Chances are, if you’re here reading this, you got unlucky with an injury in your first matchup, or your expectations for a certain player didn’t go as planned. Now, it’s only been one week into the season, so you can still stash those late-round flyers that you think have a chance to boom, but if you need an immediate upgrade already, here are my favorite fantasy football Week 2 pickups on the waiver wire.
And, of course, a few players that are worth dropping from your team, but not necessarily must-drop candidates by any means.
Players must be owned in less than 60 percent of ESPN leagues to be included in the fantasy football Week 2 pickups column. All ownerships for waiver wire players will be provided and will reflect that of Monday evening.
Fantasy Football Week 2 Pickups
QB Waiver Wire Pickups
Jared Goff | QB | Los Angeles Rams (42.1%)
Jared Goff failed to throw a touchdown in Week 1 against Dallas, but still put up 275 yards while completing 64.5% of his passes. He’s a good fantasy football Week 2 pickup because of the strength of his upcoming schedule, facing the Eagles, Bills, Giants and the Washington Football Team. Now, the Bills are an exception, as their pass defense is solid, but the Rams have a high-powered offense. Goff should have a great game Week 2 against the Eagles, who have always struggled with pass defense and lost to Washington in Week 1 with Dwayne Haskins at QB. So, Goff could put up great numbers in the next coming weeks, if he can find the end zone.
Jimmy Garoppolo | QB | San Francisco 49ers (39.5%)
All of those people talking trash about Jimmy G, saying that he can’t throw the ball and that the Niners offense is only going to score points on the ground, are awfully quiet. He didn’t torch the Cardinals by any means in his Week 1 matchup, but still put up a solid stat line in 259 yards and two touchdowns with zero interceptions. But, Jimmy G is a great add here for the strength of his schedule over the next four weeks, facing the Jets, Giants, Eagles and Dolphins — all mediocre pass defending teams with the exception of Miami, adding Byron Jones to the secondary beside Xavien Howard.
Gardner Minshew | QB | Jacksonville Jaguars (14.9%)
Minshew Mania! After an amazing 2020 debut, completing 19 of his 20 passes for 173 yards and three touchdowns against a stout Colts defense, he should be on the radar of everyone in need of a backup stash or even a starter. Hell, he’s my QB1 in one of my leagues. Gardner Minshew, like Jimmy G, has a great upcoming schedule to do some damage, facing the Titans, Dolphins, Bengals and Texans. It seemed as if the Jags were going to tank this season, but Minshew Mania said “hold my beer” and put on a show in Week 1. I love his upside this year, along with his targets in DJ Chark Jr. and rookie Laviska Shenault Jr. Grab him everywhere you can, even if he’s your backup.
RB Waiver Wire Pickups
Nyheim Hines | RB | Indianapolis Colts (34.2%)
With Marlon Mack going down for the season with a torn Achilles, Nyheim Hines should be a given here. Now, the Colts obviously still have widely talked about rookie Jonathan Taylor, who will likely get more usage in the next coming weeks, but Hines is familiar with the offense and HC Frank Reich knows he can produce at a consistent level. He carried the ball seven times for 28 yards and a touchdown, but the more interesting stat is that he had eight catches for 45 yards and a touchdown as well, the most receptions by any player on the Colts offense. Even if the Colts sign a free agent running back to lessen the workload of both backs, Hines will see the usage, especially on third downs and the pass game. Grab him now before he’s rostered in every league.
James Robinson | RB | Jacksonville Jaguars (29.1%)
Not a single running back on the Jags roster carried the ball besides Robinson in Week 1. He carried the ball 16 times for 62 yards and a touchdown, along with reeling in one catch for 28 yards. With the backfield still being questionable behind Robinson, he is in line for even more touches next game and likely for the most of the season. He’s the starting running back and only rostered at 29.1%, so grab him as soon as you can, before it’s too late.
This is every fantasy player’s dream — to be able to grab a starting running back as a fantasy football Week 2 pickup. Do it.
Fantasy Football Week 2 Pickups
WR Waiver Wire Pickups
Laviska Shenault Jr. | WR | Jacksonville Jaguars (6.7%)
It’s likely that Laviska Shenault’s rostered percentage is so low because he’s a rookie and on the Jaguars, an offense that was extremely questionable in 2019. If Minshew can put up a solid season, Shenault will be his second target, behind DJ Chark Jr. Shenault pulled in three catches on four targets for 37 yards, with one pretty looking touchdown. The Jags won’t only use him in the pass game either, as he carried the ball twice for 10 yards in Week 1. He could be a sneaky stash to see how he develops over the season, but I’d grab him before someone else tries to do the same thing.
Mike Williams | WR | Los Angeles Chargers (48.4%)
We all know how it goes with Mike Williams each year. You draft him, beg for whatever quarterback is starting to throw the ball to him because he’s so big and athletic, but he usually ends up getting hurt. Sounds pretty familiar, right?
Well, the Chargers don’t have Philip Rivers behind center for the first time since 2004. Tyrod Taylor targeted Williams nine times in Week 1 against the Bengals. That’s one more target than the WR1, Keenan Allen. If Taylor keeps up the trend in the coming weeks, Williams could put up some solid fantasy points. His next four games are against the Chiefs, Panthers, Bucs and Saints — all teams who are arguably weak in the pass defense.
Parris Campbell | WR | Indianapolis Colts (29.8%)
Parris Campbell is a sneaky pickup, simply because his usage is there. He caught 6-of-9 targets for 71 yards last week against the Jags. He seems to be much more involved in the offense this season than he did last year. He’s the second option in the pass game, behind T.Y Hilton, and also has to fight for targets with rookie Michael Pittman Jr., but his position in the offense seems important enough. His next four games are solid matchups as well, facing the Vikings, Jets, Bears and then Browns. If Rivers continues to target him a lot, he could see a major step up in fantasy points from his 2019 season.
TE Waiver Wire Pickups
Dallas Goedert | TE | Philadelphia Eagles (27.2%)
Well, Dallas Goedert finished as the TE1 after Week 1. Yeah, read that over again. But, it makes sense due to the lack of weapons available right now for Carson Wentz. With injuries plaguing their offense already, both Zach Ertz and Goedert will be the main targets in the offense. In Week 1, he caught all but one target, reeling in eight catches for 101 yards and a touchdown. Regardless of his matchup, he will be a main beneficiary as long as the offense is banged up. Now, it’s obvious that he’s second to Ertz, but he certainly outplayed him last week. If Ertz were ever to go down with an injury, it’d be like he never left, with Goedert filling that hole.
Chris Herndon | TE | New York Jets (41.0%)
It blows my mind that Chris Herndon is rostered nearly 15% more than Goedert is, but Herndon is the TE1 for the Jets. He’s had a lackluster career thus far, plagued with injuries, but if he stays healthy, he’s likely the second-best pass-catcher on that team. With injuries to their receivers, Sam Darnold will need to target different guys if they want a shot to win some games. Herndon put up six catches for only 37 yards against a Buffalo defense that ranked top-five defending tight ends last season. He’s a huge guy that has good hands. Herndon is worth the fantasy football Week 2 pickup.
Possible Drop Candidates
QB: Tyrod Taylor, Philip Rivers
RB: Marlon Mack (IR), Kerryon Johnson, Matt Breida
WR: Larry Fitzgerald, N’Keal Harry
TE: Blake Jarwin (IR), Jimmy Graham
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