Fantasy Football 2021 Week 2 Waiver Wire Pickup Advice
Is your fantasy team in need of new blood? Each week I’ll bring to you the best pickups to make ahead of the waiver deadline. All the players I list will be owned in fewer than 50 percent of leagues, with the roster percentages coming from Yahoo.com
Quarterbacks
Jameis Winston, Saints (43% Rostered): Winston’s performance in Week 1 in his first shot as a starter for Sean Payton was shocking. We all remember Winston as the stat-stuffing, gunslinger in Tampa Bay who threw the ball with reckless abandon, caring not what turnovers may result. That style made for exciting output; he’d pile up ungodly yardage and sometimes TD numbers while also annoying us with countless interceptions. In this game, however, Winston made his hay with extreme efficiency. He threw five touchdown passes on only 20 attempts, finishing with just 148 passing yards but a 70% completion rate. To me, this looks fluky and unsustainable, but his next matchup is at a friendly Panthers unit, so if you punted at QB in drafts and are hunting matchups each week, it’s not crazy to run Jameis out there.
Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers (39% Rostered): Roethlisberger didn’t do much to dispel the perception among many that he’s washed, going for just 188 yards and one touchdown in Week 1. But Big Ben was also playing on the road against a pretty tough Bills defense that got after him. His receivers are still among the best in the league, and he’ll be at home next week vs. the Raiders, who will be far easier to score on. The bad Week 1 does nothing but lower his FAAB price on waivers, and then if he has another dud in Week 2, we know we can ignore him going forward. I actually prefer him to Winston if you’re streaming.
Teddy Bridgewater, Broncos (11% Rostered): It wasn’t always pretty, but Bridgewater showed why the Broncos went with him over Drew Lock for Week 1. He was competent vs. a subpar defense, throwing for 264 yards and two scores while adding 19 yards on the ground. Bridgewater is never a ceiling play, but even with Jerry Jeudy out for the foreseeable future, he still has Courtland Sutton, Tim Patrick and KJ Hamler at his disposal, as well as a strong running game and Noah Fant at TE. He remains among the lower tier starters as far as talent/ceiling, but with matchups at Jacksonville and home for the Jets in his next two games, he’s a very viable option.
Running Backs
Mark Ingram, Texans (20% Rostered): I will not be fooled by Houston drubbing the Jaguars in Week 1 into thinking the Texans might actually be decent. They did, however, rush 41 times in this game while attempting only 33 passes, and 26 of those attempts went to Ingram. He was only able to average 3.27 yards per attempt in this one, which is the kind of efficiency that led the Ravens to say goodbye this offseason, but if he can maintain that workload for any period of time he’s bound to be fantasy relevant. I do not view him as having any sort of palatable ceiling, but he makes for a very solid FLEX in deeper formats, and totally usable if you are dealing with injuries.
Phillip Lindsay, Texans (46% Rostered): It’s the story of Lindsay’s life; he’s stuck in a committee where he is the more talented rusher but inexplicably is used sparingly. Granted, he only averaged 3.13 yards per carry on his eight attempts, but he did score a touchdown, and has a lot more explosiveness than Ingram does. Their usage could fluctuate from week to week, making both of them risky plays at any time, but I wouldn’t take the Week 1 carry count as gospel here as this team is going to be terrible. The workload numbers could easily flip in Week 2, so Lindsay could wind up being the cheaper and better pickup. I’m not blowing a large FAAB amount on either guy, but a buck or two is worth the shot at potentially high volume.
Elijah Mitchell, 49ers (8% Rostered): Mitchell, a sixth round rookie, was stunningly active ahead of touted second-rounder Trey Sermon for Week 1, and then he went off for 104 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries once Raheem Mostert left the game with an injury. It’s a gut punch for anyone who invested real draft capital in Sermon, but I wouldn’t panic. While we wait for news on how long Mostert is out, Mitchell is likely to be the hottest waiver pickup due to this offense’s prolific rushing output. Mitchell obviously impressed coaches, but we’ve seen this story before, and more often than not the high draft capital option wins out. Mostert managers certainly should put in a bid for Mitchell, but I’d advise against allocating a big FAAB number to him unless you’re very desperate already because to me, Sermon remains the name you want in this backfield. It just looks like it’ll take longer than we’d hoped.
Kenneth Gainwell, Eagles (8% Rostered): Gainwell, a fifth-round rookie whom many expected to ding Miles Sanders’ value because of his pass-catching chops, wound up contributing 37 rushing yards and a touchdown on nine carries, while hauling in only two passes for six yards. The TD is fluky, and the takeaway from this week was that Sanders is firmly entrenched as the guy, while Gainwell looks like he is a true backup, and not just a passing down option. That means Sanders owners should probably add him to handcuff their guy. Non-Sanders owners should feel fine picking him up if he’s cheap as well, as there’s a small amount of standalone value here, but I wouldn’t feel comfortable starting him without an injury.
James White, Patriots (33% Rostered): White might be back. His role decreased significantly with Cam Newton as the QB, but Mac Jones is a different style passer, and he targeted White seven times in Week 1. White finished with six receptions for 49 yards, and 12 rushing yards on four attempts. You’re never going to be excited to start White, but he has blowup games here and there, and a floor of not zero with Jones under center.
Wide Receivers
Sterling Shepard, Giants (39% Rostered): Shepard had himself a day vs. the Broncos, proving to be a bright spot in what was a dismal Week 1 effort at home. Shepard went for 113 yards and a touchdown on seven receptions (nine targets), benefitting from the focus on RB Saquon Barkley and new No. 1 Kenny Golladay. We have seen Shepard thrive before with the spotlight off him, and efforts like this won’t be uncommon if Barkley and Golladay can stay on the field. Daniel Jones’ limitations ultimately do limit Shepard’s ceiling, but I’m comfortable playing him in just about any matchup if I have WRs hurt or on bye.
Jalen Reagor, Eagles (21% Rostered): Reagor is going to be a clear No. 2 behind rookie Devonta Smith, but the receiving options in Philadelphia look pretty defined. Smith is the lead dog, Dallas Goedert is the heavily preferred TE, and Reagor will see a healthy target share. He finished Week 1 with six receptions, 49 yards and a touchdown, and caught all of his targets. The passing efficiency may have been a mirage thanks to a weak Falcons defense, and the Week 2 matchup with San Francisco may be educational. But the Eagles get Dallas and Kansas City in Weeks 3 and 4, both of which should be shootouts, so Reagor may be a diamond in the rough.
Tim Patrick, Broncos (1% Rostered): Nobody likes Tim Patrick, but he just continues to produce. He went for 39 yards and a score on Sunday against the Giants, catching all four of his targets, and he’s due for an increased target share with Jerry Jeudy set to miss time. Patrick gets the Jaguars and Jets in his next two games, and makes a lot of sense in deep leagues and 3-WR formats.
Tight Ends
Jared Cook, Chargers (26% Rostered): Cook did not look cooked in Week 1, drawing eight targets and pulling down five of them for 56 yards. Any TE beyond the top dogs figure to be touchdown-dependent, so even though he won’t look like anything special on waivers this week, he will be a value add. He’ll cost very little, but the eight targets are important. It’s also worth remembering he did this vs. one of the toughest defenses in football, and his next three matchups are vs. Dallas, at Kansas City and home for the Raiders.
Juwan Johnson, Saints (10% Rostered): Johnson had some late preseason buzz because of his athletic profile, and it was on display yesterday as he hauled in two touchdowns on three receptions. Eligible at WR and TE, there are shades of Marques Colston here, and he’s particularly exciting because the alpha receiver role is completely up for grabs until Michael Thomas is off the PUP list. It’s entirely possible Johnson just settles into some low-volume, mostly useless fantasy existence, but unlike other middle-of-the-road TE choices, he possesses legitimate breakout opportunity. Don’t go crazy with FAAB, but somewhere between $5-$8 of a $100 budget is where I’d land.