Week 3 of the NFL has come and gone, and luckily there wasn’t a repeat of the NFL's injury-riddled Week 2. Despite the lack of obvious waiver wire additions due to injury, there were a number of standout performances, as well as players who might not have played great in Week 3 but have an opportunity to improve going forward.
There are also a number of interesting trade targets that have a short window to pull off a trade before the player's value changes. Note that any reference to roster percentage is from Yahoo. Reference to where a player or team ranks do not take into account the Monday night game.
FIVE PLAYERS TO ADD
1. RB Myles Gaskin, Miami Dolphins
Gaskin was a surprise in Week 1 when he led the Dolphins in snaps and has only seen his role increase since then. Over the first two weeks, Gaskin split time with Jordan Howard on the first two drives, playing in 46.2% of snaps. On Thursday Night, Gaskin played in 84.2% of the first two Dolphin drives.
Gaskin ended up with 74.2% of the snaps this week, while Howard’s role was reduced to just four snaps. Any running back with over 70% of snaps needs to be on rosters in every league, but to this point he’s only rostered in just under half of leagues. The Dolphins have the second-lowest-graded run blocking unit, which limits Gaskin’s ceiling, but in the right matchups he will be a RB2. Howard was only utilized at the goal line, where he wasn’t any more effective than an average back in those situations. It wouldn’t be surprising if Howard ends up inactive, freeing up a roster spot for another position and allowing Gaskin to get more goal-line work.
2. WR Tee Higgins, Cincinnati Bengals
Higgins has seen his role increase in the Cincinnati offense every week. The rookie wide receiver was tied with two other WRs for the fourth-most snaps at the position in Week 1. In Week 2 he surpassed John Ross in snaps to rank among the top three. This past week, Ross was a healthy inactive while Higgins led the team in snaps.
Higgins hasn’t been particularly impressive by PFF grades, but he has been getting targets. His target total (15) over the last two weeks is tied for 15th among receivers. What makes him particularly valuable is his red zone usage. On 19 red zone routes, he’s caught three of four passes thrown his way and converted two into touchdowns.
As long as he’s getting targets — and especially red zone targets — he'll have value even if he’s average with his efficiency. If he can improve as the season progresses like you’d hope out of a rookie, then big things are ahead in this pass-first offense.
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