Jayden Reed Injury: Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Replacements

With the injury to Jayden Reed, fantasy football managers are left with a void on their roster. Let’s check out the extent of the injury and players you can target on your fantasy football waiver wire this week. And also be sure to check out all of our full fantasy football waiver wire advice for the week.

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Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Injury Replacements

Injury Outlook

Jayden Reed (collarbone) out 6-8 weeks
Green Bay Packers wide receiver Jayden Reed suffered a fractured collarbone and is expected to head to injured reserve (IR). The hope is that he will miss 6-8 weeks.

Fantasy Impact

Reed did not record a catch before he exited with his injury, and now he will miss what is expected to be a least a month and a half on IR. However, this could also give him the time he needs to recover from the foot injury he was playing through. While WRs Romeo Doubs, Matthew Golden, and Dontayvion Wicks theoretically get a boost in fantasy with Reed out, the Packers are more than content to rotate their pass-catchers, and every Green Bay WR could remain somewhat unpredictable.
– Jordan Epp

Waiver Wire Replacements to Target: Wide Receivers

Written by Derek Brown

Elic Ayomanor (WR – TEN): 8% Rostered

• Next Opponents: IND, @HOU, @ARI
• True Value: $9
• Desperate Need: $15
• Budget-Minded: $5

Analysis: While the counting stats weren’t there in Week 1, Elic Ayomanor still soaked up intriguing volume, and I was quietly interested in his upside moving forward. In Week 1, he had a 25% target share, a 48.5% air-yard share and a 36.8% first-read share, per Fantasy Points Data. Among 105 qualifying wide receivers, he ranked 45th in separation and 23rd in route win rate. In Week 2, Ayomanor didn’t see nearly the same target volume (18.1% target share), but he turned his volume into production with four grabs, 56 receiving yards and a score. Ayomanor is a talented rookie who could just be starting to hit his stride, and only Calvin Ridley can compete with him weekly for the team lead in targets. Ayomanor could evolve into a strong WR3/Flex if Cam Ward can be as good as we think he can be in his rookie season.

Wan’Dale Robinson (WR – NYG): 22% Rostered

• Next Opponents: KC, LAC, @NO
• True Value: $7
• Desperate Need: $11
• Budget-Minded: $4

Analysis: Wan’Dale Robinson exploded in Week 2 with eight receptions and 142 receiving yards. Yes, in case you’re wondering, that was a career high in receiving yardage for Robinson and only the second 100-yard receiving game of his career, so don’t think that many more of those will be coming in 2025. That doesn’t mean he isn’t a strong weekly Flex moving forward in PPR formats. Over the last two games, he has a 23% target share while averaging seven grabs and 98.5 receiving yards. As the clear No. 2 option in the Giants’ passing attack, Robinson will be a nice player to have on your bench when the bye weeks arrive.

Troy Franklin (WR – DEN): 3% Rostered

• Next Opponents: @LAC, CIN, @PHI
• True Value: $4
• Desperate Need: $6
• Budget-Minded: $2

Analysis: Good lawd, this feels like a trap, but if Sean Payton is finally going to feature Troy Franklin in a full-time role, he could really take off in 2025. The talented sophomore receiver led the team in snaps (49), routes (29), targets (nine), receptions (eight) and receiving yards (89) in Week 2. He also scored a touchdown. This season, he has earned a 21.4% target share and produced 2.33 yards per route run, per Pro Football Focus (PFF). Both of these marks are solid to outstanding. Marvin Mims has been unable to secure a full-time role in the offense, and I don’t see that changing. With Evan Engram also regulated to a part-time role in the offense, there’s a clear runway for Franklin to ascend if he continues to see this level of playing time.

Cedric Tillman (WR – CLE): 39% Rostered

• Next Opponents: GB, @DET, MIN
• True Value: $4
• Desperate Need: $6
• Budget-Minded: $2

Analysis: Cedric Tillman has been a decent Flex play over the last two games and should continue to live in that fantasy realm moving forward. The Browns’ passing volume should allow him to sustain that level of fantasy production even after the touchdown hot streak is extinguished. Tillman has scored in both games this season, which has greatly helped his fantasy days while drawing only a 16.6% target share and averaging 3.5 receptions and 37 receiving yards. Joe Flacco has attempted 45 passes in back-to-back games, and I don’t see that type of raw passing volume slowing down anytime soon for Cleveland, so Tillman should continue to see somewhere in the neighborhood of the 7.5 targets per game he has seen so far.

Kayshon Boutte (WR – NE): 28% Rostered

• Next Opponents: PIT, CAR, @BUF
• True Value: $4
• Desperate Need: $6
• Budget-Minded: $2

Analysis: Kayshon Boutte had a wonderful Week 1, with a 17.4% target share, a 37.9% air-yard share, 2.58 yards per route run, 103 receiving yards and a 23.3% first-read share (which led the team). He backed those stats up with a solid 0.103 separation score and 15.4% route win rate, per Fantasy Points Data. Unfortunately, he didn’t follow up that strong opening week with another against the Dolphins. He had only one target and 16 receiving yards, but he made it count, as he came down with a touchdown. Drake Maye spread the ball around in Week 2, and New England leaned more heavily on its ground game. Better days are ahead for Boutte, and he should settle into solid Flex territory.

Romeo Doubs (WR – GB): 16% Rostered

• Next Opponents: @CLE, @DAL, BYE
• True Value: $1
• Desperate Need: $2
• Budget-Minded: $0

Analysis: If I’m going to make a bet on anyone in the Green Bay passing attack to stand out this season aside from Tucker Kraft, it’s Romeo Doubs. Through two games, he has a 17% target share, 2.34 yards per route run and a 20.6% first-read share, per Fantasy Points Data. With rookie Matthew Golden still a part-time receiver, Doubs is the best competition that Kraft has for targets. If Green Bay decides to increase the passing volume as we move through the season, Doubs should see his stock trend upward. And it’s possible Doubs sees a slight uptick in targets while Packers Jayden Reed recovers from a broken collarbone.

Wide Receiver Stash Candidates

• Jalen Coker (WR – CAR)

The runway remains clear for Jalen Coker to assume the No. 2 WR duties in the Carolina passing attack when he is finally healthy. Bryce Young bounced back somewhat in Week 2, which provides a rosier outlook moving forward for the target quality that Coker will absorb once back in the lineup. When healthy, Coker has proven he has the talent to demand targets, which is still something we can’t say for Xavier Legette. Stash Coker in your IR spot.