Pigskin Pickups: The Top 10 Best Week 2 Waiver Wire Adds
It’s Week 2! The first waiver run of the season is always dangerous because we’re working with one game’s worth of evidence. Two touchdowns can make a player look a lot more important than he actually is. Meanwhile, a running back quietly gets 15 touches, doesn’t score and remains available in most leagues.
We’re more interested in the second guy.
At PigskinFantasy, we’re looking beyond the Week 1 box score. We want targets, snaps, touches, routes and red-zone opportunities. More than anything, we want to know whether what happened Sunday has a reasonable chance of happening again.
With that in mind, here are 10 players worth considering who are available in at least 50% of ESPN, Sleeper or Yahoo leagues. Ownership percentages move quickly this time of year, so check your league before submitting a claim.
1. Kaelon Black — RB, San Francisco 49ers
The Add of the Week
Let’s start with the guy we’d put at the top of the list.
Kaelon Black’s Week 1 stat line isn’t going to scare anyone. He carried the ball 14 times for 65 yards and caught one pass. No touchdowns. No 40-yard run. Nothing that immediately screams waiver-wire priority.
Good. Maybe that’ll keep the price down.
Black played 43.1% of San Francisco’s offensive snaps and actually received more carries than Christian McCaffrey. That’s far more interesting than a backup running back ripping off one long run and disappearing for the rest of the afternoon.
The 49ers appear serious about managing McCaffrey’s workload, and Black has already established himself as the next man up. Obviously, his value would explode if McCaffrey missed time.
But Black may not need an injury to be useful. If San Francisco is willing to give him 12 to 15 touches regularly, he can have flex value on his own. Upcoming games against Miami and Arizona don’t hurt, either.
PigSkinFantasy verdict:
Priority: HIGH
Black is our No. 1 waiver target this week. Don’t wait for the inevitable two-touchdown game to decide he’s worth rostering. By then, your league mates will know too.
2. Jalen Coker — WR, Carolina Panthers
Don’t Chase the Touchdowns. Chase the Targets.
Eight catches. 138 yards. Two touchdowns. That’s the part of Jalen Coker’s stat line that’s going to start the FAAB bidding war.
We’re more interested in the nine targets. Coker wasn’t some random receiver who caught two bombs while spending the rest of the game standing around. He was a real part of Carolina’s offense and finished as Bryce Young’s most productive receiver against Chicago.
And this isn’t entirely out of nowhere. Over the last eight games Coker and Tetairoa McMillan have played together, their numbers are surprisingly close:
Tetairoa McMillan: 18.5% target share, 33 receptions, 449 yards, 2 touchdowns
Jalen Coker: 19.8% target share, 31 receptions, 428 yards, 4 touchdowns
One was a fourth-round fantasy pick this year. The other may still be sitting on your waiver wire. We’re obviously not expecting 138 yards and two touchdowns every Sunday. But if Coker settles into seven to 10 targets a week, he won’t need anything close to that production to be useful.
PigSkinFantasy verdict:
Priority: HIGH
Coker is worth being aggressive on. Just don’t pay for last week’s 29 fantasy points. Pay for the possibility that those nine targets stick around.
3. Devaughn Vele — WR, New Orleans Saints
The Sneaky One
If you’d rather avoid the bidding war on Coker, this is where we’d look. Devaughn Vele caught seven passes for 69 yards and a touchdown on nine targets. Nice afternoon.
But here’s the number we really like: 82 offensive snaps.
Vele wasn’t rotating in for a package of plays and hoping Tyler Shough happened to notice him. He was basically living on the field.
He remained involved with Chris Olave playing, and Jordyn Tyson’s injury could open up even more work. No, New Orleans isn’t going to throw 56 passes every Sunday. At least we hope not for Shough’s arm.
Vele doesn’t need that kind of passing volume anyway. If he’s going to play nearly every snap and regularly draw seven-plus targets, he needs to be on more fantasy rosters.
PigSkinFantasy verdict:
Priority: HIGH
The touchdown is nice. The playing time is why we’re buying.
4. Tyler Shough — QB, New Orleans Saints
The “Wait… 410 Yards?” Add
There are two ways to summarize Tyler Shough’s opener.
He threw two interceptions and took five sacks.
Or…
He threw for 410 yards and three touchdowns.
Since this is a waiver-wire article, we’re going to spend a little more time on the second one.
Shough attempted 56 passes. That number isn’t sustainable, but it does tell us New Orleans isn’t afraid to put the offense in his hands. For fantasy purposes, that’s a pretty good place to start.
There’s also at least a little rushing ability here. Shough averaged nearly 17 rushing yards per game during his starting stretch in 2025. He’s not suddenly challenging Josh Allen for QB1 status, but that’s not what we’re asking him to do.
If you waited on quarterback, play in Superflex, or entered the season relying on Kyler Murray, Sam Darnold or, God help you, the Falcons quarterback room, Shough deserves a look.
PigSkinFantasy verdict:
Priority: MEDIUM-HIGH
A strong Superflex add with legitimate streaming potential in one-quarterback leagues.
5. Dontayvion Wicks — WR, Philadelphia Eagles
The Box Score Is Lying to You
Two catches. 73 yards. One touchdown. Usually we’d look at that stat line, say “nice play” and move on.
Then we saw the snap count.
91%.
Wicks was essentially a full-time player in Philadelphia’s offense. That doesn’t guarantee targets, obviously, but it’s a much better starting point than trying to predict which part-time receiver is going to catch another 50-yard touchdown.
This is exactly the kind of player we’d rather stash a week early than chase a week late. If Wicks turns that playing time into seven targets next Sunday, the price changes immediately.
PigSkinFantasy verdict:
Priority: MEDIUM-HIGH
You’re not adding him because of the touchdown. You’re adding him because he barely left the field.
6. Michael Mayer — TE, Las Vegas Raiders
The Brock Bowers Insurance Policy
Michael Mayer caught six passes for 32 yards on seven targets. Nobody is framing that box score.
But seven targets from a tight end will do. Mayer’s value is pretty straightforward. If Brock Bowers remains sidelined, he’s a legitimate streaming option. If Bowers comes back, most of Mayer’s appeal disappears with him.
So don’t empty the FAAB account here. But if you’re already staring at your tight end spot wondering what went wrong, there are worse places to look.
PigSkinFantasy verdict:
Priority: MEDIUM
Useful while Bowers is out. Check the injury report before your waiver claim processes.
7. Mike Gesicki — TE, Cincinnati Bengals
Apparently Mike Gesicki Still Has a Pulse
Five catches. 78 yards. A touchdown. Seven targets. Sometimes we don’t need to turn this into forensic science.
Mike Gesicki got seven targets from Joe Burrow and turned them into a very good fantasy day. At tight end, that’s enough to make us interested.
We’re not declaring him a locked-in weekly starter, and Cincinnati has enough weapons that his volume could disappear without much warning. But tight end gets ugly quickly. If we’re going to rummage through the position looking for help, we’d prefer to do it in an offense quarterbacked by Burrow.
PigSkinFantasy verdict:
Priority: MEDIUM
A perfectly reasonable streamer with some upside if the targets continue.
8. Caleb Douglas — WR, Miami Dolphins
Keep an Eye on Him
Caleb Douglas quietly finished Week 1 with five catches for 94 yards on seven targets.
Quietly might not last much longer. Douglas accounted for roughly 26% of Miami’s targets, which is enough to make him worth monitoring. There is still plenty of competition in this offense, and we’re certainly not ready to declare him Miami’s next great receiver after one Sunday.
But seven targets and 94 yards earn you another week on our radar.
In deeper leagues, we’d rather put him on the bench now and see what happens than wait until another good performance makes the decision for us.
PigSkinFantasy verdict:
Priority: MEDIUM
A good stash in deeper formats.
9. Demarcus Robinson — WR, San Francisco 49ers
There’s More Here Than the Touchdown
Demarcus Robinson caught two passes in Week 1. One went for 39 yards and a touchdown. That’s normally the kind of waiver-wire stat line we’d tell you not to chase.
But Robinson also played 63% of San Francisco’s offensive snaps and could see more work opposite Mike Evans with De’Zhaun Stribling expected to miss time with an ankle injury.
Then look at the schedule: Miami. Arizona.
We’re not spending 20% of our FAAB on Robinson. We’re also not particularly interested in letting someone else pick him up for free.
PigSkinFantasy verdict:
Priority: MEDIUM
A speculative add with a legitimate path to more work.
10. Kalif Raymond — WR, Chicago Bears
Nine Targets Are Hard to Ignore
Kalif Raymond caught eight passes for 84 yards on nine targets.
Nine targets alone would have our attention. The fact that they represented roughly 35% of Chicago’s targets makes it considerably harder to dismiss.
Do we expect Raymond to command 35% of Caleb Williams’ throws every week? Absolutely not.
Chicago has too many other weapons for that to be a comfortable projection. But we don’t need Raymond to maintain a 35% share. If even a decent portion of this involvement carries over, he can have value in PPR leagues.
PigSkinFantasy verdict:
Priority: MEDIUM
Worth a speculative add, particularly in deeper PPR formats. We’d like another week of evidence before getting too excited.
Honorable Mentions
Devin Singletary — RB, New York Giants
Singletary had six carries, four receptions and a touchdown in Week 1.
We’re less interested in the touchdown than the four catches. If that receiving role sticks around, there could be some PPR value here, especially if the Giants continue spreading backfield work around.
Priority: LOW-MEDIUM
Pat Freiermuth — TE, Pittsburgh Steelers
Five catches, 46 yards and a touchdown.
That’s enough to put Freiermuth on the streaming radar. Aaron Rodgers looked comfortable going his direction, and we’re not turning our noses up at five receptions from a waiver-wire tight end.
Priority: LOW-MEDIUM
Carson Wentz — QB, Minnesota Vikings
Quarterback injuries have a funny way of turning a player nobody wanted Sunday morning into somebody your entire league is researching Monday night.
Keep Wentz on the radar depending on Kyler Murray’s status.
Priority: LOW
Kendre Miller — RB, New Orleans Saints
Miller’s Week 1 workload is worth remembering.
We’re not rushing to start him, but running backs with a legitimate path to touches don’t belong on the waiver wire forever. Keep an eye on how New Orleans handles this backfield.
Priority: LOW-MEDIUM
Keep Digging in the Pen
Sources: College Football Playoff Expands To 478 Team Format in ’27, ESPN Still Debating Whether That’s Enough
Read story
Tension Between Troy Aikman and Joe Buck Reaches Boiling Point After 400th Jay-Z Look-a-Like Comparison
Read story