Welcome to Week 3 of the waiver wire. We saw some rookie running backs get a bump in work in Week 2, which is a good sign for them moving forward. We also saw a few players who did well in Week 1, back that up with another good game, which is also a good sign moving forward.
Below, we’ll go over some Week 2 fantasy football performers that you should consider scooping off the waiver wire ahead of Week 3. We’ll classify a waiver add as someone who is rostered under roughly 60% of Yahoo leagues.
Troy Franklin, WR, Broncos (3%)
Next three matchups — @LAC, CIN, @PHI
Bo Nix and the Broncos found the end zone three times through the air in the first half against the Colts and looked good doing so. The offense broke down in the second half, but Troy Franklin and company had done quite a bit of fantasy damage already. Franklin was a high upside rookie prospect last season, but he hadn’t been winning enough playing time and targets to be of much use in fantasy. That appears to have changed, as he was at a 60% snap count last week and caught 4-of-6 targets for 44 yards.
Now, in Week 2, he just had the best game of his career, as he caught 8-of-9 targets for 89 yards and a touchdown, adding one rushing attempt for 11 yards to give him 100 total yards on the day. These numbers came from a career high 83% of the snaps. There will be fluctuations in who gets work between the receivers, as their WR1, Courtland Sutton, caught just one pass for six yards on four targets. Sutton will get more work in the future, but there is little doubt that Franklin has proved he is right up there with the veteran and needs as many touches as they can give him.
Cam Skattebo, RB, Giants (59%)
Next three matchups — KC, LAC, @NO
Skattebo took a big step forward in work this week, going from eight total snaps in Week 1 to 35 in Week 2, while leading the Giants’ running backs with a 51% snap percentage. He also led in carries, rushing yards, and routes run, per PFF. The rookie ended up rushing 11 times for 45 yards and a touchdown, while catching 2-of-3 targets for 14 more yards.
Tyrone Tracy on the other hand ran the ball five times for 15 yards. Tracy did end up catching 4-of-5 targets for 36 yards, while playing on passing downs. That means Skattebo is a bit more suited for standard and half-PPR leagues, but if he can continue to outplay Tracy, he’ll continue to see enough work to be fantasy relevant.
Bhayshul Tuten, RB, Jaguars (55%)
Next three matchups — HOU, @SF, KC
After Tank Bigsby was traded away to the Eagles, rookie Bhayshul Tuten and his fantasy backers were hoping that meant he’d see more work moving forward, and they were right to hope! Travis Etienne was still the lead back, but Tuten did see an uptick in snaps. Overall he only got 18 snaps, but had 10 touches on those 18 snaps, and he turned them into a strong fantasy day. He ended up rushing eight times for 42 yards and catching his two targets for 32 more yards and a slick touchdown.
Etienne has played well enough for Tuten to not take his job, but Tuten has a good start to his career and has shown tremendous ability in a small sample. He’ll continue to get work and could end up winning more and more touches as the season goes on. He’s very much worth a bench spot, but could quickly become a fantasy start.
Juwan Johnson, TE, Saints (44%)
Next three matchups — @SEA, @BUF, NYG
Mr. Johnson just continues to excel in Kellen Moore’s fast-paced offense, as he’s now up to 20 targets on the season. Against the 49ers this week he was able to catch 5-of-9 targets for 49 yards and a touchdown. His snap percentage was once again extremely high this week at 95%, per PFF. You just don’t see that very often, especially when you add in the target numbers. He’s shaping up to be a steady fantasy tight end, and extremely useful in PPR leagues.
Daniel Jones, QB, Colts (17%)
Next three matchups — @TEN, @LAR, LV
Well, that’s two games as the Colts starter, and two wins for Daniel Jones. But for fantasy, it was yet another positive day as well. He ended up completing 23-of-35 passes for 316 yards and one touchdown, while adding another short rushing touchdown to give him three on the season. This game also came against what many consider the best defense in the league, the Broncos. It will still be tough to consider Jones a top tier fantasy quarterback moving forward, but he’s played well enough to believe he can continue with a strong fantasy floor, as he has a great running back in Jonathan Taylor to take heat off him, while he has multiple above average receivers to throw to.
Wan’Dale Robinson, WR, New York Giants (22%)
Next three matchups — KC, LAC, @NO
Wait, is Wan’Dale not just a PPR scammer anymore? His history says no, he is just a PPR scammer, but he sure wasn’t this week, as he caught 8-of-10 passes for 142 yards and a touchdown. This was in a game where Russell Wilson threw for 450 yards and Malik Nabers also went off even more than Robinson, so there was a lot of upside against a bad Cowboys pass defense. But, Robinson does have a good floor in PPR leagues, making him useful even when not going off for huge games like this. Maybe Wilson or Dart can get him going this year.
Zach Ertz, TE, Commanders (57%)
Next three matchups — LV, @ATL, @LAC
Ertz caught 6-of-8 targets for 64 yards and a touchdown against a stout Green Bay defense on Thursday Night Football. That line comes after a Week 1 touchdown as well, on five target against a Giants team that didn’t put up much of a fight. We can’t expect the touchdowns to pile up, but there’s little doubt Jayden Daniels likes him near the end zone. With what looks like a decent schedule coming up, he should remain a strong play moving forward.
Dontayvion Wicks, WR, Packers (1%)
Next three matchups — @CLE, @DAL, BYE
The Packers are playing great to start the season, but they did just lose their most productive receiver in Jayden Reed. Reed will be out a a couple months and Wicks is set to take his spot in the slot. It might not come with the snap counts we’d like, but we did see Wicks catch 4-of-6 targets after Reed’s injury. How involved he’ll be moving forward is hard to know, but he has upside and is in a spot he should see some easy catch and run targets on a good team.
These guys are rostered over 60%, but could be available in smaller leagues.
Rhamondre Stevenson, RB, Patriots (67%)
Next three matchups — PIT, CAR, @BUF
Josh McDaniels said he wanted to run the ball more and he did, but not with TreVeyon Henderson. Instead, he got Rhamondre Stevenson going in a big way against a bad Dolphins defense. And gave Antonio Gibson more work at the expense of Henderson. Stevenson didn’t find the end zone, but did put up 142 yards on 16 touches, which included a 55 yard catch and run. Stevenson isn’t a must start each week, but he played well enough to keep ahold of the top spot moving forward.
Quinshon Judkins, RB, Browns (62%)
Next three matchups — GB, @DET, MIN
The second-round rookie running back led Cleveland in both rushing attempts and rushing yards in his first game of his career. He wasn’t on the field all that much, but when he was, he got the ball and put up decent numbers. With a deficit, it was Jerome Ford who saw the most work in the hurry up offense, but if they can get into closer games, Judkins has the ability and opportunity to be a useful fantasy play.
