Fantasy football waiver wire: 7 wide receivers to target for Week 3

It was an interesting week in the world of receivers. There were a lot of the studs going off with Pittsburgh Steelers receiver Antonio Brown, Atlanta Falcons receiver Julio Jones and New York Giants receiver Odell Beckham Jr. all coming up huge.

After that, there were several mid-level guys going off. Arizona Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald turned back the clock this week while hype-guy Jacksonville Jaguars receiver Allen Robinson torched the Miami Dolphins in the first half.

Plus, things are starting to become more clear for the low-end teams, as well as the high-end teams’ No. 2 guys. Here are some pickups for Week 3. One other note is that we didn’t really have any noteworthy injuries to receivers on Sunday.

Hey now. Benjamin leads the NFL in all-purpose yards and he had the biggest receiver day of the standard fantasy season so far (tied with Fitzgerald). It’s become abundantly clear quarterback Johnny Manziel has found his go-to guy down the field and Benjamin has become a DeSean Jackson-like guy for the Browns as their big-play receiver.

Yes, the four targets are discouraging, but the Browns didn’t need to stretch the field after they got out to a big lead. However, their defense is going to struggle and they will play from behind more often than not. That should bode well for Benjamin.

His schedule is encouraging with the Oakland Raiders in Week 3, the San Diego Chargers in Week 4 and the Baltimore Ravens in Week 5. He’s not a must-add guy in PPR, but he is in standard leagues.

Receiver Roddy White saw just one target in Week 2 and the talk of him fizzling out was on full display. He’s really lost a step and the Falcons might not keep him beyond next season.

Enter Leonard Hankerson. He had himself a nice preseason and created some buzz with better route running than in his Washington days. On Sunday, he saw 11 targets against the New York Giants, catching six of them for 77 yards and one score.

Teams are going to double and triple receiver Julio Jones on almost every play, so expect Hankerson to be more involved. He could be a nice play in both PPR and standard leagues.

His schedule is nice, too. He gets the Dallas Cowboys in Week 3, the Houston Texans in Week 4, Washington in Week 5, the New Orleans Saints in Week 6, and the Tennessee Titans in Week 7. It doesn’t get much better than that.

The Dolphins really can’t run the ball right now. They were one of the better rushing attacks last year, but it just hasn’t happened yet this year. Subsequently, they’ve been throwing the ball around more.

Matthews has clearly locked down the starting job. Only receiver Jarvis Landry is getting more snaps and Matthews was second on Sunday for targets. Matthews finished with 115 yards and six catches in a loss to the Jaguars.

There is still some concern that rookie receiver DeVante Parker will creep up in the WR depth chart, but for now Matthews is No. 2. Plus, tight end Jordan Cameron is banged up.

The bad news is that the Dolphins have two tougher matchups coming up against the Buffalo Bills and the New York Jets. Still, the growth of Ryan Tannehill could make Matthews a solid WR3 in the right matchups.

Hey, the Panthers can actually move the ball through the air. Funchess finally got his season off the ground with one catch and 15 yards on four targets. He’s still a project, so only pick him up if you can afford to stash a guy for the next month.

He’s probably already owned, but this is just a heads-up for those of you in shallow leagues. Stevie looks like the real deal.

Quarterback Tom Brady put the ball up a whopping 59 times, so there will be some stats to go around. However, Dobson really didn’t look great on his way to seven catches and 87 yards, and receiver Brandon LaFell will be back soon.

He’s starting to get some targets, but you really can only play him in a favorable matchup. Luckily for Ginn, the other three teams in the AFC South have some porous secondaries.