When it comes to the waiver wire, there are certainly the more obvious pickups. We cover those players in our weekly waiver wire article. However, if you’re playing in deeper leagues or ones with much deeper rosters, this is the place for you. In this series of articles, we’ll be touching on players who are rostered in 25% or fewer fantasy football leagues.

With Week 4 coming up, the leading waiver wire players will get the headlines, but if you play in deeper formats, players like Tank Dell or De’Von Achane are probably off the waiver wire for weeks or even drafted. These players here are all under 25% rostered on Sleeper and may even not be claimed when waivers are processed.

Rostered percentages below are from Sleeper as of 9/26/2023.

Fantasy Football Deep Dive Waiver Wire Pickups

Quarterbacks

Joshua Dobbs, QB, Arizona Cardinals (Sleeper Rostered 6%) 

The Cardinals are supposed to be tanking for Caleb Williams right? Don’t tell Joshua Dobbs, who just led the Cardinals to a stunning upset over the Arizona Cardinals, essentially wiping out half of the pick ’em pools. Dobbs completed 17 of 21 passes for 189 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed six times for 55 yards.

Dobbs was traded to the Cardinals right before the start of the regular season and is beginning to take command of this offense. While next week is a bad matchup at San Fransisco, Dobbs is only 6% rostered on Sleeper and is a solid backup option in Superflex formats or a matchup-based QB2.

Running Backs

Rico Dowdle, RB, Dallas Cowboys (Sleeper Rostered 4%)

With Tony Pollard the starting running back in Dallas, Rico Dowdle has taken over the backup duties over Deuce Vaughn. Dowdle rushed the ball four times for 21 yards and caught all three of his targets for 25 yards and a touchdown in Sunday’s loss against the Cardinals. Pollard is seeing most of the work in Dallas, but Dowdle has seen at minimum six touches in his first three games. Overall, he has seen six touches, eight touches, and seven touches in his first three games.

Ronnie Rivers, RB, Los Angeles Rams (Sleeper Rostered 4%)

With Cam Akers being traded to the Minnesota Vikings, Kyren Williams has taken over the starting role in Los Angeles. That leaves Ronnie Rivers at this moment as the backup to Williams. Rivers hasn’t done much this season (only catching one pass for four yards on Sunday), but it should be noted he is the primary backup to Williams. Williams seems to have a strong hold on the job at the moment, making rostering Rivers only possible in deeper formats.

Clyde Edwards-Helaire, RB, Kansas City Chiefs (Sleeper Rostered 21%)

 With Isiah Pacheco acting as the starter, the former first-round pick Clyde Edwards-Helaire has been taking a backseat. He did see an increased workload against the Bears which was possibly due to the game script since the game was so out of hand. However, he was seeing work early in the game as well.

Ultimately, he rushed the ball 15 times for 55 yards and a touchdown while catching his only target for 2 yards. Pacheco came into the game highly questionable with a hamstring injury, so that may have led to the increased workload. However, if that’s a lingering issue, Edwards-Helaire at least needs to be monitored, or rostered by those who have Pacheco.

Melvin Gordon, RB, Baltimore Ravens (Sleeper Rostered 2%) 

With the unfortunate injury to JK Dobbins, Melvin Gordon was elevated to the main roster from the practice squad. He saw a large workload in his first game taking 10 rushes for 32 yards. Additionally, he caught both of his targets for 23 yards. While neither is eye-popping, it shows Gordon has a place in this offense. At only 2% rostered on Sleeper, he should be rostered in deeper formats, especially if he sees an uptick in volume next week.

Wide Receivers

Josh Downs, WR, Indianapolis Colts (Sleeper Rostered 12%)

The rookie Josh Downs has seen an increase in workload each week of this season. He has shown great chemistry with both Anthony Richardson and Gardner Minshew. On Sunday he saw a season-high 12 targets, catching eight of them for 57 yards. In three games so far, Downs has seen 20 targets and looks like the WR2 in Indianapolis.

DJ Chark, WR, Carolina Panthers (Sleeper Rostered 15%) 

With Bryce Young injured, Andy Dalton made the cross-country start for the Carolina Panthers against the Seattle Seahawks. DJ Chark had a big volume game seeing eleven total targets. He only caught four of them, but went for 86 yards and caught a 47-yard touchdown. In his second game of the season, Chark was a big part of this offense. Additionally, he was on the field for 94% of the snaps, per Sleeper. Now, Dalton is set to start another game most likely next week which means Chark could have another high-volume performance.

Calvin Austin, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers (Sleeper Rostered 6%)

A possible breakout receiver up and coming is Calvin Austin of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Austin caught two of six targets for 72 yards and a touchdown against the Raiders on Sunday Night Football. Additionally, he had a long 72-yard touchdown.

Austin has playmaking ability which makes him someone who needs to be on the field more often. In Week 1 he saw six targets, and he saw the same this past Sunday. Austin was on the field for most of the game (73% snap percentage as per Sleeper), making him an intriguing addition in deeper formats.

Tight Ends

Luke Musgrave, TE, Green Bay Packers (Sleeper Rostered 25%)

 The Green Bay Packers came into Sunday’s game against the Saints without their top wide receiver Christian Watson, and top running back Aaron Jones. Luke Musgrave saw eight targets, catching six of them for 49 yards. While it’s not a big day yardage-wise or touchdowns, he was on the field for 86% of snaps as per Sleeper and is seeing his role increase in the Green Bay offense. Musgrave is becoming a borderline startable tight end in most formats and he is only 25% rostered on Sleeper at the moment. Needless to say, this number is about to get a lot higher.

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