Alarm Fantasy Football: NFL Week 4 Waiver Wire Show (Picks, Stashes, More)
Published: Sep 24, 2024
The Week 4 waiver wire is one of our most crucial of the year as we now have three points of data to identify some trends that could help is win these leagues!
Join Howard Bender and Andrew Cooper as they discuss what they have seen so far and who they like off the waiver wire as adds, streamers, and stashes.
And, if you have a chance to join the show from 1-2 PM ET, throw your questions in the chat to have them answered by Howard and Coop LIVE on the show!
Player News
Free agent QB Aaron Rodgers spoke to fans regarding his future plans Saturday.
In typical Rodgers fashion, he really had nothing concrete to say. A young fan asked Rodgers whether or not he would ever consider playing for the Bears, to which he responded, “No, but I believe there is a team that might play in Chicago this year.” While the Vikings certainly play in Chicago considering they are division opponents, the phrasing of Rodgers’ answer seems to eliminate them from his consideration, leaving the Steelers, who play at Chicago in addition to playing the Packers in Week 8, as the likeliest landing spot for Rodgers - assuming he decides to play in 2025. Yea, not much additional information out of Rodgers, who continues to string the Steelers along. Mike Tomlin and the rest of the brass in Pittsburgh have seemingly put all their eggs in the Rodgers basket for the coming season considering the general lack of urgency at the quarterback position through free agency and the NFL Draft. Rodgers also firmly denied any reports that he would consider playing in New Orleans. Not such a beautiful day in the neighborhood, Mr. Rodgers.
Rachaad White has suggested 2025 will be his last season with the Buccaneers.
The hint comes from a social media post featuring a photo of Baker Mayfield and an emoji-infused caption suggesting White is preparing for “one last ride” with the team. He was supplanted by 2024 rookie Bucky Irving as the team’s starter last year. White remained the clear-cut passing down back at the end of the season, but his target volume problematically dried up after an eight-target Week 16 outing; he totaled just three targets in Week 17-Wild Card Weekend. White is best viewed as a bench stash with mild PPR RB4/5 potential this year. He is scheduled to hit free agency after the season concludes, and it is possible he finds a fantasy-friendly landing spot as a passing down back in 2026.
The Detroit Free Press’ Dave Birkett said “one reason” Lions head coach Dan Campbell hired new OC John Morton “was to keep some semblance of continuity in place.”
Morton previously worked as a senior offensive assistant with Campbell’s 2022 Lions squad before serving as the Broncos’ pass game coordinator in 2023-2024. While Birkett expects “the Lions to throw the ball downfield more under Morton,” we can also safely expect Morton to continue featuring Jahmyr Gibbs in the passing game. Both Campbell’s 2022-2024 Lions offenses and the Broncos’ 2023-2024 offenses ranked top 12 in total targets thrown to the running back position annually. Gibbs should again contend for the overall RB1 spot in PPR formats.
The Detroit Free Press’ Dave Birkett said he expects “the Lions to throw the ball downfield more” under new OC John Morton.
Morton spent the 2022 season serving as a Lions senior offensive assistant before heading to Denver to serve as the Broncos’ pass game coordinator from 2023-2024. While Jared Goff (7.0) and Bo Nix (7.8) operated via similar aDOTs last year, Nix’s 126 passes thrown 15-plus yards downfield rank third among NFL QBs and hold a 23-pass edge over Goff, whose 103 qualifying attempts rank 13th. Increasing the Lions’ downfield passing frequency would benefit speedster Jameson Williams, who Morton talked up as a breakout candidate last week. Williams finished as the PPR WR22 last season.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports that the Commanders have agreed to terms with No. 29 overall pick OT Josh Conerly Jr. on a four-year contract.
Per Fowler, Conerly is “expected to sign Tuesday.” Unless something goes awry, Commanders fans can effectively count this as a signing. The deal is reportedly worth $15.68 million. It is unclear which position Conerly will play. He could compete with last year’s rookie LT Brandon Coleman for the starting right tackle gig, with former Texans LT Laremy Tunsil now in the fold, or perhaps, one of Conerly or Coleman will compete with LG Nick Allegretti. Regardless, the Commanders now have a sturdy offensive line group capable of protecting Jayden Daniels.
Javonte Williams told Cowboys team reporter Tommy Yarrish that he feels “completely” like himself, now more than two years removed from his October 2022 knee injury.
Williams’ stable rushing metrics have suffered since tearing his ACL and LCL, while also damaging the posterolateral corner of his knee. Over the last two seasons, Williams’ missed tackle forced rate (0.16) has dropped by 50.0 percent of his pre-injury form and his post-contact yardage average likewise decreased by 0.8 yards. Thus far in organized team activities, “Williams has been taking a majority of the first team reps at running back,” but as Yarrish notes, “there are a lot of bodies” in the Cowboys running back room. Per Williams, it remains unclear as to “what kind of rotation will be utilized” by new head coach Brian Schottenheimer, or “if there will be one at all.” Williams’ early first-team repetitions serve as a positive sign, but there is a long way to go before the depth chart is established. For now, Williams should only be viewed as a member of an unsettled committee.