Waiver Wire: Week 2 Priority Adds Under 50% Owned

Happy Tuesday Fantasy Footballers and welcome to another exciting year of fantasy football. I am Matt Dean and just like last season, I will be providing you with your priority adds each week to help you be successful in your pursuit of a championship. This season, along with fellow QBList staffer, Aaron Rader, I will be hosting a podcast to accompany this article that will go much more in-depth on the players you should be adding. Please tune in as it is sure to be a good time. You can find that podcast HERE

Now, with all the business stuff out of the way, let’s get on to my already imploding season. I drafted Tyreek Hill with my first pick in a 16-teamer where I was the 12th pick. This was all fine and dandy until the second drive of the Chiefs game where Hill was tackled out of bounds and got up not able to lift his arm. Stinger, I thought…Well, I was wrong. Now I am looking at 3-7 weeks of no Tyreek Hill and am also staring down the barrel of the number one overall pick in the 2020 draft. At least I can look forward to Christian McCaffery next year, right?

If you are like me, you need some help. I am writing this for me as much as I am for you, so join me as we figure out how we salvage a rough week one. If you find yourself in a better situation than me, good on you, and you need some bench depth in case something goes south as it did for me. Let’s hop into it.

The ownership percentage is based on Yahoo Fantasy Leagues.

 

Priority Adds

 

RB – Chris Thompson/Adrian Peterson, Washington Redskins (13%/37% Owned)

The hype train for Derrius Guice has been derailed almost as quickly as it got back on track. He is destined to miss time as he gets an MRI on the same knee he tore last season. This is not a good sign. With that being said, Chris Thompson is squarely back on the PPR map where he excelled several seasons ago. Unfortunately, I dropped him before week one, but you have the chance to jump on the opportunity. He is going to be a monster in PPR as long as he has the main pass-catching duties in this play from behind offense. Adrian Peterson is the most likely candidate to handle the early-down work. The reason he had no stats week one is because he was inactive due to having no added value on special teams. Some would think it would be Wendell Smallwood, who was active, that would take over these duties, but that will not be the case as he was active simply because of his ability to play on special teams.

FAAB Budget: Chris Thompson (10%), Adrian Peterson (6-8%)

 

RB – Malcolm Brown, LA Rams (12% Owned)

Everyone, including me, thought that Darrell Henderson was the clear cut handcuff to Todd Gurley…WRONG! Malcolm Brown went on to bowl his way to 11 carries for 53 yards and two touchdowns, good for 17.30 points. One thing of note is that he wasn’t used in the passing game so he is very touchdown-dependent if you plan on playing him, but it was very clear that Todd Gurley was on a snap count and that we should never listen to another word out of Sean McVay’s mouth. Brown will not be an every-week start off of one game and two goalline touchdowns, but as we get a bigger sample size, he will garner more attention. Get ahead of this one.

FAAB Budget: 15%

 

WR – Marquise Brown, Baltimore Ravens (32% Owned)

We had to know that the cousin of Antonio Brown would pop off in his debut, right? Marquise “Hollywood” Brown exploded, catching 4 of 5 targets for 147 yards and two touchdowns. Lamar Jackson looked revitalized as a passer and ripped up the Dolphins in this one, with Brown being the main beneficiary. Some will say it was just because it was the Dolphins, but if Lamar Jackson can keep this up, we are looking at a WR2 play in fantasy leagues with Hollywood. It would be nice to see his target share increase, as 5 targets won’t always translate to such booming success.

FAAB Budget: 15%

 

WR – John Ross III, Cincinnati Bengals (11% Owned)

Ah, it doesn’t seem like too long ago that people were wondering if John Ross III would be cut or a healthy scratch by the Bengals. I was on this train as I saw a Redditor mention that we should get ready for the John Ross breakout. I chuckled and, understandably, moved on. Well, I wish I’d have listened. Ross LIT UP the helpless Seattle secondary to the tune of catching seven out of twelve(!!) targets for 158 yards and two touchdowns. That was good for 34.80 PPR fantasy points. Now, that won’t happen every week and AJ Green will be back eventually, but this kid has the speed to burn, we’ve known that, but we have all been waiting on the skill to catch up. He still had a couple of drops, but this is a flier you have to take.

FAAB Budget: 10%

 

WR – Terry McLaurin, WR Washington Redskins (5% Owned)

‘Ole Scary Terry McLaurin looked more like a McLaren on Sunday, burning and churning his way to five catches on seven targets for 125 yards and a trip to the endzone. His day could have and should have, been much bigger as Case Keenum missed overthrew him for a wide-open 70-yard touchdown. Connect there and we are looking at 215 yards and two touchdowns. This kid might be for real and the reason that the Redskins gave up on failed project Josh Doctson. If you are hurting at the flex or WR positions after week one, give McLaurin a look.

FAAB Budget: 5-8%

 

TE – T.J. Hockenson, Detroit Lions (52% Owned)

Okay, I cheated. Sue me. T.J. Hockenson is over the 50% owned threshold, but I don’t care and it’s my column. The reason I am writing this guy’s name in here is that he needs to be 100% owned. I’m serious. Check your wire now to see, because already with the nickname, “Baby Gronk,” this guy has BIG potential in the Lions conservative offense. Consistently running designed seams, the Lions already are featuring this kid and he could break the mold of the underperforming rookie TE. Scoop him up and watch him build upon his six catches for 131 yards and a touchdown.

FAAB: 10%

 

Cheap Sleeper

 

In this section, I will key you in on one guy that you should get before the rest of the fantasy community catches up and sees them as a 10-15% FAAB guy. You get to have him this week for virtually free because you are awesome and read my column. And the winner is…

 

WR A.J. Brown – Tennessee Titans (15% Owned)

So yes, I am breaking a cardinal sin and telling you to grab a Titans’ WR. Why? Because if you watched, this kid has intangibles to be great. Also, it is nice to be almost 27 so that I can call these behemoths kids. Anyways, A.J. Brown had a modest game with 3 catches and 100 yards, no touchdowns. I say modest because the rest of the NFL was being lit on fire. Now, this is good news for you, because while everyone else is paying big bucks for the guys above, this guy can be had for a couple of bucks, or even free in most leagues. I am calling for a big week against Indy and this guy is on waiver wire articles everywhere come next Monday. Time will tell, but take a flyer and just watch.

FAAB Budget: 2%

 

Thanks for reading, and make sure to check out our podcast here for in-depth analysis. Plus, we will be discussing names that are not listed here that you should be looking at. Good luck and see you next week!

 

(Photo by Kevin Abele/Icon Sportswire)