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Fantasy football waiver wire pickups analysis for Brenton Strange, Michael Mayer, Dalton Schultz in Week 2 (2026). Read their waiver wire outlooks for fantasy football.
The tight end position is often the most difficult to fill on a weekly basis, especially if you avoided the high-end players in your drafts. There simply aren't many players at the position that score tons of fantasy points.
The bright side of that is that it doesn't take a TE that scores a high amount of points to give you an advantage in your fantasy leagues. Which, in turn, makes the waiver wire at this position far more interesting.
The handful of elite TEs will probably get drafted every season. But 2025 Harold Fannin Jr. and 2023 Sam LaPorta are examples of gold being struck for free. So let's break down three potential future starting fantasy TEs for waiver wire pickups ahead of Week 2 of 2026!
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Brenton Strange Week 2 Waiver Wire Pickups
Rostered in 31% of leagues
Jacksonville Jaguars tight end Brenton Strange got in on the action in a Week 1 blowout win over the Cleveland Browns by catching two of his three targets for 23 yards and a touchdown. Anyone managing Strange on their fantasy rosters would have wanted him to have more volume, though.
Strange has always been a secondary option in his offense, whether it was behind WR Brian Thomas Jr. (shoulder) or slot receiver Parker Washington. Strange has played well, but just doesn't get a ton of looks in the passing game. That said, it was a low overall passing volume game for QB Trevor Lawrence, as the game got out of hand quickly.
what a throw by Trevor Lawrence here on that Josh Cameron TD. Gives the flash of the eyes to hold the Safety *just* enough and splits 4 Browns defenders. pic.twitter.com/FQ1vqA18ri
— Nate Tice (@Nate_Tice) September 14, 2026
The Jaguars may spread the ball around a bit too much to anyone who isn't their slot receiver, which is unfortunate. The good news is that Lawrence is playing fantastic football. Jaguars head coach Liam Coen's passing offenses tend to run through the slot receiver.
A rising tide lifts all boats, and Strange is worth adding in the hopes that he can benefit from a high-volume passing attack this year.
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Michael Mayer Week 2 Waiver Wire Pickups
Rostered in 26% of leagues
Las Vegas Raiders tight end Michael Mayer signed a huge extension, by TE standards, just before Week 1 of the 2026 NFL season. He was targeted seven times in that game, catching six of those passes for 32 yards.
The status of elite TE Brock Bowers (knee) is worth monitoring moving forward. Bowers has struggled with a PCL injury in the same knee that caused him to miss time last year, and he had surgery to trim his meniscus in that knee before Week 1, in what came as a surprise.
Gotta give credit to Michael Taaffe for punching the ball out although Mayers arm was down.
Excellent effort by the rookie. pic.twitter.com/rtkluZFyKr
— Jason Sarney - Dolphins Wire (@Jason_Sarney) September 13, 2026
He's a big, athletic TE that simply is stuck behind a potential future Hall of Famer at the position. But Bowers isn't necessarily out of the woods even when he returns from his knee injury, as any setback could open the door for Mayer to return to the starting role. Mayer is worth holding, and adding in deeper 12+ team leagues.
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Dalton Schultz Week 2 Waiver Wire Pickups
Rostered in 48% of leagues
The biggest problem with most tight end waiver wire targets is a lack of volume in the passing game. That isn't really the case with Schultz. He saw his quarterback C.J. Stroud throw to him eight times, and hauled in four of those passes for 35 receiving yards.
The box score wasn't impressive, but it was encouraging usage. If he catches even two more of those passes, he would likely have been a hotter waiver target. The Texans have a bit of a target vacuum due to the injury to second-year pro Jayden Higgins, who was expected to take a leap this year.
CJ Stroud to Dalton Schultz for six more
AZvsHOU on FOX/FOX Onehttps://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/ODwgIJnkMg
— NFL (@NFL) December 14, 2025
The former Cowboy finished as the TE10 last season, and his usage was encouraging this year. He is worth viewing as a solid low-end TE1 in most 12-team leagues going forward.
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Who Should I Pickup Tool
Trying to decide who to pickup off the waiver wire? Check the Who Should I Pickup tool here:
Compare up to four players and we'll tell you who to pickup...
Who Should I Pickup? Some common 2026 fantasy football waiver wire decisions are regarding players like Brenton Strange, Michael Mayer, Dalton Schultz. We are here to help make these waiver wire decisions and build winning teams in 2026. Set your optimal fantasy football lineups in 2026. Our free Who Should I Pickup? tool will help make your fantasy football waiver wire decisions. Compare up to four NFL players, and we tell you who to pick up... all free! Make the right decisions.
2026 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players - Brenton Strange, Michael Mayer, Dalton Schultz. These are some common searches for 2026 fantasy football waiver wire pickups.
Using The Tool. This is a simple tool but very powerful. The first step is to enter the player names that you want to compare. In the first box, search for the first player name. In the second box, search for the second player name. Compare up to four NFL players at once, and then click the Who To Pickup? button to see who the recommended waiver wire pickups are based on fantasy football rankings, projections, and more.
Recent Improvements For Who Should I Pickup? You may have noticed, our Who Should I Pickup? tool has gotten an overhaul. We've added lots of great features for you to give you as much information as possible to win on the waiver wire in 2026. You'll see NFL player tiles with headshots and bye weeks, stats, projections, strength of schedule, enhanced search results with data to compare, and a slick new interface. We hope you enjoy!
How It Works. Our RotoBaller staff puts together their weekly fantasy football waiver wire rankings and projections based on their research, and updates them constantly throughout the week. That information is the core data that is powering the decision-making in this tool. When you search for player names, you will only see those players who are ranked.
Popular Waiver Wire Searches. Curious to see some tough waiver wire decisions for 2025? Below you will find a list of some popular Who Should I Pickup? searches that RotoBaller readers are looking at. Click any of the links to see the result and recommendation.
Popular Player Comparison Searches - Who To Pickup
Below are some popular searches and comparisons from our Who To Pickup tool for 2026 for Brenton Strange, Michael Mayer, Dalton Schultz:
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