdowns), QB Ryan Finley (383 total yards and three touchdowns), RB Lexington Thomas (190 yards and three touchdowns) and some duds; WR Byron Pringle (no catches), TE Ryan Smith (no catches) and RB Aaron Duckworth (just 80 yards). As a friendly reminder, make sure to keep up with injury news as this article is posted early in the week. As always, I'll get to any questions or comments you have in the comments section below.

AAC

Chad President, QB, Tulsa: Not only does President have one of the coolest names in college football, he's part of a very underrated offense. It's not the Hurricanes fault they went up against the buzz saw known as Oklahoma State in the first week. President threw a touchdown and rushed for two more in a 66-42 win over UL-Lafayette on Saturday. I would recommend wide receiver Justin Hobbs, but he's already owned in a bunch of leagues. It will help President and Hobbs that opposing defenses will spend most of their time figuring out how to stop running back D'Angelo Brewer.

Steven Dunbar, WR, Houston: I recommended Corbin last week and he only recorded one catch for 49 yards in a 19-16 win at Arizona. I'll stick with Dunbar this week who's owned in only 11% of leagues on Fantrax and has a juicy match-up against Rice. Dunbar finished second to Linell Bonner with six catches for 72 yards in the Cougars first game of the season. Quarterback Kyle Allen is a lot better than he showed in the late night game at Arizona.

ACC

Daniel Jones, QB, Duke: Available in about 50% of leagues, Jones has a potential monster match-up with the Baylor Bears. For the second week in a row, Baylor lost to a school outside of a Power 5 Conference and who knows how the Bears will perform against a team from the ACC. This past week, Jones led Duke to a 2-0 record while racking up a total of 413 yards against Northwestern. On the season, Jones has four scores through the air and three scores on the ground.

Reggie Gallaspy, RB, NC State: My thinking on this one is that NC State will go up big early on FCS opponent Furman, which will allow Gallaspy to get a ton of second half opportunities. While that wasn't quite the case versus Marshall (only a 23-20 lead at halftime), the junior back did have two touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Moreover, Nyheim Hines wasn't very effective versus Marshall with 13 carries for 29 yards, so best case scenario could have Gallaspy playing early in the game.

BIG 12

Marcell Ateman, WR, Oklahoma State: I don't think it's a stretch to anoint the Cowboys as the best offense in the Big 12. Those who drafted quarterback Mason Rudolph and wide receiver James Washington are already reaping the benefits, but that doesn't mean you can't as well going forward. Ateman is a bigger receiver at 6-4, which makes him a desirable target in the red-zone as he showed with two touchdowns versus South Alabama. He'll at least be worth a play this week when Oklahoma State plays a questionable Pittsburgh secondary.

David Sills, WR, West Virginia: Through two games, Sills is leading the Mountaineers with 16 catches for 247 yards and five touchdowns. While quarterback Will Grier is owned in pretty much every league, Sills is available in over 60% of leagues. Sills should grab a couple of more touchdown receptions against the likes of Delaware State and Kansas over the next two weeks.

BIG TEN

Jonathan Taylor, RB, Wisconsin: As suggested last week, Taylor had a breakout game with 223 yards and three touchdowns on a team-high 26 carries. As of Saturday, the freshman back was owned in only 7% of leagues on Fantrax which is far too low. If I have to, I'll put him the column each and every week. Taylor's workload may have been somewhat overstated in the Badgers' second game as Bradrick Shaw was held out of the game with a leg injury, but it doesn't really matter because he's still the best running back Wisconsin has.

Nate Stanley, QB, Iowa: Stanley has been a pleasant surprise to start the season with eight touchdowns and only one interception while leading the Hawkeyes to a 2-0 record. He was particularly impressive while completing 65.9% of his passes and throwing for 333 yards and five touchdowns in an overtime win at Iowa State. I'm not saying it will last the whole season, but he's worth a spot-start against North Texas this next week.

CONFERENCE-USA

A.J. Erdely, QB, UAB: The dual-threat quarterback added three rushing touchdowns in a 51-31 loss to Ball State. Up next is the Sun Belt's Coastal Carolina who gave up 441 total yards in a win over Massachusetts in the first week. At the very least, the game will be a shootout with both teams running all over the place. If you want any part of this for fantasy purposes, Erderly is your best bet with running back Spencer Brown also worth a consideration.

Michael Lawrence, WR, North Texas: Lawrence has started the season with 11 catches for 160 yards and a touchdown through the first two games for the Mean Green. While it's not a great match-up with Iowa in Week 3, you may want to snatch him up for the UAB game the following week. He'll also hold some significant value during the conference season as North Texas will typically be throwing the ball in an attempt to catch up to opposing teams.

MAC

Papi White, RB/WR, Ohio: The Bobcats had no chance in a 44-21 loss to Purdue on Friday Night, but White bounced back from a relatively quiet week one while snagging seven catches for 103 yards. The converted running back is the team's top option at wide receiver and Ohio has a relatively easy schedule over the next few weeks with Kansas, Eastern Michigan and Massachusetts. White also provides the flexibility of starting at either the running back or wide receiver position in most leagues. Quarterback Nathan Rourke can also be considered as Kansas gave up 590 total yards to Central Michigan last week.

Shane Morris, QB, Central Michigan: Available in most leagues, Morris has a decent match-up with Syracuse which could turn out to be a high-scoring game. On the road against Kansas, Morris was near perfect while completing 28-of-37 passes for 467 yards and five touchdowns. While the ceiling won't be near that high this week, somewhere in the range of 20-to-35 fantasy points seems possible. Wide receiver Mark Chapman is also worth a look.

MOUNTAIN WEST

Josh Allen, QB, Wyoming: Some gave up on Allen after a horrific start against Iowa in week one when the highly-touted NFL prospect threw for only 174 yards and two touchdowns. The senior bounced back in week two with 328 yards and two touchdowns in a 27-0 win over Gardner-Webb. He'll look to impress NFL scouts when the Cowboys host Oregon and their high-scoring offense. Thus, if he's available in your league, go out and get him.

McLane Mannix, WR, Nevada: The Wolfpack have the softest matchup in the conference with Idaho State on the schedule. Mannix, a freshman, is coming off a breakout game with six catches for 139 yards and a touchdown. Other recommendations include quarterback Ty Gangi and running back Jaxson Kincaide.

PAC-12

Patrick Laird, RB, California: The former walk-on had a coming out party on Saturday with 191 rushing yards and three touchdowns on just 12 carries. Laird replaced starting running back Tre Watson who was forced out of the game with a knee injury. If Watson is forced to miss some significant time, Laird should be picked up as Cal's offense is going to be above average most weeks.

Charles Nelson, WR, Oregon: The 2017 Ducks and sophomore quarterback Justin Herbert are the real deal. Nelson is a big piece of that equation with 13 catches for 216 yards and a touchdown in the first two games. Oregon won't stop putting up points anytime soon, so Nelson should be owned in a lot more than the 12% of leagues he's owned in right now.

SEC

Jordan Wilkins, RB, Mississippi: Wilkins is the top back in the Rebels offense which is centered around the pass and quarterback Shea Patterson. In a weird game against Tennessee-Martin, Wilkins added a rushing touchdown and a touchdown reception. So far through two games, the senior back has caught six passes which makes his floor high enough to own in most fantasy leagues. Ole Miss will play at California this week which could turn out to be a high-scoring affair.

Jared Pinkney, TE, Vanderbilt: Pinkney caught a pair of touchdowns in a 42-0 shutout of Alabama A&M on Saturday. One was for 10 yards in the second quarter and the other for 23 yards in the third quarter. With a looming match-up against a stingy Kansas State defense, quarterback Kyle Shurmur may have to rely on his freshman tight end to move the chains.

SUN BELT

Taylor Lamb, QB, Appalachian St.: Lamb torched Savannah State to the tune of 327 yards and five touchdowns on only 12 completions and 15 passing attempts. That's a staggering 27 yards per completion. While he wasn't great against Georgia in week one, he's not likely to see a defense like that again this season. Paired with an elite rushing attack headed up by Jalin Moore and Terrence Upshaw, Lamb will have ample opportunities to put up 300 yard games. His ownership should skyrocket with Texas State on the schedule.

Warren Wand, RB, Arkansas St.: The Red Wolves game with Miami was cancelled due to Hurricane Irma, which means that the Sun Belt's second best team has a ton of guys on the waiver wire. Wand projects to have a huge game versus Arkansas Pine-Bluff and there's no doubt he's the Red Wolves' main running back. The junior led the team a year ago with 879 yards and seven touchdowns to go along with 24 catches for 279 yards and three more touchdowns. Quarterback Justice Hansen and receivers Blake Mack and Chris Murray are also worth considering for the near future.