Week 2 Waiver Wire Report
Who to add and 2 underrated stats to look for when examining the market now and through the season
Week 1 is in the books and with luck your team had success. Now lets build on that success (or get back on track if you lost) with this week’s waiver wire report. All players listed will be available in >50% of all ESPN leagues.
QB
Jameis Winston | NO
I had Jameis Winston on my players to watch list and performances like this past Sunday is why that list exists. Think of it like a watchlist before the year begins. The Packers got picked apart by Jameis for 5 TDs through the air. I know, I know, the 5 TDs isn’t sustainable but at the same time neither is 156 passing yards. Especially for Jameis who likes to take shots. Michael Thomas will also be coming into the fold at some point in the second half of the season, which could be valuable for a playoff push. If you aren’t 100% set at QB, Winston is worth a roster spot.
RB
Latavius Murray | BAL
Latavius Murray should be added in all leagues. Find a way to make room on your roster for him because he has RB2 potential if he get enough volume in this Ravens offense. This is a Ravens offense that will be running the ball a ton so even if it’s a timeshare he’s worth rostering. Be patient, it may take time to see how the volume share shakes out but Murray’s playstyle and recent production has me believing he is the Raven’s running back I want to own moving forward.
Ty’son Williams | BAL
Ty’son Williams got most of his points off his one 35 yard touchdown run and while I don’t want to overreact he showed enough through the game to be given a spot here in my waiver report. If you are in need of a RB and the picking is slim, Williams is worth an add. He runs hard and downhill and that’s what the Ravens like from their backs to compliment Lamar’s speed and elusiveness.
Elijah Mitchell | SF
Raheemq Mostert is going to miss extended time and in week 1 it was the Elijah Mitchell Show for San Francisco. Kyle Shannahan is one of the best offensive minds in football and has an ability to find success with any running back in the back field. It will be interesting to monitor his snaps and touches as Trey Sermon is active and in the mix moving forward but for now Mitchell > Sermon.
Mark Ingram | HOU
I thought Phillip Lindsay was the RB to own out of Houston because he will get more snaps when the Texans are trailing (like they will be in most games this year,) but man did Mark Ingram show me up. He had 26 carries in week 1! That volume is worth rostering alone, no matter how bad this Texans team is. He may not be the Ingram of old but volume is key in fantasy.
WR/TE
Sterling Shepard | WR
There aren’t a ton of good adds at WR this week but if you’re in a PPR league Sterling Shepard is worth an add. While Golladay didn’t get a ton of reps in camp with Daniel Jones due to his hamstring injury. Shepard if he can stay healthy should be in line for a healthy volume of targets in a Giants offense that, if week 1 is any indication, will be playing from behind a lot in 2021… again…
Tip of the Week:
It’s super easy to overreact to week 1. Is Jameis 5TDs sustainable? Is Rodgers burn out? How about Zeke and Saquon? Is Juwan Johnson the next big thing at TE? When it comes to gauging week 1 performances, two underrated stats to look for to avoid overreaction are two underrated fantasy stats. Snaps and target share. How many times were you actually on the field and how often was your team trying to throw you the ball compared to everyone else? Footballguys.com do an awesome job of tracking these stats if your go to fantasy website doesn’t. Using Juwan Johnson as an example, a 15 point game is good for a TE, especially one on the waiver wire. However if you look deeper he may be a flash in the pan. He only had 3 targets, he caught all of them and scored on two of them. No player will maintain a 100% catch rate and score on 67% of those catches. He also only played 19% of snaps on Sunday, 3rd amongst Saints TEs and way behind starter Adam Trautman’s 82% of snaps played. That being said, if Johnson is still available next week and he has an uptick in his snaps and targets to go along with another good performance, he may absolutely be worth an add. So monitor snap count and target share early and often through the season and you’ll have an edge on the rest of your league.
This isn’t a definitive list, but it’s who I’ve got my eye on this week on the waiver wire. Leave anyone off? Let me know if the comments below.