Fantasy Football Waiver Wire: Early Adds For Week 2
Here's a look at some players to add off your fantasy football waiver wire heading toward Week 2.
Week 1 of the 2024 season is nearly in the books. For fantasy football managers, it’s never too early to start looking toward the next week. Overreacting to a Week 1 result is not advised, but early opportunities to make roster tweaks shouldn’t be ignored either. Injuries also layer into the situation.
Without further ado, as I take this weekly Sunday night piece to All The Balls this year, here are your fantasy football waiver wire adds for Week 2.
Isaiah Likely, TE, Baltimore Ravens
Likely had nine catches (on 12 targets) for 111 yards and a touchdown against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 1, as he saw more playing time and involvement than expected with Mark Andrews healthy. And Likely was a toe away from having two touchdowns in the game.
Andrews surely has better days ahead, and Likely won’t have many days like last Thursday night. That said, if the Ravens use two tight ends a lot and playing time in 11 personnel (one tight end) is split anywhere near like it was against the Chiefs (h/t to Nathan Jahnke of Pro Football Focus), Likely will have some fantasy value.
Likely is hardly a lineup lock for Week 2 against the Las Vegas Raiders, or any week Andrews is healthy for that matter. But he should still be rostered in all 12-team leagues.
Yahoo! Ownership: 28%
ESPN Ownership: 9.7%
J.K. Dobbins, RB, Los Angeles Chargers
Dobbins had 10 carries for 135 yards, highlighted by a 61-yard run, with a touchdown on Sunday against the Las Vegas Raiders. He differentiated himself from backfield mate Gus Edwards with passing game involvement (three catches for four yards) and third down usage (11 of 13 third down snaps, according to Nathan Jahnke of Pro Football Focus).
The key for Dobbins is health. He has missed the better part of the last three seasons due to a torn ACL (2021), another knee injury (2022) and a torn Achilles’ (2023). Sharing early down work with Edwards as he did Sunday should help keep him fresh, and reduce injury risk.
Dobbins is available in less than 25 percent of ESPN leagues, and a little over half of Yahoo! leagues. Regardless, he should be added in any 12-team league where he’s available this week.
Yahoo! Ownership: 49%
ESPN Ownership: 76.9%
Bucky Irving, RB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Irving had nine carries for a team-high 62 yards against the Washington Commanders on Sunday, along with two catches (on three targets) for 14 yards. He notably outdid Rachaad White (15 carries for 31 yards) on the ground, but White reversed things in the passing game with six catches for 75 yards).
Still, the preseason notion that Irving would deplete White’s volume-driven fantasy value came true in Week 1. In time, the snap split could even up with the rookie earning more simply because he has more juice as a runner.
Irving should be added in any league he’s available in.
Yahoo! Ownership: 21%
ESPN Ownership: 20.8%
Tank Bigsby, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars
Bigsby had 12 carries for a career-high 73 yards Sunday against the Miami Dolphins, with a long run of 26 yards. He played 17 snaps to Travis Etienne’s 37 in the game (per Nathan Jahnke of Pro Football Focus), so it’s not as if the lead back role is changing in Jacksonville. Not yet, anyway.
It’s notable that head coach Doug Pederson’s words from very early in the offseason about needing to get Bigsby more involved in the offense came to fruition with 12 carries and four routes run on those 17 snaps (h/t to Jahnke).
Bigsby has some standalone value if Sunday’s work split sticks, and his snap share could rise. At minimum, he has value as the handcuff to Etienne, which makes him a viable waiver wire add for Week 2.
Yahoo! Ownership: 5%
ESPN Ownership: 4.6%
Jaleel McLaughlin, RB, Denver Broncos
McLaughlin didn’t light up the box score on Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks, with 10 carries for 27 yards and five catches for one yard. But he did have more carries than Javonte Williams (eight carries for 23 yards) and more early down snaps than his backfield mate (h/t to Jahnke) to go with the expected heavier work in the passing game.
Williams should even the gap in passing game usage going forward, and in general the two-man backfield the Broncos will deploy as long as both are healthy will be annoying for fantasy managers. But McLaughlin was not drafted in enough leagues, and he should be added anywhere he’s available.
Yahoo! Ownership: 38%
ESPN Ownership: 44.4%
Zach Charbonnet, RB, Seattle Seahawks
Charbonnet had eight carries for 12 yards against the Denver Broncos on Sunday, but he also had two catches for 29 yards with a touchdown through the air. Kenneth Walker had 103 yards and a touchdown, on 20 carries, as Seattle’s lead back. But he also missed most of the fourth quarter after leaving with an abdomen injury.
Walker said he was good after the game, and head coach Mike Macdonald said little of substance when asked if Walker was ok.
“We think so. Got a little bit of a muscle thing. We’ll figure it out moving forward, but optimistic.”
If Walker were to be out or limited by his abdomen issue, Charbonnet would naturally see more work. Week 2 against the New England Patriots looks like a tough matchup, but Week 3 against the Miami Dolphins looks far easier.
Charbonnet has a solid level of ownership on both Yahoo! and ESPN, but if only on the chance Walker’s injury is more than is being led on early (as if, right) it’s worth checking on the second-year man’s availability.
Yahoo! Ownership: 47%
ESPN Ownership: 59.8%
Wan’Dale Robinson, WR, New York Giants
Robinson had six receptions for 44 yards (on a team-high 12 targets), along with one carry for 14 yards, on Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings. The overall ineptitude of the Giants’ offense and quarterback Daniel Jones puts a natural limit on his ceiling, but that’s nothing new when we talk about Giants’ pass catchers.
Robinson was clearly the No. 3 receiver on Sunday, playing 47 of the Giants’ 70 offensive snaps (h/t to Jahnke). The two receivers who played more snaps than him (Malik Nabers and Darius Slayton), combined for one fewer target.
Robinson’s fantasy value is rooted in volume; snaps and targets. He has far more appeal in PPR formats, but he’s worth adding in any PPR league with at least 12 teams heading into Week 2.
Yahoo! Ownership: 10%
ESPN Ownership: 6.9%
Josh Downs, WR, Indianapolis Colts
Downs did not play Sunday against the Houston Texans, but he’s not almost exactly a month removed from ankle injury early in camp. His return could come in Week 2 against the Green Bay Packers.
Last year as a rookie, Downs had 68 catches for 771 yards and two touchdowns. It’s worth noting he had nice rapport with the now-departed Gardner Minshew, and he only had two full games with Anthony Richardson with seven and three targets respectively. But the two had good rapport going in camp before Downs was injured, and it could very well pick up again quickly.
Until his return date is totally clear, Downs is more of an add-and-stash with better appeal in PPR leagues. But he can be added this week, on the chance his return to action comes in Week 2.
Yahoo! Ownership: 26%
ESPN Ownership: 10.5%
Justin Fields, QB, Pittsburgh Steelers
With Russell Wilson (calf) out, Fields got the start in Week 1 against the Atlanta Falcons and went 17-for-23 for 156 yards along with 14 carries for 57 yards (11.94 fantasy points).
Wilson’s status for Week 2 against the Denver Broncos is unclear. But with an injury that dates back to the preseason re-emerging, caution should remain. And while Fields did not play great on Sunday, he didn’t crush George Pickens’ production (six catches for 85 yards) and he offers added fantasy value as a runner that Wilson just doesn’t anymore. The Steelers also won.
There is risk that Fields doesn’t start in Week 2, and whenever Wilson is healthy he might start. But in leagues with 12 or more teams, with some tilt toward superflex leagues where a bench stash of a quarterback is more viable, Fields is on the waiver wire radar as we move toward Week 2.
Yahoo! Ownership: 14%
ESPN Ownership: 11%