CFB Waiver Wire: Players to Pick Up Week 3

Throughout the college football season, I'll pick two guys from every active conference who either caught my eye in the previous week or who have a favorable match-up in the near future. As always, I'll get to any questions or comments you have in the comments section below.

First though, here are the guys who made me look good last week;

Memphis RB Brandon Thomas (34.1 points)
SMU QB Tanner Mordecai (31.7 points)
New Mexico QB Terry Wilson (30.0 points)
Duke RB Mataeo Durant (26.9 points)
Marshall RB Rasheen Ali (23.2 points)
Purdue D/ST (16.0 points)
Purdue TE Payne Durham (15.4 points)
Boston College D/ST (15.0 points)

It wasn't all good though as Texas QB Hudson Card (2.7 points) looked like a freshman in his benching at Arkansas and Ohio WR Jerome Buckner (0.0 points) was held without a catch in a stunning 28-26 loss to Duquesne. Arizona State's RB DeaMonte Trayanum (0.0 points) also did not suit up due to an undisclosed injury. Here's to more data and sample size in order to avoid those pitfalls.

Slate Background: The third week is going to be a fun one as we have some college football on Thursday Night at Cajun Field (Ohio at Louisiana). We then get a double dose of decent games on Friday; UCF at Louisville and Maryland at Illinois. Saturday has a bunch of good games; Nebraska at Oklahoma, Cincinnati at Indiana, Michigan State at Miami, Nevada at Kansas State, Alabama at Florida & Auburn at Penn State. If you're willing to stay up late, you also get Arizona State at BYU and Fresno State at UCLA.

*Fantasy Points referenced in article are DK format.
**To qualify for recommendations, players must be rostered in less than 50 percent of Fantrax Leagues

AAC

Brandon Thomas, RB, Memphis

As I've done in the past, I'm not getting off a guy until he is rostered in more than half of leagues and Thomas is not even close with just a 17 percent roster percentage. Reminds me of the situation that Kenneth Gainwell was in a few years ago as a new Memphis back. The Tigers just took part in a 55-50 thriller with Arkansas State and Thomas is the clear number one back on this team. Quarterback Seth Henigan (available in 99 percent of leagues) is also intriguing, however, I trust the run game more long-term in this scenario. Thomas has been fantastic while averaging 9.94 YPC and has back-to-back 100-yard rushing games to start his career.

Grant Calcaterra, TE, SMU

I promise I won't go the entire season just recommending players from Memphis and SMU, even though I love both of these offensive schemes. Calcaterra has been as good as advertised through the first two games with back-to-back double-digit fantasy performances including at least one touchdown in both games. He should continue to be a popular target on that team and a security blanket for Tanner Mordecai who is going to continue to zip the ball around. Calcaterra is available in 53 percent of leagues and should be rostered across all leagues.

Week 2 Rewind; SMU QB Tanner Mordecai (31.7 points - 21/33 for 311 yards, 4 TD, 2 INT, 33 yards rushing) & Memphis RB Brandon Thomas (34.1 points - 18 attempts, 191 yards, 2 TD)

ACC

Kenny Pickett, QB, Pittsburgh

Pickett has been fantastic to begin the season while completing 69.9 percent of his passes for 557 yards and four touchdowns with an added rushing score in their 41-34 upset at Tennessee. The Panthers' schedule sets up nicely and I believe they will easily march on to 5-0 with upcoming games against Western Michigan, New Hampshire and at Georgia Tech. Available in over 75 percent of leagues, lock him into the lineup as it appears his fantasy floor is around 20 points and you could do a lot worse around the rest of the college football world.

Jake Bobo, WR, Duke

In addition to having a pretty cool name, Bobo has opened the season with back-to-back double-digit target performances. He's garnered 33.3 percent of the team's target share with 20 targets and has been fairly efficient with 16 grabs for 178 yards. This probably means that a touchdown is coming and it could come this week against Northwestern and if not then, most likely against Kansas the next week. This recommendation applies to the deepest of leagues as he's rostered in just one percent of leagues.

Week 2 Rewind; Duke RB Mataeo Durant (26.9 points - 17 touches, 69 yards, 3 TD) & NC State WR Emeka Emezie (15.2 points - 6 catches, 92 yards)

BIG 12

Spencer Sanders, QB, Oklahoma State

Sanders definitely has some rust to shake off as he was a little uneven in his season debut against Tulsa with 20.1 fantasy points. What I liked though was his team-leading 62 rushing yards and two passing scores despite being without top pass-catchers Tay Martin and Braydon Johnson. Due to him being in the COVID-19 protocol for the first week, Sanders is available in 58 percent of leagues and has an intriguing match-up at Boise State this week. Moreover, we also know that Sanders will provide plenty of upside during the Big 12 conference schedule.

Trestan Ebner & Abram Smith, RB, Baylor

Both Ebner (four percent) and Smith (seven percent) have been pleasant surprises for the Bears with back-to-back 100-yard rushing performances as co-starters at running back. Ebner provides a bit more upside in PPR formats with five catches thus far and Smith has been a bull with four rushing scores in the first two games. This dynamic pair should not be slowed down in their next game as they go up against a Kansas squad which is improving, yet has a long way to go on the defensive end as they were shredded by Coastal Carolina on the ground this last week. 

Week 2 Rewind; Oklahoma WR Mario Williams (14.9 points - 4 REC, 49 yards, 1 TD) & Texas QB Hudson Card (2.7 points - 5/15, 61 yards *Benched in 3rd quarter)

BIG TEN

Blake Corum, RB, Michigan

Here's another workhorse running back in the Big Ten that is flying under the radar. The sophomore followed up a 100-yard rushing performance against Western Michigan with a career-high 171 yards and three touchdowns on 21 carries in their primetime win over Washington. Corum's been very active in the passing game with five catches for 33 yards and a touchdown through the first two games. He's also dynamic enough to return kickoffs for the team, so there's no reason to believe that Michigan won't continue to fee him the ball. He's rostered in just 22 percent of leagues.

Taulia Tagovailoa, QB, Maryland

From a non dual-threat quarterback perspective, Tagovailoa has everything you want in a fantasy quarterback from an offense that has averaged 46 points per game and a couple of stud receivers in Rakim Jarrett (56 percent) and Dontay Demus (55 percent). He's rostered in 49 percent of leagues and I love the match-up at Illinois on Friday Night. I also liked that Tagovailoa still managed 23.8 fantasy points and three passing touchdowns even though the Terps beat Howard 62-0. Back-up Reece Udinski saw only five passing attempts, which means that Maryland is heavily invested in making sure Tagovailoa gets better as the season goes on.

Week 2 Rewind; Michigan State RB Kenneth Walker (11.7 points - 7 carries, 57 yards, 1 TD) & Purdue TE Payne Durham (15.4 points - 4 REC, 54 yards, 1 TD)

C-USA

Austin Kendall, QB, Louisiana Tech

I'm sold on Kendall after respectable back-to-back performances to start the season. The Bulldogs defense looks all kinds of awful while giving up a combined 77 points against Mississippi State and Southeastern Louisiana, which means that Kendall will be busy all year long. He's added a rushing score in each of Louisiana Tech's first two games which is a bonus as he only had one career score via the ground previous to that. Rostered in just 14 percent of leagues, he should be picked up everywhere as I'm assuming that Louisiana Tech and SMU will combine for all kinds of points this upcoming weekend.

Rasheen Ali, RB, Marshall

Similar to Memphis' Thomas above, I've seen far too many good trends with the freshman Ali and I love this Thundering Herd team. He started the season off with four rushing scores vs. Navy and then followed up that performance with a team-leading eight catches against NC Central. If he can become the go-to running back for this team and he certainly has the versatility to do so, he'll be a must-start each and every week. A chance of that happening means he should be rostered in far more than 21 percent of leagues right now.

Week 2 Rewind; Charlotte QB Chris Reynolds (18.1 points - 10/17, 103 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT, 60 rushing yards, 1 TD) & Marshall RB Rasheen Ali (23.2 points - 45 rushing yards, 8 REC, 47 yards, 1 TD)

MAC

Harrison Waylee, RB, Northern Illinois

The volume for Waylee has been great to begin the season with at least 26 carries in each of the Huskies' first two games against Georgia Tech and Wyoming. The efficiency has been even better at 6.09 YPC on 53 carries. While Michigan is a big step up in competition this week, the workload thus far is too good to ignore and that's why his 22 percent rostered mark should change quickly. Following the game with the Wolverines, Waylee is set up to have a breakout year. 

Jack Sorenson, WR, Miami-Ohio

Starting the season against Cincinnati was a tough situation for fantasy purposes and that's a big reason why Sorenson is rostered in just 46 percent of leagues after seeing a 16.5 percent decline across all leagues. But if we take a deeper dive into those numbers, he did have seven targets the first week and rebounded at Minnesota with a 21.7 fantasy point performance this last week. I feel pretty confident that he'll have a respectable week against Long Island University that let West Virginia do whatever they wanted this last week. Moreover, Sorenson will be a reliable contributor when MACtion begins in October.

Week 2 Rewind; Central Michigan WR JaCorey Sullivan (11.4 points - 2 REC, 34 yards, 1 TD) & Ohio WR Jerome Buckner (0 points - *Only catch negated by holding penalty)

MWC

Deven Thompkins, WR, Utah State

Thompkins, rostered in just 12 percent of leagues, has been on fire to begin the season with back-to-back eight catch games (11 targets in both games). He's been quite efficient on those catches as well with 16.6 YPC and two touchdowns. He's a number one receiver for a team that could have a sneaky good offense during the 2021 season as their new head coach comes over from Arkansas State where they were known to have some decent fantasy options. QB Logan Bonner also transferred from the Red Wolves and knows how to make this offense click which should continue at Air Force this next week.

Nick Starkel, QB, San Jose State

Starkel started off the season with five total touchdowns and 40.1 fantasy points against Southern Utah, but then was rather pedestrian (no touchdowns and 13.3 fantasy points) at a good USC squad. With a bye week to prepare for Hawaii, I'm willing to bet that Starkel's third performance of the season will be much closer to his first than his second. Because the Spartans were on that bye week, he's rostered in just 32 percent of leagues and is available in a ton of leagues.

Week 2 Rewind; UNLV RB Charles Williams (3.5 points - 13 carries for 35 yards), UNLV WR Kyle Williams (5.3 points - 2/6 targets, 27 yards, six rushing yards), & New Mexico QB Terry Wilson (30.0 points - 26/37, 381 yards, 3 TD)

PAC-12

Anthony Brown, QB, Oregon

Brown does not excite me through the air as he's completed just 54.2 percent of his passes, but I do like his 26 carries for 121 yards and a touchdown through the first two games. Rostered in just 26 percent of leagues, he's going to get a ton of playing time through the Pac-12 schedule and with the Ducks' surprising upset of Ohio State on the road, they're going to have a target on their back and will need to put up a ton of offense on that schedule. He should have a decent day against Stony Brook, but this waiver wire add is more about the future in Eugene. 

Terrell Bynum, WR, Washington

The Huskies have had a nightmare start to the season with losses to FCS-level Montana and Michigan. Meanwhile, Oregon and UCLA are rising up the rankings and two of the most talked about teams in the nation. At Michigan, Washington did make some progress and it all started with Bynum's return from an undisclosed injury with 25.5 fantasy points on five catches for 115 yards and a touchdown. He's available in 98 percent of leagues and even if the Huskies are worse than we previously thought, it just means he'll be targeted more often. Washington should be able to get their first win against Arkansas State this week and I expect a lot of points while doing so. 

Week 2 Rewind; Arizona State RB DeaMonte Trayanum (DNP due to undisclosed injury) & Oregon State WR Trevon Bradford (13.9 points - 6 REC, 79 yards)

SEC

Dontario Drummond, WR, Mississippi

Drummond is definitely the receiver to target in the Rebels' exciting offense with two games of over 30 fantasy points. It's not like this is coming from nowhere either as he did have 25 catches for 417 yards and seven touchdowns on 42 targets in nine games during the 2020 season. He's rostered in 42 percent of leagues while teammates Braylon Sanders and Jonathan Mingo are at 88 and 27 percent respectively. At this point, I'm not sure how you argue against what Drummond has done and they have a legit quarterback in Matt Corral throwing their way.

Brock Bowers, TE, Georgia

Bowers was Georgia's leading receiver in their defensive battle against Clemson in week one while converting six of eight targets for 43 yards. That didn't draw a ton of fantasy attention, but he was even better against UAB with 107 yards and two touchdowns. From that small sample size, it appears that Bowers is going to be a big part of what Georgia does on offense this year when utilizing the passing game whether it's JT Daniels or Stetson Bennett at quarterback. Moreover, he's rostered in just 13 percent of leagues and it's a great way to get a piece of perhaps the best team in the nation.

Week 2 Rewind; Kentucky QB Will Levis (18.7 points - 10/18, 179 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, rushing TD) & South Carolina RB ZaQuandre White (0.8 points - five carries for eight yards)

SUN BELT

Levi Lewis, QB, Louisiana

We now have good reason to believe that the Ragin' Cajuns are not nearly as good as we thought they were after they put up little resistance to Texas in the season-opener and squeaked by Nicholls in their second game. That helps me have a little more confidence in Lewis who is rostered in 23 percent of leagues because it means that Louisiana can't just run their way to victories. Their signal caller was forced to throw for 304 yards and two touchdowns against Nicholls and hopefully will need to do the same against a bad Ohio squad this week.

Te'Vailance Hunt, WR, Arkansas State

Don't love the match-up against Washington this week, yet what Hunt has done through two games is too hard to ignore. With revolving quarterback play between Layne Hatcher and James Blackman, the junior has 15 catches for 219 yards and two touchdowns. We all know about teammate Corey Rucker (14 catches for 214 yards and four touchdowns), but he's rostered everywhere, so go out and get the next best thing in Hunt who is rostered in just four percent of leagues. Arkansas State is going to continue to throw a ton and Hunt will continue to produce, especially when conference play comes around.

Week 2 Rewind; Coastal Carolina RB Shermari Jones (4.3 points - 10 carries, 43 yards) & South Alabama QB Jake Bentley (9.3 points - 29/46, 257 yards, 1 INT)

INDEPENDENTS

Jaren Hall, QB, BYU

I wasn't ready to bite on Hall after putting up 21.4 fantasy points at Arizona, but putting up 27.2 fantasy points in an upset of Utah was plenty enough to get him on my fantasy radar. I like that he has five touchdowns and no interceptions through the first two games as well as 128 rushing yards on 13 carries which gives a little more upside at the most important position in fantasy. Rostered in just eight percent of leagues, he's going to need to throw with some volume against Arizona State and I love his following match-up against South Florida.

Week 2 Rewind; BYU WR Neil Pau'u (10.9 points - 3 REC, 19 yards, 1 TD)

DEFENSE RECOMMENDATIONS

Army (vs. Connecticut) - Yes, we may pick whatever defense is playing the Huskies every week. The Black Knights have averaged eight fantasy points per game against better offenses.

Rutgers (vs. Delaware) - Apparently the Scarlet Knights are a defensive juggernaut; seven sacks, eight turnovers and a touchdown through the first two games. That should continue this week.

South Alabama (vs. Alcorn State) - Sneaky good in first two games with seven sacks, six turnovers and a touchdown. Available in 98 percent of leagues.

Week 2 Rewind; Purdue vs. Connecticut (16 points - 0 PA, 0 Sacks, 1 TA), Boston College at Massachusetts (15 points - 28 PA, 0 Sacks, 3 TAs & 2 TDs) & Florida vs. South Florida (6.5 points - 20 PA, 1 Sack, 1 TA)

SUMMARY & TOP RECOMMENDATIONS

Utilizing the two players for each conference above, here are my top recommendations for the week by position:

QB: Oklahoma State Spencer Sanders, Louisiana Tech Austin Kendall, Maryland Taulia Tagovailoa

RB: Memphis Brandon Thomas, Michigan Blake Corum, Marshall Rasheen Ali

WR: Utah State Deven Thompkins, Mississippi Dontario Drummond, Miami-Ohio Jack Sorenson

TE: SMU Grant Calcaterra, Georgia Brock Bowers

D/ST: Rutgers (vs. Delaware), Army (vs. Connecticut), South Alabama (vs. Alcorn State)