Adam Strangis NFL Week 2 Waiver Wire
Week 1 of the NFL season is just about behind us, with just two Monday night games left. We managed to escape without a ton of injuries through the first week, which is no small feat. That doesn’t mean we can’t find some gems on the NFL Week 2 Waiver Wire to fortify your seasonal fantasy team the rest of the year!
*Note* The ownership referenced will be based on Yahoo and if this needs updated after Monday Night Football, it certainly will be before your waivers run.
Quarterback
Gardner Minshew, Jaguars – 25% rostered
Quarterback is certainly deep enough that the ownership for Minshew isn’t high at all. Still, he really showed off his skills on Sunday even in a game they didn’t trail a lot. That shouldn’t be expected very often this year. He went 19-20 with three touchdowns and kicked in 19 yards on the ground.
He’s not likely to throw three touchdowns every week, but I’m not sure how often the Jaguars can maintain near a 50/50 split for their run/pass ratio. Minshew is an easy pick up, even if you don’t need him this week. Options like Matthew Stafford and Aaron Rodgers are already three weeks from their bye.
Honorable Mention – Teddy Bridgewater
Running Backs
Benny Snell, Steelers – 16% rostered
If we find out that James Conner is out for even a couple weeks, Snell becomes my first choice on waivers. If Conner was just banged up, Snell is still second. I love Conner as a person and what he represents on and off the field. It hurts to say, but he just has not displayed the ability to stay on the field from the start of last year.
Snell took the reins early in this game. Conner was totally ineffective, generating 17 yards on 8 total touches. Snell had 19 carries and rolled up 113 rushing yards. He’s more one-dimensional than Conner but if he’s getting 15-20 carries in the Steelers offense, he’s no worse than an RB2 when active. He looks more decisive and explosive than his rookie year.
Nyheim Hines, Colts – 18% rostered
Hines is my number one target for the NFL Week 2 Waiver Wire. Normally, we use caution with role players who pop off in Week 1 for multiple scores. That is not the case for Hines because the Colts likely lost Marlon Mack for the season with a torn Achilles. Jonathan Taylor drafters are pretty happy right now but Hines cannot possibly be ignored and is primed for a serious role the rest of the way.
The trio of running backs combined for 17 targets on 46 of pass attempts from Rivers. It certainly appears that Rivers has brought that trait with him to Indy, because he’s always loved targeting running backs. Hines had a combined 15 touches even with Mack taking seven before his injury. Taylor will be the main cog in this backfield, but Mack is going to touch the ball 10-15 times almost every single week from here out.
Joshua Kelley, Chargers – 12% rostered
I’m not one for victory laps, but I will allow myself a nice little fist pump. I’ve been in the Discord saying to pick up Kelley at multiple points and it looks like he’s going to have a good role in this Chargers offense. Not only did they run the ball 33 times with a running back, Kelley had 12 of them compared to Justin Jackson’s two.
We had to figure that Austin Ekeler would not get every carry from this backfield and we were right. The Chargers are seeming to aim for a ground and pound offense where they play slow and take very few chances. Just like every other back on this list, 10-15 touches a week from a waiver wire back is gold.
Malcolm Brown, Rams – 23% rostered
The buzz was all about rookie Cam Akers in the Rams backfield, but Brown looks like he could be the most productive player. Maybe that doesn’t last for the whole year but he had racked up double-digit touches before halftime in Sunday Night Football and scored two touchdowns.
If Brown can even maintain 10-12 touches moving forward, he’s going to be on the low-end RB2/Flex options until further notice. In 2019, Todd Gurley was a top 25 back on the strength of touchdowns alone. Brown could be a thorn in the side of Akers for the foreseeable future and is absolutely not rostered in enough leagues. On the face of Week 1, Brown and Akers are the only two backs worth rostering from the Rams.
Adrian Peterson, Lions – 45% rostered
I wanted nothing much to do with the Lions backfield coming into the week, but Peterson may have seized the reigns for now. He ran the ball 14 times, seven more times than Kerryon Johnson and ripped of 6.6 yards per carry to Johnson’s 2. D’Andre Swift had a monster drop in the end zone that would have won the game, so I’d be surprised if he earned himself more touches.
Swift did poach a touchdown, which is a slight concern. Still, if Peterson tops 15 touches with regularity he’s going to be a steady option. Not every back from the waivers will have a ton of sizzle but all that matters is points for your lineup.
Jerick McKinnon, 49ers – 11% rostered
I’m excited and cautious with McKinnon. The good is he had six touches, a touchdown and five targets in the passing game. The bad is the 49ers were woefully short on wide receivers and Tevin Coleman may have had a reduced role due to air quality issues.
Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers know how to squeeze production out of every single back on their roster. McKinnon has had an extremely long road back from injuries, missing the last two seasons. Being this involved right away is a good sign even if the 49ers had issues with their weapons on Sunday.
Honorable Mention – Peyton Barber (two touchdowns saved him but 17 rush attempts need to be recognized)
Wide Receiver
Paris Campbell, Colts – 22%
Much like the Colts running backs being the beneficiary of Philip Rivers, I don’t believe Campbell is a flash in the pan. He co-led the team in targets with T.Y. Hilton and I would suspect that he ran a good chunk of his routes out of the slot.
I pointed out in Game by Game Breakdown that Rivers and Keenan Allen loved working together out of the slot and it may have carried over. The next two weeks fears matchups with the Minnesota corners that just got scorched and a Jets defense that let Josh Allen pass for 300+ yards.
Sammy Watkins, Chiefs – 49% rostered
Don’t forget about Watkins for NFL Week 2 Waiver Wire since he played on Thursday. He was the clear number two receiver behind Tyreek Hill and while the offense is crowded, you want a piece of it. Watkins not being rostered in half the leagues is surprising.
I know what some might say. We saw this last year in Week 1 when Watkins went completely bonkers. I’m not here stumping that he’s a stable option. However, if a receiver gets nine targets and three red-zone targets from Patrick Mahomes, I want him on my roster.
Robby Anderson, Panthers – 31% rostered
Anderson had a huge game thanks to a long touchdown and the targets seem…odd. Christian McCaffrey only had four while Anderson and Curtis Samuel each had eight and D.J. Moore had nine. Even if the distribution doesn’t stay the same, Anderson flashed his big play ability that you love.
The Panthers defense showed no signs of improvement with the Raiders putting up 34 points. Bridgewater might be throwing the rock an awful lot this year and Anderson can take any play to the house. He’s a volatile flex option that can win you any given week.
Honorable Mention – Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Scotty Miller (as long as Mike Evans is banged up, Miller is a very capable substitute)
Tight End
Logan Thomas, Washington – 1% rostered
Thomas might well be in the perfect situation to emerge as a top 8-10 tight end. The Washington Football Team will likely see negative game scripts, today notwithstanding. Washington does not have a ton of proven talent in their receiving corps for Dwayne Haskins outside of Terry McLaurin. They need someone to step up and Thomas did.
He led the team in targets overall with eight. He didn’t completely go nuts with a 4/37/1 line but that’s more than enough if you don’t have an elite tight end. With no other tight end getting even one target, Thomas is very intriguing moving forward.
Honorable Mention – Jimmy Graham (close to tow touchdowns, but likely touchdown or bust with questionable QB play)
Defense/Special Teams
Washington – 4% rostered
They were really fantastic after letting up the first 17 points of the game to the Eagles. They finished with three turnovers and eight sacks, which is all you’re after with defenses. Chase Young looked very good and the front line can help cover the weakness in the secondary. If they get corner Kendall Fuller back to help with DeAndre Hopkins, Washington is more formidable.
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