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

Injuries are the scourge of many fantasy football teams. They can strike at any moment, taking out star players and forcing fantasy managers to scramble for adequate replacements. Often, this leads directly to the star's nominal understudy, although this isn't a guarantee of future production.

Then again, surprise players who put up big numbers on healthy teams don't always come through every week.

Some breakout players turn out just to be one-week wonders. On kickoff weekend, it was Jacksonville Jaguars rookie wideout Allen Hurns turning heads and inspiring thousands of fantasy owners to do some quick roster maintenance. 

His encore performance? Two catches, 13 yards and slew of broken dreams left in his wake.

Trying to separate the truly talented from those who are simply in the right place at the right time is tricky business in fantasy football. Let's take a look at three breakout players from the early goings who just might have some staying power in this league.

Waiver-Wire Pickups

Niles Paul, TE, Washington Redskins

Evan Vucci/Associated Press

Niles Paul certainly wasn't in many fantasy football conversations heading into the 2014 season. The Nebraska product had just 14 catches over his first three seasons in the league. Thrust into a starting role in the wake of tight end Jordan Reed's injury, Paul has nearly equaled that output in just two weeks of action.

Paul has racked up a total of 12 catches for 185 yards and one touchdown this season playing as the first-string tight end. At 6'1", Paul isn't quite as tall as most tight ends, but he's shown a strong burst off the line of scrimmage.

As NFL.com's Kevin Patra notes, Reed has suffered a concussion, a quad injury and the hamstring issue that kept him out of the game against the Jaguars.

This doesn't necessarily mean his health concerns will continue, but it might cause the Redskins' front office and coaching staff to pay more attention to developing Paul and making sure he is a fully integrated member of the team's offense. Paul maintains he's ready for the opportunity.

"Same way I’ve been preparing since Day One,” Paul said, per The Washington Post's Gene Wang. "Coach Wes [Phillips] told me to train like I was number one."

Head coach Jay Gruden indicated, via Wang, that Reed could indeed miss significant time with his injury. If that's the case, it looks like the veteran Paul will have no problem filling the void in the coming weeks.

Mohamed Sanu, WR, Cincinnati Bengals

Michael Conroy/Associated Press

Most fantasy football owners aren't too happy with the Cincinnati Bengals. Tight end Tyler Eifert is on the short-term injured reserve, and wideout Marvin Jones is still recovering from a broken foot. To make matters worse, No. 1 wide receiver A.J. Green picked up an apparent injury in his team's win over the Atlanta Falcons.

NFL.com's Ian Rapoport reported it could be a case of turf toe:

Wide receiver Mohamed Sanu stepped up amid the chaos Sunday, reeling in three catches for 84 yards, with the majority of those coming on a 76-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter.

Sanu also completed a 50-yard pass on the afternoon. The league's Twitter account noted he might throw a better deep ball than quarterback Andy Dalton:

His trick-play potential makes him an even more enticing pickup for fantasy football owners. Players like Sanu, Cordarrelle Patterson and Percy Harvin always deserve extra attention for their ability to pad point totals through unconventional means.

Keep in mind, the Bengals do have a Week 4 bye, which could limit the amount of games in which Sanu is the Bengals' top option. Until the rest of the Bengals skill players get healthy, though, expect Sanu to garner plenty of targets.

Kirk Cousins, QB, Washington Redskins

Evan Vucci/Associated Press

Quarterback Kirk Cousins was thrust into action during the Redskins' 41-10 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars after Robert Griffin III suffered an apparent ankle injury. 

The team's official Twitter account reported he suffered a dislocated ankle:

ESPN's Adam Schefter noted the possibility of a long spell on the sideline for RGIII:

Cousins stood in the pocket and delivered sharp, accurate passes all across the field, with the aforementioned Paul clearly his favorite target. He finished the game completing 22 of 33 passes for 250 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. 

Cousins gave credit to his coaches for his hot start, in which he completed his first 12 passes in a row, per the team's official Twitter account:

If Cousins continues to play the way he did against the Jags, he could possibly hold off Griffin and keep the starting job. For some, this would be a welcome development. Redskins legend Joe Theismann called for Cousins to start back in August, per Dan Steinberg of The Washington Post:

"

Let’s stop beating around the bush. Kirk Cousins has played much better at the quarterback position than Robert Griffin III has. Now, Robert is learning to work out of a pocket. He doesn’t look as smooth or as comfortable throwing the football. I mean, your eyes will tell you everything you need to know.

"

Fantasy football owners would be wise to keep Cousins tucked away on the bench for at least another week after picking him up on the waiver wire. If he can perform well against the Philadelphia Eagles and Griffin is still injured, he could be an excellent spot start in Week 4 against the New York Giants.