Fantasy Football Week 2 Waiver Wire Cheat Sheet

Week one of the 2019 NFL season is in the books and your fantasy season is already over. You probably spent this past Sunday looking at your fantasy roster, filled with regret. Lucky for you, fantasy football leagues are won on the waiver wire and I’m going to provide you with the best options available before week one starts.  If I don’t mention someone whom you think I should be talking about, just know there are many reasons why I overlooked them. Maybe they are owned in most leagues. Maybe they are so bad I don’t even consider them.  Maybe it’s because your opinions cannot be trusted. After all, you are here. So let us examine what our best week two waiver wire players for your championship run are…

Week One Waiver Wire QBs

Should I Pick up Matthew Stafford? – Owned in 21% of leagues – Last week, I told you to roll the dice on Matthew Stafford for week one.  If you listened to me, you got a top ten quarterback performance in fantasy.  The only thing holding Stafford back is the ineptitude of his coaching staff.  The addition of T.J. Hockenson and the improvements the Lions made on their offensive line seem to have helped Stafford.  The only thing holding Stafford back is the ineptitude of his coaching staff.  However, he is probably the safest quarterback play on the waiver wire.

Should I Pick up Marcus Mariota? – Owned in 7% of leagues – I honestly don’t know what to think about Mariota.  The fact is, he completely dismantled a pretty talented Cleveland defense, throwing for 248 yards and three touchdowns.  There is always a quarterback who goes comes out of nowhere to be good.  Is this Mariota’s year?  I probably need to see a bit more from him, but the AFC South is wide open and if he can stay healthy, maybe he’ll turn it around.

Week One Waiver Wire RBs

 Should I Pick up Malcolm Brown? – Owned in 9% of leagues – You heard them talking about Todd Gurley.  You heard them say that Darrell Henderson was the man to own if you wanted to hedge your Gurley bets.  But they all forgot that coaches hate rookies!  Malcolm Brown ran with that hatred for 53 yards and two touchdowns. While it’s only week one, it appears that he is the Gurley handcuff, which means he should be the number one waiver priority of week one.

Should I Pick up Adrian Peterson? – Owned in 34% of leagues – If you were excited to finally see Derrius Guice this season, I have some bad news for you.  With what appears to be another ligament injury in his knee, Guice will be unavailable for an undisclosed amount of time.  Which means it is time to fire up your Adrian Peterson shares!  (User warning:  Said shares will be horribly inconsistent and unreliable)

Should I Pick up Ronald Jones II? – Owned in 34% of leagues – If you had told me before week one that Ronald Jones would look like a legitimate NFL running back, I would’ve laughed in your face. Then, I would’ve expected my bursts of laughter to echo near him, causing him to fall down.  But Ronald Jones II showed me why he was drafted in the second round of the 2018 NFL draft.  His 93 all-purpose yards showed that if there is any running back worth owning in Tampa Bay, it’s Ronald Jones II.  (Although you can still make a pretty strong argument that no running back is worth owning in Tampa Bay.)

Other notable running backs to monitor

Chris Thompson – Owned in 16% of leagues

Carlos Hyde – Owned in 36% of leagues

Giovanni Bernard – Owned in 23% of leagues

Week One Waiver Wire WRs

Should I Pick up John Brown? – Owned in 38% of leagues – Last week, I told you John Brown was a solid week one option.  This week, I’m telling you he is worth a spot on your roster.  Brown is the clear number one in Buffalo.  His 7 catches for 123 and 1 touchdown were good enough to finish as a WR1 in most leagues.  Since I expect Buffalo to be playing from behind for most of the year, I want some John Brown shares, as I expect a lot of garbage-time points from him.

Should I Pick up Terry McLaurin? – Owned in 6% of leagues – It is not often that a preseason darling lives up to his hype in week one.  Many of us are still mourning the loss of Darwin Thompson. Terry McLaurin, however, appears to have firmly entrenched himself as the number one receiver in Washington.  In his first NFL start, he led all Washington skill players in snap.  Playing on the field for 93% of the teams offensive plays, he made the most out of his opportunities, with five catches for 125 yard and one touchdown.  Someone has to catch the ball in Washington, and McLaurin might be the only receiver there capable of doing so.

Should I Pick up Marquise Brown? – Owned in 30% of leagues – The week one hotness on the waiver wire is going to be Hollywood.  Marquise “Hollywood” Brown posted an astonishing four catches for 147 yards and 2 touchdowns in his NFL debut.  As dazzling as those numbers are, they are just as likely to be fools gold to people looking for a repeat performance.  Two things to be wary of regarding Brown.  First, Brown was only on the field for 18% of the teams snaps, which was fourth on the team amongst wide receivers.  Second, Marquise Brown played the Dolphins.  Miami’s roster is built towards drafting Tua number one in the NFL draft.  I’m pretty sure I’d be good for about 60 yards against that offense.  Don’t read too much into a player producing in what was essentially a bye-week for the Ravens.  Which is not to say that Marquise Brown won’t be good.  Just that it might be too much to expect for him to be this good this quickly.

Other notable wide receivers to monitor

DJ Chark — Owned in 7% of leagues

John Ross — Owned in 8% of leagues

A.J. Brown — Owned in 4% of leagues

Week One Waiver Wire TEs

Should I pick up T.J Hockenson? – Owned in 41% of leagues. – If you’ve ever heard me talk about tight ends, you know I hate them.  So last week when I told you to get Hockenson while you could, I hope you listened to me.  Because if you didn’t, you are going to have to fight half your team for him.  In his first NFL game, Hockenson had a monster debut, with 131 receiving yards and one touchdown.  More importantly, he was on the field for 73% of the teams snaps.  Hockenson is a game-changer and a match-up nightmare.  Barring injury, he should end the year as a high-end TE1 and he most definitely should be on your roster.

Should I pick up Jimmy Graham? – Owned in 48% of leagues. – If you miss out on Hockenson, Jimmy Graham is a decent consolation prize.  While he only had 30 yards and a touchdown, he was facing a Bears defense that made the best quarterback in the league look pedestrian.  Aaron Rodgers comments after the Packers win were telling.  He basically called his former coach a big dumb-dumb for not using Jimmy Graham last year and was excited by how he is being used now.  I know we’ve been burned by Packers tight ends before, but if this is a sign of things to come, you will want Jimmy Graham on your roster.

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