Week 2: Waiver Wire Gems & Fool's Gold

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Week 2 Waiver Wire Gems

Terrance Williams (WR DAL) and Cole Beasley (WR DAL)Dez Bryant’s injury will keep him out at least half of the regular season, which represents most of the fantasy football season.  Terrance Williams and Cole Beasley will see more opportunity for both targets and red zone plays as defenses key in on stopping an aging Witten.  They should be owned in all leagues, standard and PPR.

Donte Moncrief (WR IND)Donte Moncrief was clearly ahead of Phillip Dorsett as the WR3 on Sunday (by 40 snaps).  This is a valuable position because the Colts run a majority of their offense out of a 3 WR set.  Buffalo’s secondary played well and limited the productivity of Colts WRs.  Andre Johnson did not pass the eye test, so look for Moncrief to increase his presence in the lineup, even if T.Y. Hilton (Day-to-day with bruised knee) returns from his injury.

Dion Lewis (RB NE)Before the season began, Dion Lewis was suggested by many on Sleeperbot to be the next Shane Vereen.  Last Thursday’s game proved this to be the case.  As a bonus, he also ran tough between the tackles, jumping and cutting for extra yardage.  The Patriots have a history of finding talent in places other teams seldom do, and Lewis looked very comfortable in his role.   Although it was no surprise he had a role in the passing game, his value lies in his ability to stay on the field in all situations due to his rushing ability.

Danny Woodhead (RB SD)Rumors prior to the beginning of the season about Melvin Gordon proved true.  He would be splitting time situationally with Danny Woodhead.  The surprise?  Woodhead’s situations included passing downs AND goal-line, which seems to suggest that the team simply trusted Woodhead’s ability to get into the end zone for that specific game.  Woodhead had eight red zone opportunities yesterday.  Gordon had zero.  A great flex play going forward, grab Woodhead should he be available in your league.

Darren Sproles (RB PHI)Despite bringing on 2 new high profile RBs in DeMarco Murray and Ryan Mathews, it was Sproles who stole the show for the Eagles on Monday Night Football.  He averaged over 10 yards per play, rushing and receiving, and ended up with over 120 yards of total offense.  

Marcus Mariota (QB TEN)Marcus Mariota matched Fran Tarkenten’s record of 4 TD passes in his first NFL game.  The crazy thing is he did it all in the first 30 minutes.  Mariota showed great decision making and accuracy, dissecting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense on his way to a perfect passer rating.  Mariota and Kendall Wright will make sweet music in the Music City for a long time to come.  He should be owned in all leagues, as we haven’t even seen his full potential yet as a running threat.

Ladarius Green - (TE SD)If there’s a TE to target on the waivers, it’s Ladarius Green.  He looked like a young Antonio Gates, and we may be witnessing a passing of the torch.  Most owners will fear Gates’ week 5 return, but football is a business and it cares only about winning.  Watching the film, Green seems to have mismatches on nearly every play due to the pressure applied by both Keenan Allen and Stevie Johnson.  This is a great situation and Green is set to finally have his breakout year.

Week 2 Fool’s Gold

Austin Sefarian-Jenkins - (TE TB)Austin Sefarian-Jenkins had an impressive game statistically.  However, Mike Evans was not present in the lineup and will likely negatively impact ASJ’s red-zone productivity going forward.  One of his receptions was extremely fluky as well.  He will likely be inconsistent, so don’t spend your #1 waiver on this TE.  

James Jones - (WR GB)James Jones and Aaron Rodgers clearly have a strong connection around the red zone, hooking up to score twice.  However, he will be an inconsistent play due to Randall Cobb and Davante Adams being ahead of him on the depth chart.  Jones only had 4 targets on a day where Cobb only had 5 and Adams with 8.  We will likely see games with Cobb and Adams both getting near double digit targets going forward, so it’s hard to project Jones as anything more than a low-end flex play.  Don’t break the bank for him.

Lance Dunbar - (RB DAL)Lance Dunbar had 8 receptions and was key to the final drive that gave Dallas the last minute win over the New York Giants on Sunday Night Football.  However he didn't get any chances to run the ball.  With Christine Michael looming and Joseph Randle looking solid in passing situations, we actually expect Dunbar’s impact to be lessened as a rotation of Michael, Randle, and McFadden could very well be play going forward.  Don’t blow a high waiver priority on Dunbar.

Chris Johnson - (RB ARI)Chris Johnson may have the starting job, but it’s hard to imagine him at his age being able to make the game changing plays that brought him the CJ2K moniker.  While game 1 looked okay, he did miss out on a lot of pre-season reps and those simply cannot be replaced.  The fact that Ellington’s return is in 2-3 weeks makes Chris Johnson’s value temporary at best.  

David Johnson - (RB ARI)David Johnson took his first ball 55 yards to the house.  With Ellington going down, it’s Johnson’s time right?  Unfortunately, it seems to be unlikely as Bruce Arians immediately named veteran Chris Johnson the starter the following day.  It’s likely that David Johnson still has a lot to learn before getting more responsibility in the offense and fantasy owners should adjust their expectations accordingly. 

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