College Fantasy Football championships are won and lost on the waiver wire. Purple Reign has identified the players you need to target on this week’s waiver wire that will help give your fantasy team a champion’s edge.
Premium subscribers will have access to hand chosen waiver wire targets for Joe Arpasi’s Top 5 selections, the best match-ups on this week’s slate, high volume workload players, and players with the most favorable playoff match-ups.
In the free preview below I will review players I feel are honorable mention waiver wire targets that did not make any of the specified target lists that are featured for premium subscribers.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
QUARTERBACKS
CONNER WEIGMAN (Hou): Last week was the first real competitive game of the season for Weigman. His passing efficiency improved, and he was more involved in the ground game. He carried the ball 17 times for 83 yards and 2 TD. He is currently scoring 50% of all the team’s rushing TDs.
TAQUAN ROBERSON (Buff): Its been two quality fantasy outings in a row for Roberson, going up against Kent State and an FCS school. His 40 pass attempts and 3 TDs last week was due to star RB AL-Jay Henderson being out with injury. Two weeks ago he ran for 2 TDs. Hopefully he can work out a normal TD production over the next few weeks.
NOAH FIFITA (Ariz): Fifita has also had irregular production over the last two week. Two weeks ago he was on fire in the air with 373 yards and 5 TDs against an FCS school. Last week against Kansas State he threw for 178 yards and no TDs. He was bailed out by two rushing TDs. I worry about rushing TD regression as he gets 6.5% of all carries but scores 50% of all rushing TDs.
ANTHONY COLANDREA (UNLV): Coming off of a bye week we still see Colandrea rostered in less than 30% of all Fantrax leagues. He has the best Week 4 match-up of all the honorable mention QBs. He is getting 27.5% of all rushing attempts and accounting for 29% of all rushing yards.
JARON-KEAWE SAGAPOLUTELE (Cal): When it comes to Sagapolutele’s fantasy value, its all tied to his arm. He’s been up and down this year based on his ability to get passing TDs. The next three weeks looks great and he could serve as a QB2 in your fantasy line-up and provide immediate help.
RUNNING BACKS
ALEX TECZA (Navy): Tecza has been the most reliable part of the Navy rushing game. He gets 15 carries every game, scores in every game, and averages 4.8 yards/carry or better every game. His carry share is low at 26.5% but the option offense provides him an advantage with efficiency stats and fantasy production.
TURBO RICHARD (BC): The Boston College offense has been emphasizing the pass more than the run. Richard’s 14.3 carries/game is low but he is getting 49.4% of all rushing attempts and 71.8% of all rushing yards. He’s scored over 20 fantasy points the last two weeks and that is due to him getting 12 receptions for 149 yards and 2 TDs total over those games.
SEDRICK ALEXANDER (Vand): The good things about Alexander is that he has score 17+ fantasy points in each game this season. The bad news is that he has never had more than 13 carries a game, never rushed for 100 yards in a game, and has been reliant on a 3/2 reception/receiving TD ratio. I do like his next two match-ups and feel like he can be a short term immediate help for your roster.
DAMON BANKSTON (NM): Starting running back Scottre Humphrey left the game last week and Bankston stepped and and balled out. He averaged 10.3 yards/carry on a 15 carry, 154 yards and 1 TD performance. Until we know the extent of Humphrey’s injury Bankston could be a quality spot-starter.
EVAN DICKENS (Lib): Dickens has come to life over the last two weeks. During that span he’s totaled 27 carries for 196 yards and 2 TDs. He has accounted for 31.9% of all carries, 42.2% of all rushing yards, and 66.7% of all rushing TDs. Once they can get past James Madison in Week 4 his schedule opens up nicely.
JONATHAN SILVER (UD): I’m not totally sold on Silver but I can’t ignore what he did last week. Against UConn he had 15 carries for 179 yards and 2 TDs. In the two games prior to that he totaled just 17 carries for 81 yards with no rushing TDs, but was more involved in the passing game. I have my doubts that Silver will continue to rip off huge chunks of yards.
WIDE RECEIVERS
CADE HARRIS (AF): If Harris is designated as a WR in your league, he might be worth looking into. He’s averaging 25.4 fantasy points a game and he’s never scored under 16.5 fantasy points. His receiving workload is very small and its completely reliant on huge plays (29.2 yards/reception). He is getting a rushing workload but that will likely be inconsistent from week to week and his rushing efficiency looks too high right now (8.6 yards/carry).
BRENE THOMPSON (MissSt): Thompson has been above average in two of his three games with one breakout game. He is averaging 7 targets a game, is responsible for 35.2% of all receiving yards, and 42.9% of all receiving TDs. He should remain easy to obtain until he has another breakout game.
CAMDEN BROWN (GaSo): Brown is much like Thompson, two decent performances and one big one. He has been the team leader in targets, but his fantasy value lays in TDs where he has scored 66.7% of all receiving TDs (averaging 1.3 TDs/game).
KESHAUN SINGLETON (SoFl): Singleton has a low workload (4 targets/game) but he’s been very productive. He’s accounting for 25.6% of all receiving yards (23 yards/reception) and 66.7% of all receiving TDs. Last week was his first week without a TD but that was also his toughest opponent. That will scare people off and let him slip through the cracks.
RAPHAEL WILLIAMS (Pitt): Since Week 2 Williams has been the guy in the Pitt receiver room. In the last two games he’s averaged 9 targets for 6 receptions, 120 yards and 1.5 TDs per game. He’s coming in right at 30% for the team’s receiving yards and receiving TDs. He’ll have to sit on your bench as he has a bye in Week 4.
IVERSON HOOKS (UAB): I have the UAB passing game ranked #30 for fantasy passing offenses. Hooks has been a productive WR2 in this system averaging 7.7 targets/game and accounting for 33.3% of all receiving TDs. Last week against Akron was the first time he was held out of the end zone and he is yet to total 100 yards in a single game.
JACQUON GIBSON (UMass): What I love about Gibson is his volume. He’s averaging 13.3 targets per game and never had less than 10 targets in a single game. He’s responsible for 41.4% of receptions and 47% of receiving yards. His problem is that he hasn’t scored a TD and I have the UMass passing game at #119 for fantasy passing.
REGINALD VIRGIL (TxTch): Virgil has been very consistent with his workload this season, always getting 6-7 targets/game. He been very TD dependent for his fantasy value (averaging 1 TD/game). His yardage is a concern though. The most yards he’s had in a single game has been 56.
PJ JOHNSON (NMS): Right now I see Johnson as a name to monitor but not pick up yet. In Week 1 he had 4 targets and scored 9.2 fantasy points. In Week 2 he had 6 targets and scored 6.8 fantasy points. Last week he exploded with 10 targets and 25.2 fantasy points. Week 2 was against Tulsa and Week 3 was against Louisiana Tech which are comparable opponents. I was to see him do it one more time before I become a believer.
TIGHT ENDS
JAREN KANAK (Okla): Regardless of the quality of opponent Kanak finds a way to put up fantasy points. He has scored between 9.4-12.6 fantasy points in each game despite not finding the endzone yet. He’s not a flashy option but he is a great floor play.
MASON MINI (Cal): Mini is also a good floor play but one that can find the end zone. He has scored in two of his three games and has a similar workload to Kanak. He just comes up short on yardage, averaging 33 yards/game (12.3% of all receiving yards).
QUARTERBACKS
TOP 5 TARGETS
NICK MINICUCCI (UD): I liked what I saw from Minicucci in Week 1 but that was a rivalry game against an FCS school. Week 2 was an expected setback against Colorado but he came roaring back in Week 3 against UConn. He produced 37.25 fantasy points with 265 yards and 1 TD in the air to go with 20 yards and 3 TDs on the ground. His workload is great with 38 pass attempts and 11.3 rush attempts per game. Delaware is middle of the pack with the rushing game but he is scoring 66.7% of all rushing TDs.
JOE AGUILAR (Tenn): I am surprised that Aguilar is having the fantasy success he’s having. He’s throwing the ball 38.7 times/game and averaging 3.7 TDs/game. He showed against Georgia that he can be careless with the ball at times, but those are his only INTs this season. The fact that Chris Brazzell has become a major deep threat has been vital to Aguilar’s success this year.
JAKE RETZLAFF (Tul): Retzlaff had a monster game last week against Duke, scoring 45.35 fantasy points. Before that he had only scored 20.65 and 28.9 fantasy points. He is dominating the rushing TDs (75% of all rushing TDs) which is elevating his fantasy value. Can this continue all season? Maybe not. He scored 4 times on the ground last week, but once once in the prior weeks. This one area will make or break him in your fantasy line-ups.
DYLAN LONERGAN (BC): Week 3 was a setback for Lonergan. He looked bad at times against Stanford, but the cross country road trip might have been the reason for that. He has a massive passing workload but no rushing upside. He is averaging 3.3 TDs/game but I think he can keep that up against what looks like a poor year for ACC defenses.
JAYLEN RAYNOR (ArkSt): Raynor had a great Week 1 against a FCS school, but hasn’t done much since. Those last two games were against Arkansas and Iowa State though. He would be higher on my list if he was more productive in those two game. But in those game he carried the ball 16 and 15 times which is very promising. His upcoming schedule is great, with only two games that aren’t great match-ups. This is the perfect time to snatch him up before he gets hot.
CURRENT WEEK MATCH-UP TARGETS
Aguilar is at the top of this list but there’s a good chance that the ground game steals several scoring opportunities from him. I think Minicucci is the best options for this week, followed by Colandrea then Aguilar. Angeli might be put in his place by a Clemson team that could come out and play their best game of the season (redemption mode). Raynor might have a better match-up than what I have listed since the team production has been skewed by playing Arkansas and Iowa State.
VOLUME WORKLOAD TARGETS
Minicucci and Raynor are the only dual-threat QBs on this list and should be highly looked at. Angeli’s production is high but I don’t think we have a good enough idea of how Syracuse will distribute the scoring opportunities between the passing and running game. In term of volume plays I like Lonergan slightly more than Angeli.
PLAYOFF MATCH-UP TARGETS
Minicucci and Aguilar are Top 5 selections off mine that made this list but there’s two other names to consider. Fifita has surpassed my expectations so far this season and all three playoff match-ups should be high scoring. Roberson has a nice schedule but will his scoring opportunities be stolen too much by AL-Jay Henderson?
RUNNING BACKS
TOP 5 TARGETS
SUTTON SMITH (Mem): Fellow running back Greg Desrosiers sat out last week and Smith gained a larger workload (18 carries). He used that workload to score 25 fantasy points on 113 yards and 2 TDs. He is the main rushing back in this offense and you always want to stash away the Memphis lead back. We need to see how much the return of Desrosiers eats into that production but I still like Sutton most of this group.
CHAVON WRIGHT (NIU): Wright’s fantasy production hasn’t been great this season but he still needs to be a priority for the waiver wire. He had 11 carries in Week 1, but was elevated to the start in Week 2 and got 27 carries. Coming off a bye week and having two average fantasy match-ups means that he could still be floating around in your league. As long as you don’t need immediate help at RB I’d recommend stashing him away now for conference play later.
SETH MCGOWAN (KY): I’m always hesitant when looking at offenses that utilize a split RB backfield. Despite Kentucky’s tendency to do that, McGowan has received between 15-18 carries in each game. In the last two weeks against Eastern Michigan and Mississippi he’s scored 5 total TDs and accounts for 66.7% of all rushing TDs. His efficiency stats are very nice too, averaging 5.4 yards/carry and accounting for 42.7% of all rushing yards.
KEJON OWENS (FLInt): If you remove the Week 2 match-up against Penn State, Owens has racked up 30 carries for 244 yards and 4 TDs in two games. I have FIU’s rushing game ranked #20 for fantasy rushing offenses and he is getting 38.5% of all rushing attempts. He’s also getting 54.8% of all rushing yards and 40% of all rushing TDs. He is the centerpiece of this offense.
TYE EDWARDS (WVU): After star running back Jahiem White was lost for the season, Edwards become the feature back. Against Pittsburgh in Week 3 he had 25 carries for 141 yards and 3 TDs (32.1 fantasy points). You could make a case that he should be at the top of this list. I just don’t know yet how good this rushing game can be, how bad the Pitt rushing defense really is, and how fired up West Virginia played in a rivalry game after a bad loss.
CURRENT WEEK MATCH-UP TARGETS
Owens is hands down the best option on this list. I love Alexander’s match-up too, but I have concerns about his light workload and heavy TD production (averaging 13 total touches and 1.67 TDs per game). I’d take Edwards over Smith and Richardson this week since the later two face bigger schools. Silver had a big Week 3 on the ground but I’m not sure that will be the norm.
VOLUME WORKLOAD TARGETS
Tye Edwards didn’t make this list because of only stepping up in Week 3 but he should also be considered a potential volume play. Wright makes this list despite a low workload in Week 1. Richardson just made the cut here but his next three match-ups aren’t great.
PLAYOFF MATCH-UP TARGETS
I do like how Owens and McGowan (Top 5 selections) made this list which adds to their fantasy value. Owens might be that guy that helps you win a championship down the stretch. McGowan has good match-ups as well, but I do worry about the Oregon State and Army match-ups for Richardson despite my good grades.
WIDE RECEIVERS
TOP 5 TARGET
CHRIS BRAZZELL (Tenn): Brazzell has consistently been receiving 8-11 targets/game all season but in the last two weeks he’s caught fire. In both games he has a total of 19 targets for 15 receptions, 302 yards and 5 TDs. He’s averaging 18.2 yards/receptions but against Georgia last week he went off with 29.5 yards/reception. He’s currently responsible for 33.8% of all receiving yards and 45.5% of all receiving TDs and has two fantastic fantasy match-ups ahead.
JADEN BARNES (App): What is there not to like about Barnes? He’s the WR1 for my #19 fantasy passing offense. He averages 11 targets/game. He’s scored a TD in every game (50% of all receiving TDs). He’s got over 130 yards and scored 20+ fantasy points in two out of three games. To top it all off, there’s not one bad match-up on his remaining schedule.
HARRISON WALLACE (Miss): Even though the QB play has been up and down this season, Wallace has remaining reliable. He has produced 25.4% of all receptions, 34.2% of all receiving yards, and 33.3% of all receiving TDs. He is an explosive playmaker that’s averaging 22.6 yards/reception. He is firmly the WR1 in this Ole Miss offense which is always a solid fantasy asset.
CORRI MILLINER (UAB): Last week I said I was all-aboard the Milliner train and that remains true this week. Last week he had 9 targets for 6 receptions, 70 yards and 1 TD against Akron. While his targets and yardage fluctuate from week to week, he always finds a way to score (50% of all receiving TDs). This week is probably your last chance to get him before he’s gone for good.
KYRE DUPLESSIS (UD): Duplessis had one bad game against Colorado but that was expected. In his other two games he’s totaled 20 targets for 16 receptions, 250 yards and 2 TDs. Even when you include the Colorado game he gets 8.7 targets/game and accounts for 30.3% of all receiving yards and 40% of all receiving TDs.
CURRENT WEEK MATCH-UP TARGETS
We’ve got lots of options if you need immediate line-up help. Brazzell and Wallace are my top two favorites. Behind them I like Brown, Singleton, and Duplessis. Milliner and Hooks are likely to struggle against Tennessee, and possibly Virgil against Utah as well. Thompsons and Knotts would be my next favorites. I’m hesitant to call Sides and Booker playable options this week.
VOLUME WORKLOAD TARGETS
Gibson, Harris, and Barnes reign supreme on this list. Booker has the worst stats of the next thee with Brazzell dominating yardage and TDs. The bottom three options of Milliner, Duplessis, and Wallace are all Top 5 selections that I love this week.
PLAYOFF MATCH-UP TARGETS
Barnes stands head and shoulders above everyone else on this list in my eyes. I think Sides could come into his own as the season progresses but we still need to see it. While the match-ups look good right now for Knotts, I worry about the Illinois and Michigan match-ups. I would probably give the Tennessee duo a slight edge over Duplessis.
TIGHT ENDS
TOP 5 TARGETS
JEREMIAH FRANKLIN (BC): Franklin has been giving us a steady track record of fantasy value. He’s scored in the 7 fantasy point range twice, but when he scored a TD his fantasy score rose to 18.4 fantasy points. In the last two weeks he’s averaging a whopping 11 targets and accounted for 20% of all receptions.
JAXXON WARREN (ColSt): After an explosive Week 1 performance against Washington Warren was held in check in Week 2 against a FCS team. He was on a bye in Week 3 and I still have faith he will be the leading WR on this team. You don’t find many TEs with the target potential he has which is why he is #2 on this week’s list.
DALLEN BENTLEY (Utah): Bentley’s stats don’t scream big time fantasy TE. He’s averaging 3.7 receptions and 37.3 yards per game, but he has scored in two of his three games. He’s proving reliability which it hard to find from fantasy TEs.
DAN VILLARI (Syr): Villari has been a regular on the waiver wire lists this season after good performances in Weeks 1 & 2. Last week we saw a dip in production with 4 targets for 4 receptions, 40 yards and no TDs. He hasn’t scored this season and it might be hard for him to find the end zone the rest of the way. But his workload and yardage production helps make up for that.
IZAYAH CUMMINGS (App): If you remove Cummings’ one game against an FCS school, he’s been good. 15 targets for 12 receptions, 139 yards and 0 TDs. App State is throwing the ball this year and Cummings’ workload should remain high moving forward. Just like Villari I do worry about TD production for the rest of the season.
CURRENT WEEK MATCH-UP TARGETS
I mentioned I still have faith in Warren and his match-up is my favorite for this week. I’m worried about Clemson playing with their hair on fire which lowers Villari in my eyes. Kanak will be reliable as always and I like Bentley over the likes of Villari and Mini.
VOLUME WORKLOAD TARGETS
Franklin and Warren are the only players on this list to score TDs this season. The bottom three share the same profile, high volume with good yardage but need to find a way to score. I would give Cummings the edge for TDs this season compared to Villari and Raridon.
PLAYOFF MATCH-UP TARGETS
I keep praising Cummings and he tops the playoff match-up list. Considering that Bentley has a nose for the end zone, I like him above Raridon here. Maybe Notre Dame QB CJ Carr find his rhythm as the season goes on and changes that scoreless trend for Raridon.