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
DYLAN RAIOLA (Neb): Raiola looked great in Week 2 but that was against lowly Akron. What is nice to see is that his workload of pass/run plays just hits 40 plays/game. He will likely be just a spot-starter for your fantasy squad, and this week he has an FCS foe on the schedule if you need line-up help immediately.
BISHOP DAVENPORT (SoAl): There are things I like about Davenport but I feel like he hasn’t fully been unleashed in the passing game. Only averaging 19 pass attempts through two games isn’t good. But he’s been very productive with his limited workload so far. You’ll probably need to wait until his match-ups in Weeks 4, 6, and 8 to finally utilize him as a fantasy asset.
MALACHI NELSON (UTEP): I’m placing Nelson on here as a name to monitor. He only put up 178 passing yards and 1 TD in Week 1 against Utah State. Last week against an FCS school he 278 passing yards and 4 TDs on fewer pass attempts than in Week 1. We don’t have a good enough picture yet to know his fantasy value but he has a great receiver to throw.
RUNNING BACKS
KENDRICK RAPHAEL (Cal): Raphael is a tricky one to figure out right now. In Week 1 he had 9 carries, then doubled that in Week 2 with 18. On the season he is getting 41% of all rushing attempts & 55.4% of all rushing yards. The main thing holding him back right now is lack of TD production.
WIDE RECEIVERS
PARKER LIVINGSTON (Tex): Livingstone has been extremely productive as a freshman. He appears to be the best playmaker in the receiver core and has a nose for the end zone. What’s holding him back in my eyes is a very low workload volume (15.8% of team receptions), and I can see that increasing as the year goes on. Just by how much is the main question?
CAMDEN BROWN (GaSo): While Brown’s 7 targets/game average looks nice, he is only getting 17.11% of all team receptions. On the flip side he is putting up 33.1% of all receiving yards and 60% of all receiving TDs. I would like to see the Georgia Southern passing game more out of the middle of the pack placing they have right now.
KESHAUN SINGLETON (SoFL): The South Florida passing game is right around the middle for the country as well. Singleton’s 4.5 targets/game average is not what I want to see but he is able to make things happen in these limited opportunities. He has turned this small workload in 32.44% of all receiving yards and 100% of all receiving TDs.
DUCE ROBINSON (FlaSt): We’ve seen two very different performances out of Robinson. Week1 against Alabama he only scored 2.8 fantasy points on 4 targets. Last week against an FCS school he scored 31.8 fantasy points on 6 targets. Its hard to invest in a fantasy wide receiver from a predominantly run based offense. But Robinson is getting a good workload with 28% of all team receptions and 36.7% of all receiving yards.
JEFF CALDWELL (Cin): The Cincinnati passing game was really bad against Nebraska in Week 1, but bounced back to life against Bowling Green in Week 2. Caldwell looked the part of the WR1 for this offense that many CFF analyst expected him to be this summer. I don’t think we have a real solid feel for the target distribution yet because the Nebraska game is messing with the numbers. That’s what dragging Caldwell’s targets/game number down to 4.5 right now.
COOPER BARKATE (Duke): I want to see a little more from Barkate before I would be willing to pick him up on the Waiver Wire but I feel he is a name worth monitoring. His 7.5 targets/game is nice but that’s only for 17.3% of the teams receptions. His total of the team’s receiving yards is below 30% and he has failed to score a TD this season. This offense is throwing the ball everywhere and my gut thinks there has to be at least one fantasy relevant receiver that will come out of this offensive system.
TIGHT ENDS
LANCE MASON (Wisc): I’m not a big fan of investing in the Wisconsin passing game right now, but this is a very thin week for tight end Waiver Wire targets. Mason did nothing in Week 1 but last week he had 8 targets for 7 receptions, 102 yards and 1 TD against Middle Tennessee. His schedule isn’t great either, with just one decent match-up over the next eight weeks.
QUARTERBACKS
TOP 5 TARGETS
BRAD JACKSON (TxSt): While the passing numbers are a bit low for what I would like to see from the Texas State QB1, I love how Jackson is supplementing that with the ground game. He’s averaging 11 carries/game which is 26% of the team’s total rushing attempts and he’s averaging 1 rushing TD/game. The one TD that he threw last week seems like an anomaly despite the fact he hasn’t thrown the ball 30 times in a game yet.
DYLAN LONERGAN (BC): Lonergan brings no rushing value to the table which means you’ll need to rely on his arm for his fantasy value. Having played an FCS opponent and Michigan State, he has thrown for four TDs in each game. That level of play against Michigan State makes me feel more secure about how he can fare against ACC defenses later this year.
ANTHONY COLANDREA (UNLV): When it comes to Colandrea’s play in this offense he won’t blow you away with his passing numbers. The 22.7 pass attempts/game means you need him to be very productive on the ground. His rushing workload is good with 10 attempts/game which is 27.5% of all rushing attempts. I also like that he is producing 29% of all the team’s rushing yards. He just needs to find a way to rush for TDs on a more consistent basis.
CEDRICK BAILEY (NCSt): Bailey has looked good in two games against decent opponents with East Carolina and Virginia. I think he needs to become more productive in the passing game though as he’s throwing the ball for just under 30 attempts/game. What worries me is that he is accounting for 50% of all rushing TDs where he scores a TD on 23% of his rushing attempts (which doesn’t seem sustainable).
JACOB CLARK (MoSt): Clark is more of a deep dive but someone that I find intriguing. He’s played against USC and Marshall so far, meaning that the type of stats we’ve seen are going to be less than what he could average in conference play. His 30 pass attempts and 2 passing TDs/game are good enough through the air. While he hasn’t scored one rushing TD yet, he is getting 10 carries/game. When you remove all the sacks he took against USC he has ran for 30 yards (2.0 yards/carry).
CURRENT WEEK MATCH-UP TARGETS
Colandrea’s match-up with an FCS team should provide him with good rushing production this week, plus the potential for some deep bombs in the air making him my top choice. My fantasy match-up grade for Clark against SMU is skewed by the defensive performance SMU had against Baylor last week. I would actually go for Lonergan over Clark if you need another QB option for a spot-starter this week.
VOLUME WORKLOAD TARGETS
Lonergan is the only player of this group that is averaging a 40+ touch workload. He’s really just shy of it because those rushing attempts that get him to 40 are sacks though. If you’re looking for volume players you don’t have much choice this week.
PLAYOFF MATCH-UP TARGETS
Yes its early to be talking about playoff schedule matching but having a good playoff slate only adds value to a waiver wire option. Jackson’s playoff match-ups really helped him take the #1 spot in my top five this week. With the hopes his play continues to improve in the passing game, he could be a very dangerous QB2 for your fantasy line-ups at the end of the fantasy season. One of the reasons I decided to keep Clark in the main section and not honorable mentions section was this playoff slate. The Kennesaw State match-up may not be as good later this year since they have played tough opponents and I can see their defensive stats improving.
RUNNING BACKS
TOP 5 TARGETS
TAE MEADOWS (Troy): This is two weeks in a row now that Meadows has made my top 5 list. Many people may pass him over this week after putting up just 7.6 fantasy points against Troy. But savvy fantasy owners will see the fact he’s averaging 19.5 carries (51.3% of all team carries) and 131 yards/game (74.9% of all rushing yards), even with that tough match-up against Clemson. There’s not been many potential bellcows this season on the waiver wire so I would highly recommend being aggressive in acquiring Meadows this week.
CHAVON WRIGHT (NIU): Wright was the RB2 in Week 1, but he was elevated into the starting role last week. Against Maryland he only scored 11.2 fantasy points but this could be another bellcow possibility. He ran the ball a whopping 27 times last weekend which raised his carry total to 39.6% of all team carries. He’s also producing 46.6% of all rushing yards and 50% of all rushing TDs. He won’t have a good fantasy match-up until Week 6 so you have to stash him on your bench and be patient.
J’MARI TAYLOR (UVA): I’m a bit torn on Taylor. I can’t ignore his fantasy production, averaging 26.2 fantasy points/game, and the fact he’s scoring 83.3% of all rushing TDs (five TDs in two games). At the same time his workload scare me, averaging just 13.5 carries/game. While I am including him in my top 3 list I will likely leave him for other owners to chase after since I feel like there’s bound to be TD regression coming by Week 5’s match-up with Florida State. If you’re desperate for help right now at running back, then it might be worth going after Taylor and utilizing his next two juicy match-ups.
ALEX TECZA (Navy): Here’s the things I like about Tecza. He is averaging 15 carries and 1 TD/game for the #2 fantasy rushing offense in the country. What I don’t like is his workload is only good enough for 28% of all the team’s carries, 26.4% of all rushing yards, and we haven’t really see Blake Horvath take the rushing attempts yet. His upcoming match-ups with Tulsa, Rice, and Air Force all look to be fantasy friendly though.
GRANT WASHINGTON (MIN): Starting running back Darius Taylor injured his hamstring last weekend and his status for Week 3 is up in the air (at the time of writing this article). Washington stepped into the feature back role when Taylor left the game last weekend and Washington carried the ball 20 times for 126 yards against an FCS foe. I’m encouraged by him securing that large of a workload and if he starts next week against Cal he should be productive on the ground. We have no clue how long Washington will have fantasy value which is why he isn’t higher on my top 5 list.
CURRENT WEEK MATCH-UP TARGETS
As I stated before, Taylor has a great two week run ahead of him and I can’t see a reason why he shouldn’t keep producing this week against an FCS team. I do like Washington’s match-up with Cal, but Darius Taylor’s playing status may be a gametime decision. This makes it tricky when thinking about picking up Washington to use for this week. You very well could swing and miss.
VOLUME WORKLOAD TARGETS
All of this week’s volume options are from CFF offensive systems that are known for creating high volume fantasy backs. None of these guys have any PPR value though. Meadows is the safest options since we’ve seen a large workload for two weeks in a row. Wright would be the next option, but there’s risk that this backfield could turn into a “hot hand” situation where carry distribution changes from week to week. If Darius Taylor is out, then Washington is a solid volume play. Washington also has the best three week match-up slate of all these players.
PLAYOFF MATCH-UP TARGETS
Yes its early to be talking about playoff schedule matching but having a good playoff slate only adds value to a waiver wire option. Meadows being the only player to have a favorable playoff schedule makes it even easier to see why he my top running back for this week. Don’t try and wait one more week before picking him up, just go out and stash him away now.
WIDE RECEIVERS
TOP 5 TARGETS
ROMELLO BRINSON (SMU): This SMU offensive system has a history of good fantasy receivers. Brinson looks to be that next guy, but his workload volume is still a bit low with 6.5 targets/game. I’m okay with that number because he accounts for 29% of all receptions, 44.5% of all receiving yards, and 60% of all receiving TDs for SMU. I was aggressive in acquiring him last week for my fantasy squads and I would recommend you jump on the bandwagon this week.
KENNY ODOM (UTEP): Looking back I wish I was more bullish on Odom during the summer months. He showed us last season he can be a fantasy producer and he’s continuing that this season. His numbers are great. He’s averaging 21.35 fantasy points/game, 11.5 targets/game, 36.8% of all receptions, 48.11% of all receiving yards, and 40% of all receiving TDs. The fact that he doesn’t have an established quarterback is the only thing holding him back from being at the top of this list.
SKYLER BELL (UConn): Bell has been a target machine this season, averaging 11 targets/game (28.8% of all team receptions). He’s producing 36.3% of the teams receiving yards, and his 1 TD/game is good enough for 40% of all team receiving TDs. UConn’s schedule is extremely promising for Bell’s fantasy potential meaning he could be a solid weekly player for your starting line-up.
CORRI MILLINER (UAB): Milliner put up 18.3 fantasy points in Week 1 against an FCS school which made me a little hesitant. Last week UAB played better than I expected against Navy and Milliner produced a 19 fantasy point outing there. I’m now fully solid on not just him but Kitna at the quarterback position being able to consistently get Milliner the ball. He’s scored in every game this season and he’s accounting for 50% of the team’s receiving TDs.
HARRISON WALLACE (Miss): This last spot came down to Wallace or Brenen Thompson from Mississippi State. I decided to roll with Wallace because I think Ole Miss has a better chance to be productive in the air for more games this season. Wallace is the hands down WR1 for Lane Kiffin’s offense. I think TD scoring potential is a bit limited with Wallace but when he’s averaging 7.5 targets/game he’s bound to find a way into the endzone more games than not.
CURRENT WEEK MATCH-UP TARGETS
Thompson has the best match-up grade on the chart here but I would actually go with Milliner and Bell over Thompson. Mississippi State could spread the ball around too much and Thompson could have a 60 yard and 1 TD performance against an FCS school. I think Milliner and Bell should continue to be targeted heavily in their games and play longer in them too. I like Beatty and Bond’s match-ups next but these guys need to find a way to score a dang TD. Looking at the bottom three names I would try to lean on Thaw first since I see this as a competitive game and Delaware will be playing form behind. Brazzell worries be about how he will do against Georgia, and Hawkins scares me that the ball gets spread around too much or that the ground game dominates all scoring opportunities.
VOLUME WORKLOAD TARGETS
Bond is just dominating the targets and receptions on this list. The one thing he isn’t doing is scoring TDs. If this offense can find a way to correct that, he could be a great fantasy receiver. Odom and Bell are super consistent and are my preference over Bond. I like Barnes as much as Bond, but so far this season Barnes’ efficient stats have not been consistent. When it comes to the next tier of players I like next it would be Faupel, Milliner, and Thompson. These three have been more consistent with their workload distribution this season. The other names I think are more risky.
PLAYOFF MATCH-UP TARGETS
Yes its early to be talking about playoff schedule matching but having a good playoff slate only adds value to a waiver wire option. The Appalachian State passing game should be flying high come playoff time. Barnes is a guy that was just outside of my top 5 and the playoff match-ups made it very had to place him where I did. Thaw’s match-up grade with Wake Forest is bound to change in the coming weeks, thus lowering his fantasy potential. Odom’s playoff slate is darn good and probable my second favorite behind the Barnes/Stroman duo.
TIGHT ENDS
TOP 5 TARGETS
CURRENT WEEK MATCH-UP TARGETS
VOLUME WORKLOAD TARGETS
DAN VILLARI (Syr): Villari is showing us that he can be a regular top pass catcher for Syracuse on a weekly basis. He’s accounting for 21.4% of the team’s receptions and 23% of all receiving yards. He just needs to find a way to get into the end zone. I’m willing to pass on the TD production to secure a guy like him who is getting a steady workload week in and week out.
BRETT NORFLEET (Mizzou): Missouri is using a two TE system which is making Norfleet’s efficiency stats irregular. While his targets don’t vary too much from week to week, his yardage does. In Week 1 he had 3 receptions for 9 yards, with his longest receptions for 8 yards (his other 2 receptions were for 1 yard). Last week against Kansas he had 7 receptions for 76 yards and a longest reception of 27. I think you have to try and pick him up now if you need help at tight end, and hopefully the upcoming Alabama and Maryland contests will give us more clarity on how consistent he can be.
PLAYOFF MATCH-UP TARGETS
Yes its early to be talking about playoff schedule matching but having a good playoff slate only adds value to a waiver wire option. I only have one guy to recommend here, and I think we still need to see how integrated Norfleet will be in the target distribution by then.