Week 4 Waiver Wire: Lorenzo Taliaferro, John Brown Highlight Pickups to Know

Between injuries and the start of bye weeks, Week 4 is going to be difficult for many fantasy football owners to fill their lineups.

The Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Denver Broncos, St. Louis Rams, Arizona Cardinals and Seattle Seahawks are all on bye, so make sure to get those players out of your lineup before the start of next week's games. The good news is there are plenty of options to fill in for the meantime while possibly providing quality production in the future.

Here is a look at the players who should be top targets on the waiver wire this week.

Note: All players are available in more than 50 percent of leagues, according to ESPN.com.

Kirk Cousins, QB, Washington Redskins (Owned in 28.6 percent of leagues)

USA TODAY Sports

Robert Griffin III is still officially the starter in Washington, but Kirk Cousins showed why the team will not miss the injured dual-threat player much with 427 passing yards and three touchdowns against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Head coach Jay Gruden was impressed in the young quarterback's play even in the loss, via John Keim of ESPN.com:

"

Other than the pick he had a good game. Sometimes he got a little antsy in there and threw balls a little early. But that’s just part of being in the pocket again and feeling the rush and knowing how much time you have. Overall man, to throw for over 400 yards on the road, he did an excellent job.

"

Considering Andy Dalton was the No. 5 fantasy quarterback in standard leagues under Gruden last season, Cousins has a big opportunity on his hands until Griffin returns from his injury. At that point, it will be up to the coaching staff to decide which player is best for the team.

In the meantime, Cousins will throw the ball a lot to try to outscore the Redskins' poor defense, which should lead to more big fantasy performances.

Lorenzo Taliaferro, RB, Baltimore Ravens (Owned in 0.9 percent of leagues)

USA TODAY Sports

Although Bernard Pierce and Justin Forsett have each been given chances to take over the starting running back job, rookie Lorenzo Taliaferro appears to be the most impressive of the group.

The fourth-round pick ran for 91 yards on 18 carries with a touchdown against a quality Cleveland Browns defense in Week 3. Scott Pianowski of Yahoo Sports believes the young ball-carrier deserves even more playing time:

This solid effort came with Pierce inactive with a thigh injury, but ESPN's Matthew Berry thinks the starter could be out of chances in Baltimore:

Taliaferro has great size at 6'0", 226 pounds and uses it to run hard and break tackles. As long as he gets touches, he should be able to make things happen on the field. The fact that he scored on a carry from the 1-yard line is also a positive sign for his touchdown chances in the future.

Jordan Matthews, WR, Philadelphia Eagles (Owned in 2.2 percent of leagues)

As we learned from the Denver Broncos last season, you always want to pick up players who are important parts of a high-scoring offense. With Philadelphia averaging 33.7 points per game (second in the NFL to the Atlanta Falcons), this certainly qualifies.

Jordan Matthews only caught three passes in his first two games, but the rookie receiver had a big performance against the Redskins with eight catches for 59 yards and two touchdowns.

While Jeremy Maclin remains the go-to option in the passing game, Matthews can become a true No. 2 receiver with great hands and the size and leaping ability to make plays in the end zone. Bleacher Report's Bryn Swartz discusses the player's new role:

Riley Cooper is coming off a big season, but that was more based on opportunity than anything else. Matthews has much more upside after a productive college career at Vanderbilt. You might want to see if he can replicate his performance before putting him in the starting lineup, but he is definitely worth an add at this point.

John Brown, WR, Arizona Cardinals (Owned in 1.2 percent of leagues)

Ross D. Franklin/Associated Press

After an outstanding preseason, John Brown is showing that he can be productive in real games as well. He scored two touchdowns in Week 3 against the San Francisco 49ers, bringing his 2014 totals to nine catches for 109 yards and three scores.

ESPN's Ed Werder notes the coaching staff thinks highly of the third-round pick:

He has been targeted 15 times so far this season, but he has made it count with nine catches, which compares favorably on the team with Larry Fitzgerald (10) and Michael Floyd (11). He is also the only receiver on the Cardinals with a touchdown and already has three of them.

Arizona runs a lot of three-receiver sets, so Brown will be on the field a lot this season. With his quickness and ability to make things happen after the catch, he has a chance to remain productive.

Although the Cardinals have a bye this week, he is a quality long-term option in this attack.

Player	Pos.	Team	Owned
Ryan Fitzpatrick	QB	Houston Texans	2.9 percent
Teddy Bridgewater	QB	Minnesota Vikings	3 percent
Matt Asiata	RB	Minnesota Vikings	40 percent
Alfred Blue	RB	Houston Texans	3.5 percent
Jonathan Stewart	RB	Carolina Panthers	43.1 percent
Kelvin Benjamin	WR	Carolina Panthers	35.5 percent
Allen Robinson	WR	Jacksonville Jaguars	0.4 percent
Stevie Johnson	WR	San Francisco 49ers	5.1 percent
Mohamed Sanu	WR	Cincinnati Bengals	9.8 percent
Niles Paul	TE	Washington Redskins	8.1 percent
Travis Kelce	TE	Kansas City Chiefs	12.2 percent
San Diego Chargers	D/ST	-	3.5 percent

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