Fantasy Football: Waiver wire targets for Week 2

You won your fantasy football matchup? Good for you. You lost? That’s ok, it’s only Week 1. Either way, it’s never too early to try to improve your team. Here’s a few players to look for on the waiver wire this week and some reasons why:

Phillip Lindsay, RB, Denver Broncos

Rostered: Yahoo: 4%, ESPN: 1.9%

Lindsay, surprisingly, played just three fewer snaps than starter Royce Freeman. He got the same amount of carries (15) and yards (71) as Freeman, too. Add in the two receptions Lindsay had for 31 yards and he out-touched Freeman in the game. Split running back by committees are typically a nightmare for fantasy purposes — and right now that looks to be Linsday’s ceiling — but getting than much run is something that deserves notice. Denver is home against the Oakland Raiders in Week 2, a team that just allowed 104 yards on the ground to Todd Gurley and 140 total to the Rams on Monday night.

Will Dissly, TE, Seattle Seahawks

Rostered: Yahoo: 2%, ESPN: 0.1%

Will Dissly is supposed to be a blocking tight end. He finished his first career game with just three receptions, but 105 yards and a touchdown. His five targets were tied for second on the team and only Brandon Marshall (six) was targeted more often. Opportunity is going to be open in the Seattle passing game with Doug Baldwin suffering a Grade 2 MCL sprain. Dissly’s touches also weren’t fluky. Per Next Gen Stats, Dissly was targeted an average 17.1 yards down the field, tops for tight ends in Week 1. For comparison, Tyreek Hill was targeted at 17.3 yards. Because Dissly is a “blocking” tight end and because the Seahawks want to run the ball, he should be on the field often — he saw 33 snaps, just two fewer than starting tight end Nick Vannett. If you had Delanie Walker or aren’t feeling great about your tight end, this could be a fun way to go.

Phillip Dorsett, WR, New England Patriots

Rostered: Yahoo: 4%, ESPN: 4.7%

There are three wide receivers on the Patriots’ depth chart, so there’s not many options in the passing game. But it does appear all of them are going to get some work. Dorsett was only third on the team in targets behind James White and Rob Gronkowski, but his seven led receivers. He also got two targets — both caught — inside the 20, one of which went for a touchdown. New England plays Jacksonville next, but Danny Amendola had seven catches for 83 yards and Brandin Cooks had six receptions for 100 yards in the AFC Championship Game last season.

T.J. Yeldon, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars

Rostered: Yahoo: 15%, ESPN: 8%

After Leonard Fournette left the game against the Giants, T.J Yeldon came in and the game plan stayed the same. Yeldon only had 14 carries for 51 yards, but he added three catches for 18 yards and a touchdown. When the Jaguars had the lead, they were fine letting Yeldon run into stacked boxes to run the clock down. If Fournette is out for an extended period of time, the Jaguars might use a little more Corey Grant in the passing game, but Yeldon would be the top back on a team set up to run the ball. He’s a must add for Fournette owners and he’ll provide standalone value for others if Fournette has to miss time.

Geronimo Allison, WR, Green Bay Packers

Rostered: Yahoo: 12%, ESPN: 9.2%

Geronimo Allison is only the third wide receiver on Green Bay, but he finished Sunday night’s game with five catches for 69 yards and a touchdown on eight targets. Those eight targets tied with the Packer’s No. 1 receiver Davante Adams. Allison was the deep threat on the team — an aDOT of 14.1 per Next Gen Stats — and looks to have a clear lock on that role. He might be a high variance play some weeks, but if you’re going to go that route, it’s not bad to have Aaron Rodgers as the guy who controls it on a team that likes to throw the ball.

Keep an eye on:

These three rookies are worth keeping an eye on for development over the next week or so.

• Dante Pettis became San Francisco’s go-to receiver after Marquise Goodwin got hurt — 2/61/1 line of five targets. If Goodwin has to miss any time, Pettis could make an instant impact in that offense.
• Nyheim Hines had offseason buzz, but his preseason workload and fumbles scared many. In the Colts’ first game he only rushed five times for 19 yards, but caught seven passes for 33 yards on nine targets. Fellow rookie Jordan Wilkins still led the Colts in touches, but if Marlon Mack continues to be out, Hines could become a PPR play with upside in an offense that looks like it’s going to feature a heavy dose of short passes and screens.
• Ian Thomas should be the man in line to take over for Greg Olsen with the Panthers’ top tight end out with an apparently serious knee injury. Thomas only had two receptions for four yards in Week 1, but with time to prepare as the starter, he could be a useful weapon in a passing game that still appears to lack many of those. At the combine, Thomas tested as the top SPARQ athlete in the tight end group and compared favorable to the crazy 2017 class.