Russell Gage (WR, ATL) - Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups

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OWNED IN: 7% of Leagues

ANALYSIS: I’d be ecstatic to have Russell Gage on my team going forward, and I’d be pretty excited at the chance of adding him to it through waivers at this point. Gage is only owned in 4% of the leagues but he is clearly the no. 3 receiver of this Falcons team and neither Julio Jones nor Calvin Ridley are keeping him from producing. Take this past weekend. In a bad game, Matt Ryan completed 23 passes for 271 yards and Gage caught eight of those 23 passes for 76 yards (second-most for Atlanta).

That was just an example of what Gage can do even in not-so-bright scenarios. Ryan should rebound a bit and raise his YPA (it was a measly 5.9 against Tampa last Sunday), and that can only help Gage’s numbers. Gage already exploded in Week 8 having his best game of the season to the tune of 58 yards on 7 receptions for 12.8 fantasy points. This Sunday he bested all those marks, racking up 76 yards on eight receptions (season-high 10 targets) for 15.6 points.

It would not be reasonable to expect Gage to take a lot of chances from Jones and Ridley if Atlanta wants to win some games from this point to season’s end, but Gage is logging enough opportunities to keep putting on good performances. He’s been targeted 19 times in the last three games combined and hauled in 14 passes for a total of 131 yards. The Falcons have two great matchups for wide receivers ahead: New Orleans (21st against the position) and Carolina (28th), so Gage should be at the very least a more than a playable option at WR3/flex in any deeper league. He won’t offer a lot during the playoffs’ weeks 15 and 16, but he’s definitely a WW target this week and the next one.