Staying active on the waiver wire is an important way for season-long fantasy owners to improve their teams and get an edge on the competition. Shifts in opportunities for players due to injuries or performance cause value spikes that owners can take advantage of to fill in roster holes to build a championship lineup.
Each week, we will discuss waiver wire targets at each position to consider for both the week ahead and the rest of the fantasy season.
Week 2 Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Adds
* Current roster % in home leagues is noted in parentheses (from FantasyPros)
Justin Fields, QB (New York Jets) (71%)
The Steelers and Jets in a shootout? Aaron Rodgers and Justin Fields running explosive offenses? Those are statements most people didn’t expect to be true going into Week 1.
Fields showed out in his New York debut even though they couldn’t grab the victory. The dual-threat quarterback has always showcased his running ability and Sunday was no exception. He scrambled 12 times for 48 yards and two scores. Fields’ throwing ability has largely been the concern during his career and he managed to quiet those concerns quickly to start the season. He finished 16-22 for 218 yards and another score.
Running quarterbacks are a cheat code in fantasy football. That’s why Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson are perennial top-3 options. Fields is certainly not on their production level, but the pieces and parts are all there for fantasy success. We are just a few seasons removed from Fields running for 1,143 yards in a season in 2022.
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Dylan Sampson, RB (Cleveland Browns) (43%)
The Cleveland Browns should have won on Sunday, if not for two fluke pop-up interceptions and a rookie kicker missing two critical opportunities. Jerome Ford seemed to be in position for the lead role with the current state of the running back room. He may quickly be moved to the third spot in line after a rough Week 1. He gained five yards on seven total touches.
Late-round rookie Dylan Sampson quickly showed he was the most talented Browns running back on the field against the Bengals and earned 12 carries and eight catches for 93 yards. The former Tennessee rusher was a perfect check-down option for Joe Flacco and caught all eight targets.
We learned over the weekend that second-round pick Quinshon Judkins is ready to join the team and could be ready for action next week. The workload split will be interesting to follow in Cleveland, but remember that Judkins could face a lengthy suspension at any time. Sampson is a strong waiver add with the potential to pick high-upside matchups depending on Judkins’ weekly availability.
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Quentin Johnston, WR (Los Angeles Chargers) (9%)
Jim Harbaugh may finally be ready to unleash Justin Herbert‘s arm on the NFL this season after a huge win in Brazil over their perennial kryptonite, the Chiefs. Herbert topped the 300-yard passing mark for just the third time since the start of last season.
Fantasy owners have been waiting for Quentin Johnston to find his footing in the NFL and live up to his crazy athletic potential coming out of TCU. In 33 total NFL games, Johnston has eclipsed 60 receiving yards just three times, including the 79 yards he amassed in Brazil.
Johnston, Ladd McConkey, and returning Chargers great Keenan Allen each caught 5-7 passes from Herbert during the game. Johnston notched the highest yards/reception (15.8) but is likely the most volatile of the trio on a weekly basis. A boom-or-bust fantasy option, Johnston is worth an add to see if he can find consistent production in this offense.
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Juwan Johnson, TE (New Orleans Saints) (4%)
The Saints are certainly not an offense fantasy players want to target with Spencer Rattler at the helm, but volume is king at the tight end position and Juwan Johnson saw 11 targets on Sunday against the Cardinals.
The 6’4″ Oregon product signed a new three-year deal with New Orleans during the offseason to cement himself in the plans for new head coach Kellen Moore. Johnson made good on those plans on Sunday catching eight passes for 76 yards.
Johnson needs to up his touchdown production to elevate himself to a top-10-level tight end. He has 18 touchdowns in 68 career games. That said, he should be a weekly streaming tight end option with the Saints likely in routine negative game scripts. Saints fans probably don’t want Rattler throwing the ball 46 times on a regular basis, but it’s probably not the last time it will happen.
San Francisco 49ers, D/ST (51%)
The 49ers still have top-tier defensive talent in Nick Bosa and Fred Warner. Bosa’s pressure on Sam Darnold clinched the game on the final drive on Sunday for a San Francisco win. Darnold was held to just 150 yards passing but did stay upright more than usual with only one 49ers sack.
Next week, the 49ers travel to New Orleans to face Spencer Rattler and the Saints. Expect fantasy owners to target the defense playing the Saints on a weekly basis. The 49ers have the pressure potential to coax Rattler into a few bad decisions that lead to defensive fantasy points.
Pictured: Justin Fields
Photo Credit: Imagn
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