OK, now things are just getting ridiculous.
Injuries aren't new to the NFL—or fantasy football. A big part of success in fantasy is drafting players who stay healthy. Flat-out luck. It just is. But apparently in 2026, someone broke a mirror while walking under a ladder, opening an umbrella indoors and setting their funky shoes on a table—because for the second straight week, injuries blasted the fantasy landscape.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield will miss multiple weeks with a thumb injury, leaving an undrafted rookie throwing passes to Emeka Egbuka and Chris Godwin Jr. After tearing his ACL against the Kansas City Chiefs, Miami Dolphins running back De'Von Achane is toast. Minnesota Vikings wide receiver hurt his ankle. San Francisco 49ers wideout Mike Evans hurt his ribs.
I'd keep going, but I'm already half a step this side of jumping out a window—at least five stories up.
Yep. Like that.
Those injuries have only added to the pile of pained players—and the holes in fantasy rosters at every position. Some folks aren't just looking to add depth this week—they need to pick up players who can start. Now.
That's where Waiver Wire Wonders comes in.
Each week during the 2026 season, we will be building a "lineup" (1 QB, 2 RB, 2 WR, 1 TE, 1 FLEX) consisting of players who are available in over 50 percent of ESPN fantasy leagues. Will those players single-handedly win you a matchup? Probably not.
But we have already hit the "Well, it beats a blank" portion of the 2026 season.
Good times.
Week 4 Waiver Wire Wonders
QB Geno Smith, NY Jets (6.8 Percent Rostered)
You know it's going to be a column when it starts off with this analyst saying good things about Geno Smith.
Smith's late fumble sealed the Jets' demise last week in Detroit, but the fact is Smith also helped keep the Jets in the game. While addressing the media, Jets tight end Jeremy Ruckert said that he has been impressed by what he's seen from Smith's three starts this season.
"He's a warrior, man,'' Ruckert said. "He just stands in there. Looking at the plays that we put in during the week, even when he was back in Seattle or younger in his career, he stands in that pocket and delivers the ball while he gets hit. He's a field general. We have the utmost confidence in him. We need to do a better job of keeping him upright, giving him places to throw the ball because we know that we have a quarterback that can get it to us.''
Smith had by far his best game of the season against Detroit, throwing for 321 yards and three scores while completing almost 84 percent of his passes. Much of that success can be attributed to Detroit's non-existent defense, but we have already seen this week's opponent (the Chicago Bears) give up a similarly gaudy stat line to Bryce Young of the Carolina Panthers in Week 1.
RB Braelon Allen, NY Jets (13.8 Percent Rostered)
Sure, why not? Let's just load up this week's column with Jets players. What could go wrong?
In the aforementioned loss to the Detroit Lions last week, Gang Green saw Breece Hall go down with a thigh injury that has him labeled as "week-to-week." With Hall expected to miss at least Week 4, Braelon Allen should serve as New York's lead back, and he told reporters he's ready to step into a larger role.
"I'm always ready," he said. "That's what I work for. Of course, we want Breece back and as healthy as possible, as quickly as possible. We know what he means to this team and what kind of player he is, and all he's going to help us do is win. But if the opportunity is ever placed in my hands, I'm going to take full advantage of it. I don't think anybody in the Jets organization or the fan base will be disappointed."
We have seen Allen in this role before—he made two starts as a rookie when Hall was sidelined. Allen's numbers in those games weren't especially impressive, but the volume he should see as New York's lead back against a Bears defense allowing over 120 yards per game on the ground makes him this year's top add for fantasy managers who need a spot starter.
RB Ollie Gordon II, Miami (1.2 Percent Rostered)
From the Jets to the Dolphins. Where is that window again?
As has already been mentioned, De'Von Achane made it just three carries and 17 yards into last week's loss to the Kansas City Chiefs before tearing his ACL. That thrust second-year pro Ollie Gordon II into the lead role in the Dolphins backfield, and as ESPN's Eric Karabell wrote, that makes Gordon a popular guy on the waiver wire this week.
"Gordon, a second-year Oklahoma State product who averaged only 2.8 yards per his 70 carries last season, replaced an injured De'Von Achane (knee) during Week 3's action and scored 14.5 points," he said. "Gordon wasn't efficient, but getting 20 touches and scoring a touchdown often masks inefficiency. With Achane reportedly done for the season, Gordon is next up, although Jaylen Wright might have a role, too."
Wright actually entered the season as Achane's backup, but he was limited in practice last Thursday, a DNP on Friday, and was eventually a scratch in Week 3. It looks like Gordon will receive the lion's share of the backfield work for at least one more week, and while the Minnesota Vikings aren't a great matchup, lead backs who are available in most leagues don't grow on trees.
WR Keenan Allen, Indianapolis (23.7 Percent Rostered)
There isn't an active wide receiver in the NFL who has more receptions than Allen's 1,068. He added to that total with six catches for 63 yards on targets in last week's win over the Houston Texans, and per John Johnson of RotoBaller, with Alec Pierce (foot) on the shelf, Allen appears to be a significant part of the Indianapolis offense.
"Pierce was placed on injured reserve ahead of Week 3, and Allen took advantage of the extra opportunities," he said. "Allen doesn't appear to have much of a role when Pierce is healthy, but it seems plausible that Indy picked him up as injury insurance in case Pierce continued to struggle with his ailment. That's paying off now."
To be clear, at this point in his career Allen is about as explosive as a popcorn fart—he's averaging less than eight yards a catch this season. But just last year Allen caught 81 passes and scored four touchdowns with the Chargers, and it was Allen who hauled in Daniel Jones' lone touchdown pass against Houston.
WR Mack Hollins, New England (5.4 Percent Rostered)
Simply put, the New England offense was a five-alarm dumpster fire last Sunday in Jacksonville—Drake Maye looks nothing like the quarterback who took the NFL by storm a year ago. But as Brian Hines wrote for Pats Pulpit, if there was a bright spot in the game, it came courtesy of veteran wideout Mack Hollins.
"The veteran did have a poor and unnecessary taunting penalty, but it was apparent again that Drake Maye has the most trust and confidence in throwing to him," he said. "Hollins led the team in catches (6), targets (9), and receiving yards (87) as he was their only consistent source of offense in Jacksonville."
The 33-year-old isn't a huge threat to find the end zone—Hollins has just 17 touchdown catches over nine professional seasons. When A.J. Brown returns from injured reserve, Hollins will turn right back into a pumpkin. But that won't be until at least Week 6, and right now Hollins appears to be Maye's most trusted target in the passing game.
TE Darren Waller, Carolina (10.2 Percent Rostered)
Waller was a late arrival to the Panthers—he didn't join the team until the middle of August. But after a quiet Week 1, Waller has posted 10-plus PPR points in back-to-back contests. While speaking to the media, Panthers head coach Dave Canales said that Waller has been as advertised for his fifth team.
"Just the ability to take advantage of matchups with safeties, with linebackers," Canales said. "That's exactly the type of impact that he can have on this offense. Then it opens other things up, and we got all these other beautiful players sitting on the other side of the field as well to be able to distribute it and create a little bit more balance in our pass game."
After hauling in a pair of touchdowns in a blowout win over the Atlanta Falcons in Week 2, Waller caught five passes for 51 yards in Sunday's loss to the Cleveland Browns. Waller led all Panthers pass-catchers with eight targets last week, and after Jalen Coker aggravated his quad injury, Waller should continue to see a solid target share Sunday night against the Lions.
WR Malik Washington, Miami (12.6 Percent Rostered)
Two Dolphins plus two Jets equals zero chance this week's recommendations end badly.
Wonder Twin powers, activate! Shape of…a terrible football team!
Washington stands to benefit from the Achane injury as much as any Dolphins player. In fact, he's quite possibly Miami's most "dangerous" offensive weapon at this point. Washington spent Week 3 as both a starter at wide receiver and the team's No. 2 running back, and Nick Raducanu of SI believes that Miami will scheme Washington touches moving forward,
"Malik Washington benefits from line-of-scrimmage targets and manufactured touches in space," Raducanu wrote. "With Achane sidelined, Washington should see an increased share of slot work and motion plays, providing him with a stable PPR floor for managers in deeper formats."
Washington finished last week's loss to the Chiefs with 10 targets, a pair of carries and 61 scrimmage yards. Are those numbers great? Nope. Do the Dolphins suck? Oh yeah. But negative game scripts mean more passing, and if Washington continues seeing double-digit targets on the regular, he's going to have value for fantasy managers.
Gary Davenport is a two-time Fantasy Sports Writers Association Football Writer of the Year. Follow Gary on X at @IDPGodfather.
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