Sit Darren Waller in Week 3 if you have a real alternative — 5 projected points lands 2 under the TE starter line.
- Projection
- 5 pts
- TE rank
- #33
- Matchup
- at CLE
Darren Waller's fantasy role in Week 3
Darren Waller goes into Week 3 of the 2026 season as a deep-league TE flyer for the CAR. He is rostered in 3% of leagues and actually started in 1% of them, and we rank him TE33 on our own weekly board at 5 projected points.
Roster rates are steady week over week, so his role looks settled rather than in flux.
No injury designation to work around right now, which keeps his projection honest.
Week 3 matchup breakdown
The matchup: at CLE. Our Pepper Meter heat rating for this spot is 1 out of 5, which is how we grade the combination of role, projection and opponent difficulty.
Against a typical starting TE baseline of 7 points, his 5-point projection is 2 points short. That gap is the whole start/sit argument in one number.
How to play it
Sit Darren Waller in Week 3 if you have a real alternative — 5 projected points lands 2 under the TE starter line.
If you are deciding between him and another TE, compare projections first, then lean on the Pepper Meter heat rating as the tiebreaker.
Sally's take
Peppers & Picks ranks Darren Waller (CAR TE), our TE33 this week for Week 3 of the 2026 NFL season at CLE, projecting 5.0 projected points with a mild Pepper Meter rating. Nothing in the projection defends him — 29% below positional par is a bench line for me. The at CLE draw matters here — road snaps against CLE shape how often he's asked to do something. Only 3% of leagues roster him, so this is cheap production before the price goes up. Mild on the Pepper Meter is generous, honestly.
Tina's take
Peppers & Picks ranks Darren Waller (CAR TE), our TE33 this week for Week 3 of the 2026 NFL season at CLE, projecting 5.0 projected points with a mild Pepper Meter rating. Nothing in the projection defends him — 29% below positional par is a bench line for me. The at CLE draw matters here — road snaps against CLE shape how often he's asked to do something. Only 3% of leagues roster him, so this is cheap production before the price goes up. Mild on the Pepper Meter is generous, honestly.