Week 3 Waiver Wire Pickups Highlighted by Daniel Jones, Bhayshul Tuten, Juwan Johnson

Two weeks of the 2025 NFL season are (mostly) in the books.

Soon, fantasy football managers will find out which early surprises will become season-long assets.

The challenge, of course, is that you can't wait to have that information fully sorted out before deciding whether to give them a roster spot or not. So, the best course of action is adding these standouts at the expense of the expendable players on the back end of your roster and hoping for the best. Because if they wind up turning back into pumpkins, you can always churn over those roster spots again.

Here, then, are our three favorite waiver-wire targets (rostered in fewer than 70 percent of Yahoo leagues, per FantasyPros) ahead of Week 3.

Daniel Jones, QB, Indianapolis Colts (17 Percent Rostered)

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When Jones snagged the Colts' starting gig, fantasy managers either ignored the news or focused on what it might mean for Indy's pass-catchers. Two weeks into the campaign, though, it appears to be a very fantasy-relevant development on its own.

Want the list of players with more fantasy points than Jones this season? Here it goes: Lamar Jackson. That's it. That's the list.

Now, you might be thinking this all has to do with Jones carving up Miami's carvable defense in Week 1 (272 passing yards and a score, 26 rushing yards and a pair of rushing touchdowns). While that clearly helped, Jones was nearly just as good against Denver's stingy defense in Week 2 (23-of-34 passing for 316 yards and a touchdown, plus another rushing score).

At this rate, it feels relatively safe to trust him, at least as a streamer in good matchups. He has always been capable of making things happen with his legs, but he's also taking advantage of the playmakers around him in this offense. If nothing else, he seems like a viable spot starter against Tennessee in Week 3.

Bhayshul Tuten, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars (55 Percent Rostered)

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While it's been a stellar opening to the season for Jaguars starting running back Travis Etienne Jr., the fourth-year player isn't the only one making noise in this backfield.

On Sunday, Tuten, a fourth-round rookie, got a chance to show what he can do in an expanded role after the Tank Bigsby trade. And Tuten almost certainly did enough to warrant a continued role in this offense—if not an expanded one.

He turned eight carries into 42 yards, and since his longest run only spanned nine yards, that means he was basically making every carry count. He also had two passes come his way, and he hauled in both for another 32 yards and his first career touchdown.

He managed to showcase both his versatility and his explosiveness, traits that should keep him involved in the game plan. This backfield might continue to run through Etienne if he stays this hot (245 scrimmage yards already), but Tuten can be useful even in a complementary role, and he looks ready to pounce should Etienne ever let his foot off the gas.

Juwan Johnson, TE, New Orleans Saints (44 Percent Rostered)

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If George Kittle's injury opened a spot at your tight end position, you'd have a hard time filling it with a more productive replacement than Johnson.

He's already sitting second in fantasy scoring at the position, per NFL.com, and that's not due to one outlier performance. Rather, he's been a top-shelf producer each of his first two times out.

He saw an eye-opening 11 targets in the Saints' season opener, and he hauled in eight of them for 76 yards. His volume wasn't quite as high on Sunday, but he still tallied five receptions on nine targets for another 49 yards and found the end zone for the first time.

By all accounts, he figures to play a very prominent role in this passing game. His 13 receptions are tied for the team lead, and his 20 targets trail only Chris Olave's 23. Johnson looks like the kind of waiver claim who could provide both immediate relief and year-long utility for those with underwhelming starters.