NFL Waiver Wire: Week 2 Pickups

Week 1 is in the books, and if you had a rough week (50 percent of us did), now isn't the time to panic. There'll be better days ahead for managers who underperformed, but it's never too early to look at the waiver wire with the opportunity to roster a viable, weekly starter who could be waiting there. The inevitable Week 1 injuries happened, so let's see who's out there.

This columns is geared toward "standard" 12-team leagues and based upon a $100 free-agent budget. Please adjust for your league based on both the number of teams (I'm in a 24-team league, for example) and remaining budget.

Quarterback

SECONDARY TARGETS

Kirk Cousins, MIN - Albeit in garbage time, Cousins turned in a decent fantasy performance (24.4 fantasy points) Sunday even using his legs to rush for 34. While there are a lot of questions about his receiving corps outside of Adam Thielen, either Justin Jefferson or Bisi Johnson should emerge as a reliable second option. The Vikings defense might be below league-average, providing similar game flows as Sunday's with Cousins throwing a lot in the second half. This week he gets the Colts, a team that lost to Jacksonville and allowed Gardner Minshew to go 19-for-20 while throwing for three touchdowns. FAAB: $3-$6

Running Back

PRIMARY TARGETS

James Robinson, JAC - I mentioned James Robinson last week, and maybe people were taking a wait-and-see approach on him. He's only 56 percent owned in Yahoo leagues despite being the only running back in the NFL to get every single carry at the position on his team. That bodes well for his future workload as his volume should be enough to make him an RB2. FAAB: $10-$20

Benny Snell, PIT - James Conner is such a good story it's a shame to see him get hurt again. Unless you don't own him in your fantasy league. It's unknown as of this writing how long Conner will be out with an ankle injury, but it's obvious Snell is the back to own in Pittsburgh. He handled a full workload once Conner left the game Monday and finished with 19 carries for 113 yards. Look at Jaylen Samuels in PPR as well. Adjust both of those FAAB bids if we get more conclusive evidence on Conner. FAAB: $10-$20; Samuels $3-$6

SECONDARY TARGETS

Peyton Barber, WAS - I never thought I'd be using the words "goal-line back" or "lion's share of carries" to describe Barber, yet here we are. He finished with 17 carries for 29 yards but did find the end zone to make for a nice fantasy day. The lack of efficiency sticks out and his value likely will be touchdown-dependent, which is random. He hasn't averaged more than 3.9 yards per carry in any of the last three seasons, and the Football Team probably wanted to ease in Antonio Gibson. There'll be some laughable FAAB prices on Barber but I really don't think he's anything more than a flex spot, not even an RB2 in most formats. FAAB: $4-$8

Nyheim Hines, IND - Marlon Mack is out for the season after tearing an Achilles, putting Jonathan Taylor in as the starter and Hines as the backup/change-of-pace guy. Hines had a rushing touchdown Sunday before Mack's injury, but Taylor will get most of the goal-line work (Hines has only four rushing touchdowns in his previous two seasons). If you're bidding on Hines in a full-point PPR format at least double this bid as it appears Philip Rivers still loves to dump off the ball. Rivers didn't show great downfield strength, and Hines had eight targets while Taylor had six. Throw in Macks' three targets before leaving and there's solid evidence both running backs will get plenty of targets. FAAB: $4-$8

Adrian Peterson, DET - As someone who picked and used Peterson last season I tell you without absolute certainty he will not win you a fantasy title. However, I'll hear it if I don't mention him this week. The crazy stat I found for him from Sunday is that he had 17 touches on only 24 snaps. I'll go out on a limb and say he won't continue to have a 70 percent usage rate. Look for D'Andre Swift (who had the most running back snaps) to eventually take over this backfield. FAAB: $3-$6

Wide Receiver

PRIMARY TARGETS

Allen Lazard, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, GB - A lot of money will be shelled out for these two this week after their respective performances Sunday. While Valdez-Scantling had the better fantasy day, Lazard (42 percent owned in Yahoo leagues) is the more desirable of the two. Lazard played 68 snaps to MVS' 42, giving him more opportunities to make plays. The Packers also ran Lazard one play for 19 yards, showing that they're trying to get the ball in his hands. Both have a good matchup this week at home against a Lions team that allowed Mitchell Trubisky and the Bears to score 21 consecutive points in the fourth quarter. FAAB: Lazard $6-$12; Valdes-Scantling $3-$6

SECONDARY TARGETS

Russell Gage, ATL - Atlanta has one of the league's best wide-receiver trios, and in a volume passing game, those receivers will help pad Matt Ryan's stats. Gage's role on the team grew after the team dealt Mohamed Sanu; he had at least six targets in five of his last six games last season. He saw a lofty 12 targets Sunday with the Falcons playing catchup in the second half as the running game was non-existent. Falcons likely will play in more competitive games without Ryan attempting 54 passes, but Gage has talent and has the ability to create matchup problems being shadowed by the third or fourth corners of defenses. FAAB: $4-$8

Tight End

HAIL MARY

Logan Thomas, WAS - After Terry McLaurin and Steven Sims, there's isn't a lot there for Washington in the way of receiving options. Enter Thomas, who as the tight end runs safe short-to-intermediate routes that are attractive to young quarterbacks like Dwayne Haskins. It appears Jeremy Sprinkle will be utilized as the blocking tight end, making Thomas the more attractive fantasy target. Don't forget that Thomas was a quarterback in college and will probably attempt a throw a few times this season on trick plays. FAAB: $1-$2

Dalton Schultz, DAL - It appears Blake Jarwin's season is over as he tore his ACL while running a route Sunday night. Shultz took over his role after Jarwin left and only caught one of the four targets that came his way. It's likely this gives more red-zone targets to the three wide receivers with Schultz occasionally (2-4 times) vulturing a touchdown. He's really only an option in two-TE or deeper leagues. FAAB: $1-$2

Defense

PRIMARY TARGETS

Los Angeles Rams - This is a good season-long recommendation as the combination of Aaron Jones Aaron Donald and Jalen Ramsey made one of the best offenses in the league look bad Sunday night. The should continue to find success throughout the season and are owned in 48 percent of Yahoo leagues. Reassess if they're a better option than your current defense or if you planned on streaming all season. FAAB: $4-$8 

SECONDARY TARGETS

Washington Football Team - Carson Wentz and the Eagles had beaten Washington six consecutive games before Sunday's loss and the defense was the primary reason. While the injuries to the Eagles offense didn't help matters, there's no argument that Washington has one of the best defensive lines in the league. That combination of events led to eight sacks of Carson Wentz and allowed the defense to pick off two passes. FAAB: $2-$4