NFL Fantasy Football Free-Agent Pickups for Week 3

Depending on your league's depth and the skill level of your competitors, the names you will find in the free-agent pool (waiver wire) will differ.

Based on the needs of your team, we would consider adding the following players, if available:

QB - Josh Freeman, Bucs: Freeman is currently owned in about 12 percent of all Yahoo! leagues so there's a good chance he's available in yours. Through two games (both victories, mind you), Freeman has thrown four touchdowns and only one interception and ranks eighth amongst quarterbacks in fantasy points scored. He's still a QB2, but he should continue to take positives strides forward.

QB - Bruce Gradkowski, Raiders: Raiders quarterback Jason Campbell was benched in favor of Bruce Gradkowski at halftime of the Rams game. Although coach Tom Cable hasn't indicated which quarterback will start on Sunday, Gradkowski threw for 162 yards and a touchdown in relief. At this point, it seems as though Gradkowski is more worthy of a roster spot than Campbell is.

RB - Jason Snelling, Falcons: With Michael Turner limited due to a groin injury Sunday, Snelling more than picked up the slack. He rushed for 129 yards and had five receptions for 57 yards while scoring three touchdowns. All early indications point to Turner being ready to return Sunday, which would limit Snelling's Week 3 fantasy value. However, he provides value as Turner's handcuff.

RB - Mike Tolbert, Chargers: Like Snelling, Tolbert had a big day in relief of the clear-cut No. 1 starter, who will likely return to action in Week 3 due to the injury suffered being minor. But Tolbert scored twice and rushed for 82 yards on 16 carries. At 243 pounds, however, Tolbert should get plenty of goal-line work even when Mathews is healthy.

RB - Marshawn Lynch, Bills: In what seemed like a one-week audition for (against) the Packers, Lynch left the doghouse to become the featured back (17 carries for 64 yards). The Bills have insisted that they are not interested in trading Lynch, despite speculation, but Lynch got almost all of the carries against the team that lost its star running back for the season the week before. Coincidence?

RB - John Kuhn, Packers: Kuhn received nine carries in Week 2 while Brandon Jackson, last week's biggest free-agent addition, had 11 carries. Jackson should get more carries than Kuhn going forward unless the Packers acquire another running back. But Kuhn should get the goal-line work.

Note: The Week 3 thread for our Fantasy Football Contest is now open and new entries are welcome.

RB - Donald Brown, Colts: Brown, who is owned in around one-third of Yahoo! fantasy leagues, rushed 16 times for 69 yards and a score against the Giants on Sunday night. Granted, Addai got 20 carries and the duo shouldn't expect a combined 36 carries per week going forward.

But the Colts drafted Brown in the first round for a reason so I wouldn't be surprised to see him ultimately get 40 percent of the touches with both he and Addai healthy.

WR - Demaryius Thomas, Broncos: The first receiver selected in the 2010 NFL Draft, Thomas is available in about two-thirds of Yahoo! leagues and had a strong debut (8-97-1). Thomas a big (6-3, 229-pound) athletic receiver and should be the team's No. 1 receiver in the future. In 2010, however, Thomas will likely be inconsistent, especially given the time he missed before making his NFL debut.

WR - Kevin Walter, Texans: Walter is owned in less than 40 percent of all Yahoo! leagues, but that should change soon. Although Jacoby Jones received most of the fantasy love in the offseason by Texans receivers not named Andre Johnson, Walter ranks eighth in the NFL in receiving yards (173) and has scored in each of his two games.

WR - Louis Murphy, Raiders: Murphy had five of his six receptions from Sunday in the second half after Gradkowski replaced Campbell at quarterback. Murphy finished with 91 yards and a score. If you're going to own a Raiders receiver, Murphy is clearly the guy to own. Since he's owned in only nine percent of Yahoo! leagues, he should be available in your league.

WR - Mike Thomas, Jaguars: Still owned in only 11 percent of Yahoo! leagues, Thomas provides good value. After setting the franchise rookie record for receptions in 2009, Thomas has ten receptions for 132 yards (or 27 more than Mike Sims-Walker) in two games.

WR - Josh Morgan, 49ers: With Michael Crabtree's woes, Morgan is providing fantasy owners with some solid (although not spectacular) value. Through two games, Morgan has nine receptions for 102 yards. Owned in only four percent of Yahoo! leagues, he's worth a look in deeper leagues.

TE - Aaron Hernandez, Patriots: Quick: Who leads the Patriots in receiving yards? As you might have imagined (based on when I'm asking such a question), the answer is Hernandez. Although he has only been targeted eight times in two games, Hernandez has 146 yards through two games.

TE - Brandon Pettigrew, Lions: In three full games before suffering a season-ending injury last year, Pettigrew caught 15 balls for 165 yards and two scores. This weekend, Pettigrew had seven receptions for 108 yards against the Eagles.

Over the next couple of days, we will publish our Week 3 fantasy rankings and other columns to help you set your lineups for Week 3.

At any time, however, feel free to send your start/sit questions via Twitter @EDSFootball, check out our fantasy section at TheTipDrill.com or post your question in our Fantasy Football Forum.

Good luck in Week 3.