It’s one of the most important waiver wire periods of the fantasy football season – that stretch between Weeks 1 and 2, when everyone in the league is flush with FAAB cash and the potential for landing a league winner at the beginning of the season leads to exorbitant spending.

Here’s a look at our improved waiver wire rankings, along with a new feature in which Dan Harris, Mike Tagliere and Kyle Yates offer their FAAB recommendations for Week 2:

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Q1. Who is your top waiver wire option of the week, and why?

It’s Malcolm Brown for me, though as I explain later, I have little confidence in that. When someone has a game like Brown did against the Cowboys (21 touches, 110 total yards and two scores), it’s something that can’t be ignored. And, if you watched that game, you knew immediately that Brown was running better than either Cam Akers or Darrell Henderson, and deserved the additional touches and goal-line work. There is plenty of downside with Brown, and even last night, he played on just 60% of the snaps. But he’s earned at least another week as the featured runner and with the goal-line work, and if he has another big week, could maintain a significant share of the workload on a team that should put up points.
– Dan Harris (@danharris80)

I’m interested in Nyheim Hines, like much more than I thought I’d ever be. Many have come to my defense saying I was rightfully wrong on Hines because I couldn’t predict an injury to Marlon Mack. But here’s the thing… Hines was heavily involved before the injury. He played ahead of Jonathan Taylor, and that was obvious when Taylor didn’t see his first touch until midway through the second quarter. We could see Frank Reich treat this backfield like Melvin Gordon and Austin Ekeler, where Hines is the Ekeler. Think of it this way: Worst case scenario, he’s like a Tarik Cohen-type flex play most weeks. The best case scenario is that he’s similar to Ekeler and you have yourself an RB2 with RB1 upside in weeks they fall behind.
– Mike Tagliere (@MikeTagliereNFL)

– Kyle Yates (@KyleYNFL)

Q2. Which high-end waiver wire option for Week 2 was the most difficult to rank?

Robby Anderson is really tough for me to pinpoint. I watched him for years on the Jets and like his talent, and Teddy Bridgewater is a fairly accurate deep passer. You could make an argument that he should be a top-two pickup this week. But it’s very hard for me to get too excited about a player who will be, at best, the third option in the passing game. And despite his huge Week 1 game, Curtis Samuel played a similar amount of snaps and saw an identical eight targets to Anderson. The Week 1 performance wasn’t enough to make me move entirely off my preseason evaluation, so although I have him as a surefire pickup this week, I don’t see him as one of the top options given what else is available. But I have little confidence in that determination at the moment.
– Dan Harris (@danharris80)

The most difficult option to rank this week was Malcolm Brown, as his 21 touches are clearly something we should be interested in. At the same time, we’ve seen flashes out of him before. Remember last year when he was one of the top waiver wire priorities? He was on the roster when they traded up to draft Darrell Henderson in the third round. He was on the roster when they drafted Cam Akers in the second round. I’m worried that Sean McVay is going to treat this backfield like Kyle Shanahan did with the 2019 49ers, having a different lead back every week.
– Mike Tagliere (@MikeTagliereNFL)

I don’t feel great ranking N’Keal Harry as a top-7 waiver wire option this week. Even though he looked good and Cam Newton seemed to trust him, it’s hard to see how he sees enough volume to be a trustworthy starting option week in and week out. This offense is completely different than what we’ve seen in previous season and they are going to lean heavily on the run game. This leaves very little for the receiving options unless they get into potential shootout matchups. Harry should be added, but we might only be able to roll him into our lineups in games where the Pats are going to have to throw to keep up.
– Kyle Yates (@KyleYNFL)

Q3. For owners renting a D/ST in Week 2, what readily available option (under 40%) should they target?

I won’t sugarcoat it – this looks to be a terrible week for D/ST streamers. But I’d take my shot on the Washington Football Team. They had eight sacks yesterday and two interceptions. Yes, the Eagles offensive line was abysmal and the Arizona offense is above-average, but Washington could have a sneaky D/ST with its ability to rush the passer.  Again, options are slim, but I’d take my shot.
– Dan Harris (@danharris80)

I’m going with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after watching how they played against the Saints. We don’t have much to go off with the Panthers offense, but we know it runs through Christian McCaffrey, right? There was one team who slowed him down last year, and it was the Bucs. Two of his bottom-three performances last year came against the Bucs. And now you bring that pass-rush against this bottom-10 offensive line? Teddy Bridgewater will be forced into throwing a bit in this game, which typically leads to fantasy points for a defense.
– Mike Tagliere (@MikeTagliereNFL)

Washington was able to terrorize Carson Wentz all game long on Sunday with their pressure up front against a poor OL. While Kyler Murray certainly has more mobility and can escape more easily, this Arizona OL isn’t exactly a top-10 unit. While points could go up on the board in this matchup for Arizona, Washington can compensate by getting home with their stout DL. They’re only 4% rostered in Yahoo leagues right now, which means that you can get them everywhere.
– Kyle Yates (@KyleYNFL)

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Notable Week 2 FAAB Recommendations (in %)

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Q4. Which Week 2 waiver wire option carries the biggest risk of being a waste of FAAB dollars?

– Dan Harris (@danharris80)

I’m going to say someone impactful, and it’s Malcolm Brown for the same reason as stated in question No. 2. There’s minimal risk spending a few FAB dollars on some of the second-tier players this week, but when spending more than 15 percent (what Brown will go for), I’d prefer to have more safety in my acquisition.
– Mike Tagliere (@MikeTagliereNFL)

People aren’t going to be coming out of the woodwork to sign Quintez Cephus from Detroit, but he comes with the biggest risk potential due to the fact that he only got work because of Kenny Golladay‘s absence. If Golladay comes back next week against Green Bay, Cephus goes right back to the bench in Detroit.
– Kyle Yates (@KyleYNFL)

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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