Week 3: Waiver Wire Pickups

(Editor's note: If Knile Davis is available, he is also worth consideration. We originally excluded him from the list under the assumption he was already owned in most leagues as a handcuff. So once again, if Davis is available, he should be a top priority waiver wire pickup.)

QB Kirk Cousins, ATL

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Robert Griffin III went down Sunday with a dislocated ankle. He was carted off the field, giving the thumbs-up to the crowd. Then Cousins came in and threw a touchdown on his first pass. He led the team on six more scoring drives after that, racking up 250 yards and two touchdowns in the process. For at least a year now, some NFL analysts have speculated that Cousins might be the better quarterback in Washington. Here's his chance to prove them right. At this point, it seems safe to pencil Cousins in as the Redskins' starter for the next handful of games. He'll have a tough test on the road at Philadelphia in Week 3, and owners shouldn't lean on him as a starter just yet. But with bye weeks rapidly approaching, Cousins has the potential to be a very solid fill-in.

RB C.J. Anderson, ---

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Anderson is barely owned even though he's the handcuff to Montee Ball. On Sunday, Anderson gave us a glimpse of what he could be in the event of an injury to Ball, taking five carries for 31 yards. There tends to be a lot of garbage time in a Peyton Manning offense as the Broncos run the ball repeatedly to run out the clock. That sort of opportunity is part of what made Knowshon Moreno a top-five fantasy RB in 2013. And it could be all Anderson's if Ball goes down. Anderson isn't seeing enough volume as the No. 2 RB to merit stand-alone value, but he has enough potential value to merit ownership in most leagues.

RB Jonathan Dwyer, ---

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Fantasy owners will probably remember Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians talking during training camp about Andre Ellington becoming a goal-line back. Fantasy analysts raised their eyebrows at the time, and it looks as though their skepticism was well-founded. Dwyer punched in a short touchdown for the Cardinals on Sunday and ended the day with nine carries for 31 yards. Dwyer isn't nearly as efficient or explosive as Ellington. But it's important to remember that Ellington has a history of foot problems, including the one he's dealing with now and is probably at a higher risk of injury than the average RB. That gives Dwyer handcuff value. He doesn't work in the passing game, but the goal-line work more than makes up for it. As the ranks of healthy running backs continue to shrink, Dwyer could be worth a speculative roster spot.

RB Latavius Murray, ---

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A lot of observers expected Murray to have a big role for the Raiders this week. However, he ended the day with one lone carry for 6 yards. It ended up being Darren McFadden who carried the load. But both Maurice Jones-Drew and McFadden are notoriously injury-prone and in the declining phase of their careers. At 6-foot-2 and 223 pounds, Murray has the frame of a prototypical workhorse back and is still just 24 years of age. A lot of fantasy owners will probably give up on him after Sunday's disappointing outing, but there's still a decent chance he becomes the team's feature back in the second half of the season. And that's worth a waiver flier.

WR Davante Adams, NYJ

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Adams replaced WR Jarrett Boykin in three-receiver sets Sunday after Boykin dropped a pass. After getting the nod in the second quarter, Adams capitalized on Boykin's mistake and caught five of his seven targets for 50 yards. Even the third receiver in the Green Bay passing attack has fantasy value. It's possible that Boykin will regain the that role, but Adams made a good case for himself against the Jets and should be added as a WR5 with upside in deeper leagues.