Week 3 Sunday Recap: The Best Players Still on Waivers
Every score from Sunday's 14-game slate, plus the players who produced in them and are still rostered in under 60% of leagues, led by Sam Darnold's 29.7 PPR points.
Sunday, September 27: 14 games, 673 combined points. The scoreboard got away from everyone in Cardinals at 49ers, 30-36, 66 points between them. At the other end of the day, Seahawks at Commanders came down to 2. Jahmyr Gibbs put up the best fantasy line anyone managed, 41.4 PPR points, which is useful to exactly the 100% of leagues that already roster him.
This is that slate read backwards, starting from roster share instead of from points. 54 players scored at least 8 PPR points on Sunday while rostered in under 60% of leagues, and 32 of them were on fewer than one roster in ten. Those are the names your league is deciding on right now; the best 30 are below.
A caveat worth reading before the table, because it is what separates a waiver add that still starts for you in November from one you drop in two weeks: a big line and a real role are not the same thing. Six catches on nine targets is a plan. One catch for a touchdown is a coincidence that happened to be worth six points. Both show up at the top of a Monday waiver list and only one of them repeats, so the board below is split by which kind of day each player actually had.
The scoreboard
Every final from the slate, in kickoff order, with the best fantasy line each game produced and how widely that player is rostered.
The waiver board
The 30 best lines from skill-position players rostered in under 60% of leagues, biggest first. Roster share is the consensus figure as of the final whistle; the tag says whether the day came from work or from the end zone.
Sam DarnoldQBSEA at WASEarned it
31/45, 379 pass yds · 4 TD · 2 INT · 1 car, 5 rush yds
45 att · projected 16.94, +12.8
Jacoby BrissettQBARI at SFEarned it
38/52, 280 pass yds · 2 TD · 4 car, 4 rush yds · 1 TD
52 att · projected 15.66, +9.9
Geno SmithQBNYJ at DETEarned it
31/37, 321 pass yds · 3 TD · 2 car, 12 rush yds
37 att · projected 15.74, +8.3
Aaron RodgersQBPIT vs CINEarned it
19/34, 292 pass yds · 3 TD · 1 INT · 3 car, 10 rush yds
34 att · projected 14.28, +9.4
Kirk CousinsQBLV at NOEarned it
22/33, 248 pass yds · 3 TD · 3 car, 3 rush yds
33 att · projected 14.86, +7.3
Marcus MariotaQBWAS vs SEATouchdown
19/31, 183 pass yds · 3 TD · 5 car, 11 rush yds
31 att · projected 12.75, +7.6
19.3PPR0.9%
Deshaun WatsonQBCLE vs CAREarned it
16/30, 144 pass yds · 2 TD · 11 car, 45 rush yds
30 att · projected 13.75, +4.6
Roman WilsonWRPIT vs CINEarned it
3/6, 60 rec yds · 1 TD
6 touches · projected 5.65, +9.4
Jeremy RuckertTENYJ at DETModest
5/5, 39 rec yds · 1 TD
5 touches · projected 3.61, +11.3
14.6PPR57%
Ollie Gordon IIRBMIA vs KCEarned it
17 car, 41 rush yds · 1 TD · 3/3, 14 rec yds
20 touches · projected 3.54, +11
Keaton MitchellRBLAC at BUFEarned it
8 car, 52 rush yds · 3/3, -5 rec yds · 1 TD
11 touches · projected 6.7, +7
Brycen TremayneWRCAR at CLEEarned it
4/6, 83 rec yds
6 touches · projected 2.11, +10.2
C.J. StroudQBHOU at INDEarned it
16/27, 167 pass yds · 1 TD · 2 car, 10 rush yds
27 att · projected 15.38, -3.7
11.4PPR39%
Malik WashingtonWRMIA vs KCEarned it
2 car, 5 rush yds · 5/10, 56 rec yds
12 touches · projected 10.13, +1
Malik WillisQBMIA vs KCEarned it
20/36, 210 pass yds · 1 INT · 9 car, 56 rush yds
36 att · projected 16.02, -5
Left off the board: Baker Mayfield (QB, TB) put up 12.3 PPR points but is listed Out (thumb). A player who cannot suit up next week is not a waiver claim, however big the line.
Work, and the other thing
The same names sorted by how much of the line the offense handed them. Touches are targets plus carries; a quarterback is judged on attempts instead, since the two do not compare.
Earned it (21)
Volume carried the day, so a repeat does not need a touchdown. Bid here.
- Sam DarnoldQB · SEA45 att40%
- Jacoby BrissettQB · ARI52 att9.9%
- Geno SmithQB · NYJ37 att10%
- Aaron RodgersQB · PIT34 att9.1%
- Kenyon SadiqTE · NYJ8 touches34%
- Kirk CousinsQB · LV33 att17%
- Tyler HigbeeTE · LAR11 touches2%
- Konata MumpfieldWR · LAR8 touches0.9%
- Deshaun WatsonQB · CLE30 att8.1%
- Keenan AllenWR · IND9 touches21%
- Roman WilsonWR · PIT6 touches1.6%
- Mack HollinsWR · NE9 touches3.2%
- Bryce YoungQB · CAR48 att57%
- Ollie Gordon IIRB · MIA20 touches1.8%
- Keaton MitchellRB · LAC11 touches29%
- Tre' HarrisWR · LAC7 touches5.3%
- Brycen TremayneWR · CAR6 touchesunranked
- AJ BarnerTE · SEA9 touches14%
- C.J. StroudQB · HOU27 att42%
- Malik WashingtonWR · MIA12 touches25%
- Malik WillisQB · MIA36 att27%
Bought a touchdown (3)
Half the points or more came from the end zone on thin usage. Let someone else spend the budget.
- Marcus MariotaQB · WAS31 att20.4
- Noah FantTE · NO4 touches19.3
- Mike Washington Jr.RB · LV5 touches11.4
Injuries that opened a door
Skill-position designations from Sunday’s games, ranked by how much rostered value each one puts in play rather than by severity alone: a universally rostered starter listed questionable leaves more to cover than a fourth-string back ruled out. Each is paired with the teammate at the same position who saw the most work in that game and is still widely available, because a depth chart written in August is a worse guide than the snaps that were just played.
Puka NacuaWR · LAROHip100% rostered
Next in line and still available: Konata Mumpfield, 4/8, 93 rec yds · 1 TD for 19.3 PPR points, rostered in 0.9% of leagues.
De'Von AchaneRB · MIAINJKnee - ACL100% rostered
Next in line and still available: Ollie Gordon II, 17 car, 41 rush yds · 1 TD · 3/3, 14 rec yds for 14.5 PPR points, rostered in 1.8% of leagues.
Nico CollinsWR · HOUOHamstring99% rostered
Next in line and still available: Xavier Hutchinson, 2 car, 4 rush yds · 3/6, 51 rec yds for 8.5 PPR points, rostered in 10% of leagues.
A.J. BrownWR · NEINJAnkle97% rostered
Next in line and still available: Mack Hollins, 6/9, 87 rec yds for 14.7 PPR points, rostered in 3.2% of leagues.
Travis Etienne Jr.RB · NOOHamstring97% rostered
Next in line and still available: Alvin Kamara, 9 car, 36 rush yds · 1/1, 5 rec yds for 5.1 PPR points, rostered in 48% of leagues.
Rico DowdleRB · PITOToe84% rostered
Next in line and still available: Travis Homer, 1 car, 0 rush yds for 0 PPR points, rostered in 0.6% of leagues.
Jayden DanielsQB · WASOElbow83% rostered
Next in line and still available: Marcus Mariota, 19/31, 183 pass yds · 3 TD · 5 car, 11 rush yds for 20.4 PPR points, rostered in 4% of leagues.
Alec PierceWR · INDINJHeel72% rostered
Next in line and still available: Keenan Allen, 6/9, 63 rec yds · 1 TD for 18.3 PPR points, rostered in 21% of leagues.
Deeper stashes
Under 10% rostered, under 8 points, six or more touches: the box score was quiet but the offense kept going back to them. Bench adds, not lineup answers.
| Player | Line | Touches | PPR | Rostered |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Najee HarrisRB · NYG | 9 car, 52 rush yds | 9 | 5.2 | 5.7% |
| Ryan FlournoyWR · DAL | 2/8, 22 rec yds | 8 | 4.2 | 7% |
| Sione VakiRB · DET | 6 car, 26 rush yds · 1/1, 11 rec yds | 7 | 4.7 | 1% |
| Kendre MillerRB · NO | 4 car, 14 rush yds · 2/3, 5 rec yds | 7 | 3.9 | 2.1% |
| Corey KinerRB · NE | 6 car, 18 rush yds · 1/1, 9 rec yds | 7 | 3.7 | 0.6% |
| Tyler GoodsonRB · DAL | 6 car, 22 rush yds · 1/1, -5 rec yds | 7 | 2.7 | 0.7% |
| Samaje PerineRB · CIN | 3 car, 9 rush yds · 1/3, 5 rec yds | 6 | 2.4 | 6.1% |
If your league runs a single claim, Sam Darnold is the one worth spending it on: 31/45, 379 pass yds · 4 TD · 2 INT · 1 car, 5 rush yds for 29.7 PPR points, rostered in 40% of leagues. The live add and drop board will tell you how fast that number is moving.
Put this to work on your Yahoo team
Connect your Yahoo Fantasy league and we’ll score your real roster with the Clutch Score, set this week’s optimal lineup and show the start/sit moves to get there. Read-only access, and you can disconnect at any time.
Box scores captured from ESPN once every game on the slate was final, and roster share read from FantasyPros' consensus board at the same moment, then frozen together. The percentages are what they were when this was written, on September 28, 2026 at 4:13 PM EDT - they move fastest in the first day after a slate, which is the point. Fantasy points are full PPR on Sleeper's scoring.