Week 2 Waiver Wire Pickups: Sleepers Who May Still be Available
The sooner you can wake up to find a fantasy football sleeper on the waiver wire, the better the odds become of that player helping you throughout the 2023 NFL season.
Now, that doesn't mean all of Week 1's pleasant surprises will remain positive contributors for the duration of the campaign. Some may never be fantasy-relevant again.
Still snagging the right player now could mean you have a leg up on the competition from this point forward. So, let's scan through the waiver wire to find a worthy, available target—rostered in fewer than 70 percent of Yahoo leagues, per FantasyPros—at each of the three marquee positions.
Quarterback: Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers (69 Percent Rostered)
1 of 3
Purdy may not put a lot of huge lines on the stat sheet, but he's as rock-solid (Brock-solid?) as just about anyone at the position.
Once he became San Francisco's primary passer in Week 13 last season, he delivered the ninth-most fantasy points among quarterbacks, per FantasyPros. He then picked up where he left off in the season-opener, completing 19-of-29 passes for 220 yards and two scores en route to a QB10 finish.
He doesn't have the biggest arm or fleetest feet, but he smartly takes advantage of his situation time and again. With Kyle Shanahan calling the shots, and Christian McCaffrey, Brandon Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel and George Kittle filling the playmaking spots, there is almost always at least one player open, and Purdy usually finds them and feeds them with on-time and on-target deliveries.
By not trying to do too much, he gets quite a bit done in fantasy. He is at least stream-worthy in good matchups, and this young Los Angeles Rams he'll draw in Week 2 could be one of them.
Running Back: Joshua Kelley, Los Angeles Chargers (58 Percent Rostered)
2 of 3
As the Chargers were carving up the Miami Dolphins defense last week, Kelly was sending a message.
He is more than just one of the better handcuffs in fantasy. He turned 16 carries into 91 yards and a score, and he tallied a lot of those stats prior to Austin Ekeler's late exit with an ankle injury.
Speaking of Ekeler's ankle ailment, if he can't go on Sunday—he missed practice Wednesday and Thursday—then Kelley would rocket up from a priority waiver-wire target to a high-end starter. Like Ekeler, Kelley has talent as both a rusher and a pass-catcher, so he could put up monster numbers.
Again, though, even if Ekeler plays, this offense can accommodate two fantasy-relevant running backs. Kelley could be an asset this week and well beyond it.
Wide Receiver: Zay Jones, Jacksonville Jaguars (44 Percent Rostered)
3 of 3
If Week 1 was any indication, it looks like Jones could be second on the pass-catching hierarchy in Jacksonville.
He was second on the team in targets (seven) and receiving yards (55), and he tied for second in receptions (five). He also caught one of the two touchdown passes thrown by Trevor Lawrence.
Jones looks like he'll be a preferred target of Lawrence, who threw for 4,113 yards and 25 scores last season and has all kinds of different ways he could grow in this, his third NFL season.
Jones could be a strong weekly candidate for the flex spot or maybe an outright starter in three receiver leagues.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
.png?w=480)
