Once again, Taysom Hill is back on fantasy football radars as we head into the Week 2 waiver wire period. Hill broke a 57-yard rush, followed two plays later by an 11-yard touchdown run against the Atlanta Falcons last week. However, does that explosive output make Hill a Week 2 fantasy waiver wire target, or is he not a player you can count on?
Is Taysom Hill a wise waiver wire add in Week 2?
When thinking about your Week 2 fantasy waiver wire claims, it is only natural that Taysom Hill receives some consideration. His eligibility at the weakest position for fantasy makes it only natural that managers consider adding him after his 14.8-point fantasy performance (half-PPR scoring) last week.
The problem is that Hill’s playing time and opportunities were extremely limited. He played on just 16 snaps in Week 1, or 26 percent of the offensive plays. On those 16 snaps, he received five opportunities. He was targeted once and had two yards on the reception. However, it is his work rushing the ball that catches the eye. Hill took his four carries for 81 yards and a touchdown. Those numbers are hard to ignore.
Hill is a frustrating asset to judge weekly. He will likely get a handful of touches every week, and the way those touches are engineered gives him every chance to break a long play or find the end zone. In his last 29 games, Hill has scored 14 touchdowns, averaging just under one in every two games he plays. That is equally hard to ignore.
The tight end eligibility makes Hill so tempting as an add this week. The position is extremely shaky outside of the very top options. Only eight tight ends scored double-digit fantasy points in Week 1 (half-PPR scoring). Of those, only two had more than five opportunities to touch the ball. It is also often a heavily TD-dependent position. All of the top-seven at the position in Week 1 scored a touchdown.
How do you approach Hill this week vs. the Buccaneers?
You can do a few clear things when approaching Hill on the Week 2 waiver wire. If you have one of Travis Kelce, Mark Andrews, Darren Waller, Dalton Schultz, Dallas Goedert, T.J. Hockenson, or Pat Freiermuth, Hill is almost 100 percent off the table unless you have a deep bench.
Rarely would you start him over any of those, and his opportunities won’t be consistently high enough to be a flex option for you. If you have a deep bench, you could stash him in case of injuries, but that would be it.
George Kittle and Zach Ertz are two names missing from above. Their injury situations mean you might want to consider another tight end for the next two weeks until they are back to full health. In which case, Hill could be that option.
If you do not have one of those tight ends, then Hill becomes an intriguing add. The position, in general, is hard to judge week-to-week. Rarely are players outside the top five to eight options averaging five-plus targets per game.
Therefore, you are consistently trying to play matchups and stream options based on those matchups. Hill is one of that group, but his touches might be a little more guaranteed in the three-plus per game range.
The key here is not to overpay. Yes, he had a big week, but on limited touches. Therefore, putting in a big FAAB offer would be unwise. Hill is one of the collection of tight ends that will give fantasy managers headaches each week trying to work out who to start.
He definitely makes sense as a speculative add if you are in need of the position, but not someone you should sell the farm to add.