Week 2 Wide Receivers - Waiver Wire Pickups and Adds

September 11, 2018

Kyle Richardson's recommended fantasy football wide receiver waiver wire pickups for Week 2. These are your free agent fantasy WRs to add, and potential PPR sleepers to stash in 2018.

Welcome to my Week 2 Wide Receiver Waiver Wire additions column. I am excited to add this article to my bag of tricks for the 2018 season. Working the waiver wire is one of, if not the most important aspect to winning a fantasy football league. The one piece of advice I need to give this week though, is not to overreact. Your season is not over after Week 1 - so be smart with the waiver wire this week and look to enhance your team, not give it a face lift.

I split this article into a few different sections. Waiver wire priorities will range from players you should try to add with some urgency, all the way to players you should keep your eye on, but don’t make the move just yet unless you are in a deeper league. I’ll also sprinkle in a few guys you can potentially move on from throughout the season.

Check here for a complete list of our Waiver Wire Adds for Week 2 for help at all the skill positions. As always, RotoBaller has you covered!

Front Runners for Week 2 - Waiver Wire Wide Receivers

This group consists of wide receivers that I would recommend adding if they are available on your waiver wire. Some are more viable for PPR formats, so take note of that. These players have either earned a greater workload due to injury/performance issues or have shown that they can be weekly contributors to their NFL teams. All players listed have 50% or less ownership levels across fantasy leagues.

Danny Amendola, MIA - 31% owned (5-10% of FAAB)

Devante Parker was absent in Week 1, so someone needed to be the WR2 behind Kenny Stills who went for 106 yards on four receptions and two touchdowns. Even though Stills had the bid day, Danny Amendola had the second most targets and receptions on the team. Unfortunately, his longest reception was only eight yards. Amendola isn’t going to reach WR2 or WR3, but he is going to be a nice play in PPR leagues if he stays healthy.

I actually expect things to open up more for Amendola once Parker is healthy. Even though I am not a Parker fan, he will command more respect on the outside than Jakeem Grant or Albert Wilson. With Parker and Stills on the outside, Amendola will have much more room to roam in the middle of the field leading to larger gains and thus, more fantasy production. If you have injuries or didn’t draft the position well, Amendola is a nice stash in PPR leagues.

Phillip Dorsett, NE - 4% owned (5-7% of FAAB)

Maybe the former first-round pick has found a home in New England? For at least the next three weeks, Phillip Dorsett will have a role with the Patriots. Dorsett led the Patriots wide receivers in Week 1 with seven targets, which he turned into seven catches for 66 yards and a touchdown. We spoke about Dorsett and Cordaerelle Patterson at length last week on the RotoRevolution over on RotoBaller YouTube. My call was Dorsett because I thought he had the better chance to amass more targets and receptions, being a great flex play in PPR leagues.

I see this trend continuing for the next three weeks while we wait on Julian Edelman to return from his suspension. I was one who predicted a big Week 1 from Chris Hogan that did not come to fruition as Hogan had one catch for 11 yards on one target. Hogan has not done anything in his career to prove that he’s going to be one of Brady’s favorite targets. If Dorsett can gain Brady’s trust the next couple of weeks, he could be third on the target list behind Rob Gronkowski and Edleman. Maybe Edelman doesn’t come back productive right away? Dorsett is a guy to add before it’s too late.

Cole Beasley, DAL - 8% owned (7-10% of FAAB)

Another PPR favorite of mine this off-season. For all the questions I got, “Would you rather have Allen Hurns or Michael Gallup?” I always answered Cole Beasley. Two years ago, Beasley was Dak Prescott’s favorite target. In 2016 Beasley had 75 catches for 833 yards and five touchdowns. Beasley ended the year as the WR33 in PPR leagues.

In Week 1, Beasley looked like Prescott’s favorite target again against the Carolina Panthers. Beasley led the Cowboys in targets with eight and had seven receptions for 73 yards. Those numbers aren’t going to jump off the page all year long, but in PPR league, you will want to stash the potential WR1 for the Cowboys. If you are in standard, I wouldn’t be as interested but it would be worth keeping an eye on if the touchdowns start to come.

Quincy Enunwa, NYJ- 9% owned (10-15% of FAAB)

I wrote an article prior to the 2017 season and listed Qunicy Enunwa as one of my top breakout candidates. It appears I was right, but it only took a year to happen. Enunwa is not only back, but he could be the WR1 in New York now. Enunwa had 10 targets for the Jets Monday night against the Lions, which was one less than the rest of the team COMBINED. That is a huge split that needs to be monitored. Was it because top corner back Darius Slay a reason why Robby Anderson had one catch for 41 yards? Or is this the way the Jets offense will roll the rest of the season? Either way, Enunwa is a guy you need to have on your team right away. Spend with ease.

In the Running for Week 2 - Waiver Wire Wide Receivers

This group consists of wide receivers widely available on the waiver wire who aren't must-adds but could be worth stashing or streaming if the above options are already taken or if you are dealing with injuries.  

Dante Pettis, SF - 1% owned (3-5% of FAAB)

This addition is really going to depend on the health of Marquise Goodwin. As of Monday night, we still have not heard if Goodwin could miss any time and what injury he sustained. If Goodwin is missing an extended period, then Pettis would move to the section above. He didn’t have the volume in Week 1 against the Minnesota Vikings, but he did have the big play.

Pettis was able to haul in two of his five targets for 61 yards and a touchdown against the Vikings and would certainly become the deep threat for the Vikings without Goodwin. Pierre Garcon would get the biggest bump in production as the senior pass catcher on the team, but Pettis would always be one big play away from at least WR3 production. If you play in a league that rewards big plays, I would be willing to spend a little extra on him. Again, this all depends on Goodwin. Keep an eye on that news before pulling the trigger.

John Brown, BAL - 20% owned (3-5% of FAAB)

Some of us were excited to see John Brown make the transition from Arizona to Baltimore and so far, so good. While others have been buying Michael Crabtree over the off-season, I’ve been practicing my new tagline of #NeverCrabtree and been buying Brown instead.

The move from the higher elevation in Arizona to a lower elevation in Baltimore has been one reason why Brown had the potential to bounce back in 2018. His sickle cell syndrome won’t be as big of an issue playing at home. He produced 44 yards on three catches to go along with a touchdown again the Bills and the Ravens seemed poised to establish the passing game in Week 1. After the Alex Collins fumble in the first half, the Ravens threw on 15 of the next 16 plays to close out the first half. If the Ravens find a more balanced approach this season, Brown could see some bigger plays. I don’t think Crabtree will be the guy to stretch the field, so give me the big playmaker for the Ravens instead.

Dark Horses for Week 2 - Waiver Wire Wide Receivers

This group consists of wide receivers who need some more time to show us what they have but should be on our radar still. Don’t jump to add them yet, but another week or two could prove to be fruitful.  

Bruce Ellington, HOU - 2% owned (0% of FAAB)

There are three constants in life. Death, taxes and Will Fuller injuries. It didn’t take long for the Fuller injury to show up in 2018 as Fuller was inactive for Week 1. Deshaun Watson was the QB2 in almost all draft formats this year and fantasy owners were expecting huge things this season. If Watson is going to produce big numbers, he is going to need more than just DeAndre Hopkins to throw the ball to.

Bruce Ellington doesn’t scream fantasy star or even fantasy starter, but like I said, someone will need to catch balls from Watson if this offense is supposed to produce. Ellington had eight targets in Week 1 and found the end zone once as well. If you play in a deep league or have deep rosters, Ellington is a guy for you to pay attention to. Last season Ellington played in 11 games last season while starting six and also had a career high in targets.

Zay Jones, BUF - 1% owned (1-3% of FAAB)

Do we dare get sucked in by Zay Jones yet again? One of the more popular rookie wide receivers from last season didn't really showcase his true ability in 2017. It was also to be expected that he may lose some value heading into 2018 because the Bills really aren't that good. Nathan Peterman hit the bench in Week 1, so will Josh Allen be the starter next week?

Jones was able to haul in three of his six targets for 26 yards which doesn't sound great, but I think it's worth keeping an eye on. I would love to see Jones working out of the slot exclusively where he would be a much better weapon. I could see a Nelson Agholor type rise for him to PPR relevancy if that happens. Jones is more of a quick twitch guy. He can beat you with that sudden burst and quick move, but he's not going to pull away. I'm not making a move for him yet, but I will be adding him to my watch list.

Say Goodbye for Week 2 - Wide Receiver Drops

This group consists of wide receivers who don't need to be owned. They aren't necessarily must-drop players, but if you need the roster space for one of the above players, don't hesitate to cut bait to chase upside.

For this week, I am not listing anyone here unless we find we will be losing guys for the rest of the year. I keep telling owners the same thing, it’s too early to overreact. Just because Week 1 didn’t go your way or one of your off-season touts didn’t jump off the page first thing, don’t give up yet. Let’s get through Week 2 and then I will start to expand on this section more.

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