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The Top 10 to Target off the Waiver Wire

Here are my notes for the Top 10 waiver pickups ahead of Week 2, with their position rank and current CBS Fantasy Roster percentage. 

QB10 Daniel Jones (30%)

Week 1 is Jones' absolute ceiling, but thanks to his rushing and lack of turnovers, he has a very high floor. He is projected for the third-most rushing TDs by a QB (Josh Allen and Jalen Hurts are tied for the lead), and I'll be looking at his anytime touchdown line for Week 2. We wouldn't have recommended him in fantasy based on his high floor, but after we saw his ceiling, he could have 3 or 4 more games with around 25 fantasy points.

RB39 Dylan Sampson (64%)

Sampson is pretty much the only fantasy-worthy RB not owned in more than two-thirds of leagues. He may have only had 29 rushing yards, but he had 12 rush attempts, which was two times more than Jerome Ford had. When fellow rookie Quinshon Judkins plays, it'll be Ford who loses snaps. Sampson led the team in receptions in Week 1 with eight catches for a respectable 64 yards. Joe Flacco loves dumping off passes to his tailbacks, going back to his days with Ray Rice in Baltimore. Judkins, the power RB, will not be in there on third down, it'll be Sampson instead.

WR41 Hollywood Brown (31%)

I'm not the biggest fan of Brown, but with no Rashee Rice, Xavier Worthy hurt and Travis Kelce not getting any separation anymore, it was Hollywood with a whopping 16 targets. He may lead the league in drops, but he could lead KC in targets, receptions and yards while Rice is suspended. That's not a good thing for the Chiefs' overall outlook but good for fantasy teams looking for WRs

WR42 Wan'Dale Robinson (40%)

Even with Russell Wilson looking rough, Robinson still had eight targets, six receptions and 55 yards. He also returned two kicks, and now that there are four or five returned kicks per game and more long returns, perhaps he'll get a score that way. In Robinson's 33 career games, he has accounted for 25% of Giants' receptions (20% of yards), so he is very valuable in PPR. If rookie Jaxson Dart takes over the starting job, he would likely target Robinson plenty (has caught 75% of his targets) rather than test a double-teamed Malik Nabers (caught 62.6%) or tight end Theo Johnson, who has only caught 65% of his targets (most TEs catch over 70%).

WR43 Calvin Austin III (19%)

DK Metcalf is the No. 1 wideout, but he's not a high-volume target guy; he's more of a guy who makes like four big plays per game. Meanwhile, second-year wideout and former second-round pick Roman Wilson has only been active for eight games and has zero career targets. With Aaron Rodgers at quarterback, they are going to pass more than most Steelers teams, and No. 2 wideout Calvin Austin should have more stat lines like he had in Week 1 (6 targets, 4 receptions, 70 yards and a touchdown). If not Austin, then who else at wideout? Once Rodgers trusts you, and Austin made tough catches in Week 1, he'll keep feeding you (i.e., Allen Lazard).

WR52 Quentin Johnston (37%)

Johnston is highly productive per catch; he just has some mind-blowingly bad drops (59% of targets caught). But him getting 16% of the team's receptions, 18% of the receiving yards and a whopping 36% of receiving TDs for a rejuvenated Justin Herbert could make him a top 25 Fantasy wideout. You can think of him as a solid 3-point shooter who averages 3-of-8 shooting but airballs or hits the backboard on four of his five misses.

WR57 Romeo Doubs (36%)

There are a lot of mouths to feed in Green Bay at wideout. So while targets are lower than for most receivers, productivity per catch is higher, with defenses not able to lock in on any one wideout. This is why his non-PPR wideout ranking is higher at WR49. Even with just two receptions, he led the team in receiving yards at 68 (three other players had two receptions, Green Bay's leader had three). Green Bay is a very good team and could blow out teams considering they have a third-place schedule. But unlike other blowout wins where a starter may rest, Doubs will still get plenty of run, especially if he hadn't produced to start the game

TE14 Hunter Henry (59%)

Henry had four receptions and 66 yards on eight targets in Week 1, and going back to last season, he had a stretch where he had at least four receptions in eight of nine games. Meanwhile, Patriots No. 1 wideout Stefon Diggs is an older player coming off a serious injury. Henry is not a big touchdown guy because most of his QBs have not been great, but his percentage of team production is a very solid 19% of receptions, 21% of yards and 17% of receiving TDs in his last 30 games. If Drake Maye is 20% better across the board than predecessors (Mac Jones, Bailey Zappe and Jacoby Brissett), then Henry's percentage of team stats should produce solid Fantasy stats.

TE15 Jonnu Smith (35%)

The lack of high-volume target wideouts in Pittsburgh (Metcalf and Calvin Austin are pretty much it) not only helps Calvin Austin's fantasy value, it also allows for both Steelers receiving tight ends to put up decent stats. Smith only had 15 yards in Week 1 but led the team with five receptions (Pittsburgh's other tight end, Pat Freiermuth, only had three) and Smith scored a touchdown. Offensive coordinator Arthur Smith loves Smith from their time in ATL, and Smith had a monster year at Miami last season (88 receptions and eight TDs). He could end up as the leading receiver for Aaron Rodgers.

TE17 Brenton Strange (40%)

He had a team-high 59 yards on four receptions in Week 1, and there is no tight end depth in Jacksonville. When Evan Engram was the only receiving tight end on Jacksonville with Trevor Lawrence, Engram averaged around 5.5 receptions and 50 yards per game. Strange had four receptions and 60 yards in his last game of 2024. So with four receptions for 59 yards in Week 1, he's looking pretty consistent. 

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