Week 2 Waiver Wire Rankings - Fantasy Football Pickups Include J.K. Dobbins, Jaleel McLaughlin, Jordan Mason, Isaiah Likely, Rashid Shaheed, more

September 14, 2024

Fantasy football waiver wire rankings for Week 2 of the 2024 NFL season. Top free agent options to add off waivers, and our rankings will help you prioritize.

Hey, RotoBallers! What an incredible opening week of NFL action! And now that the 2024 season is really rolling, we are back with more fantasy football waiver wire advice. There were injuries and some role changes after a full slate of NFL games on Sunday. Today, we scour through the waiver wire and help you prioritize which players to add with our Week 2 fantasy football waiver wire rankings for 2024.

There are plenty of options to pick up off the waiver wire with Week 1 in the books. Fantasy managers don't want to overreact, but some questions need to be addressed after Sunday's games. Is J.K. Dobbins healthy and ready to bounce back after a few injury-plagued seasons? Will Jordan Mason lead the 49ers backfield with Christian McCaffrey ruled out for Week 1? Is Javonte Williams or Jaleel McLaughlin Denver's top back? Does Rashid Shaheed have a larger role in the Saints offense? Did Isaiah Likely supplant Mark Andrews as the Ravens' top tight end after that monster performance on Thursday night?

Our waiver wire rankings will help answer these questions -- they've been a staple in the fantasy industry for years, providing a quick-hit list of player names that goes deep into the free agent options each week. For those unfamiliar, one of the industry's sharpest fantasy football minds, Nick Mariano, brings you his weekly waiver wire rankings and priority adds for the top 60 potential options.

Week 2 Waiver Wire Articles

Before diving into the Week 2 rankings, let's look at some other free waiver wire resources available at RotoBaller, which are coming soon.

Each week, our NFL team puts out a complete array of fantasy football waiver wire articles to compliment our slick new Who Should I Pickup? Waiver wire player comparison tool. Bookmark it!

In addition, be on the lookout for our other waiver wire articles all season long. We will release weekly waiver wire articles for each position, FAAB bidding recommendations, streamers, and more. Stay tuned!

Who To Pickup for Fantasy Football Week 2?

Finally, below, you'll see our weekly rankings for the relevant waiver wire pickup options, including how to prioritize them for your league (depending on the league size). Quarterbacks and Defenses (D/ST) are grouped together at the bottom of the list:

Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Outlooks

Some of the top names include J.K. Dobbins, Isaiah Likely, Joshua Palmer, Alexander Mattison, and Tank Bigsby. We recap why these players rostered under 55% in Yahoo! leagues should be on your radar when scrolling through the waiver wire for Week 2:

Tank Bigsby, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars (5% Rostered)
Week 2 Waiver Wire Ranking: 14

Tank Bigsby was awful last year as a rookie, and despite being an elite handcuff, he has largely been ignored by fantasy managers. His 4.6% rostership percentage is criminally too low. In Week 1, he played 17 snaps to Travis Etienne's 37.

Bigsby ran just four routes to Etienne's 17. However, they finished with the same number of carries, 12 apiece. Bigsby finished with 73 yards to Etienne's 44. He was the superior running back this past weekend.

It should be noted that Etienne did get the goal-line carry and scored a touchdown. Bigsby's efficiency on the ground could lead to a more significant role. He'll hold some standalone value if he gets 8-to-10 carries per game.

If he can mix in some goal-line carries, he could be a touchdown-dependent RB3 on top of being an elite handcuff. He should be a priority add.

Alexander Mattison, RB, Las Vegas Raiders (4% Rostered)
Week 2 Waiver Wire Ranking: 12

This may very well be a backfield fantasy managers should avoid, but until we know that, it's worth taking a dart throw on Alexander Mattison.

After Week 1, it's clear that Mattison is the team's preferred pass-catching back, and given the fact that Las Vegas is unlikely to be very good this year, we could end up seeing quite a bit of Mattison.

Mattison ran 24 routes to Zamir White's 10. He out-targeted White six to two. He finished with four receptions, 43 yards, and a touchdown.

While we shouldn't expect a receiving touchdown most weeks, if we can count on the Raiders playing from behind, Mattison becomes a viable RB3 in PPR-scoring leagues.

He'll hold some stand-alone value in weeks when the Raiders are expected to be trailing, and if White falters or gets hurt, Mattison will be looking at a workhorse role.

Isaiah Likely, TE, Baltimore Ravens (28% Rostered)
Week 2 Waiver Wire Ranking: 7

Likely is... likely to be the No. 1 waiver wire target in most leagues this week. The Ravens tight end played 53 of a possible 80 snaps on Thursday night, just six behind Mark Andrews. He ran 35 routes, right on par with Andrews' 38.

Likely finished with 12 targets, nine receptions, 111 yards, and a touchdown. The 24-year-old scored 21.6 half-PPR points. Likely finished with a 29% target share and displayed a knack for gaining additional yards after the catch.

Likely has moved ahead of Rashod Bateman and is locked into being one of Lamar Jackson's top-three targets. Baltimore isn't always going to have 41 pass attempts, but at such a talent-deprived position like a tight end, Likely has shown a weekly ceiling most do not have.

J.K. Dobbins, RB, Los Angeles Chargers (49% Rostered)
Week 2 Waiver Wire Ranking: 1

J.K. Dobbins signed a one-year contract with the Chargers during the offseason, which coincided with the transformational arrival of Jim Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Greg Roman.

Dobbins’ relocation to Los Angeles reunited him with Roman, who operated in the same capacity with Baltimore from 2019 to 2022.

It also presented Dobbins with an opportunity to join an offense that will operate with an increased commitment to the run after ranking 31st in run play percentage (34.9%) and 28th in attempts per game (23.7) during 2023.

Dobbins registered his first touches since September 10, 2023, and capitalized on his opportunity to resuscitate his relevance. Dobbins erupted for 135 yards and a touchdown with his 10 attempts in Week 1 while also leading the reconstructed backfield in snap share (59%), routes run (13), and targets (three).

Gus Edwards attained a 41% snap share and carried 11 times but only manufactured 26 yards (2.4 per attempt). The Chargers also ran the ball 27 times in Week 1.

Dobbins should maintain his role in a rotation with Edwards, while touches should also be allocated to rookie Kimani Vidal as the season advances. However, Dobbins’ performance has vaulted him among this week’s top priorities from the waiver wire.

Rashid Shaheed, WR, New Orleans Saints (54% Rostered)
Week 2 Waiver Wire Ranking: 4

Last season with Rashid Shaheed, it felt like a big play was always around the corner. Sometimes it was. Other times, Shaheed never got going.

On a day when the Saints dominated against the Carolina Panthers, Shaheed tied for the team lead with five targets. He caught three of those for 73 yards and a touchdown. Most expect Shaheed to play a larger role in 2024, and his Week 1 performance backs that up.

Running Backs - Week 2 Waiver Wire Rankings

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Wide Receivers - Week 2 Waiver Wire Rankings

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Tight Ends - Week 2 Waiver Wire Rankings:

Pickups are in priority order:

Quarterbacks - Week 2 Waiver Wire Rankings

Pickups are in priority order, with emphasis on Week 2:

Defenses (D/ST) - Week 2 Waiver Wire Rankings

Pickups are in priority order, with emphasis on Week 2:

More Waiver Wire Analysis