Fantasy football Week 2: Add and drop

Each week I’ll list the best widely available free agents for fantasy football — I define “widely available” as being owned in around half of all ESPN or Yahoo leagues — and some guys who are probably better off in the free agent pool than collecting dust on your roster.

Follow me on X (formerly known as Twitter) @UTEddieBrown if you have questions throughout the week.

Here’s my NFL Week 2 waiver wire cheat sheet for all league sizes and formats, with players you need to add, drop and stream in your fantasy football league:

ADD

— QB Daniel Jones, Colts (ESPN: 5%; Yahoo: 6%): Danny Dimes enters this week tied as the overall QB2 in fantasy with Justin Fields after an outstanding Week 1 performance against the Dolphins. He completed 76% of his passes for 272 yards with three total touchdowns (two with his legs). The rushing upside is what makes this a solid move. Jones has a tough matchup this week against the Broncos (and the Rams in Week 4), but he deserves streaming consideration going forward, and if he does well in those matchups, you might’ve found yourself a weekly starter on top of the trash heap.

— WR Marquise Brown, Chiefs (ESPN: 50%; Yahoo: 26%): With Rashee Rice suspended for the first six games of the season, and Xavier Worthy likely to miss time with a dislocated shoulder, Brown defaults to the WR1 for Patrick Mahomes. “Hollywood” finished with 10 receptions for 99 yards on 16 targets in a loss to the Chargers in Brazil, making him last week’s WR21 in standard formats (WR9 in PPR). Rookie receiver Jalen Royals (ESPN:

— RB Bhayshul Tuten, Jaguars (ESPN: 42%; Yahoo: 57%): Jacksonville traded Tank Bigsby to the Eagles on Monday night. This may be your last chance to secure Tuten and his immense upside. Even LeQuint Allen (ESPN:

— WR Quentin Johnston, Chargers (ESPN: 4%; Yahoo: 10%): Look who can catch now! Johnston finished with five receptions (seven targets) for 79 yards and two huge TD catches in a win over the Chiefs. Maybe the hype surrounding rookies Tre’ Harris and KeAndre Lambert-Smith needs to be recalibrated. If this performance sticks, and Justin Herbert is finally fulfilling his top-5 promise — maybe Air Harbaugh is a thing now — Johnston will have WR3/flex upside on a weekly basis.

— TE Harold Fannin Jr., Browns (ESPN: 1%; Yahoo: 3%): There’s clearly a plan in place to utilize Fannin in Cleveland. The talented rookie finished with seven receptions for 63 yards and a team-high nine targets. He even had a carry for three yards. Fannin’s solid debut didn’t necessarily come at the expense of Pro Bowl tight end David Njoku either — they both played over 70% of the offensive snaps — although Njoku is a free agent after this season (something to keep in mind). Fannin was my No. 3 tight end in April’s NFL draft behind only Tyler Warren and Colston Loveland. Here’s an excerpt from my rankings: “The former zero-star recruit was the first tight end in FBS history to be selected Player of the Year in any conference. The Canton, Ohio native is a bit undersized and could struggle against physical press coverage, but his hands are automatic and he’s a hassle to bring down once he has possession of the football. Frankly, he was uncoverable last season. If there was a space on the field where there wasn’t a defender, he’d find it, and it wasn’t just against MAC competition.”

— BONUS: QB Michael Penix Jr., Falcons (ESPN: 20%; Yahoo: 33%): Penix was the overall QB10 in Week 1, producing 298 passing yards, 21 rushing yards and two total TDs in a loss to the Buccaneers. It wouldn’t shock me if he finishes as a top-10 fantasy QB in his first full-season as a starter. In the short term, keep an eye on the status of his top target (Drake London is day-to-day with a shoulder sprain).

— BONUS: RB Quinshon Judkins, Browns (ESPN: 55%; Yahoo: 55%): Judkins will likely make his NFL debut at Baltimore this weekend. I doubt he sees much action, but if everything goes well in his meeting with the NFL, I anticipate the Cleveland coaching staff fast-tracking him to double-digit touches by the end of the month. Dylan Sampson (ESPN: 33%; Yahoo: 47%), another talented rookie, was the primary back in Week 1. Sampson produced 93 total yards on 20 touches, including eight receptions. A 60-40 timeshare could develop going forward, but both could be fantasy relevant this season.

— BONUS: TE Juwan Johnson, Saints (ESPN: 1%; Yahoo: 3%): No Taysom Hill meant Johnson never left the field, and New Orleans trailed all day against the Cardinals, so the volume in the pass game was turned to 11. That could be the norm this season for the Saints. Johnson finished with eight receptions for 76 yards on 11 targets (only Chris Olave had more for New Orleans), which was good enough for TE10 in standard formats (TE1 in PPR).

— BONUS: WR Kendrick Bourne, 49ers (ESPN:

— BONUS: TE Brenton Strange, Jaguars (ESPN: 20%; Yahoo: 22%): Strange is a solid option if you’re dealing with injuries at tight end, after Kittle, Brock Bowers and Evan Engram all got hurt in Week 1. He led Jacksonville with 59 yards on four receptions with an almost 13% target share (not bad) against the Panthers. Strange is a weekly streaming option with upside.

— BONUS: WR Calvin Austin III, Steelers (ESPN: 2%; Yahoo: 2%): Austin had four receptions for 70 yards and a TD against the Jets, and appeared to have a rapport with Aaron Rodgers. He also looks locked in as the WR2 in Pittsburgh — Roman Wilson only played 10 offensive snaps.

— BONUS: TE Michael Mayer, Raiders (ESPN: 1%; Yahoo:

— BONUS: WR Cedric Tillman, Browns (ESPN: 43%; Yahoo: 28%): Tillman finished with five receptions for 52 yards and a TD on eight targets in a loss to the Bengals. In a high-volume pass game — Joe Flacco threw 45 passes on Sunday — Tillman has upside, and deserves flex consideration on a weekly basis. If things break bad for Cleveland this year, it will almost certainly be a pass-happy offense until Flacco is benched for either Dillon Gabriel or Shedeur Sanders, or a combination of both.

— BONUS: QB Aaron Rodgers, Steelers (ESPN: 9%; Yahoo: 14%): The ‘ol gunslinger can still sling it! Rodgers threw for 244 yards and four TDs in a surprising shootout with the Jets, which was good enough to be the overall QB7 in Week 1. He has two tough matchups (Seahawks, Vikings) and a bye in the next four weeks, so he’s more of a stash candidate in the short term, but if he’s available and still healthy after the bye, there will be value here.

— BONUS: WR Kayshon Boutte, Patriots (ESPN: 1%; Yahoo: 2%): Boutte tied Hunter Henry for the team lead in targets (eight) and finished with 103 yards on six receptions against the Raiders. I don’t believe there’s going to be a Black Friday-like stampede to pick him up, so this is something to monitor as Drake Maye and New England’s offense continues to mature.

— BONUS: QB Jaxson Dart, Giants (ESPN: 4%; Yahoo: 6%): We’re probably one more bad Russell Wilson performance from ushering in the Dart Era in New York. Stash him if you’re not super confident in your quarterback situation.

— BONUS: WR Dont’e Thornton Jr., Raiders (ESPN: 15%; Yahoo: 20%): The production was modest (two receptions for 45 yards), but the talent is real. Thornton is the quintessential deep threat. The dynamic rookie deserves to be rostered at a higher clip. He’s the perfect stash candidate (always bet on upside this early in the season).

— BONUS: D/ST Packers (ESPN: 38%; Yahoo: 46%): Green Bay’s defense has a tough matchup this week against the Commanders, but it’s at Lambeau and it’s a short week. Regardless, this has the potential to be the best defense in the NFL and needs to be rostered in more leagues.

— BONUS: D/ST 49ers (ESPN: 19%; Yahoo: 35%): At Seattle, Robert Saleh had the Niners defense looking closer to the 2019 version than last season’s ineffective group, and that was with three rookies starting. The ceiling is very high going forward, assuming good health, which is always a consideration with San Francisco. This week, they’re a premium streaming option against Spencer Rattler and the Saints.

— BONUS: D/ST Rams (ESPN: 7%; Yahoo: 29%): Only the Broncos and Colts scored more fantasy points than the Rams defense in Week 1. After keeping the Texans out of the end zone, Jared Verse and Co. should feast on Cam Ward and the Titans. Ward’s debut could’ve been worse, but he was sacked six times and held to 112 passing yards.

DROP

— RB Tank Bigsby, Eagles: Bigsby was traded on Monday night to the Champs. It will take multiple injuries to Philadelphia’s running back room in the coming weeks before I consider Bigsby fantasy relevant again.

— QB Tua Tagovailoa, Dolphins: Miami was the one team that looked like a total disaster in Week 1. Tagovailoa completed 14 of 23 passes for a measly 114 yards and a TD against two interceptions vs. a decent, not expected to be great, Colts defense. If you invested in Tua, you were probably already apprehensive because of the health history. I just don’t see the upside anymore, especially with the bad vibes that constantly surround Tyreek Hill these days.

— RB Jerome Ford, Browns: Ford was out-touched by Sampson 20-7 in the opener, and Judkins’ return is eminent.

— TE Mike Gesicki, Bengals: Gesicki only played 16 offensive snaps in the opener, 10 fewer than newcomer Noah Fant, who scored a TD as well.

— RB Chris Rodriguez, Commanders: I was expecting Rodriguez to be part of a timeshare involving Austin Ekeler and Jacory Croskey-Merritt, primarily benefiting from short-yardage opportunities, including goal-line work, but he was a healthy scratch for Washington in Week 1.

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