Need a last-minute pickup to round out your Week 3 roster? We're going to identify fantasy football pickups specifically for those of you seeking streaming options in deeper leagues. These are players that were available in at least 50% of ESPN Fantasy leagues (ahead of the standard waiver window on Tuesday night) and who could still be as of Friday morning, and who have enticing Week 3 matchups that make them worthy of consideration for your lineups.
While you might notice some overlap with Eric Moody's pickup column that publishes on Mondays, an important distinction is that the options mentioned in this column are focused solely on this week's matchup and not the players' values for the remainder of the season.
This was a tough week to find a bunch of viable streaming options. But we did target a couple quarterbacks in here, including one who has shown considerable growth under new coaching. And I looked at two wide receivers who could be in a position to create explosive plays in the pass game on Sunday. There's an available defense with a good matchup in here, too.
Quarterbacks
Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars (at Chargers; 50.7% rostered)
Lawrence has just now exceeded our 50% cutoff, but this late in the week, it's worth seeing if he's out there in your league if you are in a tough spot at the position. Now, I don't love the matchup against the Chargers, because they have a strong pass rush and ballhawks in the secondary. However, in a game where the passing volume could increase for Jacksonville, you can upgrade Lawrence due to his improved mechanics in a system that is creating positive (schemed) throws for the second-year quarterback. Lawrence posted 18.3 fantasy points in the Jaguars' Week 2 win over the Colts. He's thrown at least one touchdown in both games played this season. Pederson will sprinkle in some designed carries, in addition to the rushing yards Lawrence can log on scramble attempts. If you are streaming to replace Dak Prescott and can't pick up Jimmy Garoppolo, then the Jags' quarterback is an option heading into Week 3.