Week 3 Fantasy Football: Navigating Waiver Wire Adds, Winners, and Losers Amid Overreactions

Fantasy Football managers are often willing to give players a second chance even after they disappointed them in Week 1. We had plenty of Week 1 Fantasy disappointments last weekend, and more individual Week 2 disappoints this Sunday, but it's the players who let managers down in consecutive weeks that have some people pushing the panic button on the panic meter.

Do you sell low when your player puts up consecutive duds in the scoring column? Is it even selling low if that player's outlook has changed so much that the forward-looking expectation should be adjusted? These are the burning questions Fantasy managers are asking themselves as they get ready to turn the page on Week 2 while looking ahead to Week 3 and the rest of their Fantasy football seasons.

Before you panic and trade your third or fourth-round draft pick for Tre Tucker or similar waiver wire fodder -- and hey that's not to say Tucker can't fill in as a Flex -- let's break down their situations and determine whether or not that's the right call. We'll do that below. We'll also look at some of the biggest performances in Week 2, injuries that can impact your Fantasy season moving forward and players who should be on your waiver wire radar as you head into Week 3.

Colston Loveland, TE, Bears

Panic Meter? 28%

Last week, my panic meter on Loveland would've been in the single digits. This week, the biggest change is that Bears quarterback Caleb Williams left Week 2 with a non-contact hamstring injury. We won't know the extent of Williams' injury until later this week, but Loveland's ceiling and floor take a massive tumble if Tyler Bagent steps in to start. Loveland's role has not been as expansive as managers hoped after he caught fire in the Fantasy playoffs last season. The Bears have used three different tight ends at times while also making in plenty of 11 personnel to start the season. While explosive in bunches, the Bears' passing game hasn't caught a rhythm quite yet, and the seemingly unstoppable rapport Williams and Loveland showed toward the end of last season hasn't shown up yet in 2026.

Justin Herbert, QB, Chargers

Panic Meter? 22%

What is wrong with the Chargers ' offense, and why does it look so broken? Last week, I defended Los Angeles' offense on Beyond the Boxscore, and advanced charting showed that Herbert was among the five most accurate quarterbacks in Week 1 in terms of ball placement. There's no way that charting holds up through his Week 2 performance. Herbert missed throws late, high and wide. His rapport is lacking with Quentin Johnston and he certainly isn't benefiting from Johnston looking more like his rookie self with concentration drops becoming an issue. Ladd McConkey played but doesn't appear to be 100% healthy and Los Angeles could be limited in how they can use him. Overall, it just seems like this offense is off schedule as often as it was during their offensive line debacle of 2025. No one expected that to be the case at any point with Mike McDaniel designing the offense but we're here. And it seems unlikely the interior of this offensive line will improve much from this point on. Can Herbert and McDaniel figure it out? I still say yes. Herbert has come through worse situations. But something is clearly off.

Emeka Egbuka, WR, Buccaneers

Panic Meter? 37%

If you drafted Egbuka expecting him to be a borderline WR1, you might have to adjust those expectations. The Buccaneers offense does not look like the 2024 version under Liam Coen despite having similar pieces to that unit on the offensive line and with Baker Mayfield actually healthy this season. This is another offensive scheme, like the Chargers, that has looked stale in its design. Maybe the loss of Mike Evans is more telling than anything else. Who are defenses worried about stretching the seam and winning vertically on the outside without Evans? The addition of Jalen McMilan could open up more for Egbuka, but right now his rapport with Mayfield on the vertical routes looks a lot like it did during his rookie 2025 season -- bad.

Overreactions and Early Waiver Wire Options

Dalton Schultz, TE, Texans

Schultz exploded for 12 receptions and 140 yards receiving on a whopping 14 targets with Nico Collins inactive. A perfect storm ensued with the Texans in catch-up mode (rare for them) and Schultz has the most consistent rapport with CJ Stroud among a group of young and inexperienced wide receivers. Schultz should be locked into your lineups as a TE1 for as long as Collins is out. Even when Nico returns, Schultz will be in the mix.

Tre Tucker, WR, Raiders

We've been waiting to find out which Raiders receiver might pop with Cousins and Tucker was that guy in Week 2. He racked up 119 yards and a touchdown on seven targets with five receptions. He will be more hit-or-miss since the majority of Tucker's points came on a big play, but it's clear that he's an early progression in this offense. Cousins is a quarterback who will work through his progressions and throw from within the pocket. Tucker could be a sneaky FLEX start the rest of the way.

Rashod Bateman, WR, Ravens

The steady buzz for Bateman this offseason was that it was the best of his career. Then came an off-field issue that slowed that momentum down in conjunction with a minor camp injury. With Zay Flowers out, Bateman proved to Fantasy managers that he belongs in lineups. He racked up 88 yards and a touchdown on seven receptions with nine total targets as Lamar Jackson's No. 1 receiver. For as long as Flowers is out, Batemean should be in all lineups.

Denzel Boston, WR, Browns

Boston was the less buzzy rookie of the two Browns wide receivers and drafted after KC Concepcion , but he has been the more productive one to start his career. Boston scored a touchdown and totaled 95 receiving yards on five receptions and seven targets in Week 2. His touchdown was an example of poor tackling but it also showed off his underrated YAC ability and second-gear acceleration in the open field. I'm not ready to call him a starter but he is certainly a player that should be on your benches as you strive for upside.

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_Originally reported by [CBS Sports](https://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/football/news/fantasy-football-panic-meter-waiver-wire-week-3/)._