We saw plenty of gaudy offensive performances this week that inflated fantasy point totals all across the board. Ryan Fitzpatrick and Patrick Mahomes continued making their very early-season MVP cases, while Matt Breida and Phillip Lindsay both staked their claim for a larger piece of their backfield’s pie. Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen proved that Minnesota can once again support two WR1s and no more questions linger about Travis Kelce‘s production with Kansas City’s new prolific quarterback.
It wasn’t all fireworks and excitement, though. We witnessed Joe Mixon, LeSean McCoy, and Larry Fitzgerald suffer injuries this past week. Are the “next men up” in Cincinnati, Buffalo, and Arizona worth your attention? Also, which lesser-owned players made their argument for more touches or snaps during Week 2’s offensive explosion? Our featured experts share their thoughts on their favorite waiver pickups below and rank each widely unowned player with fantasy appeal as we head into Week 3.
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Featured Experts:
Mike Tagliere – FantasyPros
Bobby Sylvester – FantasyPros
Jacob Gibbs – SportsLine
Dan Harris – FantasyPros
Jody Smith – FantasyPros
*Ownership % derived from a consensus of Yahoo & ESPN leagues
On a mobile device? Click here for rankings table
Q1. How much are you willing to spend (FAAB %) on your favorite waiver wire target (or two) and why do you like him?
Giovani Bernard (RB – CIN)
“Bernard is what we save FAAB and the top waiver priority for. He may not be a starter the rest of the season, but three or four weeks of a workhorse is a rare opportunity. We saw Bernard in this role over a four-game stretch last year, and he finished as a top-10 fantasy running back in that time ahead of Alvin Kamara, Leonard Fournette, and Christian McCaffrey. I’d spend just shy of 30% of my FAAB to acquire a strong RB2 for the next few weeks.”
– Bobby Sylvester (FantasyPros)
“If there’s an injury at the running back position, you’ll immediately look to his backup for production, especially if they’ve shown the ability to produce in the NFL. Giovani Bernard has shown that ability before, and there’s little competition on the roster for touches, outside of rookie Mark Walton, who is still very raw in his development. With Mixon being out two-to-four weeks, Bernard is someone worth spending 20 percent of your FAAB on.”
– Mike Tagliere (FantasyPros)
“I’d be willing to spend up to 35-40% of my FAAB on Giovani Bernard. His splits as Cincy’s sole RB are high-end RB2 type numbers, especially in PPR formats. You get a starting RB for 2-4 weeks, with the upside for more if there are any complications with Mixon’s knee.”
– Jacob Gibbs (SportsLine)
John Brown (WR – BAL)
“Undoubtedly, Bernard will be a popular, and likely expensive commodity, but Brown has scored in back-to-back games to open the season and probably has more season-long value than Bernard, who will be relegated to a reduced role once Mixon returns in two-to-four weeks. Brown has a healthy 13 targets through two games and has been used downfield and in the red zone. He’s got WR3/flex value for the rest of the season and can be a sneaky under-the-radar add while others scramble for running backs. I’d spend up to 10-12 percent of my FAAB on him.”
– Jody Smith (FantasyPros)
Chris Godwin (WR – TB)
“This isn’t a huge waiver wire week in my opinion, so I’d doubt I’d spend much more than 5% of my budget on anyone. That money, however, would be spent on Godwin, who is the clear top add for me off the waiver wire. He not only had a touchdown in both games, but he has caught eight of his 10 targets, showing an efficiency rate that suggests that he can do a lot even without a high volume of targets. DeSean Jackson’s presence limits his upside a bit, but with a home game on tap against a mediocre Steelers defense, he’s in play as a streamer for this week at least.”
– Dan Harris (FantasyPros)
Q2. For owners renting a D/ST in Week 3, what readily available option (under 40%) should they target and why?
“It’s the Browns, who will be playing at home against the Jets on Thursday night. If you’d told someone that the Browns would play against Ben Roethlisberger and Drew Brees to start the year, but allowed just 42 points in the two games combined, what would you have said? They were crazy? With a young and upcoming defense, they were able to sack those two quarterbacks a combined 10 times in two games. Meanwhile, the Jets have allowed five sacks, three interceptions, two fumble recoveries, and one defensive touchdown through two games. Their left tackle Kelvin Beachum is going to have his hands full with Myles Garrett on primetime football.”
– Mike Tagliere (FantasyPros)
“The Cleveland Browns have executed failure to begin the season as well as any professional sports team, but the defense has been impressive. We know they’ve got the pieces, and when you throw in a matchup versus a young rookie QB who had interception issues even in college, I’ll buy the Browns D/ST all day as a top streamer for Week 3.”
– Bobby Sylvester (FantasyPros)
“This is a gross week for streaming D/STs. I’d roll with Cleveland as home favorites against a rookie QB and hope Darnold throws a few picks.”
– Jacob Gibbs (SportsLine)
“The Browns have been a surprisingly effective D/ST unit thus far this season, but I’d target the other D/ST in Thursday’s game — the Jets. They dominated the Lions in Week 1, but they put up a surprisingly effective performance against the Dolphins, sacking Ryan Tannehill four times and recovering two fumbles. The Browns have allowed 10 sacks through two games already, and the Jets should be able to press him consistently. It’s a bit of a contrarian play, but I expect them to be a fine streaming option this week.”
– Dan Harris (FantasyPros)
“Nobody talks about the Miami Dolphins, but they are tied with the Jets for an NFL-high five interceptions and are at home against an Oakland offense that hasn’t been lighting up the scoreboard. The Raiders also must contend with flying cross-country for a 1:00 PM kickoff, which tends to be a difficult dynamic for West Coast teams.”
– Jody Smith (FantasyPros)
Thank you to the experts for naming their top waiver targets. Be sure to give them a follow on Twitter if you’re not already doing so and check out our latest podcast below for more great advice.
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