# Mike Fanelli: In his Week 3 waiver-wire column, Fanelli said Rico Dowdle and Zay Flowers would both sit out Sunday while Adonai Mitchell plays, and that Jaylen Warren would take over as Pittsburgh's lead back.

**Claimed:** Sep 26, 2026
**Pundit:** Mike Fanelli — https://missedtakes.co/pundits/mike-fanelli
**Outlet:** FantasyPros — https://missedtakes.co/outlets/fantasypros
**How it reached us:** published in writing
**Original:** https://www.fantasypros.com/2026/09/6-fantasy-football-waiver-wire-pickups-injury-replacements-week-3-2026/

4 checkable claims — 3 availability calls and 1 depth chart call — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing bet.

It names 7 players and teams, each linked to their own record.

None of them have settled yet — they grade once their results are in.

Of the 1 unsettled call enough other pundits have weighed in on, this one lands below the rest of the room.

> While Jaylen Warren will take over as the lead running back, Heidenreich should see meaningful touches as a change-of-pace option and in the passing game.

*(their words, quoted for attribution)*

## The claims

- **Unfortunately, Rico Dowdle didn’t practice at all this week after suffering a toe injury in Week 2 and likely won’t play on Sunday. (Week 3)**
  - Kind: Availability Calls · About: Rico Dowdle, Pittsburgh Steelers
  - Verdict: not settled yet
- **Jaylen Warren to be 1st on the depth chart**
  - Kind: Depth Chart Calls · About: Jaylen Warren, Pittsburgh Steelers
  - Verdict: not settled yet
- **Fantasy players need to check Sunday’s game-day inactive report after Mitchell suffered a finger injury in practice earlier this week. Yet, he is expected to play on Sunday. (Week 3)**
  - Kind: Availability Calls · About: Adonai Mitchell, New York Jets
  - Verdict: not settled yet
- **While Zay Flowers was a limited participant in Friday’s practice, fantasy players shouldn’t expect him to play on Sunday... Baltimore will likely keep Flowers out of the lineup again this week (Week 3)**
  - Kind: Availability Calls · About: Zay Flowers, Baltimore Ravens
  - Verdict: not settled yet

## Who this take is about

- Rico Dowdle — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/rico-dowdle
- Pittsburgh Steelers — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/steelers
- Jaylen Warren — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/jaylen-warren
- Adonai Mitchell — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/adonai-mitchell
- New York Jets — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/jets
- Zay Flowers — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/zay-flowers
- Baltimore Ravens — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/ravens

## What others said about the same people

- Chris Simms on Baltimore Ravens: Simms went through the entire Week 3 slate with straight-up winners and predicted final scores, taking Jacksonville, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Detroit, Houston, Carolina, Kansas City, Seattle, the Giants, Baltimore, New Orleans, Minnesota, San Francisco, Denver and Philadelphia. He also expected Zay Flowers and Puka Nacua to sit, Kyler Murray to play, and said Marvin Harrison Jr. projects as no better than a good No. 2 or high-end No. 3 receiver. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/662b7ba3-1bf6-4ad0-9f93-9f2ab83143fd (scored 97.62)
- Nate Tice on Baltimore Ravens: Tice matched his guest on every Week 3 game, picking the Ravens over the Cowboys, the Jaguars over the Patriots in a close game, the Broncos to upset the Rams, the Raiders over the Saints, the Eagles over the Bears and the Lions over the Jets. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/b8378e16-ea5c-4107-a883-28aaf0e71134 (scored 100)
- Steven Ruiz on Baltimore Ravens: Previewing Week 3, Ruiz picked the Ravens to beat the Cowboys in Brazil, Jacksonville over New England in a low-scoring game, an upset by the Broncos over the Rams, the Raiders over the Saints, the Eagles over the Bears, the Lions over the Jets, and his Hail Mary that Houston beats Indianapolis by two touchdowns. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/a30ff469-4972-4c48-855b-ba984e4de9d0 (scored 100)
- Tracy Sandler on Baltimore Ravens: Sandler predicted Caleb Williams would miss two to three weeks with his hamstring injury, and in the picks segment took the Broncos, Ravens, Vikings, Bills and Bears (switching off an earlier Tampa pick). — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/74f12600-9587-488a-af00-2e8c11643531 (scored 100)
- Carmen Vitali on Baltimore Ravens: In the show's weekly picks segment Vitali took the Broncos over the Rams, the Ravens over the Cowboys in Rio, Tampa at home over Minnesota, the Bills over the Chargers and the Eagles on the road in Chicago. She also agreed that Caleb Williams would be out roughly two to three weeks. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/948bc684-6a05-4cb4-a5ff-72861da00102 (scored 100)
- Nick Wright on Baltimore Ravens: On his Week 3 pick show, Nick Wright gave straight-up final-score predictions for five games, calling blowouts by Seattle over Washington and Kansas City over Miami, a Jacksonville home win over New England, a narrow New Orleans win over the Raiders and a low-scoring Baltimore win over Dallas in Brazil. He also called Seattle the best team in the NFL with the league's best defense. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/afa6070a-4229-4b28-a922-31d609ad1adf (scored 100)

## More availability calls

The same kind of call, about other players and teams.

- Ralph Ventre on Christian Benford: Ventre expects Christian Benford's toe injury to sideline him for at least the Week 4 game against New England, and believes the Bills will have to add a cornerback to the 53-man roster this week — likely by moving Benford to injured reserve — with practice squad rookie Kani Walker the most likely player elevated. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/94b844fe-bb22-4517-81f5-6263eb0213f1 (not settled)
- Fox Sports on Jayden Daniels: With surgery ruled out, Washington's outlet speculates Jayden Daniels avoids injured reserve and, if he isn't back for the Week 4 game in London, returns either in Week 5 against the Giants or Week 6 against the 49ers. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/38c42e1c-1990-46fb-a145-d6cf5a1d8c33 (not settled)
- Ian Rapoport on J.J. McCarthy: On the JJ McCarthy trade he expects Jameis Winston to keep starting for the Giants while McCarthy learns, with McCarthy ready to go around midseason weeks six through eight; he also expects Tyson Bagent to start for the Bears next week with Caleb Williams out. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/b34b40aa-92b6-4ca8-95a0-4c25741e3d19 (not settled)
- Jordan Dajani on Baker Mayfield: Dajani writes that, based on the injury timeline, Baker Mayfield should be available to return for Tampa Bay's Oct. 25 game against the Carolina Panthers. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/e3ea298b-362e-42b2-918b-d07d0e69ae41 (not settled)
- Evan Tarracciano on Garrett Wilson: In his Week 3 studs and duds recap, Tarracciano says Drake London becomes a mid-tier WR1 now that Michael Penix Jr. is back, maintains Chase Brown should still be ranked as an RB1 despite a slow start, and expects Garrett Wilson to be fine after a concussion evaluation and play in Week 4. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/88e87735-d91e-4436-8793-f2fd9929dd1c (not settled)
- Greg Auman on Justin Jefferson: Auman expects Baker Mayfield's thumb injury to push undrafted rookie Jalon Daniels into the Buccaneers' starting quarterback job, and says Justin Jefferson may avoid missing time and play the following week against Miami. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/027991b5-1713-42b7-badd-78a05bf33ecb (not settled)

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Accuracy is 0-100 against what actually happened. The naive guess is what a strategy requiring no knowledge would have scored on the same call — the difference is the skill, and it is what the MissedTakes Score averages.

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