Waiver Wire Week 4: Top Deep-League Pickups at Offensive Positions

Like a broke and starving college student rolling the dice with that cottage cheese in the back of the fridge that's a week past the expiration date, it's time for some fantasy owners to get a little desperate. 

Week 4 in the NFL features six teams on their bye week. Possible first-round picks Peyton Manning, Demaryius Thomas, Montee Ball, Marshawn Lynch and A.J. Green will all be shelved, while Giovani Bernard, Andre Ellington, Russell Wilson, Zac Stacy, Michael Floyd and Julius Thomas are just a few of the other studs owners will be without. 

Those with vast benches will likely have the necessary reserves to weather the storm. Others in deeper leagues or with fewer bench spots, however, are going to have to dive deep for waiver-wire replacements. 

This is directed toward the latter group, so you won't see guys like Kirk Cousins or Donald Brown or Travis Kelce in this section. Instead, we're only looking at players who are owned in 10 percent or less of Yahoo! leagues. 

Quarterback: Blake Bortles, Jacksonville Jaguars (Owned in 5 percent of Yahoo! Leagues)

Stephen B. Morton/Associated Press

When it came to Blake Bortles taking over the starting job, it wasn't so much a question of "if" but "when." We heard all summer how he was going to "redshirt" 2014, but after lighting up the preseason, it was clear the Jacksonville Jaguars weren't going to be able to keep trotting out the average Chad Henne. 

It took just three weeks for those beliefs to come true. The No. 3 pick in the 2014 draft came in as relief Sunday and unsurprisingly provided a massive spark, albeit in garbage time, throwing for 223 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions in just one half of play. 

Gus Bradley, who has named the rookie the starter going forward, talked about his play, via NFL.com's Chris Wesseling:

"

Blake, I thought did a nice job. He's going to learn now, he's going to learn. But he made some plays, he kept plays alive, he's got really good instincts, made some really good decisions and some good throws—and then some of the throws that you saw, I'm sure he wishes he had back.

"

That's likely going to be Bortles' rookie campaign in a nutshell. He will commit turnovers and make mistakes, but he's also an electrifying player who will take shots downfield. Counting preseason (which is something you should take with a grain salt, but it gives you an idea of how he plays) and Week 1, he is averaging a stout 16.2 yards per completion and 9.9 yards per attempt in his short career.  

Bortles is a special talent, and he has proven he's not frightened by the big stage. Combine his skill set with a healthy volume (he'll likely be throwing a lot with the Jags trailing) and talented young receivers, and you've got yourself a high-upside fantasy QB. 

Running Back: Lorenzo Taliaferro, Baltimore Ravens (Owned in 6 Percent of Yahoo! Leagues)

David Richard/Associated Press

The bad news for Lorenzo Taliaferro? Bernard Pierce is expected back after missing Week 3. 

"We thought we'd get (Pierce) into the game, but it didn't work out," head coach Jim Harbaugh said, via ESPN.com's Jamison Hensley. "We should have a good chance of getting him back next week."

The good news? The rookie running back has proven he deserves touches even when Pierce is healthy. 

A bruising downhill back, Taliaferro ran rampant through the Cleveland Browns defense Sunday, racking up 91 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries in Pierce's absence. The Coastal Carolina product isn't going to blow anyone away with his speed, but he's going to flatten defenders and constantly fight for extra yardage. 

Yahoo Sports' Andy Behrens put it simply:

Pierce has been uninspiring in his last 18 games, averaging just 3.1 yards per carry. He'll likely draw the start once he returns, but Taliaferro looks like the better back and needs to be owned.

Wide Receiver: Davante Adams, Green Bay Packers (Owned in 7 Percent of Yahoo! Leagues)

Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Rookie Davante Adams raised some eyebrows with a five-catch, 50-yard performance in Week 2, but he proceeded to follow it up with a two-catch, 11-yard stinker against the Detroit Lions.

Still, there are reasons to keep the youngster on your radar. 

Most importantly, the Green Bay Packers are done with the murderer's row part of the schedule (at Seattle, vs. NY Jets, at Detroit). The offense looked woeful in two of those three games, but now that they get Chicago, Minnesota and Miami in the next three weeks, it's a good bet Aaron Rodgers starts shredding defenses again. And when that happens, there is value all the way out to his No. 3 target. 

Adams is still competing with Jarrett Boykin for that role, but Boykin had two drops Sunday, which is the same number of catches he has had all season. As Rotoworld's Adam Levitan noted, Adams has the higher upside:

The 21-year-old second-round pick is more of a long-term stash, as it will take time for him to put Boykin completely behind him, but against a banged-up Chicago Bears secondary in Week 4, he'll be flex-worthy in deeper leagues. 

Tight End: Jace Amaro, New York Jets (Owned in 1 Percent of Yahoo! Leagues)

Rich Schultz/Getty Images

Things get really thin under the 10-percent threshold at the tight end position, so we're going to have to get a little creative here. 

Jace Amaro caught just three passes in his first two games, but when Eric Decker left Monday night's game, his usage skyrocketed. He was only targeted four times, but he pulled in three of those for 54 yards, while the fourth was a bad drop on a potentially huge play. 

Playing in Texas Tech's air raid offense, Amaro typically lined up as a receiver off the line, and that's exactly where the Jets mostly used him. That's especially intriguing because New York, with or without Decker, needs more weapons in the passing game. 

This is nothing more than a lottery ticket at this point, but Amaro, who caught 106 passes in college last season, is a talented receiver and should see his role continue to increase as he gets comfortable in the offense.