{"id":247818,"date":"2025-09-23T11:00:49","date_gmt":"2025-09-23T15:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=247818"},"modified":"2025-09-23T11:00:49","modified_gmt":"2025-09-23T15:00:49","slug":"week-3-waiver-wire-pickups-chargers-and-chiefs-wide-receivers-headline","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/09\/23\/week-3-waiver-wire-pickups-chargers-and-chiefs-wide-receivers-headline\/","title":{"rendered":"Week 3 Waiver Wire Pickups – Chargers and Chiefs Wide Receivers Headline"},"content":{"rendered":"

Week 3 is in the books, and the waiver wire for fantasy football this week is exciting. In weeks past, it’s been listed out by position, but this week, to help managers have a priority list to check for, it’s sorted by roster percentage according to FantasyPros<\/a>. Happy hunting, and let’s find some waiver wire gold.<\/p>\n

Week 3 Waiver Wire Pickups – Chargers and Chiefs Wide Receivers Headline<\/h2>\n

Priority Pickups and Checks<\/h3>\n

Trey Benson – Arizona Cardinals Running Back<\/h3>\n

James Conner just went down with a significant injury<\/a>, and it’s Benson’s backfield now. He was an exciting prospect coming out, who had to sit behind Conner for a year before getting a real shot. Now that it’s year two, and the opportunity is there, he’s the kind of waiver wire addition to spend up all of your FAAB or make a priority acquisition on him.<\/p>\n

Rostered in 54% of leagues<\/em><\/p>\n

Quentin Johnston – Los Angeles Chargers<\/a> Wide Receiver<\/h3>\n

Johston has been a slow burn in the NFL, but the year three breakout seems like it’s here to stay. Ladd McConkey’s slow start can be partly attributed to Johnston’s breakout and Keenan Allen having more left in the tank than anticipated (check waivers for Allen, too, in deeper leagues). Johnston is a full-time player (second on the team in snaps) on a high-powered offense. With his run-after-the-catch ability and a step forward in the hands department, Johnston is a priority addition for any team that needs wide receiver help.<\/p>\n

Rostered in 29% of leagues<\/em><\/p>\n

Juwan Johnson – New Orleans Saints Tight End<\/h3>\n

Kellen Moore loves to use his tight ends, and Johnson has been on a tear. His usage is exciting (second in the league in targets), and the offense is likely to be playing from behind in most situations. In PPR or TEP leagues, Johnson may have graduated from streamer to a must-start option. He was originally listed in a “players to stash” video<\/a> in the preseason.<\/p>\n

Rostered in 29.3% of leagues<\/em><\/p>\n

Main Photo Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"\"
Tennessee Titans wide receiver Elic Ayomanor (5) is stopped by Minnesota Vikings linebacker Chaz Chambliss (57) during the first quarter of an NFL pre-season game at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., Friday, Aug. 22, 2025.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Elic Ayomanor<\/a> – Tennessee Titans Wide Receiver<\/h3>\n

Not bad for a day three wide receiver! Ayomanor has worked his way into a role as the number two receiver for the Tennessee Titans in the first month of the season. He’s strong at the catch point and should continue to develop his chemistry with Cam Ward throughout the season. He has FLEX appeal until further notice.<\/p>\n

Rostered in 25% of leagues<\/em><\/p>\n

Tyquan Thornton – Kansas City Chiefs Wide Receiver<\/h3>\n

Starting Thornton is walking into the casino and putting it all on red. Maybe you hit big, maybe you get absolutely nothing. But the thrill is worth it, right? Thornton has worked his way into the deep threat role for the Chiefs, and the timing on some of those deep throws looked a little better this week. Until Xavier Worthy returns, Thornton is a boom-bust FLEX or WR4.<\/p>\n

Rostered in 5% of leagues<\/em><\/p>\n

Harold Fannin Jr. – Cleveland Browns Tight End<\/h3>\n

Fannin Jr. is quietly one of the top pass-catching options in Cleveland. It’s not a particularly enticing offense, but he’s earning targets and playing time at a fairly high rate. Fannin Jr. is a solid streaming option for anyone who punted on tight end in their drafts.<\/p>\n

Rostered in 39% of leagues<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"\"
Sep 14, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Seattle Seahawks linebacker Tyrice Knight (48) and safety Julian Love (20) tackle Pittsburgh Steelers running back Kenneth Gainwell (middle) during the fourth quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Woody Marks – Houston Texans<\/a> Running Back<\/h3>\n

They can’t keep trotting out Nick Chubb like this. Marks is slowly getting more opportunities and has the best pass-catching chops of any of the Houston running backs. He’s a stash for now, but may be worth the wait later in the season.<\/p>\n

Rostered in 13% of leagues<\/em><\/p>\n

Kenneth Gainwell – Pittsburgh Steelers Running Back<\/h3>\n

With Kaleb Johnson sent to the shadow realm, Gainwell is the handcuff in Pittsburgh. He gets enough run during the game to be worth a desperation start, so he’s a stash with benefits for now.<\/p>\n

Rostered in 15% of leagues<\/em><\/p>\n

Chigoziem Okonkwo – Tennessee Titans Tight End<\/h3>\n

Okonkwo is an emergency stash or streaming option from the waiver wire, and is best used in Week 5 when he gets a more favorable matchup. He’s a long-term play for those who need tight end help.<\/p>\n

Rostered in 22.2% of leagues<\/em><\/p>\n

Main Photo Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Trey Benson is the clear top pickup on the waiver wire this week, but there are plenty of other options at wide receiver and tight end.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4345,"featured_media":206287,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[59],"tags":[33430,7642,7811,8652,9758,32160,9349,3160,32926],"class_list":["post-247818","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fantasy","tag-2025-fantasy-football","tag-chargers-featured","tag-chiefs-featured","tag-juwan-johnson","tag-quentin-johnston","tag-trey-benson","tag-tyquan-thornton","tag-waiver-wire","tag-woody-marks"],"modified_by":"Mike Kashuba","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247818","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4345"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=247818"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247818\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":247825,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247818\/revisions\/247825"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/206287"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=247818"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=247818"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=247818"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}