Week 2 Waiver Wire Finds

After a strange week it's time to figure some things out on your team. Maybe you have injuries or some guys just didn't show up. Utilizing the waiver wire is one of the most important factors in having a successful fantasy team. This week is kinda viewed as the first round of waivers for the season. Most people drafted their teams and stayed put. Now its time to make some changes. Below I will highlight my favorite pickups for this upcoming week. As always I will be using ESPN onwership percentages and will list each player by priority for every position. Goodluck this week!
QB:
Andy Dalton (4.2%)- I'm going back to one of my favorite QB sleepers this week. I think he is in position to be one of the better streamers in week 2 and he is available everywhere. Last week he gashed the Seahawks defense for 418 yards and 2 touchdowns. This week he will get the 49ers who should have had multiple passing touchdowns against them, but 2 where called back. You surely would have a better option this week but Dalton should be a good play need be.
Josh Allen (20.5%)- It was a sloppy week 1 for him, as he committed 4 turnovers and managed only 254 yards and a touchdown. He also had a score on the ground. I like his matchup this week against the Giants, who just got gashed by the Cowboys. They didn't seem like they could defend the deep ball, so John Brown should take advantage. I also think Allen will improve from his 38 rushing yards last week. He has a safe floor if you are scrabbling for QB help. You see what I did there?
RB:
Giovani Bernard (32.3%)- He is going to get the bulk of the work with Joe Mixon expected to miss time. He has shown that the team can trust him as their lead back and the team just gave him a sizable contract. He will be used in the passing game as well, increasing his value in PPR leagues. He is my number one target for waiver wire pickups this week.
Chris Thompson (18.9%)/Adrian Peterson (27.7%)- Both guys need to be picked up this week. Derrius Guice went down with an injury and is set to miss a few weeks. I would prioritize Thompson over Peterson in PPR leagues. I think we are set to see Adrian Peterson get a good amount of the carries, but Thompson will be used heavily. He had a team high 10 targets last week. I think this team will have negative game scrips, as they are passing to keep up.
Malcolm Brown (6.5%)- He needs to be owned by every single Todd Gurley owner. I currently have him wherever I own Gurley. There is real concern over how this team will use him this year. Although Gurley did play 70% of the snaps, Brown had only 4 touches less than him. Brown also was used at the goal line, scoring 2 touchdowns. He is going to have standalone value.
Ronald Jones (40.6%)- It looks like Jones has a solid chance to take over the starting gig. He lead the team with 13 rushes for 75 yards. He looked decent, even though this offensive line is going to be a huge problem moving forward. It still should be somewhat of a timeshare, but Jones could continue to lead the way.
WR:
John Brown (35.3%)- He won me a few leagues last week going for 123 yards and a touchdown on a team high 10 targets. He has cemented himself as the teams #1 WR. This could very well be a career year for him. He is a huge deep threat but also has shown he can be a safety net for Allen if needed.
Terry McLaurin (7.3%)- This team could be passing early and often all year long. The rookie showed some promise to be the teams future #1 WR. He had a fantastic week. He caught 5 of his 7 targets for 125 yards and a touchdown. His touchdown was a bomb for 69 yards. He is more of a stash for me at this point, but could show some value if he continues to play at this level.
MeCole Hardman (17.4%)- It looks like Tyreek Hill is set to miss some time. The rookie is now in position to be the teams #2 WR. On a team like the Chiefs, that could be fantasy gold. He didn't do much last week, but he still managed to play in 78% of snaps. He is a free asset on one of the best offenses in the league.
John Ross (4.8%)- I was a year to early on John Ross, but it looks like a breakout season is happening. Unfortunately this could only be for a few more weeks. A.J. Green should be returning soon which will limit Ross's target share. He led the team in targets last week and scored 2 touchdowns. He is more of a short term value until Green returns.
D.J. Chark (11.8%)- He went off off off off off off this week. Sorry for the baby shark reference, I had to do it. He looked great this week gashing the Chiefs defense for huge gains. I had Dede Westbrook having this type of game, but it was Chark who came through. He played in 71% on snaps this week and I am expecting that number to increase as the season goes on.
Marquise Brown (28.2%)- He will be a lot of people's number one waiver pickup this week but not for me and here is why. He only played in 18% of snaps. He was extremely efficient in his playing time, but he wouldn't touch my lineup until that gets closer to the 60% range. He was the talk of week 1 and looks to be a great talent. I am proceeding with caution here.
Deeboo Samuel (17.6%)- The rookie only had 3 targets on the game but his snap % is eye opening. He lead the team with 60 snaps and could be a the teams WR1 after Dante Pettis played only two snaps. Two. Sorry I'm still salty about it. This amount of playing time will translate to some solid fantasy numbers. Keep an eye out for him.
TE:
Mark Andrews (50.8%)- He is over my 50% threshold but I felt I needed to put him on here since he is still available in half of the leagues. He led the team with 8 targets, catching all 8 for 108 yards and a touchdown. I don't think this is a fluke week. He was one of my favorite TE targets this year and so far so good.
T.J. Hockenson (30%)- Hock should be one of the most popular TE pickups this week. He had a record setting game, gaining the most yards by a rookie TE in league history. He had 6 catches for 131 yards and a touchdown. The narrative that rookie TE are slow to develop may not be the case here.
Darren Waller (26.8%)- He really looked the part on Monday night. He had a team high 8 targets catching 7 of them for 70 yards. He should take over the Jared Cook role and with Antonio Brown gone, he will continue to get the target share he did in this game. He was one of my favorite sleepers during the offseason for dynasty leagues and now it looks like he is going to have solid value moving forward in 2019.
DEF:
Dallas Cowboys (27.2%)
Kansas City Chiefs (13.1%)
Carolina Panthers (10.8%)