FFT Express - EARLY Week 4 Waiver Wire Targets! Troy Franklin, Blake Corum, Colston Loveland, & Others! (09/18 Fantasy Football Podcast)

Summary

Fantasy Football Today Express - Early Week 4 Waiver Wire Targets (09/18/2025)

Episode Overview

This episode of Fantasy Football Today Express zeroes in on the key waiver wire pickups to consider ahead of NFL Week 4. Host Adam Aizer and analyst Dave Richard move quickly through quarterback, running back, wide receiver, tight end, and even DST options to stash or play. The crew also debates rookie breakout candidates, discusses the impact of injuries and opportunity, and highlights deep-league stashes to give you a comprehensive edge on the wire.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Top Waiver Wire Stash Recommendation

• Troy Franklin (WR, Denver Broncos)
  • Dave Richard (00:51): "The one player that I think we should be stashing right now is Troy Franklin of the Denver Broncos... I love the target volume through the first two weeks of the season and I think he's going to be impactful most of the time. Maybe is like a potential flex play... he's got speed, he can make plays after the catch... he's got timing and rhythm down with Bo Nixon and he's got an offense that is looking for that number two target guy."
  • Available in 49% of CBS leagues and likely more on other platforms.
  • Not expected to become a "must start" every week, but plenty of upside for deep and flex leagues.

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Quarterbacks to Stash for Week 4 (01:46)

• Jake Browning (CIN)
  • Still available in 60% of leagues.
  • Dave Richard (01:55): "I don't like the matchup in week four against Denver... but he's certainly capable of being a good fantasy quarterback... a steady starter for Cincinnati pretty much till December."
• Matthew Stafford (LAR)
  • Faces Indianapolis in Week 4.
  • Dave Richard (02:15): "I think the Cinderella slipper falls off of Indianapolis... Stafford's been playing great."
• Sam Darnold, Carson Wentz, J.J. McCarthy (deep-league targets)
  • All widely available in deeper formats; keep an eye on injury and starter situations.
• On Bryce Young @ NE (03:01): Potential streamer if Patriots’ defense is still vulnerable.
• On Justin Fields v. MIA (03:15): Too rostered (82%) in CBS.

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Running Back Stash List (03:29)

• Woody Marks (HOU): 77% available, could matter if Joe Mixon doesn't return or Nick Chubb fails to impress.
• Washington backups (Chris Rodriguez 84%, Jeremy McNichols 93%):
  • Dave Richard (03:29): "I like Rodriguez better, but I'm not coaching the Commanders... McNichols is the better pass protector."
• Caleb Johnson: 40% available; long-term appeal.
• Birchard Smith (KC): 94% available; could benefit if Pacheco struggles.
• Blake Corum (LAR): 66% available; could play a bigger role if Kyren Williams gets hurt or fumbles.
  • Dave Richard (04:12): "If Kyron Williams fumbles a bunch or gets hurt, Coram's going to be inserted right into the lineup for L.A."
• Tajie Spears (TEN): 37% rostered, startable even without an injury to Derrick Henry (Week 5 at the earliest).

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Wide Receivers to Stash or Start (05:57)

• Short-Term and Stash WRs:
  • Juwan Jennings, Darnell Mooney (double-check in shallow leagues).
• Wandale Robinson (NYG): Over one-third availability, solid PPR floor.
• Troy Franklin (DEN): As above.
• Rashid Shaheed (NO): 48% available.
• Christian Kirk (JAX): 48% available.
  • Dave Richard (06:23): "Could be a solution to Houston's offensive issues, at least as a safe short area target for CJ Stroud."
• Deeper League Names:
  • Romeo Doubs, Dontayvion Wicks (GB) — Wicks is 92% available, prime deep-league stash.
  • IR stashes: Brandon Aiyuk (SF), Jalen Coker (CAR), Christian Watson (GB).
  • Josh Palmer (BUF): 19% rostered, nearly as many targets as other Bills receivers, could have a bigger season if he converts missed opportunities.
    • Adam Aizer (07:38): "He currently 19 roster. He's absolutely one of the deep stashes."
  • Luther Burden, Isaac Tesla, Alec Iomanor (TEN): Rookie with clear opportunity, on the field making plays.
    • Host (08:21): "...five years in a row we've had at least...two rookie wide receivers be drafted after round nine and finish top 24 per game or overall... Alec IO Manor is actually on the field doing stuff. He might be the best candidate right now."
  • Tori Horton: Scored a TD last week for Seattle.
• Deep-Late Stash Strategy: "If you're reaching for Josh Palmer, double check to see if Wicks is there and reach for him first." (Dave Richard, 09:22)

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Tight Ends (09:29)

• Harold Fannin: 48% available; disappointed some managers last week but remains startable.
  • Dave Richard (09:34): "If you've got T.J. Hockenson, Mark Andrews, you're a knucklehead and you started Jake Tongas last week. Go and get yourself Harold Fannin."
• Isaiah Likely: 52% available, back at practice.
• Colston Loveland: 52% available, expected uptick after recent coach comments.
  • Dave Richard (09:57): "You could add him late on Saturday, carry him through Sunday. If he does nothing, you drop him and you pick somebody else up on Wednesday."

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Defenses/Special Teams (DST) Streaming for Week 4 (10:33)

• New England Patriots: 72% available, face Carolina. Strong pass rush and potential return of Christian Gonzalez.
• Detroit Lions: 54% available, face Browns who have struggled offensively.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On identifying the top stash:

  • “I love the target volume through the first two weeks... he’s going to be impactful most of the time. Maybe...a potential flex play.” – Dave Richard on Troy Franklin (00:51)

• On deep league WR grabs:

  • “If you’re reaching for Josh Palmer, double check to see if Wicks is there and reach for him first.” – Dave Richard (09:22)

• On rookie wide receiver breakouts:

  • “Alec IO Manor is actually on the field doing stuff. He might be the best candidate right now.” – Host (09:00)

• On streaming tight ends:

  • “Go and get yourself Harold Fannin. I know it’s a matchup against Green Bay, that’s tough, but I think he can be a good target getter and good with those numbers.” – Dave Richard (09:34)

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Key Timestamps

• 00:51 – Top early stash: Troy Franklin of Denver
• 01:46 – Quarterback options: Browning, Stafford, Darnold, Wentz
• 03:29 – Running backs: Woody Marks, Washington backups, Caleb Johnson, Burchard Smith, Corum
• 05:57 – Wide receiver stash list begins
• 07:38 – Deep stash: Josh Palmer (BUF)
• 09:29 – Tight end targets: Fannin, Likely, Loveland
• 10:33 – DST streamers for Week 4

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Fantasy Football Today’s Tone

Upbeat, practical, and no-nonsense, with the hosts quick to move through options and share actionable advice, focused on maximizing roster opportunities heading into Week 4 waiver runs.

Transcript

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[Host (Tennessee Football Today)]

Week four is just around the corner and it is time to beat the waiver wire. Welcome everybody to Tennessee Football Today. Express at a mazer. Dave Richard. Here we go. All right. Who is the one player we should be stashing right now?

[Dave Richard]

The one player that I think we should be stashing right now is Troy Franklin of the Denver Broncos. He's available in 49 of CBS leagues. He's going to be available in more leagues on other sites including Yahoo, ESPN and Sleeper. I love the target volume through the first two weeks of the season and I think he's going to be impactful most of the time. Maybe is like a potential flex play. I doubt he evolves into someone who becomes a must start fantasy receiver. But he could end up mattering. He's got speed, he can make plays after the catch. He's got timing and rhythm down with Bo Nixon and he's got an offense that is looking for that number two target guy. We thought it could be Evan Ingram. So far it hasn't been. We thought it could be Marvin Mims. Nah, he's, he's in a, in a complimentary role. I think it's going to end up being Franklin. I really liked what I've seen from him through the first two weeks of the season.

[Host (Tennessee Football Today)]

Okay, let's get into the position by position stuff here. Looking at week four and start with some quarterbacks. Any quarterbacks that we need to beat the waiver wire with.

[Dave Richard]

Well, Jake Browning is still available in 60% of leagues. I don't like the matchup in week four against Denver. I don't hate the matchup week three against Minnesota. Top 15 type of fantasy quarterback. And we know he's going to be a steady starter for Cincinnati pretty much till December at the absolute earliest. So he's certainly capable of being a good fantasy quarterback. Maybe not necessarily a great one. If you don't like that matchup against Denver. There are some Other names. I love Stafford against Indianapolis in Week four. I think the Cinderella slipper falls off of Indianapolis in that game and I think Stafford's been playing great and just to get ahead of a couple of guys. Darnold, 75 available. I thought he played decently last week. If Wentz ends up being okay for Minnesota, he's available in 80 of leagues. We don't know if. If J.J. mcCarthy is going to be back or not, but in deeper leagues, if you want to try and just get your hands on somebody, he's got the Steelers in Week four and the Steelers defense just has not been what we thought they would be so far this season.

[Host (Tennessee Football Today)]

What do you think about Bryce Young at New England? New England's one of those teams that we're targeting. I think from a standpoint of, you know, of passing production. And then let me check real quick. Justin Fields roster rate because he gets Miami. Justin Fields is 82 rostered.

[Dave Richard]

Yeah, he's too rostered. And I think the Patriots defense changes significantly if Christian Gonzalez is back.

[Host (Tennessee Football Today)]

Fair enough. Yeah, we'll see that. We'll see. Hopefully we'll see that this week. Okay. Running backs, the stash.

[Dave Richard]

All these guys are simply stashes. They're not players that you can go and and use potentially in week four. But if you want to carry them through week three, it makes sense. Woody Marks for Houston, 77 available. The two backups in Washington, Chris Rodriguez at 84%. Jeremy McNichols, 93%. I like Rodriguez better, but I'm not coaching the Commanders, so they might like McNichols more. Certainly McNichols is the better pass protector between the two if you are patient. Caleb Johnson is still available in 40% of leagues. He figures to matter at some point. And then two other names. Burchard Smith, available in 94% of leagues. If Isaiah Pacheco struggles against the Giants, the Chiefs are going to have to go in a different direction. Blake Corum, 66 available. Look, I think he's going to end up getting decent work with Kyron Williams. And if Kyron Williams fumbles a bunch or gets hurt, Coram's going to be inserted right into the lineup for la.

[Host (Tennessee Football Today)]

A guy that you might be able to play even if there's not an injury to the starter. And this won't be until week five at the earliest. Is Tajie Spears. He's 37 roster.

[Dave Richard]

Great call.

[Host (Tennessee Football Today)]

Iron. And then what do you think about Woody Marks? Because I just don't really get the sense that Joe.

[Dave Richard]

I think Woody Woody could end up mattering. Here's his pathway. Joe Mixon doesn't come back and Nick Chubb doesn't impress.

[Host (Tennessee Football Today)]

Yeah. Which is.

[Dave Richard]

That's it.

[Host (Tennessee Football Today)]

I feel like it's pretty. I feel like the odds are pretty decent on those two scenarios.

[Dave Richard]

There you go.

[Host (Tennessee Football Today)]

We're gonna take a break and talk about wide receivers to stash. Always a good list there. You would take a look at Brandon Iuk, who started running a little bit but still might be a ways away. But we'll tell you which wide receivers you should stash after this on fft. Ffte.

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[Host (Tennessee Football Today)]

Should it be FFTE or FFTex Express? Starts with an E. Yeah, but FFT? Or it could just be FFT X.

[Dave Richard]

Whatever.

[Host (Tennessee Football Today)]

Okay, who are some WRs that we need to s T a s H?

[Dave Richard]

In shallow leagues, double check for Juwan Jennings and Darnell Mooney. But in most league, they're already rostered. I put these four names under a category called start or stash, meaning you can use them in week three if you so choose. Wandell Robinson's available in more than a third of CBS sports leagues. We know what his floor is in PPR Franklin we've already talked about in Denver. And then two other names. One of them Adam's gonna love a lot. Rashid Shahid for the saints, 48 available. And Christian Kirk. Look at it. Look at Adam raising the roof. 48 available. Could be a solution to Houston's offensive issues, at least as a safe short area target for CJ Stroud. I don't mind the idea of grabbing Kirk, seeing how he does this week. If he gets a lot of targets, a lot of catches. Okay, cool. He's somebody that you might be able to use down the line. And if he doesn't, then you go ahead and you cut him and you pivot to one of the other names on this list or a bunch of other receivers that are out there in in the majority of leagues, like Dobbs, Don, Tavian Wicks, you mentioned IUK is an IR stash. There are two other IR stashes. Jalen Coker for the Panthers and Christian Watson for Green Bay. You could always carry them if you've got an open IR spot. No harm, no foul.

[Host (Tennessee Football Today)]

And there's one guy that I think isn't getting any recognition. It's Josh Palmer. Because look, all of the Bills wide receivers had bad games in week two because they steamrolled the jets and Josh Allen barely threw. And Josh Allen left the game, you know, for, for a little rest in the fourth quarter. Right. So he only had three targets, but they all had bad games.

[Dave Richard]

True.

[Host (Tennessee Football Today)]

He's basically right up there in targets with Coleman and Shakir. This is not a full throated endorsement of Josh Palmer, but it is a guy who's playing on the Bills. And again, it's always like, well, what if they had made that play? It was wide open for a touchdown in week one and Allen missed him. You know, what if he had made that play? Then he might be, you know, he might be 45% roster or something. He currently 19 roster.

[Dave Richard]

He's absolutely one of the deep stashes. Luther Burden is a deep stash. Isaac Tesla is a deep stash and less deep of a stash. And we just have to say his name because everybody's saying his name is Elegayo Manor. And just the role that he seems to have gotten in Tennessee is, is a pretty good one. He's available in two thirds of CBS leagues.

[Host (Tennessee Football Today)]

Right. I talked about before the season started that five years in a row we've had at least. Oh man, at least two rookie wide receivers be drafted after round nine and finish top 24 per game or overall.

[Dave Richard]

Yep.

[Host (Tennessee Football Today)]

And you know, you had guys like McConkey who was kind of flirting with that Brian Thomas Jr. Last year. I don't really see it right now. Right. Like Trey Harris is kind of buried and Jack Besh. I don't think it's going to really happen for him but. And the Texans guys just had their shot and it didn't happen yet. You know, that's not say it would not happen.

[Dave Richard]

They didn't get much of a shot.

[Host (Tennessee Football Today)]

But Alec IO Manor is actually on the field doing stuff. You know, he might be the best candidate right now.

[Dave Richard]

So is Tori Horton caught a touchdown last week in Seattle.

[Host (Tennessee Football Today)]

Yeah. Okay. Is this right? Is Don Tavian Wicks really 8% roster? That can't be right.

[Dave Richard]

He is available in 92% of leagues.

[Host (Tennessee Football Today)]

That's weird.

[Dave Richard]

Absolutely. Listen, if you're reaching for Josh Palmer, double check to see if Wicks is there and reach for him first.

[Host (Tennessee Football Today)]

I agree. Yep.

[Dave Richard]

Tight ends, tight ends start and maybe end with Harold Fannin still available in 48 of CBS leagues. I think some managers were turned off by his production last week. You shouldn't be. He's startable this week as far as I'm concerned. If you've got T.J. hawkinson, Mark Andrews, you're a knucklehead and you started Jake Tongas last week. Go and get yourself Harold Fannin. I know it's a matchup against Green Bay, that stuff, but I think he can be a good target getter and good with those numbers. Two other stash candidates at tight end Isaiah Likely, who is back at practice this week, available in 52% of leagues, and Colston Loveland, who available in 52% of leagues, had a lot of hype coming into the year. I heard Ben Johnson talk about this week how his tight ends have been playing a lot and they haven't been targeted a lot. He wants to rectify that and maybe that means some good things for Loveland. The note that I wrote next to his name, Adam, is you could add him late on Saturday, carry him through Sunday. If he does nothing, you drop them and you pick somebody else up on Wednesday.

[Host (Tennessee Football Today)]

Could definitely do that. Any DSTs you like next week?

[Dave Richard]

We're thin on DSTs that I like next week, but New England against Carolina? They're available in 72% of leagues, they've got a sick pass rush and Christian Gonzalez might be back for Detroit. They're available in 54% of leagues. They've got the Browns. Browns have given up some good numbers to dsds.

[Host (Tennessee Football Today)]

Thank you Dave. Richard, good work. Work as always on the beat the waiver wire players. This has been FFTX and we will talk to you on Sunday morning with another edition. See you later.

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