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Week 2: Waiver Wire Report

21 September 2020 Fantasy Football


It’s no secret that the NFL was absolutely bombarded with injuries in some of the most important fantasy positions. Two of the top three consensus running backs coming into the season went down with leg injuries and both appear to be heading towards an MRI to reveal the extent of the damage. Christian McCaffrey seems to have the lesser of the two injuries, claiming to be a high ankle injury, the Panthers have already come out and said they do not expect it to be serious (tear related), rather expectations are a mild high ankle sprain. Even so, this could be a lingering injury for CMC given his shiftiness and speed moves. The Giants are in absolute shock right now, as it seems Saquon Barkley has a major ACL injury and have even brought in Devonta Freeman, who leveraged himself brilliantly might I add, for a formal workout. These are the worst of them but injuries to Jimmy Garrapolo, Drew Lock, DeVante Adams, Sterling Sheppard and Raheem Mostert occurred as well. In any case, let’s get to the waiver wire adds for week 3 in what should be a busy week on the wire.

Quarterbacks:

Gardner Minshew – Jacksonville Jaguars

In a surprising turn of events, the Jaguars are actually relevant this season! Everybody thought that the #TankForTrevor season was underway until the stache came out in week 1 and delivered an epic comeback to seal the win for Jacksonville and kept them extremely competitive in the second week. Minshew Mania currently sits at QB13 and is a viable streaming option for week 3’s matchup against the Miami Dolphins

Joe Burrow – Cincinnati Bengals

Joey Primetime was out in full force in his week 2 showing against the Cleveland Browns. Burrow passed for 313 yards, 3 touchdowns and 0 interceptions in route to a 35-30 loss on Thursday night football. The Bengals could have their franchise QB in place but they are currently still in a rebuild process, which means a positive game script for Joe, given the status of the Bengals’ defense. Look to stream Joe against a weak Eagles pass defense in week 3.

Running Backs:

Devonta Freeman – Free Agent

This is my sneaky add of the week. Even though he may not have a team by the time your leagues waiver claims go through, this is a stash and play option that could potentially be a league winner if he is given an opportunity to lead a backfield for the right situation. He currently has workouts scheduled with the Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants but, given the amount of injuries, I expect to see his workout schedule fill up quickly.

Dion Lewis – New York Giants

The de facto #1 running back for the Giants, due to the injury to Saquon Barkley, there aren’t a lot of options behind Lewis in New York. Daniel Jones isn’t exactly the safest quarterback to utilize in New York so look for a lot of dump off passes and rushing opportunities for Lewis.

Jerrick McKinnon/Tevin Coleman – San Francisco 49ers

Much like the other two names on this list, look for McKinnon to benefit from injuries to backfield mates in week 3. Rostered in just 19% of leagues, McKinnon will have a favorable matchup against the New York Giants this weekend if Raheem Mostert is unable to go on Sunday. Although Tevin Coleman will handle most of the passing work on Sunday (4 receptions to McKinnon’s 0), Coleman was unable to utilize his opportunity as the lead back after Mostert’s departure, turning 14 carries into just 12 yards. Look for San Fran to turn to McKinnon for lead back duties this week.

Wide Receivers:

Corey Davis – Tennessee Titans

Rostered in just 35% of leagues still, the former first round wide receiver has been off to a great start to the season and has snagged 10 receptions, totaling 137 yards and a touchdown in two weeks so far this season. Ryan Tannehill didn’t look his way much on sunday, getting just 5 targets, but Davis remains a threat on any given play against a porous Minnesota pass defense on Sunday.

Keelan Cole Sr. – Jacksonville Jaguars

Much like my love for Gardner Minshew, an afterthought in the fantasy world to start the season; and still only owned in 1.9% of leagues, Senior has managed to quietly start the season off showing a strong connection with quarterback Gardner Minshew. Cole has totaled 11 receptions for 108 total yards and a touchdown in each contest to start the year. With a negative game script likely in place for most of Jacksonville’s games, look for Cole to continue to be a touchdown threat in Jacksonville’s week 3 matchup with the Dolphins.

Tight Ends:

Mo Alie-Cox – Indianapolis Colts

I was spewing my love for MAC in the 4th and Jawn Kickoff Show on Sunday because I knew he would get the opportunity to shine. With Jack Doyle going to short term IR, Alie-Cox shower a nice connection with quarterback Phillip Rivers. MAC was one of the lone bright spots in a Colts’ passing attack that looks to be shot, even with the signing of Phillip Rivers. Owned in 0.8% of leagues, buy all of the Mo Alie-Cox stock you can get as he gets a favorable week 3 matchup against the Jets, who just gave up 31 points (and two Jordan Reed touchdowns) to the 49ers JV squad.

Dalton Schultz – Dallas Cowboys

In a game that had a negative game script for the entirety of the game for Dallas, Dalton showed his worth, posting a 9-88-1 line and filling in for injured teammate Blake Jarwin positively. Dak Prescott loves to target the tight end (targeted on 28% of passes in 2019) and look for Dallas to continue to work Schultz into the offense in week 3 against a tough Seattle defense. START WITH CAUTION!

Drew Sample – Cincinnati Bengals

See Joe Burrow’s game script. Replacement for injured teammate, CJ Uzomoah.

Defensive stream of the week:

Washington Football Team D/ST

Hear me out, maybe Washington isn’t as bad as we originally thought. Chase Young is as good, if not better, than everyone expected. The combination of Daron Payne, Matthew Ioannidis, Ryan Kerrigan and Young are forming a reputable pass rush while containing the run at a high rate as well. The Football Team of our nations capital is currently the D/ST1 and has a favorable matchup against the Browns offense this week as well.

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