With all but one game in the books for Week 1 of the 2023 season, it’s time to take a look at who stands out the most on the fantasy football waiver wire going into Week 2.
The Buffalo Bills and New York Jets will close out the week on “Monday Night Football”, so we’ll update this article should any relevant waiver wire options emerge from that game.
Buy Titans TicketsIt was a pretty ugly week in fantasy for the most part, as even some of the best in the business didn’t live up to their billing on Sunday. However, it’s important not to overreact to one game, as hard as that might be.
There weren’t many significant injuries to talk about, but J.K. Dobbins owners did lose him for the season after he suffered a torn Achilles.
Whether you were a Dobbins owner or are simply looking to improve your roster, we have plenty of waiver wire options to consider going into Week 2.
Each player has been given a priority level: “High” means you should go after the player aggressively, “low” is a bench stash and/or someone to simply keep an eye on, and “medium” falls somewhere in between.
Note: rostered percentages are based on ESPN leagues.
QB Derek Carr, New Orleans Saints
Rostered percentage: 28.1%
Carr went up against a good Titans defense in his Saints debut and produced, posting 305 yards and one touchdown to one interception.
Things should only get better from here as Carr, who has an impressive trio of weapons in Chris Olave, Michael Thomas and Juwan Johnson, gets more acclimated with his new team. He draws a favorable matchup against the Carolina Panthers in Week 2.
Priority level: High
RB Tyler Allgeier, Atlanta Falcons
Rostered percentage: 43.6%
For all the hype surrounding rookie running back Bijan Robinson, Allgeier was still very much involved in the offense. In fact, he had five more carries and reeled-in three receptions en route to 94 total yards and two scores.
Head coach Arthur Smith loves to run the football, so there might be room for two fantasy-relevant backs in Atlanta.
Priority level: High
RB Deon Jackson, Indianapolis Colts
Rostered percentage: 37.2%
With Jonathan Taylor out for the first four games and Zack Moss possibly set to miss one more game, Jackson figures to be the lead back once again in Week 2. Even if Moss returns, there’s a chance he gets eased into action.
Jackson wasn’t able to do much with the opportunity in Week 1, but he did receive 18 touches in the losing effort, which is a good workload for a back as widely available as he is.
A Week 2 matchup with the Houston Texans should lead to a better showing from the Colts running back.
Priority level: Medium
RBs Gus Edwards and Justice Hill, Baltimore Ravens
Edwards’ rostered percentage: 21.4%
Hill’s rostered percentage: 0.3%
With the unfortunate season-ending injury to Dobbins, the Ravens’ backfield is now up for grabs. If we’re going on the past, Edwards is the favorite to take a lead role in this backfield, but Hill is worth mentioning after he split carries with Edwards evenly.
No matter how things shake out, Edwards will likely be the goal-line option, at the very least. Prioritize grabbing him over Hill.
Priority level for Edwards: High
Priority level for Hill: Low
RB Kenneth Gainwell, Philadelphia Eagles
Rostered percentage: 21.5%
There was no telling how the Eagles’ backfield was going to shake out in Week 1, but we learned pretty quickly who the running back to own is in Philadelphia.
And it’s none other than Gainwell, who tallied a team-high 14 carries to go along with four receptions. Boston Scott and D’Andre Swift had one carry each, and Rashaad Penny wasn’t even active.
Priority level: High
RB Joshua Kelley, Los Angeles Chargers
Rostered percentage: 11.3%
In what was one of the more surprising developments of Sunday, Kelley actually split carries with Austin Ekeler, with both seeing 16 in total. And, Kelley was good with his carries, tallying 91 yards and a touchdown.
The fourth-year back has the potential for some standalone value moving forward, although he shouldn’t be deployed in lineups until we see more.
Priority level: Medium
RB Kyren Williams, Los Angeles Rams
Rostered percentage: 10.2%
Despite Cam Akers seeing a team-high 22 carries, Williams toted the rock 15 times and produced a better yards per carry (3.5 to 1.3), although it was nothing to write home about.
Williams was also the preferred goal-line back with a pair of scores and he saw two targets in the passing game to Akers’ zero. As a result of all that, Williams is a player to target on the waiver wire this week.
Priority level: Medium
WRs Tutu Atwell and Puka Nacua, Los Angeles Rams
Atwell’s rostered percentage: 5.9%
Nacua’s rostered percentage: 2.5%
Everyone expected Van Jefferson to be the Rams’ No. 1 wide receiver with Cooper Kupp out for the first four games, but it was actually a combination of Atwell and Nacua, both of whom tallied 119 yards.
There will likely be better days ahead for Jefferson while Kupp is sidelined, but for now Atwell and Nacua are more desirable waiver targets going into Week 2.
That said, they are more stash candidates than anything else until we see more.
Priority level for Atwell: Low
Priority level for Nacua: Low
WR Josh Reynolds, Detroit Lions
Rostered percentage: 0.4%
Reynolds got his season off on the right foot after leading the Lions in receiving yards (80) and finishing second in targets. He’s the Lions’ No. 2 option in the passing game behind Amon-Ra St. Brown, at least until Jameson Williams gets back from his six-game suspension.
Priority level: Low
WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Kansas City Chiefs
Rostered percentage: 22.9%
MVS has been a boom-or-bust player his entire career, but he’s also the No. 2 option in one of the best offenses in the NFL behind superstar tight end, Travis Kelce.
He only tallied 48 yards on two catches in Week 1, but he’s a big play waiting to happen and isn’t a bad emergency option to stash on your bench.
Priority level: Medium
WR Elijah Moore, Cleveland Browns
Rostered percentage: 57%
There was a lot of positive reporting on the offseason connection between Moore and his quarterback, Deshaun Watson, and that connection led to plenty of looks for Moore in Week 1.
Granted, he finished with just three catches for 43 yards, but he was also tied for the team lead in targets (seven) and finished tied for second in receptions. Adding to that, he recorded two carries for 19 yards.
Priority level: Low
WR Nico Collins, Houston Texans
Rostered percentage: 59.1%
Collins was C.J. Stroud’s preferred option in Week 1, with six receptions for 80 yards. His receptions were tied for a team-high, and he led all pass-catchers with 11 targets.
Priority level: Medium
WR Kendrick Bourne, New England Patriots
Rostered percentage: 2.3%
He didn’t rack up a ton of yards (64) but Bourne found the end zone twice and was clearly Mac Jones’ preferred target, as he saw four more targets (11) than anyone else on the team. His six receptions and 64 yards were both tied for tops among pass-catchers.
Priority level: Low
WR Rashid Shaheed, New Orleans Saints
Rostered percentage: 2%
Shaheed shined in Week 1 with five catches for 89 yards, with the latter ranking second on the team. He also found pay dirt, the only Saints pass-catcher to do so. Shaheed will likely amount to a boom-or-bust option moving forward and is only an option in deeper leagues.
Priority level: Low
TE Hayden Hurst, Carolina Panthers
Rostered percentage: 4.8%
Hurst was the Panthers’ leading receiver in Week 1. His five receptions, seven targets and 41 yards were all tops on the team, and he found the end zone once.
We know rookie quarterbacks love their tight ends, and that could keep Hurst relevant all year long.
Priority level: Medium
TE Hunter Henry, New England Patriots
Rostered percentage: 4.1%
Henry’s five receptions and 56 yards were both third on the team and tops among tight ends, and he found the end zone. He also played 30 more snaps than Mike Gesicki. Henry is worth taking a flyer on.
Priority level: Low
TE Juwan Johnson, New Orleans Saints
Rostered percentage: 42.8%
Johnson was a touchdown machine from Weeks 7-15 last season, leading to his ranking as TE7 in that span. He ultimately finished as TE15, but he also had a terrible situation under center.
This year, Johnson has legit top-10 potential with a much better quarterback in Derek Carr. He didn’t do much in Week 1 (three catches for 36 yards) but better days are ahead for the underrated tight end.
Priority level: High
