Week 3 Waiver Wire: Early Pickups and Breakout Fantasy Football Candidates

We’re now nearly two full weeks into the 2016 NFL season, which also means we’re two weeks into another fantasy schedule. This latest week of action kicked off with a Thursday night tilt between the Buffalo Bills and the New York Jets.

Thursday’s game didn’t yield a ton of fantasy shockers—unless you count the firing of Bills offensive coordinator Greg Roman—but we did get to learn a bit more about the AFC East fantasy landscape. Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, for example, is playing at a high level just like last season.

Sunday gave us even more insight into the fantasy world at large.

It’s obviously still early in the season, so knowledge is one of the fantasy footballer’s biggest weapons. We’re going to take a look at players who either shined in Week 2 or appear poised to break out in coming weeks, and who might just be available on your league’s waiver wire.

We will be basing our selections on factors like player performance, roster makeup, upcoming opponents and injury where applicable.

Players were considered waiver-wire options if they were owned in less than 40 percent of NFL.com fantasy leagues as of Sunday.

Players to Watch

Ryan Fitzpatrick, QB, New York Jets

It actually seems a bit surprising that Fitzpatrick is owned in less than 30 percent of NFL.com leagues right now. The guy gets to play pitch-and-catch with the likes of Eric Decker and Brandon Marshall, while having Matt Forte in the backfield as a safety net.

Fitzpatrick’s weapons—and his vastly underrated throwing arm—were on full display on Thursday night against the Bills. Fitzpatrick shredded the Buffalo defense (did Rex Ryan fire the wrong assistant?) to the tune of 374 yards and a touchdown.

An underrated athlete, Fitzpatrick also racked up 21 rushing yards on five carries.

Fitzpatrick likely faces a tougher challenge in Week 3 against the Kansas City Chiefs, but he isn’t going up against an elite defense. The Chiefs defense allowed Brock Osweiler to pass for 268 yards and a touchdown on Sunday.

374 YDs | 1 TD | 116.5 Pass RTGFitzmagic led the @nyjets to their first victory. #NYJvsBUF …

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