Fantasy Football Week 2: Waiver Wire Pickups
Sep 11, 2016; Glendale, AZ, USA; New England Patriots wide receiver Chris Hogan (15) scores a first quarter touchdown against the Arizona Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
The waiver wire is what will end up making or breaking your fantasy football season. Here are a few players that could help you off the wire in Week 2.
Did you own a player who went down with a season ending injury (Keenan Allen)? What about a player who grossly unperformed (Tyrod Taylor, Kirk Cousins) and now you’re worried? Do you think you could use an upgrade or two on your bench?
If that’s the case, it’s time to look at the waiver wire.
For these purposes, we will being using Yahoo! fantasy football as a guideline. Any player that is 50 percent owned or less is eligible.
Sep 11, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Mohamed Sanu (12) makes a touchdown catch in front of Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive back Brent Grimes (24) in the first quarter at the Georgia Dome. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports
5. Mohamed Sanu — WR, Atlanta Falcons (45% Owned)
After an unforgettable preseason, Mohamed Sanu burst into fantasy football relevance with a solid game in Week 1. He finished with five receptions, 80 yards, one touchdown, and a two-point conversion against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
There are plenty of cases where players will have a tremendous game in Week 1 and then will disappear for awhile. That might be the case with Sanu but then again, it might not be.
Not to mention, the Falcons No. 1 receiver, Julio Jones, has a history of ankle and foot injuries. In fact, he’s dealing with a slight ankle injury as we speak. Although it’s not considered serious, it’s a reminder of his injury history.
Right now Sanu is behind Julio for targets. If Julio were to miss any time, Sanu would take over as the Falcons primary passing target.
Sep 11, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Falcons running back Tevin Coleman (26) carries the ball in the third quarter of their game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at the Georgia Dome. The Buccaneers won 31-24. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports
4. Tevin Coleman — RB, Atlanta Falcons (43% Owned)
If you’re a Devonta Freeman owner, this is the last name you want to be relevant in fantasy football.
However, after one week of football Tevin Coleman is more than relevant. Coleman finished Week 1 with 13 touches for 117 yards. Coleman actually led the Falcons in receiving yards, as well, with 95. Freeman on the other hand had 15 touches for only 40 total yards.
During the offseason, the Falcons talked about getting Coleman getting more involved in the offense. During the preseason, they got him more involved in the offense. Now with regular season games on the line, they’ve stuck to their word.
Coleman has standalone value because the Falcons backfield (unlike last year) is now a running back by committee. You can expect Coleman to average somewhere around 10-12 touches per game. If an injury were to occur to Freeman, Coleman would instantly be in the RB1 discussion.
Even if an injury doesn’t occur to Freeman, Coleman could take over lead duties if he continues to outperform Freeman like he did in Week 1.
INDIANAPOLIS, IN – SEPTEMBER 11: Theo Riddick
3. Theo Riddick — RB, Detroit Lions (35% Owned)
I’m not sure why Theo Riddick is currently still being under-owned, but he is. In Week 1, he went off for 108 total yards and 2 touchdowns on only 12 touches. After a performance like that, he better be owned in over 50 percent of fantasy football leagues this time next week.
Riddick proved last year he was a PPR machine after finishing with 80 receptions. However, the downside to him was he only had 43 rushing attempts.
On Sunday he had seven carries. Given that pace, he would need less than seven games to finish with more carries than all of last season. Riddick needs to average fewer than 5.3 carries per game for the rest of the season to double his carries from a season ago. At this point, I’d consider it likely he does that.
Riddick’s apparent uptick in carries makes him a must own in all leagues, not just PPR.
Sep 12, 2016; Landover, MD, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Eli Rogers (17) reacts after catching a touchdown pass against the Washington Redskins during the first half at FedEx Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
2. Eli Rogers — WR, Pittsburgh Steelers (8% Owned)
On Monday Night Football, Eli Rogers introduced himself to the fantasy football world. He finished the game against the Washington Redskins with six receptions, 59 yards, and a touchdown.
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The Steelers offense under Todd Haley is going to thrown a ton. They’ve shown that over the last few years. Rogers should see his fair share of targets just about every game because he’s the team’s starting slot WR.
There were four different Steelers players who saw at least seven targets. That was in a game where the Steelers were leading by two scores for about half of the game. If they find themselves in a situation where they are losing, you better believe Ben Roethlisberger will attempt more than 37 passes like he did last night. After all, Big Ben had more than 37 passing attempts in seven out of 12 games last year.
When/if that happens, Rogers will get more targets and opportunities.
Sep 11, 2016; Nashville, TN, USA; Tennessee Titans wide receiver Tajae Sharpe (19) is tackled by Minnesota Vikings cornerback Jabari Price (25) after catching a pass during the second half at Nissan Stadium. Minnesota won 25-16. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports
1. Tajae Sharpe — WR, Tennessee Titans (46% Owned)
Just like with Theo Riddick a couple slides ago, I don’t know why Tajae Sharpe isn’t more highly owned. If he isn’t over 50 percent owned by this time next week, I’m quitting.
Okay that’s a lie, but come on.
Sharpe had a team high 11 targets on Sunday and finished with seven receptions for 76 yards. His solid stats on Sunday shouldn’t be a surprise because he showed during the preseason he was a going to be a staple in the Titans offense.
Related Story: Fantasy Football Week 1: 5 Biggest Takeaways
As I’ve said before, Sharpe is a good bet to lead all Titans wide receivers in targets, receptions, and receiving yards. I would be surprised if he has anything under 80 receptions and 1,000 yards by the time the 2016 season ends.
This guy is good enough to start as some fantasy football owners FLEX position let alone be added to their bench.
Jan 3, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; San Diego Chargers wide receiver Tyrell Williams (16) catches a touchdown pass during the second half against the Denver Broncos at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. The Broncos won 27-20. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports
Others Receiving Votes
Here are a few more names you want to consider when you go through your fantasy football waiver wire.
Chargers WRs Tyrell Williams (3% Owned) and Dontrelle Inmann (0% Owned): With Keenan Allen out for the year with a torn ACL, somebody has the pick up the slack.
Patriots WR Chris Hogan (31% Owned): On Sunday Hogan caught a 37-yard touchdown from Jimmy Garoppolo. During the preseason he caught a 37-yard touchdown from Tom Brady. It appears he’s going to have a role in this offense no matter who the quarterback is.
Steelers TE Jesse James (21% Owned): He had five receptions for 31 yards on Monday Night Football. He’s not going to beat anybody deep, but in the Steelers high powered offense, he is a threat to score a touchdown every week.
Bengals WR Brandon LaFell (5% Owned): He’s the No. 2 receiver in the Bengals offense and nearly had 100 yards receiving in Week 1. He might not be anything special from a talent standpoint but he’s fantasy relevant due to his situation.
Eagles QB Carson Wentz (7% Owned): It might have only been one game against the Browns but Wentz looked great. It might not be a bad idea to stash him and see what happens.
49ers WRs Quinton Patton (1% Owned) and Jeremy Kerley (1% Owned): They both will see opportunities in Chip Kelly’s fast-paced offense. They won’t break open many (if any) games, but they could rack up the receptions. If you’re desperate in PPR leagues, keep an eye on these guys.