CFB Waiver Wire: Players to Pick Up Week 3

Waiver Wire Watch: Players to Pick Up Week 3

Throughout the college football season, I'll pick two guys from every 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.

AAC

Blake Barnett, QB, USF

A repeat recommendation from the first week, Barnett is not owned in nearly enough leagues after eclipsing 30+ fantasy points in each of his first two games. Not only has he completed nearly 70% of his passes with five touchdowns through the air, but he also has three touchdowns on the ground. Barnett should continue his hot run versus Illinois and East Carolina the next two weeks. Beyond that, USF has a fairly soft schedule and will be favored in most of their games this season, making Barnett a permanent fixture for fantasy lineups.
Marquez Stevenson, WR, Houston

Two games and two double-digit fantasy performances for Stevenson. What I like about Stevenson is that he comes with some diversification as he has three rushing attempts for 120 yards and seven catches for 147 yards with three total touchdowns. Houston's offense looked unstoppable versus Arizona and I'm not sure Texas Tech or Texas Southern will be able to stop them either. Quarterback D'Eriq King is a must own if he's somehow still available in your fantasy league and I would also consider rostering Courtney Lark.

ACC

Josh Jackson, QB, Virginia Tech

Jackson didn't play a ton versus William & Mary, yet was impressive in less than a half with 238 yards and two touchdowns. He'll play more in the coming weeks and has some nice upside with dual-threat ability. In Justin Fuente's offense last year, Jackson had 20 touchdowns through the air and six on the ground. With most fantasy leagues playing multiple quarterbacks, there's always a demand for the position and Jackson is worth the plug if in need of one.

Brevin Jordan, TE, Miami: Anytime a young tight end flashes, it catches my attention because there's such a shortage of dependable pass-catchers at the position. The freshman Jordan caught seven passes for 52 yards and two touchdowns versus Savannah State. I will caution this with the fact that his touchdowns came in the second half of a blowout win, so it's still questionable whether this can occur each and every week. Nonetheless, with Michael Irvin Jr. lost to injury, it's a realistic possibility that Jordan could be an impact fantasy player.

BIG 12

Lil'Jordan Humphrey, WR, Texas: Apparently the Longhorns are not back after a surprising loss to Maryland in Week 1 and a underwhelming win over Tulsa in Week 2. With that in mind, Humphrey who has been Sam Ehlinger's top target is likely to continue to be utilized with high volume. His 13 catches for 191 yards and a touchdown are tops on the team. With Texas having to play USC, TCU, Kansas State and Oklahoma, there's no way they won't need to utilize their junior receivers Humphrey and Collin Johnson.

Pooka Williams, RB, Kansas: Williams came out of nowhere and rushed for 125 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries to help Kansas win their first road game since 2009. I generally avoid the Jayhawks at all costs, but who knows, maybe Williams can provide a short-term spark. They do play Rutgers and Baylor the next two weeks who aren't exactly defensive stalwarts. At the very least, the true freshman is someone to keep an eye on for DFS purposes or in deeper leagues.

BIG TEN

Terry McLaurin, WR, Ohio State: I'm reaching on this one a bit because McLaurin has just five catches for 172 yards and three touchdowns. That type of efficiency is just not sustainable. Moreover, it was Tate Marshall who threw the touchdown to McLaurin versus Rutgers and not Dwayne Haskins. However, I believe McLaurin is the best blocker of the Buckeyes receivers and I think by season end, the senior will be a favorite for Haskins. Anything to try to get a fantasy points from Haskins as that guy can throw a sweet ball.

D.J. Knox, RB, Purdue: Maybe we did jump the gun with Rondale Moore because I'm not sure the Boilermakers are good enough or have the quarterback play right now to incorporate the speedy receiver in to their offensive plans. With a surprising 0-2 start to the season, Purdue is handcuffed to their running game which means they should keep feeding Knox who was a bright spot in their loss to Eastern Michigan. Knox rushed for 152 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries. He's averaging north of eight yards per carry which should warrant him more carries than Markell Jones or Tario Fuller.

C-USA

Jonathan Duhart, WR, Old Dominion

Duhart is already a known commodity as the 6-foot-3 receiver had 48 catches for 735 yards and nine touchdowns in his last healthy season in 2016. He's already been busy this year with 10 catches for 233 yards and two touchdowns in just two games. There doesn't appear to be any signs of rust from his broken foot in 2017 as he recorded 150 yards and two touchdowns this past week. Oh yeah, the Monarchs play a terrible Charlotte team this upcoming week.

Chris Robison, QB & Jovon Durante, WR, FAU

Forget about the Owls first game versus Oklahoma as the Sooners are a playoff contender. Florida Atlantic showed much more life in a 33-27 win over Air Force on Saturday. Robison and Durante were a big reason why as the two hooked up 12 times for 174 yards and a touchdown. All-world running back Devin Singletary is owned in all fantasy leagues, but Robison and Durante are not. FAU will score enough points this year to make both their running and passing games relevant on a week to week basis.

MAC

Papi White, WR, Ohio

Most of the Bobcats looked downright awful in a 38-32 come-from-behind win versus Howard in Week 1. White was perhaps the only Ohio player who was not terrible with eight catches for 154 yards and a touchdown. With Ohio likely needing to pass the ball to compete with Virginia and Cincinnati, White could see monster target numbers over the next two games.

Jon Wassink, QB, Western Michigan

Wassink looked fantasy relevant in Week 1 with 379 passing yards and four total touchdowns versus Syracuse. But in Week 2 he fell straight on his face against a mad Michigan defense which held him to a paltry 86 total yards. Expect him to look much closer to the guy from Week 1 against Delaware State and Georgia State.

MOUNTAIN WEST

Armani Rogers, QB, UNLV

The Rebels appear to have improved dramatically with a hard-fought loss to USC in Week 1 and a 52-24 drubbing of UTEP in Week 2. People forget that Rogers was a highly recruited prospect with offers from UCLA, Arizona State and Washington. The speedy sophomore already has five passing touchdowns which is one less than the six he threw in all of 2017. This is in addition to the 185 yards and a score he's racked up on the ground. UNLV plays Prairie View A&M next week, so Rogers should be a dependable start.

Darwin Thompson, RB, Utah State

The Aggies are sneaky good and Thompson already has three rushing scores on 16 carries for 124 yards this season. Thompson is a JUCO transfer as Utah State lost both of their top rushers from last season. Utah State plays Tennessee Tech on Thursday Night, so this move could provide you a bit of incentive to check out the Mountain West's best-kept secret in the Aggies.

PAC-12

Jermar Jefferson, RB, Oregon State

The bad news is that the Beavers' starting running back Artavis Pierce went down with an elbow injury early in the second quarter versus Southern Utah. The good news is that Jefferson was an adequate replacement with 22 carries for 238 yards and four touchdowns. If Pierce is forced to miss any time, Jefferson could receive a heavy dose of carries as Oregon State's top receiver, Trevon Bradford, is also dealing with an injury. With upcoming games against Nevada and Arizona, Jefferson could provide fantasy teams with a huge boost.

Colby Parkinson, TE, Stanford

Only two games into the 2018 season and Parkinson has five catches for 53 yards and two touchdowns. Even though teammate Kaden Smith has more yards, he has no touchdowns and the Cardinal have always been able to utilize multiple tight ends. If you're receiving minimal production at the position, you can root for Parkinson's touchdown streak to continue.

SEC

Kylin Hill, RB, Mississippi State

Hill ran all over Kansas State with 227 total yards and three touchdowns on just 18 total touches. That's following the first week where he racked up 103 yards and two touchdowns with only 10 touches. If that efficiency isn't good enough to take over Aeris Williams for the starting running back job, I'm not sure what is. Joe Moorhead's Bulldogs are a lot of fun to watch and will be explosive versus upcoming opponents which include Louisiana-Lafayette and Kentucky.

Bryan Edwards, WR, South Carolina

Not many fantasy owners have been able to take advantage of Edwards who has started the year with 11 catches for 164 yards and three touchdowns. Teammate Deebo Samuel is highly regarded and deservedly so, but Edwards should be owned in just as many leagues. It was Edwards who led the team with 64 catches in 2017 and he's leading the team once again. Upcoming games versus Marshall, Vanderbilt and Kentucky should be a productive stretch for the junior receiver.

SUN BELT

Kawaan Baker, WR, South Alabama

Baker has caught my eye in the first two weeks with six catches for 41 yards and two touchdowns to go along with 13 rushing attempts for 91 yards and three more touchdowns. Any player who can turn 19 touches in to five scores is either really lucky or has a propensity to find the end-zone. Hopefully this trend can continue versus Texas State and Memphis.

Corey Sutton, WR, Appalachian State

Sutton, a Kansas State transfer, has looked great with the Mountaineers with nine catches for 242 yards and two touchdowns through two games. I've already recommended quarterback Zac Thomas, so I'm really high on App State's offense. Both Sutton and Thomas should have productive years as the Sun Belt isn't known to be a defensive conference.

INDEPENDENTS

Damien King, WR, Liberty

King made his season debut this past Saturday and didn't disappoint with eight catches for 172 yards and a touchdown. The senior receiver did not play the previous week due to a one-game suspension, so he is available in pretty much all leagues. If you're wondering who the Liberty Flames are, it's their first year in FBS and they actually have a fantasy-worthy offense. They were the team who upset Baylor by the score of 48-45 as 30 point underdogs last year.

DEFENSE RECOMMENDATIONS

Utah State – As briefly discussed above, the Aggies are sneaky good and get Tennessee Tech on Thursday Night. Through two games, they have eight sacks and three defensive/special teams touchdowns.

Stanford – With tough matchups including San Diego State and USC, people have avoided the Cardinal defense despite missing out on nine sacks and a safety. They'll have no problems versus UC-Davis this week.

Iowa – Anyone who slogged through the CyHawk game can attest to Iowa's suffocating defense. Through two games, they've allowed just 10 points and have nine sacks.
California – Cal held their own over the first two weeks with six takeaways versus North Carolina and BYU as well as a defensive/special teams touchdown. They should have another good week versus Idaho State.