Note on FAAB Leagues: We don’t recommend spending much on any position outside of RB. There are usually decent options out there every week, and they don’t hold nearly as much trade value as RBs. It’s also much trickier to have a mid-level WR on your bench because there’s rarely a clear time to use them, whereas it’s quite simple for RBs when the other members of their backfield are out. For that reason, we aren’t going to suggest high bid amounts for any position other than RB. You know if you desperately need a QB, WR, or TE. If you do, then it makes sense to bid 8-12% of your budget to take care of that need. If you’re adding those positions to keep them on your bench, then we would bid 1% or 0 if that’s allowed. We like to see if we can get those guys for free, but we save our budget for RBs. Lastly, you never NEED a defense or kicker. We stream them every week and never bid more than $1. Just put in claims for the top 6 options and surely you’ll get one that’s good enough. These are not predictable enough positions that getting the “best” option is worth much, and they hold no trade value.
Note on Start/Sit Questions: Our team is available to you in Discord nearly 24/7, but we ask that you check the projections before asking us who you should start or sit. The FanDuel projections can be used for Half-PPR leagues, and DraftKings for Full-PPR. If you’re choosing between two guys and one projects a full point better than the other, you don’t need to ask us who we’d start. If it’s really close or there’s more nuance to the strategy, we’re happy to discuss it with you.
Note on late-season acquisitions: As we get later into the season, the FAAB budget becomes less valuable, so firing it all on one of the last good players is acceptable. You’ll notice we’ll raise the budget we’re willing to use on waiver claims as the regular season winds down. Early on we’re willing to bid a lot on a true starter with full season value, but not a speculative bench add.
Week 2 Waiver Wire Targets
This week was another slow week for waiver wires as not a whole lot has changed since the start of the season. We have two new targets for depth, as well as a look at QB if you were struck with the injury bug.
Bhayshul Tuten – RB, Jaguars
Tuten emerged as the clear #2 in the Jaguars offense this past week and showed strong promise in the run game as well as the air game. However, he will likely remain the number two back behind Etienne unless something drastic happens. He is worth the bench stash, but we wouldn’t spend more than 2% on him as we don’t expect him to be all that useful as long as Etienne remains healthy.
Troy Franklin – WR, Broncos
Troy Franklin had an incredible Week 2, catching 8 of his 9 targets for a career best 89 yards and one touchdown. The more important stat to narrow in on for Franklin is that his snap percentage increased from 59.21% in Week 1 to 82.76% this past week. Franklin is still just the third option right now on the Broncos offense, but hopefully he can continue this upward trend. He had a lot of upside out of college and he may be finally realizing it now.
That’s really it for new waiver options we’re excited about this week, but the following players are still high priority options if they are still available in your league. We are still very high on them after another strong showing in Week 2.
Juwan Johnson – TE, Saints
Johnson is even more appealing after maintaining his elite role in Week 2. His combination of size, hands, and red zone ability keeps him fantasy-relevant every week. He played nearly every snap again and caught 5 of 9 targets for 49 yards and added a touchdown. With the other Saints tight ends still dealing with injuries, Johnson’s role should stay consistent for a while. I’d bid up to 10% if I need a starting tight end. If you’re just looking for depth, 2-5% is fine.
Elic Ayomanor – WR, Titans
Ayomanor had another strong showing in Week 2, reeling in 4 of his 6 targets for 56 yards and a touchdown. He profiles as a big-play threat who can also grow into more consistent usage. If you’re looking for upside at the end of your bench, Ayomanor is the type of player who could become a hot commodity in just a few weeks. He received a lot of hype this off-season, and now that we see he has an every-down role, there’s a massive ceiling to be had playing alongside the number one overall pick in an offense that looks to be throwing a lot of downfield passes.
Similarly to last week if your quarterback hasn’t been injured there’s really nothing to say. However, if you had Joe Burrow or are worried about Justin Fields being out, we still recommend to pick up whoever projects the best if you need somebody. There’s not one particular guy on the waiver wire that we are really excited about.
Summary: Week 2 didn’t reveal too much to us as the season is still very early and no major RB injuries occurred, but there are still some value adds emerging. Johnston, Franklin and Ayomanor are young receivers carving out bigger roles and if they are available they are all nice pick-ups now before they string too many good performances together and become much harder to acquire. Bhayshul Tuten is a good handcuff option, but outside of an Etienne injury he will be relatively unreliable for fantasy. At QB, you’re still just taking the best option available if you need someone.
Trade Targets will be posted later in the week so we have more time to dig into all the players.