Week 2 Waiver Wire Top Pickups & Adds: Nyheim Hines In Line For More Touches

With Week 1 in the books, there will be a mad dash to the waiver wire. As we prepped for the injury bug, there were a few bigger names to go down, but we don’t know for how long just yet. For those with FAAB budgets, there are a few names to spend some cash on, but my style is to still wait a bit as a top backup could be put into a starting role. Tune into our Week 2 fantasy football rankings & projections, to help guide you throughout the week with any decisions that you have.

Running Backs

Nyheim Hines – Indianapolis Colts

Average % Rostered: 33%, FAAB: 15%

The Colts backfield was a three-headed monster coming into Week 1, and while Nyheim Hines did some damage while everyone was healthy, it did not stay that way. Marlon Mack has likely suffered a season-ending Achilles injury. Jonathan Taylor and Nyheim Hines will both pick up the slack and take on a larger role. Hines is certainly more suited for PPR and Half-PPR formats, where he might be rostered a little bit more. Hines role is now fairly safe where he will work in on the occasional rushing attempt but pick up most of his fantasy value through the air. Hines will take on Minnesota and the New York Jets over the next two weeks. With the dump-off machine, Philip Rivers, under center Hines is going to have a solid workload the rest of the way.

Joshua Kelley – Los Angeles Chargers

Average % Rostered: 11%, FAAB: 5%

Joshua Kelley was someone I talked about last week with the Justin Jackson injury, and the fact Kelley had been gaining stream. He had 12 carries for 60 yards and a touchdown against the Bengals on Sunday. He didn’t see anything through the air, but Kelley is the change of pace guy in Los Angeles. While Kelley should be viewed more as a deeper league guy and is better suited for standard formats, he is someone to look at. The Chargers should play a lot of these grind it out style games with the way their team is built, and that bodes well for Kelley.

James Robinson – Jacksonville Jaguars

Average % Rostered: 29%, FAAB: 5%

After the release of Leonard Fournette, there was some hype around James Robinson. Like myself and others, there was not a big rush to go out and grab Robinson. However, that should change this week. In FAAB leagues I am still not spending a ton of cash on these running backs, as I would rather wait. If you are in trouble, you can splurge a little more than the 5% I recommend. Robinson had 17 touches for Jacksonville against the Colts, putting up 90 yards of offense. After the team had been talking him up, they backed it up with giving up the rock quite a bit. I will buy in here, but you shouldn’t be disappointed if Robinson doesn’t find his way onto your team.

Malcolm Brown – Los Angeles Rams

Average % Rostered: 10%, FAAB: 5%

Cam Akers was the Rams running back drafted in fantasy and while I still believe Akers will have a solid season, it is clear the Rams are going to ease him in as they intended to do. In the meantime, Malcolm Brown had a heavy workload against Dallas. He had over 100 yards from scrimmage on 20+ touches and also had two rushing touchdowns. While Brown likely won’t be a guy to help you in the second half of the season if they stick to their plan of moving towards Akers, Brown can help over the next few weeks.

Wide Receivers

Mike Williams – Los Angeles Chargers

Average % Rostered: 45%, FAAB: 7%

There was a combination of Mike Williams being on a below-average passing offense and the injury that led to him being out there in most leagues. Obviously the sharper and deeper leagues will have Williams stocked away on their bench. Williams ended up playing against Cincinnati and had a 4-69-0 line on nine targets. He did what he does best which is to make some circus catches down the field. The week-to-week stability isn’t there but as we get into bye weeks and injuries surface, Williams is going to have his place in some lineups. It is a tough matchup on paper for Week 2, although the Chargers should be taking shots and Williams tends to play well in these types of game scripts.

Parris Campbell – Indianapolis Colts

Average % Rostered: 28%, FAAB: 7%

After an injury-plagued rookie season, Parris Campbell looked great in Week 1. He had nine targets and seven touches, going for 80 yards from scrimmage. Campbell played a healthy dose of snaps and it is safe to say he is a clear WR2 in Indy. While Philip Rivers looked like what a 38-year-old quarterback is supposed to look like, this actually doesn’t hurt Campbell given he can run shorter routes. Campbell has a favorable schedule this season and some enjoyable matchups over the next few weeks.

Allen Lazard – Green Bay Packers

Average % Rostered: 25%, FAAB: 7%

All offseason we have been talking about the Green Bay receiving core is a giant disappointment. Allen Lazard came on a bit late last season and carried it into Week 1. He will face Detroit, New Orleans, and Atlanta before going on bye, and this is a great schedule for the Packers passing offense. Lazard went for a 4-63-1 line against Minnesota and both him and MVS are worth a look if they are out there on the waiver wire.

Laviska Shenault Jr. – Jacksonville Jaguars

Average % Rostered: 5%, FAAB: 5%

Jacksonville desperately needs more playmakers and Laviska Shenault Jr. was drafted to be just that. He is a wide receiver and then some as the Jaguars should use him in the run game at times as well. He had four targets, going for a 3-37-1 line and also had two rushes for ten yards. While Gardner Minshew spread the ball around, Shenault saw the second-most targets. Jacksonville will find themselves in a lot of shootouts or games where they are trailing.

Tight Ends

Chris Herndon – New York Jets

Average % Rostered: 41%, FAAB: 5%

It wasn’t a great matchup for Chris Herndon in Week 1, but Herndon caught six of seven targets for 37 yards. He had the second-most targets on the team and this is really what I was interested in from this game. The snaps and targets were there and that was a major plus given that was the big question mark for him.

Dallas Goedert – Philadelphia Eagles

Average % Rostered: 27%, FAAB: 7%

It is once again clear Dallas Goedert has enough of a role in this offense to be on more than just 27% of rosters around the industry. He saw nine targets in Week 1 and had an 8-101-1 line. He was a top ten fantasy scorer at the position last season and the Eagles offense continues to be missing premium wideouts to compete for targets. We should continue to see a decent workload for Goedert.