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Week 2 fantasy football waiver wire pickups for Jonnu Smith, Harold Fannin Jr., and Juwan Johnson in 2025. Read their waiver wire outlooks for fantasy football.
With position scarcity in mind, there's almost always an undrafted gem at the tight end position. There's one on this list who led fantasy managers to championships in 2024.
With George Kittle managing a hamstring injury, there is at least one fantasy manager in every league on the prowl for a replacement tight end, and there are some intriguing options widely available.
Are Jonnu Smith, Harold Fannin Jr., or Juwan Johnson worth adding off the waiver wire in Week 2? Here are the latest fantasy football outlooks for each tight end.
Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for 2025:- 2025 fantasy football rankings
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Jonnu Smith Week Waiver Wire Outlook
Rostered: 30% of leagues
Baller Move: Add in 12+ Team Leagues
Find someone who loves you like Arthur Smith loves Jonnu Smith.
Now in their third city together, the Pittsburgh offensive coordinator has made it a point, sometimes to the detriment of developing young talent (see: Pitts, Kyle), to carve out a role for the journeyman tight end. That was still apparent in their Pittsburgh debut.
It's not that Smith played an overwhelming amount of snaps compared to his teammates, Pat Freiermuth and Darnell Washington, but he was the target favorite and had a jet sweep designed for him near the goal line.
Jonnu Smith takes the jet touch pass for a @Steelers TD
PITvsNYJ on CBS/Paramount+https://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/NKk2ReODKB
— NFL (@NFL) September 7, 2025
Smith led the tight end room in snaps (37) and targets (six), but Freiermuth ran the same number of routes and led the position in yards. Washington was on the field for a little less than half of Pittsburgh's offensive snaps. You've heard of a running back committee. Pittsburgh has a tight end committee.
Of the trio, Smith is the Pittsburgh tight end to roster, if you're forced to roster any. He is the best red zone threat of the group, and, because the Steelers have a weak wide receiver corps outside of DK Metcalf, multiple tight ends are on the field more often than not. Smith, when all is said and done, may be nothing more than a touchdown-or-bust option at the position.
Harold Fannin Jr. Waiver Wire Outlook
Rostered: 2% of leagues
Baller Move: Add in 12+ Team Leagues
In a juicy Week 1 matchup against a bottom-dweller Cincinnati defense, it wasn't Jerry Jeudy or David Njoku who led the Browns in receptions. The rookies, running back Dylan Sampson (eight) and Fannin (seven), converted the most of their opportunities. Fannin led the team with nine targets.
Fannin was a record-breaking consensus All-American while playing for the MAC's Bowling Green Falcons. His fantasy football outlook took a ding when the Browns selected him in the third round of the NFL Draft, because Njoku had already established himself as a top-10 tight end. As it turns out, they may be able to coexist.
Njoku was on the field for 84 percent of Cleveland's snaps on Sunday, but the rookie wasn't too far behind at 72 percent. While Njoku mostly lined up as the traditional inline tight end, Fannin, on the other hand, was in the slot, out wide, and even in the backfield for a handful of snaps.
NFL Research notes on Browns standout rookies:
-TE Harold Fannin’s seven receptions are the most by a rookie TE in Week 1 in NFL history
-RB Dylan Sampson’s eight receptions tied with Tarik Cohen for the most by a rookie RB in their first career game since 1990
— Nick Shook (@TheNickShook) September 7, 2025
It makes more sense that the pair can play together because the Browns don't have a reliable wide receiver past Jeudy and Cedric Tillman. Fannin is going to see a lot of slot snaps, and the coaching staff should continue to scheme plays in his direction. While I wouldn't slot him in starting lineups just yet, he's worth an add to see if anything changes going forward. Of course, a benching of Joe Flacco could change the entire dynamic for the worse.
Juwan Johnson Waiver Wire Outlook
Rostered: 2% of leagues
Baller Move: Add in 12+ Team Leagues
You can't score fantasy points if you're on the sideline. Good thing Johnson was seldom a spectator in Week 1.
The veteran played 98.7% of the Saints' snaps (he missed just one play) en route to a career day. He tied his best mark for receptions (8), saw his second-most targets (11), and third-most yards (76). That usage puts him squarely on the fantasy football radar.
The fantasy managers have to decide if they want to plunge face-first into the New Orleans offense. Kellen Moore's offense is designed to get his weapons in place to make a play. Unfortunately, it's up to Spencer Rattler to put the football in the right place, and the result Sunday was a mixed bag, although he and Johnson barely missed on what would have been a game-tying touchdown.
Juwan Johnson’s near-game-tying TD catch in the frantic final seconds of the Saints’ 20-13 loss to the Cardinals. The 📸 images by @davidgrunfeldtp are as spectacular as Johnson’s effort. pic.twitter.com/jJ9TTqRzLS
— Jeff Duncan (@JeffDuncan_) September 7, 2025
Taysom Hill and Foster Moreau are on the PUP list and will be inactive for at least four games. As long as that remains the case, Johnson is going to see almost all of the tight end snaps. The Saints may not be favored to win any game this season, so Rattler's 46 pass attempts on Sunday may become more of a trend than an anomaly.
Who Should I Pickup Tool
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Popular Player Comparison Searches - Who To Pickup
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