Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Targets for Week 2: James Jones, Kendall Wright

Poor Guggs. My colleague Ryan Guggenbiller may have endured the most soul-crushing Week 1 fantasy football loss.

Owners often claim they’d rather get blown out by 50 than lose a Monday night squeaker by two points, but unfortunately for Guggs, his squad failed to score 50 points in Week 1. His starting lineup also failed to reach the 40-and-30-point plateaus.

No, as well-intentioned as he was drafting Calvin Johnson, Justin Forsett, Peyton Manning, and Greg Olsen as his fantasy nexus – Guggs’ crew squeezed out 26.4 fantasy points – total.

Anybody who watched the Broncos’ game should realize Manning’s arm isn’t what it once was and Megatron is still capable of posting 20+ fantasy point performances, but the consistency he once promised is behind him. Forsett and Olsen will be fine with time.

In lieu of flowers, Guggs wishes you donate dollars and sense to his beloved Colts’ defensive unit scholarship fund.

James Jones (WR) – 17. 6% Ownership

Barring any injury, Jones is poised to post similar numbers to his 2012 campaign when he led the NFL with 14 receiving touchdowns. Aaron Rodgers trusts him and Randall Cobb’s shoulder (see: range of motion) isn’t at 100 percent. He caught all four targets for 51 yards with the two scores against the Bears. In 2012, he caught 64 passes for 784 yards with at least one touchdown in 9 out of 16 regular season games.

In fact, I grabbed him in two out of my six leagues before Week 1 kicked off on the hunch Rodgers and him would reconnect for six 10+ times this season with Jordy Nelson sidelined.

Tyler Eifert (TE) – 49.6% Ownership

Eighteen tight ends scored double-digit fantasy points in PPR leagues in Week 1. Can you believe it – 18?! So, chances are low you desperately need an upgrade at the position after Week 1. Oh, and don’t go nuts on Greg Olsen. If not for a questionable offensive pass interference call, Olsen would have been part of the crew.

As it pertains to Tyler Eifert’s 31.4 fantasy-point debut, the question of whether the dominance was a result of Bengals’ offensive prowess or Raiders’ defensive incompetence is open to debate. He did see four more targets (12) and caught four more passes (9) than A.J. Green as one thing is clear: Eifert is part of the offensive puzzle.

Marcus Mariota (QB) – 28.5% Ownership

Will he become a worthy fantasy starter each and every week this season? I may be wrong, but chances are low he can finagle his way into the Top 12 – what I consider a QB1 - but in Week 2 against the Browns – Mariota to start is a strong play. Although, the odds he flirts with 30 fantasy points / four touchdowns back-to-back weeks are low, the rookie quarterback has a friendly matchup here.

Before you get all Jo-Jo “The Idiot Circus Boy” with the pretty new pet when overvaluing Mariota. Remember, a few things.

One, quarterbacks will continue to feast on the Buccaneers’ pass defense. The unit allowed the sixth-most passing touchdowns and fifth-most pass yards per game last season. That flaw won’t be cured year-over-year.

Second, Mariota only attempted 16 passes. What happens when he is FORCED to throw 20-25-30+ passes a game. Does the glossy shimmer fade away?

To his credit, Mariota’s accuracy was on point, but right now I’m only comfortable stating his Week 2 matchup is delicious and he’s a QB2 worthy of your roster.

Chris Johnson (RB) – 9.4% Ownership

As much as we want, need rookie David Johnson to prove our training camp assessments correct, Bruce Arians claims Chris Johnson is the new No. 1 back in Arizona until Andre Ellington’s knee heals.

This is a case of opportunity equating to waiver wire claim. I own Ellington in one league and am hesitant to rent CJ2K because of this rationale, but with few options on the waiver wire in a 14-team league, Johnson will probably land on my roster. Also worth noting, the Cardinals face the 49ers and Rams in two of their next games. Plus, I truly believe once Arians stops being stubborn D. Johnson will parlay his 55-yard touchdown catch and run into something more very soon.

The Smart Crowd

Pierre Garcon – 34.5% Ownership

With DeSean Jackson sidelined for the immediate future with a pesky hamstring, Garcon will only fight with tight end Jordan Reed for targets.

Speaking of which, Garcon is only two years removed from a season in which he averaged 11.5 targets per game. He saw eight targets, caught six balls for 74 yards in Week 1 against the Dolphins. Reed finished with a team-high 11 targets with seven receptions for 63 yards with a touchdown.

Regardless, Garcon is a must-add in PPR leagues.

Terrance Williams – 40.2% Ownership

If the plan truly is for the Cowboys to run the ball 30 times per game, Williams will need to butter his bread in the red zone with Dez Bryant (foot) sidelined.

How’s this for a fun fact: last season Bryant led the Cowboys in red zone targets with 15 or 26.3 percent of the teams red zone targets. Williams finished with 13 RZ targets or 22.8 percent.

Kendall Wright – 35.1% Ownership

Although I didn’t expect his ownership to soar over 50 at the start of the season, I didn’t expect Wright to come in so low.

He finished a perfect 4-4 for 101 yards with a touchdown against the Buccaneers. Get him prepped for a start against the Browns.

Ronnie Hillman – 27.9% Ownership

C.J. Anderson didn’t look healthy against the Ravens and Hillman had one of the best preseasons and looked strong against the stout Ravens’ rush defense that slowed Anderson. Both finished with 12 carries with Hillman averaging 3.4 YPR – not great. A Hillman waiver claim is a long play, but could find his way into the starting lineup sooner rather than later.

Lance Dunbar – 2.5% Ownership

Friendly in PPR scoring leagues with Dez out.

Brandon Coleman – 3.4% Ownership

Solid start to his Saints' career.

Rishard Matthews – Less than 1% Ownership

Deep leagues only, but Tannehill isn't hesitant to throw to him.