Waiver Hub – Week 2
Mike Hubbard Jr here, welcome back to my weekly Waiver HUB. Follow me on Twitter (@FantasyHubbard) and Instagram (@fantasyhubbard) for all things fantasy football throughout the season. Feel free to tweet me or message me on either social media with any comments or questions you might have regarding fantasy football.
Week 1 has ended and week 2 starts on Thursday with a matchup between the LA Chargers and the Kansas City Chiefs. The line right now is 3.5 in favor of KC. The Chargers are 1-0 after escaping the Raiders behind Herbert’s 3 TD passes, and the Chiefs are 1-0 behind Mahomes 5 TD passes. The over/under is 54.5 so we should expect a good number of points. My prediction is a win for KC at home. I don’t expect the Chargers to go silently, but after seeing Mahomes in week 1 it’s hard to picture a bad game for him, especially at his home opener. I’ll go with KC winning by a score of 30-27.
Fantasy football is well underway now so it’s time to make some moves and prepare for fantasy post season greatness. Injuries are inevitable so here’s another chance to hit the waiver wire and get impactful players. Another week gone, another opportunity to make your team stronger and inch your way to that league trophy and an offseason of bragging rights.
Below are my top waiver wire priorities this week. Go get those available players to help your chances at a championship. Good luck this week and remember to check back every week to stay informed on who you could target off of waivers.
TOP PRIORITY OF THE WEEK
Jeff Wilson Jr – San Francisco 49ers
Jeff Wilson Jr is back on fantasy radars everywhere. Elijah Mitchell has been placed on IR opening up a much bigger role for Wilson in the immediate future. Wilson led all RBs in rushing attempts in week 1 and caught a couple of passes as well. The 49ers were rather unimpressive in their loss to the Bears. Wilson should lead his team in rushing attempts in week 2 against Seattle. Yes, Deebo and Trey Lance will rush the ball as well, but I like Wilson to put up stats, especially against Seattle which could be a run heavy game.
Quarterbacks
Carson Wentz – Washington Commanders
Is it too early to get back on the Wentz wagon? Carson now finds himself in Washington and is off to a 1-0 start. The former Eagle and Colt threw for 313 yards and tossed 4 TDs. Yes, he threw 2 INTs, but he still ended Sunday with the 3rd most fantasy points for QBs. Wentz has scary Terry, a healthy Curtis Samuel, Logan Thomas, and an emerging rookie WR Jahan Dotson for pass catchers around him. Wentz also utilized his RBs in the pass game throwing to them for 10 of his 27 competitions. Wentz gets the Lions in week 2 whose defense just gave up 38 to Philly in Detroit. Wentz is worth an add, especially if you need to replace someone like Dak, or just want to have a backup for a BYE week.
Running Backs
Khalil Herbert – Chicago Bears
Herbert is an interesting player to get on your team if you have the space for him. Herbert may have only had 45 rushing yards but that led the team despite Montgomery having 8 more rushing attempts and Fields carrying the ball 3 more times. Herbert was also able to find the endzone. Depending on the upcoming weeks outcomes, the gap between Montgomery and Herbert could become smaller opening up more opportunity for Herbert to score fantasy points. Herbert could be a nice stash on your bench.
Kenneth Gainwell – Philadelphia Eagles
I know what you’re thinking, why should you take Gainwell on a team that has Jalen Hurts and Miles Sanders. My answer to that is Philadelphia loves to run the ball and Gainwell can contribute to that especially on the goal line and in the passing game. He led all Eagles RBs in targets and his success when on the field can only help his snap count and opportunities increase. Gainwell is 1 injury away from being RB1 in Philly, especially with Miles Sanders history of injuries including hamstring issues.
Rex Burkhead – Houston Texans
Rex Burkhead may be RB2 on the Houston depth chart, but he led all RBs in every category. He led the team in rushing attempts and rushing yards. He also finished 2nd on the entire team in targets and receptions. Burkhead could be in for a nice workload, at least until rookie Dameon Pierce proves himself in situations where he can be trusted more. Houston was a big underdog in week 1 and managed to tie the Colts. If the Texans can stay competitive this season, Burkhead could be a sneaky good waiver claim.
Jeff Wilson Jr – San Francisco 49ers
SEE TOP PRIORITY OF THE WEEK AT TOP OF PAGE
Wide Receivers
Curtis Samuel & Jahan Dotson – Washington Commanders
I did not expect to be writing about 2 Commanders WRs in my first Waiver HUB of the season. I expected Wentz to target McLaurin heavily and the rest would just be spread out. Wrong. Wentz targeted Samuel 11 times and Dotson 5 times. The duo finished week 1 with a combined stat line of 11 receptions for 95 yards and 3 TDs on 16 targets. Samuel seemed to be most involved in the offense both as a receiver and a rusher. Dotson found the end zone twice and showed his ability to catch and be a playmaker. Wentz is the key to their success which looks promising after this past weekend when he threw 4 TDs (all to WRs). If I had to choose between them, I would snag Dotson because of his big play ability and long-term projections. You might want to wait another week to see how things go against Detroit but be warned they won’t be on the waiver wire very long.
Robbie Anderson – Carolina Panthers
Robbie had 102 receiving yards and a TD on Sunday in a loss to the Browns. Anderson led the team in targets, receptions, receiving yards, and receiving TDs. The big shocker in this game was that CMC only rushed 10 times and was targeted only 4 times. Be aware that Andersons TD was a 75-yard play which is basically where almost all of his fantasy points came from. Baker clearly likes him and moving forward he could get more looks and be a big playmaker. I like Robbie on the bench for now, at least until he can prove consistency and not be a boom or bust play weekly. Panthers travel to play the Giants where Anderson could be in for a good game.
Kyle Philips – Tennessee Titans
Philips is a rookie WR out of UCLA who was drafted by the Titans in the 5th round of the 2022 NFL draft. Kyle led the Titans in targets, receptions, and receiving yards. Philips 6 receptions on the day were twice as many as any other Titan pass catcher. The Titans will have to travel to Buffalo for MNF in what appears to be a game that the Bills should win by double digits. If that is the case, Tannehill will be forced to throw the ball even though they have Derek Henry. Philips seems like a sneaky bench stash if a space is available.
Donovan Peoples-Jones – Cleveland Browns
DPJ not only led his team in targets and receptions, he led both teams in targets and receptions. 11 targets were the most of his career thus far and that’s very promising. He had more than twice the number of receptions than newly acquired WR Amari Cooper. Brissett as your QB doesn’t make you feel too confident but there is clearly some chemistry and trust there that will hopefully continue. DPJ is worth an add if you’re hurting for a WR with upside, but if not, I would just monitor him closely and be ready to pounce if the stats trend positively.
Tight Ends
Gerald Everett – LA Chargers
Everett caught 3 of his 4 targets in week 1 while finding the end zone and helping his team beat Vegas. Herbert targeted 7 different players 4 times each. Everett could gain some momentum on a high scoring offense that is without Mike Williams for at least a week as of right now. Gerald finished the day with 54 receiving yards. Herbert and Everett will gain trust and the targets should be steady. Everett could be a decent TE to go after. The Chargers get the Chiefs next in what could be a shootout.
Hayden Hurst – Cincinnati Bengals
Hayden was targeted 8 times this past weekend which was 3rd on the team behind only Chase and Mixon. He caught 5 of those targets and ended the day with 46 receiving yards. Hurst clearly has Burrows attention and Tee Higgins status is currently up in the air. Hurst could see a good amount of targets this Sunday when the Bengals travel to Dallas in a bounce back game for Cinci.