Read the latest fantasy football waiver wire pickups advice. 

Our Tuesday morning waiver wire live blog comes and goes so quickly — we wanted to make sure everyone got a chance to see it, as there were a lot of timely and difficult questions that all fantasy players may benefit from seeing. 

A couple quick resources as you journey into two days of claims and bids:

Gerry V.: Time to drop Justin Fields yet? Is he ever going to get better?

Fields is 19th at QB. We were lectured about how you had to have a running QB yet the top three are Justin Herbert, Kirk Cousins and Tua Tagovailoa. Fields is not going to get better. He’ll run better though, almost definitely. I’d hope for a big running game and move him then for someone like Kirk Cousins plus. You just need that playable floor at QB and to win at the other positions. But I would not drop Fields. He’ll get feted the moment he does anything and that big day with his legs is coming, maybe this week versus the Broncos. — Salfino

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We saw what he could do in this Getsy offense last year, and it was a big enough performance to make him a Top 5 QB in drafts this year. Adding DJ Moore to the mix was supposed to be a boon for his passing yards, and we haven’t seen that yet, but at some point I assume he’ll just go off for 150 rushing yards and ride that to fantasy stardom — and my assumption is they let him keep doing it. This is a season going nowhere, so you might as well let your electric QB entertain the fans, or you’ve gone from Bad Team to Irrelevant Team. Maybe they’re trying too hard to involve Moore in the offense because of the high profile trade? At some point you (“the coaching staff”) have to re-assess and let him play like he did in the second half of 2022. — Di Fino

It’s a little premature to jettison Fields, IMO. He put a Top 10 QB campaign on record last season, and as bad as he’s been in 2023, he’s still in the QB Top 20, which speaks to the depth of QB in fantasy. It’s doubtful you can do better than Fields from an upside standpoint. Chicago is going to have to adjust and continue to look for ways to get Fields untracked. The Bears may be at a point in thinking he’s no longer the QB of their future, but they’ll do the best they can to get the best out of him now. — Funston

Peter S.: Re De’Von Achane waiver claim, How will Miami divvy up the RB % once Jeff Wilson gets back?

Well that’s the million dollar question. I have no idea. I guess the hot-hand theory, which is a fantasy nightmare. But the offense is so explosive and the running game so well designed that the hot hand is probably the first man up, which is Mostert. You have three very injury prone players and one guy is very likely to get hurt soon. Then it’s a two-man committee and that really works. The real question is how much you bid for Achane and whether you try to pick up Wilson this week for little or nothing.

Most experts advise caution but if you have $0 waivers or second-waive waivers/free pickups, you can stay a step ahead of the field and still add quality players. (John Laghezza writes about next week’s waivers here.) If you make the playoffs, FAAB money is essentially meaningless. So I say go big or go home. You are going to need to spend at least 75% of your FAAB to get Achane given the dude just went for two bills and four tuddies. I also think a $0 pickup of Wilson this week (he’s on IR one more week) is VERY shrewd. No, these positions are not inconsistent. It’s just arbitrage. — Salfino

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Unfortunately, I don’t think this has a fantasy-friendly answer. You can look to usage last season and get fairly strong context clues that the Dolphins will almost certainly employ a backfield platoon. Jeff Wilson and Raheem Mostert were interchanged liberally in 2022 when both were healthy together. Right now, you can expect that Achane and Mostert will continue to be platooned, and we’ll have to see if the waters get muddied even further when Wilson comes off IR, but it wouldn’t surprise me. — Funston

BREAKING UPDATE: GARTH M. HAS RECEIPTS (SEE THE COMMENTS FOR MORE)

John B.: At this point, should I keep or trade Jonathan Taylor?

Let’s look at some Taylor trades on Yahoo of late.

One-for-one for Anthony Richardson, Christian Kirk, Tyler Algeier, Gus Edwards. “Hell no” for me. A two-for-one for David Montgomery and Jordan Addison? Okay. That’s possible. I think Montgomery returns this week and he’s likely to get a TD every week. Addison could start getting 20% targets. In fact, that’s probably likely come the fantasy playoffs. TJ Hockenson is a stiff. He’s at least horribly overrated in fantasy relative to his actual production (698 yards on 114 targets is PATHETIC). If the Vikings like touchdowns (debatable), Addison has to start stepping into a lot more targets, at Hockenson’s expense. — Salfino

I’d be holding right now. The fantasy discourse on him is quiet right now. I doubt his trade value has jumped as much as it will when we start seeing him practice and getting himself ready to return. There should be a time in the run-up to his return that he sees a market value spike simply because he’s back in the forefront of people’s minds. — Funston

Dan S.: Should I drop Joshua Kelley? PPR 12 team league, deeper format (3 flexes)

Clearly, Kelley has done little to warrant extra workload once Ekeler returns, but I’d probably at least wait another week to cut him loose. The Chargers get the Raiders in Week 4, and Las Vegas has been friendly to RBs, allowing nearly 4.7 YPC to the position. Unless you need to make room for De’Von Achane, roll with Kelley another week. — Funston

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Chad M.: Three games in, which unsexy RBs look like good trade targets?

A: I love targeting unsexy RBs, so I’m here for it.

Miles Sanders has 20 targets and leads all RBs with that number. His actual rushing stats aren’t spectacular but the target volume could be helpful in bye weeks.

I love Kyren Williams. He gets a ton of targets and is involved in the passing game, and he has the backfield all to himself. The Rams are a little weird in terms of rushing a lot and then passing a lot. Remember how frustrating it was for Cam Akers and Darrell Henderson in the past? Williams will go on some runs and probably be a hot name mid-season because the volume will eventually yield bigger numbers.

And I’ll get weird and throw out Breece Hall. The Jets are a mess… right now. Maybe they figure some stuff out? Hall is averaging 5.9 YPC despite a totally dysfunctional offense. You can probably get him cheap thanks to the stench of the Jets on him, too. — Di Fino

Peter N.: Should I drop Perine and/or Hunt for Palmer and/or Rice? PPR league

100% yes. Rice is fine but Palmer is the possible league winner. He’s getting the snaps above Quentin Johnston. The smart people who are prone to overconfidence and rookie fixation prefer Johnston and I think that’s just madness. Palmer is going to be the replacement for Mike Williams (ACL). He was last year. Johnston isn’t ready, say the early snap counts. While Palmer isn’t that good, he has a great QB – so who cares. Palmer could be in line for 7-to-12 Justin Herbert targets every week and that has huge value. — Salfino

Jason L.: How much FAAB to use on Joshua Palmer?

Great question. We have to speculate on market share and use my formula of 50% of that for a minimum bid. I’m going to project 20% targets. That’s worth 10% of your FAAB. But given the passing environment, you could go full retail and spend 20-to-25%. So there’s your range. I think 10% is thievery but Palmer is not a well-regarded player, generally, in the expert community. I love low-regarded players in great environments with clear opportunity, though. That’s a cheat code in our game where many want to pretend they’re scouts. — Salfino

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Matt J.: I’m now comfortable adding Rico Dowdle as the handcuff to Tony Pollard. Would you drop Kendre Miller for him, or is it time to drop AJ Dillon?

I like this a lot. I’m shocked that Pollard leads the league in touches. I can’t see him holding up to this level of work this far into his career, during which he’s only been a secondary back. I’m not saying he shouldn’t get most touches but he’s not going to stand up to the 400+ he’s on pace for. There’s just no way. It’s impossible. So if you have Pollard and get Dowdle, you are insured against a breakdown because most of that workload will just transfer to Dowdle. I think Dowdle, the way the Cowboys are playing, is the best handcuff out there. — Salfino

I’d honestly be fine with you dropping either of them for Dowdle.I guess the determining factor for me would be what kind of role Miller and Dillon have if/when the RB in front of them goes down. For Dillon, he pretty much becomes the de facto go-to RB for the Packers when Aaron Jones is out. For New Orleans, we have to assume that Jamaal williams would still be in the mix (when he comes back), plus Tony Jones and Miller. So my lean is to cut Miller for Dowdle. — Funston

Tristan R.: Being offered Kupp for Mostert, 12 team half ppr league. I am somewhat thin at RB with Barkley, Mostert, Conner, Roschon J, and Spears. That’s gotta be an incredible sell high right? Just worried about Kupp’s injury lingering ROS.

Wow. Trading for Kupp right now really takes stones. We’re all in the dark about his injury and the nerve involvement with the hamstring. It’s not an injury I’ve ever heard of before. Will he be ready after four games (when he’s eligible to return), five? Six? 10? No one knows. But Mostert is not going to last, in all likelihood, as he’s generally hurt and 31. He also has an even more electric runner breathing down his neck. But you also have Barkley problems, as he has a high-ankle injury and thus a cloudy future himself (both week of return and production when he returns). If you trade Mostert, you only have Conner for sure right now at the position. If Barkley is out, you’re really weak there. But what if Kupp comes back and is what we expected? I would honestly try to get a running back in addition to Kupp by saying you’re taking the risk here. I do like this trade conceptually. You’re taking a chance – but you need to gamble to win at this game. — Salfino

I haven’t heard anything but optimism that Kupp should be able to return soon after his IR stint. Maybe the Rams slow play it an extra week or two. But the time of his return is nearing. So, yes, it would be a great sell high opportunity on Mostert. But do you need the WR help? You can still sell high on Mostert – good idea that Achane isn’t going away, Jeff Wilson is returning soon, and the biggest strength of the Miami offense lies in the WR duo of Hill and Waddle – but maybe you can combine Mostert and another lower level player for an even bigger name at RB. Just saying that, while I like the Kupp trade, I would shop Mostert around first. — Funston

Jeff W.: 10 team Flex PPR. Adam Thielen, Tank Dell, Josh Palmer and Devon Achane are available on the waiver wire. Should I drop DJ Moore for one of above? Thanks

A: Yes, I think it’s time to make that move. DJ Moore got everyone all excited, but this is a team that still has Mooney, has a QB who can rely on his legs if a guy doesn’t seem open, and the offense seems like a bad fit for Moore, at least right now. You may have to watch a few 100-yard games on someone else’s team (possibly their bench) but your replacements (I’d order them Achane, Dell, Thielen, Palmer – I lean RB heavy on my bench, but in a vacuum I think Dell is the better bet) should be less frustrating and at least Dell and maybe Thielen could give you a better floor. — Di Fino

Colin M: Having a miserable QB year. Fields and Richardson are my top two, with Kyler Murray stashed on the IR. Stafford and CJ Stroud are available on the waiver wire. Are either of them enough of an upgrade to pull the trigger?

Murray is a bad stash in seasonal since contractual issues make it unlikely that the Cardinals risk an injury with him in 2023. Stafford just had a bad game, although it wasn’t a nothing game in fantasy. It was bad in reality because his protection was scary bad. I think Stroud is more likely to last the season no matter what the record of the Texans is and that his passing volume will be high all year, relatively speaking. But I would just hold Fields and Richardson. The latter of which is likely back from his concussion this week. You can win streaming both of these guys. But there really are no good or bad matchups for running QBs, so streaming is very tough/sort of pointless. And an early TKO always looms with the running QB. But I’d just start Richardson every week he’s active for now. — Salfino

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Justin M.: Looking at putting bids in on Thielen, Downs, Rice, Palmer, and Johnston – Who would you prioritize for ROS? Looking for 1 or 2 to compete with Jeudy for WR3/Flex

If Andy Dalton was going to remain at QB for Carolina, Thielen would probably be the top choice. But a return to Bryce Young is coming, and so that would have me looking at Palmer as my top bid. Then Thielen, because should still be solid with Young. Rice seems like he’s building towards even better days ahead, and he’d be No. 3. Johnston would be 4 and Downs (don’t love the passing offense upside, and Pittman is the clear alpha WR there) would be 5th, though I think he and Johnston are really close. — Funston

Mark D.: Rest of season: Atwell, Palmer, Downs or Mims?

A; I’ll default this to half-PPR and say…

Jillian M.: How much FAAB should you spend to get Achane?

I’m a little torn here, because on one hand Achane was electric and seemed unstoppable… and I felt like we were watching a Tarik Cohen breakout all over again. But Raheem Mostert also looked fantastic, and Jeff Wilson is lurking in the shadows. So Achane depends on your risk tolerance and your roster and your style of play, I guess. You also have to factor in that at some point you know you’re going to lose that bid on him if you’re just “meh” or believe he’ll have as many 5-for-19 weeks as he might have 11-for-122 and a TD. So…

• Weak RB teams: If I have $80, I’d bit $58-65
• Decent RB teams: $40-44
• Teams with good RBs: $26-28 (put in the bid just in case everyone else is sleeping)

Keep in mind that byes are coming and depth is going to be more important after this week, so even winning Achane and flipping him before this next game, when his stock is super high, can flip into a WR or some other position you may need. — Di Fino

Pete M.: Will Keaton Mitchell be fantasy relevant for the Ravens this season?

I think so. Especially if Gus Edwards is out for a little bit. I understand you have Edwards and Hill — and the Ravens always somehow go back to Edwards… which I am totally fine with, I like him. But we don’t know this Todd Monken offense just yet. Maybe he likes Mitchell. Maybe Mitchell is a better fit.If you don’t like that vague answer, our friend Jake Ciely mentioned Mitchell in this week’s waiver wire column, and said he’ll be a factor later in the season. — Di Fino

(Photo: David Eulitt/Getty Images)

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