Wide Receiver Waiver Wire Pickups - Week 2

Justin Carter's fantasy football wide receiver waiver wire pickups for Week 2 of the 2021 NFL season. His free agent WRs to add, stream and stash off waivers.

NFL Week 1 is in the books -- aside from the Monday game -- and wow, some exciting football. The Houston Texans won a game, for instance!

Below, you'll find some wideouts that you should be targeting on the waiver wire ahead of Week 2.

Not all options are the same. Some players may be better in PPR or deeper leagues, so it’s not a one-size-fits-all comparison. Use your best judgment when deciding which of these players is the right fit for your roster. Check out our Waiver Wire Adds for Week 2 for help at all the skill positions. All players on this list here are around 40% rostered or below.

• 2025 fantasy football rankings
• Running back (RB) fantasy football rankings
• Wide receiver (WR) fantasy football rankings
• Tight end (TE) fantasy football rankings
• Quarterback (QB) fantasy football rankings
• FLEX fantasy football rankings
• Defense (D/ST) fantasy football rankings
• Kicker (K) fantasy football rankings
• Dynasty fantasy football rankings

Cole Beasley, Buffalo Bills

45% rostered

The Bills offense struggled on Sunday, but Cole Beasley was targeted 13 times, finishing with eight catches for 60 yards. Beasley will rarely have a ton of yards or a touchdown, but he's a reliable short-yardage option for quarterback Josh Allen, and that makes him a must-roster guy in full PPR leagues. I can understand being hesitant to roster or play him in 0.5-PPR and especially in standard, but if you get a whole point for each Cole Beasley catch then you'll have a high floor any time you flex him in.

Sterling Shepard, New York Giants

39% rostered

It wasn't a great day for the New York Giants, who lost 27-13 to the Broncos. But Sterling Shepard had a solid game, as he was targeted nine times, catching seven passes for 113 yards and a touchdown. The Giants will be playing from behind a lot this season, so I expect Shepard to consistently perform this year. He should be rostered in way more leagues. New York won't be good this year, but the offense might produce a lot of fantasy points.

DeVante Parker, Miami Dolphins

39% rostered

With Will Fuller V suspended, DeVante Parker led the Dolphins wideouts with seven targets. He caught four passes for 81 yards. He's third on the team in rostered percentage, but I think in full PPR leagues, Parker is the most reliable of these receivers, as he should lead the team in targets most weeks. He should probably be closer to 50-55 percent rostered.

Nelson Agholor, New England Patriots

33% rostered

Agholor was a game-time decision today. He played and he predictably was a solid option for quarterback Mac Jones, being targeted seven times and catching five passes for 72 yards and a score. Agholor might not reach the heights he did in Vegas last year, but he'll be a consistent player on an offense that'll be in dire need of some consistency.

Rondale Moore, Arizona Cardinals

27% rostered

The Rondale Moore breakout that everyone had been talking about didn't happen, but he still opened his NFL career with four catches for 68 yards. With A.J. Green converting just two of his six targets into catches, it's not a stretch to think Moore winds up with additional snaps on the outside going forward. This Cardinals offense also looks like it'll be scoring points through the air more than we expected, and Moore could take advantage of that.

Emmanuel Sanders, Buffalo Bills

21% rostered

Sanders was questionable heading into Sunday's game, but he wound up playing and had a strong showing. He was third in the pecking order in targets with eight, behind Stefon Diggs and Cole Beasley but ahead of Gabriel Davis. Davis did catch a touchdown, but Sanders saw more usage, so if I were adding the Bills third receiver, I would still assume that person is Sanders, who had four catches for 52 yards. Maybe I'll be wrong and Davis will leap past him, but for now, Sanders it is.

Jalen Reagor, Philadelphia Eagles

21% rostered

As a rookie, Jalen Reagor didn't have a lot of good games. This year, he opened the season with six catches for 49 yards and a touchdown. That means Reagor has:

• already tied his TD total from last year
• set a new career-high in receptions
• tied for his third-most yards in a game

So, a good start to the season for a player whose role heading into this season was in question. Reagor was one of just three Eagles wide receivers to be targeted, and he's clearly ahead of everyone but DeVonta Smith right now at receiver in the pecking order. With Philly throwing the ball better than expected, Reagor suddenly has a lot of upside.

Christian Kirk, Arizona Cardinals

13% rostered

Remember when I said above that the Cardinals looked like they'd score through the air more this year? Well, in Week 1 they had four passing scores, and two of those went to Christian Kirk. I've been hyping Kirk all offseason as a solid deep league option, but if Kyler Murray is going to be targeting him in the end zone, then there's even more upside to Kirk than I originally thought.

Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Green Bay Packers

13% rostered

The Packers lost 38-3 to New Orleans. It was bad. Really, really bad. But MVS was targeted eight times. Usually if Aaron Rodgers is targeting you eight times, you'll have a good game. Valdes-Scantling caught just three passes for 17 yards, but I trust this offense won't look so bad going forward, in which case this level of usage will lead to some better showings.

Darius Slayton, New York Giants

3% rostered

I never understood why Slayton was rostered in so few leagus. After he was targeted seven times this week, I understand it even less. Sure, he had just three catches, but Slayton had 65 yards. He's a big-play receiver who'll get a good number of targets each week. Sure, the floor is low, but the ceiling is high and he should be rostered in deeper leagues.

Tim Patrick, Denver Broncos

1% rostered

Jerry Jeudy suffered a pretty gnarly ankle sprain on Sunday and will likely be missing some time. There will be a lot of talk about whether it'll be K.J. Hamler or Tim Patrick that you should pick up. Me? I think Patrick is the guy, and not just because he had a touchdown catch this week. Patrick was the guy last year who saw the most usage when Courtland Sutton was out and I think he'll have a solid role going forward. This Broncos offense won't consistently deliver, but Patrick is worth a roster spot in deep leagues.

Zach Pascal, Indianapolis Colts

1% rostered

The Colts receiving unit with T.Y. Hilton injured is gong to be tough to figure out, but this week Zach Pascal led the receivers in targets, catches, and receiving yards. Oh, and he had two touchdowns too.

The least rostered of the team's three main receivers, it's hard to know if we should actually read much into this game. But in deeper leagues, why not take a risk on Pascal, considering Carson Wentz seems to like throwing him the ball in end zone, which

Quintez Cephus, Detroit Lions

0% rostered

"Will any Lions receivers be worth a roster spot" was a big question heading into this week. The answer so far seems to be...not really? Tyre;l Williams had two catches. Amon-Ra St. Brown had two catches. Kalif Raymond had three catches for 50 yards, but I just don't really know if I want to pick up Kalif Raymond, you know? And Trinity Benson was targeted six times, but...who is Trinity Benson?

Cephus led the team with seven targets. He only had three catches for 12 yards, bu he did score a touchdown. Jared Goff might just spread the ball around too much for anyone to be fantasy relevant, but if someone emerges, this week suggested that it could be Cephus.

K.J. Osborn, Minnesota Vikings

0% rostered

A third Vikings receiver was a bunch of targets??? What world is this???

Osborn was targeted nine times, catching seven catches for 76 yards. That probably was because the game script called for a ton of pass attempts. But when last year's third-most targeted wideout was Chad Beebe with 30 targets, we have to take note of someone basically getting a third of the way to that total in one game, right? I'm not sold on this being sustainable, but my interest is at least piqued.

Braxton Berrios, New York Jets

0% rostered

Berrios was targeted seven times. "Seven targets" was my line for whether or not I at least mentioned a player this week, so I'm mentioning Braxton Berrios, who has deep-league appeal IF the Jets are without Keelan Cole and Jamison Crowder again next week.

More Waiver Wire Pickups and Advice