Fantasy football waiver wire: Week 2 free-agent forecast

The first week of fantasy football is now behind us, and it’s time to scour the waiver wire entering Week 2 of the season.

We’ll be taking a look at the top available players rostered in Yahoo, using the 75% rostered mark as the threshold. If you have any questions about prioritizing a certain player over another, don’t be afraid to hit me up on X, formerly Twitter, (@KevinHickey11). Your questions and comments are always welcome!

We also will be taking a look at some deeper players to stash and the top streaming options for the upcoming week.

Fantasy football waiver wire recommendations refer to 12-team league formats, unless specifically stated.

Check back for any updates throughout Monday and Tuesday as more injury news becomes available.

Priority Free Agents

1. TE Isaiah Likely, Baltimore Ravens

Spending up for a tight end on the waiver wire isn’t always the wisest idea, but it’s difficult to ignore the upside Likely showed in Week 1. His 9-111-1 receiving line will be impossible to sustain, but it’s clear the Ravens want to lean into their tight end personnel. Mark Andrews should bounce back given his track record, but Likely now enters the low TE1 tier.

Availability: 72%

FAAB: 15%

2. RB J.K. Dobbins, Los Angeles Chargers

It looked rough for anyone in the Chargers backfield during the first half of the game, but Dobbins broke out in a major way during the second half. Entering Monday night as the RB4 in full-PPR scoring, Dobbins posted a 10-135-1 rushing line while leading the Chargers backfield in snaps, routes run, and targets. He’s a flex option with some RB2 upside as long as he’s healthy.

Availability: 49%

FAAB: 15%

3. RB Javonte Williams, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Tampa Bay backfield still very clearly belongs to Rachaad White based on the usage we saw in Week 1, but the rookie Irving was involved as well. While White stumbled his way to 31 rushing yards on 15 carries, Irving posted an explosive nine carries for 62 rushing yards while posting a 10.3% target share.

Availability: 79%

FAAB: 10%

4. WR Rashid Shaheed, New Orleans Saints

Shaheed started the fireworks on Sunday with a 55-yard touchdown reception. He was tied for the team lead with five targets, and only Chris Olave ran more routes than Shaheed in Week 1. He will be a boom/bust player by nature, but it’s always nice to have that kind of ceiling available on the bench.

Availability: 45%

FAAB: 10%

5. WR Tyler Lockett, Seattle Seahawks

Though he was clearly the WR3 in the offense in terms of snaps and routes run, Lockett paced the Seahawks offense with a 28% target share. That mostly came due to the fact that DK Metcalf was locked down by Patrick Surtain II, but Lockett still put together six receptions for 77 yards. He’s a WR4 option for fantasy, but it’s still clear he will be involved.

Availability: 39%

FAAB: 8%

6. WR Demarcus Robinson, Los Angeles Rams

Robinson is an option to keep an eye on in case Puka Nacua needs to miss time after exiting Sunday night’s game with an knee injury. It’s unclear whether it was a reaggravation of Nacua’s preseason injury, but he was unable to finish after leaving in the first half. Robinson wound up playing the second-most snaps while running the second-most routes and earning a 14.5% target share.

Availability: 94%

FAAB: 5%

7. RB Jaleel McLaughlin, Denver Broncos

It’s probably wise to stay away from Denver’s offense if possible, but McLaughlin seems to be taking on a bigger role following the departure of Samaje Perine. While Javonte Williams led the room in snaps and routes run, McLaughlin led the way with nine carries and posted a 14.6% target share. He’s an RB4 option in a bad offense with a capped ceiling, but running back depth is hard to find.

Availability: 62%

FAAB: 5%

8. QB Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Managers who have a more desperate need to add a quarterback can bump Mayfield up these rankings a bit higher. Though we shouldn’t expect him to throw for 284 yards and four touchdowns every game, it was nice to see that level of production is still possible under a new offensive coordinator. The Bucs get the Detroit Lions in Week 2, and they just allowed 317 yards to Matthew Stafford.

Availability: 34%

FAAB: 10%

Grab-n-Stash

RB Zach Charbonnet, Seattle Seahawks

The backfield was dominated by Kenneth Walker III, and Charbonnet isn’t yet a standalone flex option. However, he did have a 12% target share, and Walker exited the game late with a minor abdomen injury, so there’s a chance the second-year back gets more work.

Availability: 53%

FAAB: 5%

RB Tank Bigsby, Jacksonville Jaguars

After a disastrous rookie season, it’s understandable to be weary of Bigsby as a stash. But we also have to adjust to new information, and that new information showed more of a split in Jacksonville’s backfield. While Travis Etienne still dominated the snaps and routes run, Bigsby matched the former’s 12 carries to produce 73 rushing yards. It will be interesting to see what the split looks like moving forward.

Availibility: 95%

FAAB: 3%

RB Alexander Mattison, Las Vegas Raiders

While Zamir White was thought to be the leader in the backfield, that role belonged to Mattison in Week 1. White may have led the way with 13 carries to Mattison’s five, but the latter paced the backfield in snaps, routes run, and targets by a pretty significant margin. The Raiders offense is not good, so the upside is very limited, but Mattison might have some value as an RB3 option if this level of involvement sustains.

Availability: 96%

FAAB: 3%

WR Alec Pierce, Indianapolis Colts

The third-year wideout probably belongs in the priority additions section, but I want to see more before buying in. The Colts offense with Anthony Richardson will be both erratic and electric, leading to some major volatility. Pierce caught a 60-yard touchdown and led the way with 125 yards. He’s going to be a boom/bust option for the Colts, so it’s difficult to go all-in.

Availability: 98%

FAAB: 3%

WR Jalen McMillan, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

We gave McMillan a shout out in our Week 1 waiver wire piece. Though his only catch was a late touchdown, and he only saw three targets, he showed off some impressive separation skills while pacing the Bucs wide receivers in snaps and routes run. Rookies are always solid bets for the second half.

Availability: 95%

FAAB: 3%

Streamers of the Week

QB Matthew Stafford at Arizona Cardinals: He may not have Nacua, but he still has Cooper Kupp. It should be a high-scoring game in Arizona in Week 2, so Stafford is a solid option if available.

Availability: 32%

QB Kirk Cousins at Philadelphia Eagles: Trusting Cousins in prime time takes a lot of guts, and his outing in Week 1 wasn’t very inspiring. But he may need to throw to keep up with the Eagles … there are worse options.

Availability: 36%

TE

at Dallas Cowboys:

It was a split room with Juwan Johnson, but Moreau ran two more routes and finished with one more target — a product of Johnson missing so much offseason time? The Cowboys allowed seven receptions for 71 yards to tight ends in Week 1.

Availability: 100%

TE Colby Parkinson at Arizona Cardinals: With Tyler Higbee still out, Parkinson was heavily involved by logging 69 snaps, 42 routes run and five targets. This should be a high-scoring matchup to target.

Availability: 94%

Los Angeles Chargers D/ST at Carolina Panthers: This is all about the matchup. Bryce Young somehow seems to have taken a step back, making the Chargers a cheap option in what should be a low-scoring game.

Availability: 89%

Seattle Seahawks D/ST at New England Patriots: Seattle put together a solid game against rookie Bo Nix in Week 1 and now get a Patriots offense that just had 121 passing yards.

Availability: 57%

PK Joshua Karty at Arizona Cardinals: Again, we’re targeting the Cardinals, who just allowed Tyler Bass to score double-digit fantasy points.

Availability: 98%

PK Chase McLaughlin at Detroit Lions: It should be an interesting matchup between two good offenses in Week 2, so McLaughlin is a solid target after just made three field goals and four extra-points in Week 1.

Availability: 98%