By admin 
Arguably the most important waiver wire run of the fantasy football season, our Week 2 pickup period presents significant opportunities — and challenges.
A major factor is parsing how realistic Week 1 production will be moving forward. Was it a one-time occurrence, or a sign of a real, growing presence in an offense?
Keep scrolling to see how much you should believe Week 1 overachievers — and double check that useful names aren’t still available in your league for your opponents to grab.
Here’s the Week 2 waiver wire report, which is updated every Sunday through Tuesday heading into overnight runs into Wednesday morning.
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Top Week 2 Waiver Wire Pickups: Fantasy Football Priority Adds
- I’m using Yahoo Fantasy Sports’ data for players’ rostership percentage.
- My recommendations for how much to bid from your Free Agency Acquisition Budget (FAAB) are based on percentages, instead of hard dollar amounts, in order to fit most leagues’ salary caps.
Kaelon Black, RB, 49ers (26%)
Though it could’ve been a plan for the odd Australia game, the Niners pushed a near even split between Christian McCaffrey and the rookie Black, who looks to have earned the Niners’ RB2 job.
Black churned out 65 yards on 14 carries in his part-time work, though the Niners could opt to keep him involved with a 10-touch workload every weekend to spell the well-traveled, 30-year-old CMC.
Ground-heavy game scripts could push Black into Flex territory for many weeks as long as he can hold off Jordan James, who was inactive with a coach’s decision.
This remains one of the best handcuff situations in fantasy, so be aggressive when locking him up. This is a more promising situation than past whiffs (Isaac Guerendo, anyone?). Kaelon Black FAAB Bid: 15%+
Kendre Miller, RB, Saints (1%)
Alvin Kamara (knee) missed Week 1, and Miller took advantage, toting the ball 9 times for 30 yards and a touchdown.
To complement Travis Etienne, the Saints’ backup role probably will see ample short-yardage and, as a result, goal-line work.
Miller (6-foot, 220 pounds) can fill that bruiser, change-of-pace role while keeping the offense flowing with Tyler Shough otherwise.
If Kamara remains hurt for a long time, Miller could creep into consistent Flex territory. While that shouldn’t be blindly banked on, it’s worth a rationally priced dart for the RB-needy. Kendre Miller FAAB Bid: 8%+
Devaughn Vele, WR, Saints (7%)
New Orleans’ logical, seamless replacement for injured rookie Jordyn Tyson (hamstring), Vele harkened back to his mini-breakout last year with a 7-69-1 Week 1 on 9 targets.
The volume from Tyson’s vacated expected targets could spread across multiple names, but Vele has a bit of history with Shough from last season and caught 41 passes in sporadic work during his rookie 2024 season.
His shiftiness and slot abilities offer Shough a safety valve who can also go deep. This versatility could keep him relevant all year even if he cedes No. 2 duties back to Tyson. Devaughn Vele FAAB Bid: 7%+
Casuals: Check Your Waiver Wire … Just In Case
These fantasy players are rostered at more than 50%, but make sure they’re not on your waiver wire. It’s Week 1, after all, so maybe these middle- and late-rounders slipped through.
Read more 12 Winners, 7 Losers From Eagles’ Exhilarating Week 1 Win Over Commanders
Now, they should be universally rostered.
If they’re there, grab them with at least 20% of your FAAB:
- Jordan Love, QB, Packers (68%)
- Jalen Coker, WR, Panthers (60%)
- Matthew Golden, WR, Packers (76%)
- Juwan Johnson, TE, Saints (73%)
Week 2 Waiver Wire: Watch List and Best Stashes
Don’t lose track of these upside candidates at each position, but don’t spend more than 5% of your FAAB budget to acquire them if you want to tuck them away.
Quarterbacks
- Bryce Young, Panthers (13%)
- Tyler Shough, Saints (40%)
- Jacoby Brissett, Cardinals (7%)
- Kirk Cousins, Raiders (4%)
- Carson Wentz, Vikings (0%)
Young (361 passing yards, 3 TDs) looked like he’s teasing a breakout in his contract year. Adding a more involved and maturing Jalen Coker to the picture that already included Tetairoa McMillan and running back Chuba Hubbard gives him more outlets. Of course, this pace was frantic to keep up with the Bears’ volume offense, so this might not be a weekly occurence; still, matchups with weak NFC South opposing defenses could be enough to generate bye-week or streamer appeal for Young.
Shough rattled off 56 attempts Sunday, completing 35 for 411 yards and 3 TDs. Will he always attempt that many passes? Probably not; this effort nearly completed a comeback of Detroit’s 21-point lead. More balanced game flows moving forward will dip his value, but he’s still a great backup where they’re necessary in fantasy.
Brissett and Cousins also deserve QB2 spots in deeper leagues; their teams likely will be in many passing situations despite their respective Week 1 wins.
Wentz may get the job if Kyler Murray (concussion) has to miss time; Kevin O’Connell isn’t ready to crawl back to J.J. McCarthy.
Running Backs
- Devin Singletary, Giants (9%)
- Emari Demercado, Cowboys (3%)
Backups of Sunday Night Football running backs with upside for busy workloads should Cam Skattebo or Javonte Williams, respectively, go down.
Singletary found the end zone during a busy day as a receiving option against the Cowboys. He’s likely ahead of Najee Harris in the pecking order for now.
Wide Receivers
- Antonio Williams, Commanders (2%)
- Dontayvion Wicks, Eagles (16%)
- Kalif Raymond, Bears (0%)
- Kendrick Bourne, Cardinals (0%)
The rookie Williams shone against a tough Eagles defense, catching all 4 targets for 64 yards and a touchdown (almost with a second). This immediate connection with Jayden Daniels may just have been finding a soft spot in a tough Philly secondary, but he was a talented preseason sleeper, and he’s already showing promise.
Wicks broke off a big play and scored but also only had four targets. He may relent a bit if rookie Makai Lemon finds his footing, but with DeVonta Smith and TE Dallas Goedert looking like the top two names, he’s merely a stash for byes and in case one of these other targets goes down.
Just as the third receiver in Ben Johnson’s Bears offense was useful at times last year, Raymond find similar utility in the future for bye coverage. The former Lion led Chicago’s pass-catchers with 9 targets, 8 catches, and 84 yards.
Keep an eye on Bourne (8 targets, 8 catches, 75 yards), but the Cardinals have a crowded tree behind TE Trey McBride and WRs Marvin Harrison Jr. and Michael Wilson.
Tight Ends
- Michael Mayer, Raiders (26%)
- Mike Gesicki, Bengals (1%)
I’d be more bullish on Mayer if reports didn’t come out Sunday that Bowers may return in Week 2. If you can somehow win Mayer for cheap, he could be a short-term boon for your roster.
Sure, rumors have floated that the Raiders will like to have both on the field at the same time frequently, but don’t expect Mayer’s excellent Week 1 workload to continue every week.
Gesicki has many of these “pop” games such as Sunday’s 5-78-1 (7 targets) but hasn’t yet proved too consistent week-ti-week for fantasy purposes in this offense. As Tee Higgins gets healthier, expect him to vacuum more looks his way.
Come back Monday and Tuesday for the best streamer plays for Week 2, and more players to pick up based on news and injuries.
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This story was originally published September 14, 2026 at 6:00 AM.