After months of waiting, the NFL and fantasy football are officially back, and with one week in the books, managers now adjust and tweak their lineups based on what we have seen. Working the waiver wire is the best way to better your team and find a weekly advantage. To aid in that, here are some of the top waiver wire claims to make for Week 2 of the fantasy football season.
Top waiver wire pickups in Week 2 | Quarterbacks
Jameis Winston | New Orleans Saints vs. TB (36.4% rostered)
QB7 in the season opener, Jameis Winston completed 23 of 34 pass attempts for 269 yards and two touchdowns. On a less positive note, he was sacked four times for 35 yards on 17 total pressures.
One of those sacks gave managers a scare as Winston went to the medical tent. But from that point on, he was nearly perfect, culminating in a game-winning drive that was started by a 40-yard Jarvis Landry reception.
Winston doesn’t give anything in terms of the rushing game, but I’m not worried about that in Week 2. The Buccaneers are one of the most challenging teams to rush against, regardless of the position. Last week, New Orleans switched up their philosophy for the second half, using a faster tempo to get the ball out of Winston’s hands quickly.
Winston has a full complement of weapons at his disposal, including Michael Thomas, who is coming off a two-touchdown game. Having risen only 5% from this time last week, Winston will be a weekly staple on the waiver wire list at this rate.
Carson Wentz | Washington Commanders @ DET (16.6% rostered)
Carson Wentz is on arguably his last chance to be a starting QB in the NFL. Taking on his former coach Doug Pederson, Wentz got off to a great start.
Finishing as the QB3 with 29.7 PPR points, Wentz completed 27 of his 41 pass attempts for 313 yards, four touchdowns, and two interceptions in Sunday’s win over the Jaguars while adding 12 rushing yards on six carries.
He also spread the ball around with Terry McLaurin, Jahan Dotson (2), and Curtis Samuel, all finding the end zone. While we can’t expect four touchdowns every week, the volume of 41 attempts gives Wentz some wiggle room.
The case could be made that Wentz has the best group of WRs he’s had yet, especially if Week 1 was any indicator. Wentz and Co. head to the Motor City to take on the Lions, who are coming down off a three-point loss to the Eagles in which they allowed 38 points and 455 total yards. You can do much worse than starting Wentz off the waiver wire in Week 2.
Top waiver wire pickups in Week 2 | Running backs
Jeff Wilson Jr., San Francisco 49ers (3.5% rostered)
Odds are Jeff Wilson Jr. is the top waiver wire claim in Week 2 for fantasy football. Elijah Mitchell suffered a sprained MCL on Sunday and will miss between 6-8 weeks, based on current reporting. This places Wilson in the prime spot to be the RB1 moving forward for the 49ers.
With Trey Sermon now on the Eagles and Tyrion Davis-Price inactive, Wilson finished the contest with nine carries for 22 yards and caught both targets for eight yards.
When Wilson is healthy, he’s one of the best running backs on the 49ers’ roster, especially in short-yardage situations. In 2020, Wilson led the team with seven rushing touchdowns while also registering a team-high 25 red-zone carries. Despite missing half the season in 2021, Wilson ranked second among 49ers rushers in red-zone carries (9).
Jaylen Warren | Pittsburgh Steelers @ NE (1.3% rostered)
Najee Harris, the league leader in touches last year, went down with a “lower-leg/foot” injury in the fourth quarter. Initial reports varied from a high ankle sprain to some even saying he would be “fine.” Even if he is, this is a wake-up call to fantasy managers to get him off the waiver wire before it’s too late.
Given the lack of depth, Jaylen Warren suddenly would become a very intriguing option for deeper fantasy leagues after winning the No. 2 role over Anthony McFarland and Benny Snell.
Warren looked promising in camp as a rookie, and while he wouldn’t have much value with Harris receiving a full workload, he needs to be rostered just in case. The matchup against New England is less than ideal, but Warren should be a waiver wire addition in Week 2.
Darrell Henderson | Los Angeles Rams vs. ATL (45.8% rostered)
Week 2 feels like a massive get-right game for the entire Los Angeles Rams team. They went through the meat grinder against the Buffalo Bills, who I feel would have done the same to every other team who laced them up in Week 1.
Those who had been backing Cam Akers all season (raises hand) might want to look away as Darrell Henderson was the clear No. 1 for LA. Henderson gained 47 yards on 13 carries and brought in five receptions for 28 yards. But the further you go, the worse it looks for Akers.
Henderson led Akers 55 to 12 on snaps, 27 to six on early downs (first and second), eight to one on third downs, and had all the short yardage (<2 yards) and goal-line carries. He also led Akers 17 to five in two-minute drills.
If anything, the Week 2 matchup favors the explosiveness of Henderson against the Falcons. Grab Henderson off waivers and inject him into your starting lineup as a reliable RB3 for the week. I’m still holding out hope for Akers, but only the starter will have fantasy value worth trusting.
Rex Burkhead | Houston Texans @ DEN (17.2% rostered)
Add this one to the list of things that didn’t go as planned. Trust me, there will be more. Rather than a debut of Dameon Pierce, we got a healthy dose of Rex Burkhead, who played on 72% of the offensive snaps and dominated them in OT.
The do-it-all back had 14 carries for 40 yards and caught five of his eight targets for 30 yards to finish as the RB22 (12 PPR). I do believe Pierce will end up the RB you want to roster, but that doesn’t mean he should be a starter right now.
For now, given his ridiculous usage, Burkhead should be considered a Flex option in fantasy for those looking for some stability at the position, not the ceiling. He’ll be a popular addition off the waiver wire in Week 2 for fantasy football.
Top waiver wire pickups in Week 2 | Wide receivers
Joshua Palmer | Los Angeles Chargers @ KC (35.5% rostered)
The hamstring injury to Keenan Allen has shaken up the Chargers’ wide receiver room. While Mike Williams will take over at the primary target, Joshua Palmer becomes a very, very intriguing waiver wire target.
As a rookie, Palmer averaged over seven targets per game and scored a touchdown in his three games with a 60% snap share, averaging 15.8 PPR/game. Palmer was also efficient when it counted, pulling in three of his five total end-zone targets for scores.
Although he didn’t have much on Sunday — catching three of four targets for a whopping five yards — we know the talent and trust are there. Nine different Chargers caught a pass from Justin Herbert, but we’ve seen him zero in when someone is on fire. Palmer has been and could be that guy again while Allen is out. Palmer’s a fantasy football lottery ticket that could cash in a big way. If he’s on your waiver wire, I’d correct that posthaste.
Curtis Samuel | Washington Commanders @ DET (8.4% rostered)
Out of all the players mentioned so far, I enjoy this one. Not because he has the best day or anything, but it’s just good to see Curtis Samuel back on the field and playing well again after missing all of last year nearly with a groin injury.
Samuel led the Commanders in targets with 11, managing to haul in eight for 55 yards and a TD. He also had four carries for 17 yards and lost a fumble. For context, Samuel had more touches Sunday (12) than during the entire 2021 season.
Not all sleepers need to be names you’ve never heard of before. Sometimes the best sleepers are guys with a known skill set in a prime position after a down year. While Terry McLaurin and Jahan Dotson will take some targets, Samuel will have a monopoly on carries which helped lead to his breakout campaign.
Even if he doesn’t see 11 targets again, Samuel might be the post-hype sleeper we all needed for fantasy in 2022. Undoubtedly still floating around after drafts, I’d take a shot and snag him off the wire if you have the space, as he could become a WR3 for your team.
Robbie Anderson | Carolina Panthers @ NYG (37.5% rostered)
I wonder how the people feel who drafted Robbie Anderson only to drop him feel right now, as the new version might have something to prove. And I say “new version” for a reason. For a while, he had a game Robby would produce, catching four of seven targets for 27 yards. But then Robbie showed up — and literally — 10 minutes later, his stat line showed five of eight for 102 yards and a TD.
The bulk of Anderson’s production against Cleveland came on a 75-yard touchdown reception in the final quarter. But at the same time, Anderson led the team in both targets and receptions despite tying DJ Moore on snaps (100%) and routes ran (33).
Baker Mayfield took some shots, and it paid off, a pattern we could see continue down the road, which gives Anderson a higher ceiling. Moore is still the clear cut more desirable fantasy asset, but it’s hard to argue with those numbers. Even if you don’t want to play Anderson against the Giants and give it another week of data, he should at least be a waiver wire pickup in Week 2 as a dart throw.
Julio Jones | Tampa Bay Buccaneers at NO (43.4% rostered)
It’s been nothing but speculation when it comes to Julio Jones. Is he washed, an injury risk, or is there just enough of the old Julio in there to become a massive problem on the field?
I think we might have gotten our answer last Sunday. Jones brought in three of five targets for 69 yards while also rushing twice for 17 yards in the Buccaneers’ 19-3 win over the Cowboys. He ended with the second-most targets and receiving yards on the night only behind Mike Evans, much in part to the hamstring injury that knocked Chris Godwin out of the game.
Expect more volume for Jones as the targets consolidate with Godwin out. Also, expect more passing in general. Tampa attempted just 27 passes in Week 1 after leading the league in both pace of play and passing percentage.
Suppose we come to find out Godwin’s injury is worse than expected, or it lingers around, which ESPN’s Injury Analyst Stephania Bell cautioned managers about. In that case, Jones could go from a waiver wire pickup to a league winner. After all, this is Julio and Tom Brady we are talking about here.
Kyle Philips | Tennessee Titans @ BUF (0.5% rostered)
Back in the predraft process, when Kyle Philips’ tape came on my screen, I was instantly intrigued. The UCLA receiver was a menace on the field, had glue trap hands, and could separate off the line or out of a break like the DB was standing still. Sure, it might be lazy analysis to say he looks like Hunter Renfrow only a little longer, but it doesn’t make it less true.
A sleeper of mine before the season, Philips had himself a solid camp but remained an unknown. That’s not the case anymore. Philips saw a whopping nine targets on Sunday, catching six for 66 yards. Running 21 routes, he had a staggering 42.8% target per route run rate, while Robert Woods sat at 7.5%.
History tells us that will go down, but Philips might stick around this offense. I do expect both Woods and Treylon Burks to have better games, but the volume alone makes Philips a worthwhile waiver addition in Week 2, just in case this is not a fluke, as we only have one game of data to pull from after all.
I don’t love him against Buffalo this week, but if you’re in a 14-team league or deeper, banking on the slot receiver in a negative game script can work out from time to time.
Top waiver wire pickups in Week 2 | Tight ends
Gerald Everett | Los Angeles Chargers @ KC (13.5% rostered)
I hope you paid up for a tight end in fantasy. It’s become a leverage point in drafts, and after one week, I’m already sick of looking at this position and how bleak it can get. Gerald Everett, however, could prove to be a life ring.
Everett caught three passes for 54 yards and a touchdown in Sunday’s victory over the Raiders. Doesn’t sound like much? Travis Kelce is the only other TE with 50 yards and a TD. Donald Parham missed the game with a hamstring injury, opening up more opportunities for Everett, who played on 23 of the 34 passing plays.
Los Angeles has a plan for their tight ends. Last season, they were third in passing (39.6 att/game), with tight ends representing 21% of the team target share. On Sunday, it was 26.4%.
With Allen looking unlikely to play on a short week, Everett could make it back-to-back weeks with a score. A top-five TE last week, I wouldn’t be shocked if Everett is once again in the top 12. It’s challenging to find better options off the Week 2 waiver wire this week at the position for fantasy.
Taysom Hill | New Orleans Saints vs. TB (3.8% rostered)
By hook or by crook, Taysom Hill is a weapon for the Saints. He’s what Tim Tebow should have been. Hill ran four times for 81 yards and a touchdown on Sunday while catching his only target for two yards. His very first touch went for 57 yards on the Saints’ second drive of the game. Two plays later, he punched it in with an 11-yard run.
What makes no sense is Hill was on the field for only 16 plays and blocked on nearly half of them. Combined with just four routes, this efficiency is unsustainable. But if they get him more involved, well, we’ve seen what he can do. Hill is a Week 2 waiver wire option in deeper formats, but I’d look for at least one more performance like this before considering him a starting option.
Robert Tonyan | Green Bay Packers vs. CHI (22.5% rostered)
Returning to action after an ACL tear shortened his previous season, Robert Tonyan seemed to have the bounce back in his step. Tonyan was targeted five times resulting in three catches for 36 yards, including a 23-yard gain. He was also targeted in the end zone once.
The hope is Tonyan can quickly get back into rhythm, but we’ll never see a repeat of his 2020 season where he had more touchdowns (11) than incomplete targets (7). The Packers’ passing offense is in shambles right now. Almost as rough as you’d imagine an offense might look after losing arguably the best receiver and don’t have a stable option.
The hope is — in the red zone especially — Tonyan can step up and be a secure weapon for Aaron Rodgers. There could be weeks where he has six or seven targets in his future, with consistent red-zone snaps. If you’re streaming tight ends, Tonyan makes sense, given the current lack of options for Rodgers to rely on until Allen Lazard returns. Tonyan could be a sneaky waiver wire addition ahead of a Week 2 matchup against the Chicago Bears.