The first week of the 2024 NFL season is in the books and it’s now time to hit the waiver wire in your fantasy football leagues.
To help you win the waiver wire, we’ve put together a list of 15 players to target this week, including options at quarterback, running back, wide receiver, tight end, defense and even kicker. Each player’s roster percentage in ESPN fantasy football leagues is listed in parentheses.
Note that these players are listed by position and ranked by their roster percentage, and that does not necessarily reflect the order in which they should be claimed this week. For example, tight end Isaiah Likely should be a top priority ahead of Week 2.
Now, let’s get to the list!
Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Targets Week 2
1. QB Baker Mayfield (34%): Don’t expect four touchdowns every week, but Mayfield is a serviceable fill-in if you need help at quarterback.
2. RB Jaleel McLaughlin (45%): He led the Broncos in carries (10) and also had five targets as a receiver out of the backfield. McLaughlin’s production (32 yards) was poor, but his utilization is promising.
3. RB Rico Dowdle (40%): He had two fewer carries (8) than Ezekiel Elliott (10) and one fewer target (1). It’s early, but Dowdle’s worth stashing.
4. RB Bucky Irving (21%): He led the Buccaneers with 62 rushing yards despite getting six fewer carries (9) than Rachaad White (15). Irving also got three targets as a receiver out of the backfield.
5. RB Tank Bigsby (5%): Travis Etienne remains the Jaguars’ top running back, but Bigsby received the same amount of carries (12) and ended up leading the team with 73 rushing yards.
6. WR Rashid Shaheed (42%): He turned five targets into three receptions for 73 yards and a touchdown.
7. WR Wan’Dale Robinson (7%): The Giants look like a team that will have to throw often while trailing and Robinson was Daniel Jones’ favorite receiver on Sunday with six catches for 44 yards on 12 targets.
8. WR Greg Dortch (2%): He had a team-high eight targets on Sunday and led the Cardinals with six catches for 47 yards.
9. WR Devaughn Vele (1%): He tied for second on the team with eight targets. Vele hauled in all eight targets and while his yardage total (39) underwhelmed, he will be a serviceable PPR receiver if those targets continue.
10. WR Alec Pierce (1%): He’s a boom-or-bust WR who turned three targets into three catches for 125 yards and a touchdown in Week 1.
11. TE Taysom Hill (46%): With several tight ends injured and other TEs underperforming, Hill turned in a top-12 performance on Sunday, and it was a quiet day (five carries for 35 yards and one catch for one yard). He is a boom-or-bust prospect, but Hill is a good fill-in option if you need a TE.
12. TE Isaiah Likely (10%): Likely is the fantasy football waiver wire target of the week after hauling in nine receptions for 111 yards and one touchdown on 12 targets in Week 1. There’s no guarantee he will have better utilization than Mark Andrews (2 targets) on a week-to-week basis, but Likely is a must-add in case this trend continues.
13. TE Tucker Kraft (4%): Kraft played 94% of Green Bay’s offensive snaps in Brazil, a sign that he’s the new TE1 over Luke Musgrave (25%). That only led to two catches for 37 yards on three targets in Week 1, but Kraft emerging as a starter is notable for TE-needy managers in deep leagues.
14. DST Los Angeles Chargers (11%): After a strong showing in Week 1, the Chargers now get a great matchup against the Carolina Panthers in Week 2.
15. K Chris Boswell (4%): Whether it’s Justin Fields or Russell Wilson under center, Pittsburgh’s offense seems to be good enough to move the ball but not quite good enough to score many touchdowns. That’s good news for Boswell’s fantasy football stack. He made six field goals on Sunday.
For more fantasy football coverage, check out our fantasy football hub.
[vertical-gallery id=620142]