Week 2 Waiver Wire | Top Fantasy Football Pickups (2026)

by Wolf Trelles-Heard · Featured
Week 2 Waiver Wire

Each week throughout the 2026 season, Wolf Trelles-Heard brings you the “must-adds” every Tuesday. In this week’s Week 2 edition, he highlights players who often slipped through your drafts and are worth rostering from the waiver wire if you’ve got the room.

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Week 2 Shallow League Waiver Wire Targets

Note: This range will primarily apply to most home leagues and those with shorter benches, with players available in at least 25% of leagues. Each player is listed with their current rostered percentage and a recommended FAAB bid range for a $100 budget. All values are in reference to six-point per passing touchdown leagues with PPR scoring unless otherwise noted.

Quarterback

Baker Mayfield, Buccaneers (62% rostered) | $0-1

Baker Mayfield got a fat contract a few days ago, and apparently he spent some of his money on Butterfingers. He lost not one, not two, but three fumbles in the opener against the Bengals.

Still, it wasn’t all bad. Mayfield was sharp as a thrower, completing 82.1% of his 28 attempts for 216 yards. He also rushed for 30 yards and a touchdown.

Up next is a date with the team that took him No. 1 overall in 2018: the hapless Browns. Cleveland just got steamrolled by Trevor Lawrence, who completed 18 of 23 passes for 245 yards and four touchdowns. Mayfield always plays with a chip on his shoulder, and he’ll look to rebound from a poor Week 1 showing against his former team.

Running Back

Tyler Allgeier, Cardinals (51%) | $2-4

Maybe the Cardinals were taking it easy on their shiny new toy, No. 3 overall pick Jeremiyah Love, after they got him injured in the first preseason game. Either way, Tyler Allgeier played 57% of the snaps and had 19 touches in his Arizona debut.

Allgeier only racked up 70 scoreless yards, so the fantasy production wasn’t anything to write home about. But anytime a running back gets nearly 20 touches, he needs to be a waiver-wire priority.

As the season goes along, Love will undoubtedly take on more of the workload. For now, though, Allgeier needs to be rostered, as the Cardinals don’t appear to be as lifeless as predicted.

Wide Receiver

Jalen Coker, Panthers (59%) | $21-25

If you’re a reader of my dynasty buy/sell/hold article, you know I had Jalen Coker as a buy heading into Week 1. That’s because he was actually the better fantasy receiver than Tetairoa McMillian over the final six games last season.

Well, Coker picked up where he left off last year and is your overall WR1 after one game. Yes, they were playing catch-up in the second half, but you can’t ignore nine targets, eight receptions, 138 receiving yards, and two touchdowns. He has now set a new career high in fantasy points in back-to-back games when you factor in last season’s playoff performance.

The fantasy points won’t always be this bountiful, but if you lost A.J. Brown or your receiver group looks rough, spend up and get Coker on your roster. This looks more like a 1A/1B situation rather than McMillan being a true alpha, and Coker appears ready to give managers WR2/3 output over the course of the season.

Tight End

Juwan Johnson, Saints (43%) | $1-2

Like most Saints, Juwan Johnson looked like he was destined for a Week 1 dud for most of the afternoon. However, the game turned into a shootout late, and Johnson had seven targets — which were tied for third-most among all tight ends — while catching three balls for 54 yards and a score.

After breaking out in 2025, he looks ready to pick up where he left off. In Kellen Moore’s fast-paced offense, Johnson will continue getting his fair share of opportunities. If you drafted Brock Bowers or a low-upside guy like Jake Ferguson, take a swing at Johnson to bolster your tight end position in the interim.

Week 2 Standard Bench Waiver Wire Targets

Note: This range will primarily apply to most leagues with standard benches, with players available in at least 50% of leagues. Each player is listed with their current rostered percentage and a recommended FAAB bid range for a $100 budget. All values are in reference to six-point per passing touchdown leagues with PPR scoring unless otherwise noted.

Quarterback

Tyler Shough, Saints (43%) | $1-2

The season opener was looking rotten for Tyler Shough. At one point in the third quarter, the second-year signal-caller had negative fantasy points and was struggling mightily. Then glorious garbage time arrived, and he not only put up monster numbers, but nearly carried the Saints to victory after trailing 21-0.

Shough finished with 25.2 fantasy points, after racking up 410 passing yards and 3 touchdowns on 56 pass attempts in the overtime loss. It wasn’t all positive, though — he did have three turnovers.

On deck this week are the Ravens, who dropped 41 points on the Colts. New Orleans could find itself chasing points again, so there’s a chance Shough has an encore in Week 2. He’s a streaming option in what could be another high-volume outing.

Running Back

Kaelon Black, 49ers (21%) | $8-10

Well, that was certainly unexpected. Kaelon Black, San Francisco’s third-round pick in April, didn’t just win the backup job; he immediately turned the backfield into a full-blown committee with Christian McCaffrey.

In the NFL’s first game in Australia, Black actually led the team in carries, with 14 to McCaffrey’s 10. He finished with 65 yards on the ground and played 44% of the snaps. Forget contingent upside — if Black is going to see that kind of workload, then he’ll have weekly FLEX appeal.

I urged readers to pick up Black last week before the post-Week 1 mad dash to the waiver wire. If you didn’t, make him a priority add now. It seems as though the 49ers are going to use him similarly to how the Rams deploy Blake Corum or the Bears mix in Kyle Monangai, and that means he’s going to matter in fantasy.

Wide Receiver

Caleb Douglas, Dolphins (16%)| $2-4

Welcome to the NFL, Caleb Douglas. The 6’4” speedster led all rookies with a 26% target share in Week 1 and reeled in all five of his targets for 94 yards. It was the 12th-most receiving yards in a rookie debut since 1998.

The Dolphins look like they are going to be dreadful this season, but that could actually be a boon for Douglas’ fantasy potential. They will likely be trailing most weeks, and someone has to catch passes from Malik Willis. Right now, Douglas seems like his No. 1 target. With a great athletic profile, Douglas is one of my favorite adds this week.

Devaughn Vele, Saints (10%) | $3-5

Much like the other Saints on this list, Devaughn Vele benefited from this game turning into a barn burner. Even so, he led New Orleans in routes run and earned an 18% target share. The third-year pro saw nine targets, catching seven for 69 yards and one beautiful touchdown where he laid out for a ball on an end-zone fade.

Vele has been a Podfather favorite for a while now. As long as rookie Jordyn Tyson is sidelined, Vele will operate as the WR2 on this offense. If you need some firepower at the receiver position, he should be one of your top targets this week.

Tight End

T.J. Hockenson, Vikings (43%) | $0-1

Is T.J. Hockenson back? If Carson Wentz is going to be under center — Kyler Murray might miss Week 2 after suffering a concussion — then the former two-time Pro Bowler might be a viable streaming option.

In the win against the Packers, Hockenson played more than 65% of the snaps and caught four of his five targets for 36 yards and scored a touchdown, numbers good enough to make him TE1 this week. Perhaps there’s still some juice left in those legs.

I’d be more inclined to stream Hockenson if Wentz gets the start, but he might still be worth adding either way in case he regains some of his magic of old.

Week 2 Deep League Waiver Wire Targets

Note: This range will apply to leagues with deeper benches and more experienced managers, with players available in at least 75% of leagues. Each player is listed with their current rostered percentage and a recommended FAAB bid range for a $100 budget. All values are in reference to six-point per passing touchdown leagues with PPR scoring unless otherwise noted.

Quarterback

Bryce Young, Panthers (16%) | $1-2

After barely being a blip on the fantasy radar outside of superflex formats, what does Bryce Young do in Week 1? He comes out and throws for 361 yards and three touchdowns while adding 10 yards and another score on the ground. His 32.4 fantasy points made him the QB3 for the week, just like we all planned.

Next up is a date with the Falcons. Young’s best games have come against his division foe. In the 2024 season finale, he found pay dirt five times against Atlanta. And last year, he threw for a career-high 448 passing yards against them in Week 11.

I know it feels icky to trust Young, but if he’s going to sling the rock like he did last week, he could become a streaming option for fantasy managers in favorable matchups.

Running Back

Devin Singletary, Giants (1%) | $0-1

It’s not a great week if you need running back help in deeper leagues. One name to keep an eye on, though, is Devin Singletary.

Tyrone Tracy fumbled on his second carry of the night and didn’t see the ball again. Singletary took over as the clear RB2 from that point on and finished with 10 touches for 38 yards and a score.

The numbers weren’t spectacular, but Singletary finished right behind Skattebo in fantasy points, 13.8 to 14.1. We’ll see if he keeps the role once Najee Harris is active, but for now, he’s worth a $1 bid based on the contingent upside alone.

Wide Receiver

DeMario Douglas, Patriots (2%) | $0-1

This one is for the real PPR sickos. Believe it or not, DeMario Douglas led the Patriots in targets with seven on opening night. It didn’t amount to a ton of fantasy points (7.0), but he was clearly a big part of the game plan.

With A.J. Brown now on short-term IR, Douglas figures to remain heavily involved, especially in 11 personnel. The slot role in Josh McDaniels’ offense has historically been fantasy-friendly, and maybe Douglas is next in line to profit. If you need some receiver depth, tossing a $1 at him isn’t the worst idea.

Tight End

Mike Gesicki, Bengals (3%) | $1-2

Joe Burrow threw for 254 yards against Tampa Bay, and Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins combined for only 71 yards. So, who was the main beneficiary? None other than the king of the “bad Griddy,” Mike Gesicki.

Gesicki led the team in both targets (seven) and receiving yards (78). He also scored a touchdown, giving him 18.8 fantasy points for the week. He’s not about to suddenly leapfrog Chase or Higgins in the pecking order, but this was a good reminder that Gesicki essentially functions as the third receiver in this passing attack.

In an offense quarterbacked by Burrow, that role has fantasy value.

Wolf Trelles-Heard is a fantasy football analyst for PlayerProfiler.

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