Fantasy Football Week 2 Wide Receiver Preview: Waiver adds, starts, sits, numbers to know, and more
Everything you need to know about wide receiver for Fantasy Football in Week 2
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3 min read
I try not to overreact to too much from Week 1, especially when it comes to efficiency or touchdowns. I make small volume-based adjustments, small changes to projected run/pass splits, and rush/receiving share based on Week 1 usage. For rookies and players, we had uncertainty about coming into the year; the adjustments come quicker and more drastically than they do with established veterans in steady situations.
That being said, the wide receiver position is one of the most attractive on waivers this week, because of some big shifts in projected targets. One of those, Marquise Brown, came because of an injury to Xavier Worthy. Two of them, Keenan Allen and Quentin Johnston, came because of the Chargers' very impressive pass rate boost. It really isn't that common to find a starting wide receiver on the waiver wire in most leagues, so you may want to spend a little more than you think you should if you lost Xavier Worthy, or even if you just have a weak wide receiver room.
While Cedric Tillman came in behind those guys, he doesn't get a write-up in the waiver wire section, so I will talk a little more about him here. Tillman caught five of eight targets for 52 yards and a touchdown in Week 1 and is now averaging 17.6 PPR FPPG in his last five full games. With Joe Flacco there, we should expect close to 40 passes per game from the Browns, which means Tillman, Jerru Jeudy, David Njoku, and Harold Fannin could all be heavily involved. The problem is the "with Joe Flacco" part. We do not know how long Flacco's leash is, and this entire offense could tank when one of the rookies take over.
You can always find all of my projections over at Sportsline.
Here is the rest of the Week 2 WR Preview:
Week 2 WR Preview
WR Preview
Numbers to Know
- 42.1% -- Marquise Brown had a 42.1% target share in Week 1. It may not be a great matchup against Philadelphia in Week 2, but it is hard to leave that type of volume on your bench.
- 100% -- There were nine wide receivers who ran a route on 100% of their team's drop-backs. Cooper Kupp, Jameson Williams, and Josh Reynolds were the only three to do that and have a target share below 24%.
- 59.1% -- Jaxon Smith-Njigba was targeted on 59.1% of his routes in Week 1. Puka Nacua was the only other wide receiver above 42%. JSN looks like the steal of Round 3 and a surefire WR1.
- 6.7 -- Pat Surtain and the Broncos held Calvin Ridley to 6.7 PPR Fantasy points in Week 1. Michael Pittman faces this matchup in Week 2.
- 34 -- Justin Herbert attempted 34 passes in a game the Chargers led throughout, and only ran 62 plays. If that holds up, the Chargers can have multiple starting pass catchers.
- 46 -- Josh Allen threw 46 passes in Week 1, and the Bills ran 78 plays. Last year, he averaged 30 attempts per game, which means you should probably cut each player's targets by a third when talking about rest of season expectations.
- 7.5 -- Chris Olave's aDOT in Week 1 was 7.5. He has been over 10 every other season. With more slot usage and more shot targets, Olave could set a career high in receptions.
- 3 -- DJ Moore had three rush attempts in Week 1, something we heard a lot about in camp. He could add an extra point or two to his per-game Fantasy production if that is a weekly thing.
- 12.1% -- George Pickens had a 12% target share in Week 1, compared to 39% for CeeDee Lamb and 18% for Jake Ferguson.
- 56.6% -- Stefon Diggs ran a route on just over half of the Patriots pass plays in Week 1. Expect that to increase over the coming weeks.
WR Preview
Waiver Wire Targets
Week 2 Adds (WR Preview)
Xavier Worthy is expected to miss the next few weeks with a shoulder injury. Rashee Rice is suspended for the next five games. The other healthy wide receivers on the team are JuJu Smith-Schuster, Tyquan Thornton, and Jason Brownlee. Brown won't likely have a 40% target share again, but he could live in the 30% range for the next month-plus, and if he does, he will be a must-start wide receiver. I would expect it costs 20% of your FAB to secure Brown, and if you are weak at wide receiver, he could be worth it.
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I know younger wide receivers are more exciting, but Allen still commands targets and has a great rapport with Justin Herbert. He led the Chargers in target share and targets per route run while catching 70% of his targets. He also doesn't have an expiration date, unlike Marquise Brown. Allen should be a solid WR3 with weekly WR1 upside for as long as he stays healthy.
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It is strange to have two wide receivers on the same team at the top of the waiver wire, but Johnston has proven since the start of 2024 that he does not need a lot of targets to produce a lot of Fantasy points. In his last 16 games, he has produced 2.03 Fantasy points per target, which ranks 13th since the start of last year amongst WRs with at least 90 targets. Johnston won't be as steady as Allen, but he should have more spike weeks.
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Stashes (WR Preview)
Ayomanor ran a route on 82.4% of Cam Ward's drop-backs and was second on the Titans with a 28% target share. They were facing the Broncos, so that didn't actually turn into production, but in deeper leagues, he is absolutely worth an add as we see if he can establish himself as a weekly factor.
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WR Preview
DFS Plays
Top DFS Play
Projections powered by
Sportsline
Lamb is my number one wide receiver this week in a great matchup against the Giants. His usage last week was great, and the Fantasy production mostly was too, but the narrative all week has been about the drops. I anticipate Dak Prescott feeding Lamb in this game, and I wouldn't be surprised if he tops 30 PPR Fantasy points. Dak is also my favorite QB value, so I strongly suggest stacking the duo in at least one lineup this week.
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Contrarian DFS Play
Projections powered by
Sportsline
Jeudy was a Week 1 disappointment, but he still saw eight targets and had two more that were wiped out by pass interference penalties. Unlike the Bengals, I expect the Ravens to build a big lead early and Joe Flacco to top 40 pass attempts, with 10 of them likely going to Jeudy. Jeudy is always a threat to go win someone a tournament, he was over 199 PPR Fantasy points in four of his last eight games of 2024, including a 38-point outburst against the Broncos.
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WR Preview
Heath's Projections
My full set of Week 2 Fantasy football projections for every position are now available on SportsLine. Find out which of my favorite plays are projected to score higher than consensus rankings and which don't live up to their draft hype, at least in Week 1. Projected stats for all starting wide receivers are available, so be sure to check out the full set of projections at SportsLine.
