Week 2 Waiver Wire: Breakout Fantasy Football Pickups After Opening Sunday

The fantasy football season got underway Thursday night with an exciting game between the Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos and runner-up Carolina Panthers. It continued Sunday with more NFL action.

As with any fantasy season, we only have so much information when we draft our squads in August or early September. We know how veterans performed last season and what we should be able to expect from rookies. 

But the patterns don't really begin to emerge until the players get some regular-season NFL snaps under their belts. 

Your roster may be in good shape heading into Week 2, but you may have an injured player on your hands, or perhaps you just want to continue tinkering with your lineup. There are a few players who have emerged in Week 1 as breakout pickups on this week's waivers. 

Players were considered potential waiver-wire options if they were owned in less than 60 percent of Yahoo Fantasy leagues as of Sunday. 

Player	Team	Week 2 Opponent	Percent Owned (as of Sunday)
Quarterbacks
Running Backs
Wide Receivers
Tight Ends
Carson Wentz	PHI	at Bears	7%
Brock Osweiler	HOU	vs. Chiefs	28%
Theo Riddick	DET	vs. Titans	33%
Jalen Richard	OAK	vs. Falcons	1%
Will Fuller	HOU	vs. Chiefs	49%
Mike Wallace	BAL	at Browns	34%
Virgil Green	DEN	vs. Colts	27%
Eric Ebron	DET	vs. Titans	59%

Players to Watch

Carson Wentz, QB, Philadelphia Eagles

Matt Rourke/Associated Press

Fantasy owners were understandably wary of Eagles rookie quarterback Carson Wentz heading into the regular season, drafting him in just seven percent of leagues through Sunday. 

But Wentz put on a show Sunday, going 22-of-37 for 278 yards and two touchdowns.

The rookie learned he would be starting a week ago. In fact, Wentz became the first Eagles rookie quarterback to start a season opener, per ESPN Stats & Information. He looked composed in the pocket and didn't throw any interceptions. 

The performance had to be gratifying for Wentz, given who the Eagles' opponent was. The Cleveland Browns passed on the chance to draft Wentz, not thinking he was worth the No. 2 overall pick while trading their selection to Philadelphia. 

He certainly looked worth it on Sunday afternoon. 

Wentz may not be your go-to starter if you already have a more conventional quarterback on your roster. But he's worth a pickup to keep around for your QB1's bye week or, knock on wood, if your starting passer happens to get injured in the coming weeks.  

Will Fuller, WR, Houston Texans

Thomas B. Shea/Getty Images

The Texans, led by new quarterback Brock Osweiler, got their first win of the year on Sunday, and rookie wideout Will Fuller was a big factor.

The rookie went off with five receptions for 107 yards and a touchdown, averaging 21.4 yards per reception.

Osweiler targeted Fuller 11 times, making him especially valuable in points-per-reception leagues as the Texans seem to be factoring him into their game plan in a significant way. The speedy target proved nearly impossible for defenders to cover, which should make potential fantasy owners very excited to plug him into their lineups on weeks where the matchup is favorable. 

Fuller was only owned in 49 percent of leagues as of Sunday, as many fantasy owners don't like to take a chance on rookies who haven't played any snaps in the NFL. Don't let his drop scare you away; he's likely just working out his rookie nerves. 

If you have a favorable waiver-wire position and need to build out depth in your wide recievers corps, you should absolutely go put in a claim for Fuller heading into a favorable Week 2 matchup against Kansas City. 

Theo Riddick, RB, Detroit Lions

Dylan Buell/Getty Images

Fantasy owners didn't seem to know what to make of running back Theo Riddick this season, as he was drafted in just 33 percent of leagues to open the year.

That's likely because it wasn't clear how the Lions would distribute the workload between Riddick and second-year player Ameer Abdullah. 

And while Abdullah got the lion's share (awful pun intended) of the carries in Detroit's backfield, Riddick got both a rushing and a receiving touchdown.

While it's not clear that Detroit will look to Riddick in the red zone every week, he at least got enough attempts on Sunday to justify being owned on more rosters. 

Due to the handful of targets Riddick saw from Matthew Stafford in the passing game on Sunday, his value in PPR leagues is even higher. 

Riddick headed to the locker room in the second half to be evaluated for a concussion, as ESPN's Michael Rothstein reported. However, he was cleared for a return to the field and that's when he cemented his day with a receiving touchdown.

The Lions just re-signed Riddick to a three-year extension worth $12.75 million, as NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported Friday. As long as he can remain healthy, Riddick clearly will be in Detroit's backfield plans this season.

Scoring stats and ownership stats via Yahoo and current as of Sunday, Sept. 11.