After only two weeks of NFL football, we are starting to see some injuries and superb play from unexpected players.
Sadly there is no Elijah Mitchell type player to pick up this week that can give you starter potential immediately, but there are a few guys to look at if you want stash or stream options.
The wire is also a lot more dry as a whole compared to last week where I felt like I had to cut a few quality options out of my top five. You may even look at this list and choose not to put in any claims, which is what I'm doing in a few of my leagues.
There is still some value, but some digging had to be done.
Anyway, here is my top five.
1. Zach Pascal (available in 80.1% of leagues)
With T.Y. Hilton out of commission in Indianapolis, I figured Michael Pittman was going to be Carson Wentz's favorite target, but that didn't seem to be the case, at least in Week 1.
Zach Pascal has taken some of the love away from Pittman so far having been targeted 11 times over the past two weeks with three total touchdowns.
For him to enter a low WR2 or high flex territory, he needs to get more distance on his receptions as has only accounted for 81 yards through the air thus far, but he's getting the attention needed for him to accomplish that.
I expect Pascal's numbers to drop a bit when Hilton returns, but he is my top waiver wire target for the week as of right now.
2. K.J. Osborne (available in 97.9% of leagues)
I usually shy away from three wide receiver committees like what we see in Pittsburgh with Juju, Johnson and Claypool, but for some reason, this has been working albeit on a small sample size?
Somehow, the Vikings have had an offense through two weeks that had enough targets to go around for Thielen, Jefferson AND Osborne. As the No. 3 guy in that offense being blanketed by the worst corner, Osborne has been hit with a whopping 15 targets through two weeks with 167 receiving yards and a touchdown.
He's an injury to Jefferson or Thielen away from becoming a serious weekly fantasy option.
Everyone is eating in that Minnesota offense, and with Detroit and Seattle coming to town in two of the next three weeks, I expect his domination to continue.
3. Cordarrelle Patterson (available in 85.3% of leagues)
I thought Mike Davis was going to be Atlanta's bell cow running back going into the year, but it's looking much more like a committee after two weeks.
Neither running back has necessarily blown me away or anything as the offense has struggled mightily to begin the season, but it seems as though both running backs are getting their touches split almost completely down the middle.
A committee isn't exactly the best thing in terms of fantasy success, but when you get six targets like Patterson did last week, you start to pay attention, especially in PPR leagues.
Targets aside, Patterson also scored two touchdowns last Sunday while Davis got none. It's still too early to see which running back will take over if one even does, but I believe having Patterson on your roster will only help your team out.
4. Daniel Jones (available in 86.6% of leagues)
I didn't think I would ever be saying this, but Daniel Jones actually looked... good last Thursday against what I consider a solid Washington defense.
Maybe I shouldn't make too much of it considering his domination of the Football Team ever since he entered the league, but it's still something to look at.
In fantasy, we love quarterbacks who pass for tons of yards and touchdowns while simultaneously limiting the turnovers. The best ones, though, are the ones that do that in addition to adding a rushing aspect to his game.
Jones hovered around the 250 air yards number over the last two weeks, which is, well, average, but he's gotten a rushing touchdown in both Week 1 and Week 2 in addition to tacking on a whole 95 yards rushing during the latter.
Daniel Jones is no longer one of the many laughing stocks of New York; he is a serious fantasy option and a guy that I would actually think about starting week to week if you are in a bad quarterback situation.
Dropping 21+ points through two weeks against two respectable defenses is definitely something that caught my eye and is one of the many reasons why he is my No. 1 waiver wire quarterback for Week 3.
5. Darius Slayton (available in 95.1% of leagues)
Continuing on with this whole Giants theme, I will conclude this week's waiver wire column with Darius Slayton.
I was very confused going into the year how targets were going to be distributed in this offense. Golladay, Shepard, Toney AND Slayton??
I figured Slayton was going to be the odd man out here, but it's actually Toney who is in the metaphorical doghouse at the moment. That and Golladay has been a massive disappointment through two weeks.
It's been Shepard and Slayton running the show, which makes sense because they had the most time with Daniel Jones to date, and those are the guys who I trust having on my roster at this point in time.
Slayton scored 14.4 fantasy points last week, but we all know he realistically should have dropped a 20 burger because of that should-have-been touchdown that dropped right off his finger tips.
He gets the targets, and he gets one of the worst corners on him. Why not give Slayton a shot?
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