Week 3 Fantasy Football NFL Sleepers: 10 Guys to Watch in Deeper Leagues

It’s time to start scouring the Week 3 fantasy football waiver wires for those gems that push you over the top in your weekly Fantasy Football matchups. Fantasy sleepers are every bit as big a part of your team as the initial draft.

Picking up those guys that break out early often can be the difference between ending your year after Week 12 or ending on Week 16 with a league championship at stake.You can’t always count on your studs.

While it’s not going to happen every week, there will be times when Chris Johnson gets held to 34 yards on 16 carries. If you didn’t have much help after Johnson, you probably lost your Week 2 matchup. So, we’re here to help you find those diamonds in the rough that will cost you just a roster spot. Chances are you have a guy on your roster in deeper leagues that has had maybe 10 touches on the season, and doesn’t look to get any more.

In the next segment, we’ll show you some players that are most likely available in your league.

Note: Not all of these guys are going to make a killing for you today, tomorrow, or necessarily ever. However, ALL of them are available in no less than 95 percent of all standard leagues, so they present some solid value considering their availability.

Charlie Batch, QB, Pittsburgh Steelers (Available in 100 percent of all standard Yahoo! leagues)

For the second straight week, we go to Pittsburgh for a quarterback. This time it’s not Dixon. The Steelers announced today that Batch would get the nod over Byron Leftwich. Batch is more of a game manager, but has the weapons on a Steeler offense to have a respectable fantasy week. Anytime he gets the start for Pittsburgh, he finds a way to win.

James Jones, WR, Green Bay Packers (96 percent)

What’s not to love about a Packers wide receiver with Aaron Rodgers spreading the ball around like it’s birthday cake? Jones has seen five catches in two games, and caught a touchdown pass in Week 2. If you’re short on wide receivers, grab Jones as a flex option.

Josh Morgan, WR, San Francisco 49ers (96 percent)

Morgan had six catches in week two. The best part is he totaled 70 yards with those receptions, and was a bigger part of the San Francisco offense. When Alex Smith is playing well, he finds all of his receivers. With teams focusing on Michael Crabtree and Vernon Davis, Morgan often finds holes in the defense. His playing time is also increased with Ginn nursing an injury.

Mike Goodson, RB, Carolina Panthers (97 percent)

This pick may be surprising considering the two headed monster that Carolina fields. But what’s more surprising is that Goodson has been in 33 percent of the snaps offensively, compared to Jonathan Stewart who is at 22 percent. He had five carries for 20 yards in week two, and also see’s catches out of the backfield with five catches for 64 yards on the season.

BenJarvus Green-Ellis, RB, New England Patriots (98 percent)

The man with the name that sounds like a law firm is expected to play a bigger role in the New England offense with Kevin Faulk out for the season after tearing his ACL. Laurence Maroney was traded in week one to the Denver Broncos, so now the Patriots have Fred Taylor and Green-Ellis to rely on. He’s a tough running back, and has 15 carries already on the season. Pick him up as he’s available in 98 percent of leagues.

Martellus Bennett, TE, Dallas Cowboys (99 percent)

Bennett may be one of the biggest benefactors of an injury this week. Despite the Cowboys saying that Jason Witten is feeling fine after suffering a concussion, I’m inclined to believe that Bennett will see a few more receptions. Tony Romo loves his tight ends, and he targeted Bennett 11 times in week two. Look for Bennett to play a bigger role in the offense and still see around five to seven catches.

Max Hall, QB, Arizona Cardinals (100 percent)

He’s a rookie quarterback, but he saw a little bit of time in week two. It’s being reported that Derek Anderson is on a short leash (already, I know), and Hall was a player that nearly won the job out of camp after looking great in the pre-season.

If Hall got an opportunity to start, he’d get to hand the ball off to Beanie Wells and Tim Hightower, while also having one of the best receivers in the league to throw to in Larry Fitzgerald. Steve Breaston is a nice target for Hall too. If you’re really tied down for a quarterback, you could pick up Hall as I predict he’ll be starting soon, unless Derek Anderson starts lighting up the stat sheet, which is highly unlikely.

Buster Davis, WR, San Diego Chargers (100 percent)

Davis has been targeted 10 times in two games with the Chargers. With Vincent Jackson most likely not coming back to the Chargers, or playing for them at all this season, it opens up an opportunity for Davis who had 48 receiving yards in Week 2 on five catches.

When you have Philip Rivers as your quarterback, you can expect to see balls your way. He’s still battling with Legedu Naanee who had an excellent week one, but look for the Chargers to keep spreading the ball out to all of the receivers.

Roscoe Parrish, WR, Buffalo Bills (99 percent)

If you’re looking for a late Flex addition to your lineup, look no further than Roscoe Parrish who will benefit from the stronger armed Ryan Fitzpatrick getting the ball down the field. The Bills offense will still struggle, but Fitzpatrick should be a bit of an upgrade to the Bills receiving corps.

Parrish is a speedy receiver who can work the slot well. He was targeted six times by Trent Edwards, but could get even more looks from Fitzpatrick running the show and the Buffalo running backs struggling.

Bruce Gradkowski, QB, Oakland Raiders (98 percent)

Gradkowski took over for Jason Campbell last week and played well enough for the Raiders to secure a victory against the Rams. He’s not a terrible quarterback, to be honest, he’s just been on terrible teams.

Oakland’s offense has weapons that he can utilize like Zach Miller, Darrius Heyward-Bey, Darren McFadden, Louis Murphy, and maybe Michael Bush in Week 3. There’s no reason that Gradkowski can’t be a decent QB2 option in deeper leagues. It’s looking like he’s going to get the start on Sunday.

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