Waiver Wire Week 2: Top Pickups and Drops

Week 1 of the 2019 NFL season had plenty of standout performances and surprises. It also had its fair share of injuries, which is why for fantasy football managers, the waiver wire will be huge heading into Week 2.

The Jacksonville Jaguars lost quarterback Nick Foles to a broken clavicle, and he's already on injured reserve. Cincinnati Bengals running back Joe Mixon may suit up for Week 2, but Washington Redskins running back Derrius Guice is likely to miss time with a knee injury.

Whether one of your players got injured, someone underperformed or you're just looking to upgrade your roster, you should always be looking to upgrade your roster—and there are some enticing waiver-wire targets out there.

Here, we'll examine some of the top pickups and drops for Week 2. All ownership percentages via FantasyPros.

Players to Add

Tyrell Williams, WR, Oakland Raiders (owned in 62 percent of Yahoo leagues)

Darren Waller, TE, Oakland Raiders (42 percent)

DK Metcalf, WR, Seattle Seahawks (38 percent)

Adrian Peterson, RB, Washington Redskins (37 percent)

Marquise Brown, WR, Baltimore Ravens (31 percent)

Giovani Bernard, RB, Cincinnati Bengals (13 percent)

Malcolm Brown, RB, Los Angeles Rams (12 percent)

John Ross, WR, Cincinnati Bengals (9 percent)

Terry McLaurin, WR, Washington Redskins (3 percent)

Tyrell Williams, WR, and Darren Waller, TE, Oakland Raiders

Oakland Raiders wideout Tyrell Williams may already be owned in your league, but there's nearly a 40 percent chance that he isn't. That makes him a player worth checking out and using your top waiver claim for if he isn't on a roster.

It's clear that Williams is taking over as Oakland's No. 1 receiver following Antonio Brown's departure. He was targeted early and often Monday night against the Denver Broncos, finishing with six catches, 105 yards and a touchdown.

There's a better chance that you can scoop up Raiders tight end Darren Waller. Unless you have a premier tight end like Travis Kelce or Zach Ertz, Waller should be worth starting next week against the Kansas City Chiefs. He finished Monday's game with seven receptions and 70 yards.

At the very least, Waller is worth stashing for injury insurance, as a potential flex option or as future trade bait.

John Ross, WR, Cincinnati Bengals

For two seasons, Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver John Ross has been a disappointment. The ninth overall pick in the 2017 draft couldn't emerge as a consistent part of the Bengals offense, and he was a complete afterthought in fantasy.

Perhaps, all this has changed. Ross was electric in Week 1, putting up 158 yards receiving and two touchdowns against the Seattle Seahawks. Quarterback Andy Dalton looked to him frequently, and the speedster was able to eat up yardage once he had the ball in his hands.

Perhaps Ross has finally figured out how to play receiver in the NFL. Maybe new head coach Zac Taylor has simply figured out how to feature him. Either way, Ross looks like a different player than he did over the last two seasons.

Week 1 could have been a fluke, of course, and Ross' value will drop a bit when and if A.J. Green returns from injury. For now, though, he's worth an add, and he's very likely to be available in your league.

Players Worth Dropping

Nick Foles, QB, Jacksonville Jaguars

Kenyan Drake, RB, Miami Dolphins

Geronimo Allison, WR, Green Bay Packers

Kalen Ballage, RB, Miami Dolphins

Darwin Thompson, RB, Kansas City Chiefs

Frank Gore, RB, Buffalo Bills

Kenyan Drake and Kalen Ballage, RBs, Miami Dolphins

The Miami Dolphins are not loaded with offensive talent, and there were few players on their roster even worth a look on draft day. Running backs Kenyan Drake and Kalen Ballage were the exceptions because, well, running backs tend to get work.

After watching Miami go through the motions in Week 1, however, it's clear that not even these two are worth keeping around. Both were terrible against the Baltimore Ravens, as Drake finished with just 27 yards and Ballage with 12.

The Dolphins won't play a defense as talented as Baltimore's every week, but they don't seem interested in actually trying to win either. In fact, several players reportedly aren't even interested in playing for Miami at all.

"Per a league source with knowledge of the situation, multiple Dolphins players contacted their agents after Sunday's season-opening blowout loss and directed them to attempt to engineer trades elsewhere," Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio wrote.

Look for running backs from another team.

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