Week 3 Fantasy Football Wide Receiver Waiver Adds: Who can Replace Cooper Kupp, Deebo Samuel?

Welcome back to the weekly wide receiver waiver wire write-up! Somehow, the biggest wide receiver headline of the week is once again a Rams injury, as Cooper Kupp is reportedly an IR candidate due to an ankle issue. Along with Kupp, plenty of other highly drafted wide receivers are hurt (A.J. Brown, Deebo Samuel Sr.) or just failing to produce (Terry McLaurin, Michael Pittman). Let’s dive in to the top candidates to replace them heading into Week 3. 

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Week 3 Fantasy Football Wide Receiver Waiver Adds

Demarcus Robinson, Los Angeles Rams (28% Rostered)

With Kupp and Puka Nacua out, Robinson is now the Rams’ de facto WR1. He certainly won’t match the production of either of those guys, but he should be able to provide decent value as Matthew Stafford’s top target. 

Tyler Johnson, Los Angeles Rams (11% Rostered)

Johnson should join Robinson as an every-down starter for the Rams, playing the vast majority of the team’s snaps. If you miss out on Robinson in a deeper league, Johnson is a viable alternative. 

Quentin Johnston, Los Angeles Chargers (5.7% Rostered)

If Quentin Johnston wasn’t Quentin Johnston, his performance on Sunday would be getting more hype. After all, he caught two touchdowns, including one highlight-worthy catch, on a 30% target share and 82% route participation rate. No other Charger was above 64% in route participation. 

However, because of his status as a “bust” following an admittedly terrible rookie year, the former first-round pick’s big day is being treated as more of a joke than a potential breakout — it doesn’t help that it came against the Panthers, who are themselves a joke. But what if, maybe, just maybe, this is the beginning of a breakout? Johnston is still a great athlete with elite draft capital on a good offense that lacks a true WR1. He’s worth adding in case he has begun to turn the corner. 

Alec Pierce, Indianapolis Colts (14.2% Rostered)

Despite his massive Week 1 outing, I didn’t feature Pierce in last week’s article, instead choosing to highlight his rookie teammate, Adonai Mitchell. The reason why was simple: We have lots of reason to believe that Pierce isn’t good. In 2023, he posted 0.85 yards per route run and just a 12% target per route rate — those are truly awful numbers. He also achieved his big Week 1 outing on just three targets, not pointing to much sustainability. 

However, Week 2 was more promising. Pierce actually led the Colts with eight targets, catching five for 56 yards and a TD. Meanwhile, Mitchell lost snaps to Ashton Dulin. At least for now,  Pierce is clearly in no danger of losing his role as the Colts’ primary deep threat. With Anthony Richardson throwing bombs, that role may be able to provide fantasy value.

Jauan Jennings, San Franciso 49ers (1.2% Rostered)

With Samuel shockingly set to miss a few weeks with a calf injury, Jennings will step in as the 49ers’ WR2. Deebo missed two weeks last season, and Jennings saw nine targets in one of those contests … but zero in the other. He’s absolutely not a must-start, but he is a fine deep-league flex play on a 49ers team that is somehow suddenly lacking for playmakers.  

Demario Douglas, New England Patriots (25.8% Rostered)

Through two weeks, Douglas has run more routes than any other Patriots WR (although TE Hunter Henry does have more). We should note that his actual route participation rate is just 75.4%, low for a WR1, as the Patriots have been employing a receiver-by-committee approach. But leading a team in routes is leading a team in routes, no matter how you slice it. 

So far, those routes haven’t turned into production, as Douglas has just two catches on two targets for 12 yards. However, Douglas was decently efficient on a per-route basis as a rookie, with a 1.70 yards per route run that ranked 38th among qualified WRs. If he can put those two things together, the slot specialist could provide flex value in PPR formats, especially if Drake Maye eventually arrives and elevates this offense.

Adam Thielen, Carolina Panthers (41.7% Rostered)

The Panthers have officially accepted their losses and benched Bryce Young for Andy Dalton. In the one game started by Dalton last year, Thielen saw 14 targets, catching 11 for 145 yards and a touchdown.

Obviously, we can’t expect that level of production again. Thielen was legitimately on fire to start last season, no matter who was under center, but the 34-year-old’s production fell off heavily as the season went on. Additionally, he’s no longer the only game in town: Diontae Johnson is the better receiver at this point in their respective careers. But it’s still worth adding Thielen to see how production and roles shake out in what should hopefully be a vastly improved Panthers offense.