Week 2 certainly helped reveal some new truths across the league. We gained clarity in various positional battles and learned more about which teams were for real and which were Week 1 mirages. Unfortunately, the injuries piled up as well, as Sam Bradford, Rob Kelley, Corey Coleman, and Greg Olsen were just a few of the big names to miss their game or get injured during it. As a result of all of this, there's a new crop of players we need to zero in on this week on the waiver wire as we continue to pursue fake football glory. Below are my top 12 targets for the week. If you're in need of deeper targets, keep an eye out for Matt Harmon's deep dive and Matt Franciscovich's streaming targets articles, which will be released on Monday. Until then, let's get to the Week 3 waiver-wire.
Javorius "Buck" Allen was one of the top adds last week, but he's THE top add this week after a sterling performance in Week 2 against the Browns where he racked up 101 total yards and a touchdown while out-snapping Terrance West 43 to 15. With Danny Woodhead out for a while and Allen proving far more productive than West, he could turn this committee into a one-man show in no time. He's a must-add worthy of the No. 1 waiver priority and a massive portion of your FAAB budget. (Percent owned: 10.5, FAAB suggestion: 50+ percent)
The Chris Carson drum beat started in the preseason when he was dominating backups and starters alike. It began to crescendo last week when he led the team in snaps and finally reached a thrilling conclusion as he bull-dozed his way to 93 yards on 20 carries against the 49ers on Sunday. Thomas Rawls got the start, but was used on just 16 offensive plays to Carson's 48. Perhaps Rawls isn't back to full health, or perhaps head coach Pete Carroll is riding the hot hand and rewarding his most productive back with more touches. The Seahawks featured back has long been a coveted fantasy asset with Carroll at the helm, making Carson a must-add this week. If he holds onto the lead duties, fantasy players will be richly rewarded. (Percent owned: 7.1, FAAB suggestion: 30-40 percent)
Chris Thomspon signed a contract extension this offseason, and the way he's performed the first two weeks of the season (81 rushing yards, 81 receiving yards, three total touchdowns) the team may have gotten him at a HUGE discount. With Rob Kelley suffering a potentially fractured rib in Week 2, Thompson could find himself seeing even more touches and more playing time, which would be huge for his fantasy outlook. All that production I listed above? Yeah, that's come on a mere 13 touches. He'll have even more value in PPR leagues, but don't overlook him in standard formats, either. He's a versatile playmaker whom the team will likely rely on more than rookie Samaje Perine in the event of an extended Kelley absence. (Percent owned: 5.7, FAAB suggestion: 10-15 percent)
Hope springs eternal in Cincinnati with Bill Lazor taking over for Ken Zampese as offensive coordinator. OK, maybe "hope" is a bit aggressive, but the Bengals offense is a talented unit and the stock of its fantasy players couldn't be lower right now as the offense has failed to score a touchdown through two games. Case in point, despite having seen the most playing time and producing the most in fantasy, Giovani Bernard is owned in fewer than 15 percent of leagues. He's looked great this year on his reconstructed knee, and could earn more playing time under Lazor. That upside alone is worth adding Bernard, especially in PPR formats. (Percent owned: 14.3, FAAB suggestion: 1-5 percent)
Rostering a secondray running back on a bad offense might seem counter intuitive, but Chris Ivory clearly has a role on this team and would be in line for a huge workload if Leonard Fournette were to miss any time. This is a total stash move right now, but Fournette is taking on a massive workload for this offense (45 touches through two games). His owners, or those with space on the bench, should look to grab Ivory now just in case. (Percent owned: 1.9, FAAB suggestion: 1-5 percent)
Willie Snead is still a game away from returning, but his ownership percentage fell by about seven points this past week. I wanted to include him as a reminder to scan the waiver wire in case someone from your league got fed up with waiting for Snead to return, or was forced to drop him to help cover injuries to players like
David Johnson or
Danny Woodhead. The
Saints offense seems to be missing Snead's stable presence, and he could fall back into a sizable market share in an offense that will be required to score a lot given the recent performances of its defensive counterpart. (Percent owned: 65.1, FAAB suggestion: 5-10 percent)
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After leading the Falcons in targets (nine) and receptions (six) in Week 1 against the Bears, Mohamed Sanu followed that up with another solid performance on Sunday Night Football against the Packers (6 targets, 5 receptions, 85 yards). He's clearly the No. 2 option in the passing attack after Julio Jones, and could be in line for another solid outing when the Falcons travel to face the Lions' offense in Week 3. Sanu would be a great fill-in for Stefon Diggs or Adam Thielen if Case Keenum is starting again for the Vikings against the Buccaneers, so if you're in that boat (along with me), be sure to plan ahead. (Percent owned: 13.1, FAAB suggestion: 1-5 percent)
So far, rookie Cooper Kupp is the most targeted player in the Rams offense with 21.8 percent of the team targets and 27.16 percent of Jared Goff's intended air yards. The Rams have a murder's row of tough defenses on the horizon (six week stretch that includes SEA, JAX, ARI, NYG, HOU and MIN), but first up are the 49ers on Thursday Night Football followed by the Cowboys, who were just carved up by Trevor Siemian. Kupp will have PPR flex appeal in both of those games at the very least. (Percent owned: 20.5, FAAB suggestion: 5-10 percent)
While Jaron Brown led the Cardinals in targets, J.J. Nelson led the team in production, catching five of his seven looks for 120 yards and a touchdown. Nelson's 20.6 air yards per target were the second-highest of the week (Torrey Smith) and third-highest single game figure all year ( Marquise Goodwin, Week 1). This big-play ability plus a decent market share of targets (19.6 percent) makes Nelson a solid option in the flex with week-winning potential if he hits on one of those big plays. (Percent owned: 6.8, FAAB suggestion: 0-5 percent)
Kenny Golladay was a hot waiver add last week and has yet to play in Week 2, but I wanted to toss out a reminder on him as well. He isn't likely to go bananas again on Monday night against the
Giants' talented secondary, but faces the Atlanta secondary in Detroit in Week 3 in what could be a scoring bonanza. Monday night could tell us a lot about Golladay's role moving forward, and if he pops again and is available in your league, make sure to add him. (Percent owned: 38.5, FAAB suggestion: 5 percent)
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It appears Benjamin Watson is fully recovered from his Achilles injury last year and ready to make waves in fantasy once again. After only playing 60 percent of the snaps in Week 1, Watson was on the field for 74 percent of the Ravens' Week 2 plays, hauling in all eight of his targets for 91 yards. This shouldn't be viewed as a fluke, either, as Joe Flacco pegged Dennis Pitta with 121 targets last season (the third-most among tight ends). Next up for Watson is a match against the Jaguars (in London), who just gave up 91 yards and a touchdown on six catches to the combo of Delanie Walker and Jonnu Smith. Watson is a great streamer next week with the potential to become an every-week player. (Percent owned: 0.5, FAAB suggestion: 1-5 percent)
Two weeks into the season and Trevor Siemian has two top-five fantasy quarterback finishes already. He could make it three in a row next week against the Bills secondary. He'll have to go on the road to do it, but with so many weapons in his offense he could challenge the Bills defense. Cam Newton's performance doesn't look great in the box score, but he missed a few layups and should have had a far better day statistically. So far Siemian has six touchdown passes to two interceptions, and on one of those picks Demaryius Thomas appeared to fall down mid-route. Those in need of a replacement QB for Sam Bradford could scoop up Siemian off the waiver wire and hope his hot streak continues. (Percent owned: 4.0, FAAB suggestion: 5 percent)
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