Week 2 of the NFL was marred by injury, and this pretty much sent the fantasy world into a frenzy. The most notable injury from the weekend was Robert Griffin III. RG3 had what appeared to be a season ending injury, but after MRI results Monday showed no fracture, he is optimistic that he will return this season. Other injuries were a lot more blurred in outlook, like Jamaal Charles and Ryan Matthews who could miss time with ankle and MCL injuries respectively. Fantasy superstar WR AJ Green was not exempt from the injury bug either, as he left his game with Bengals due to a turf toe injury. Injuries were not the only story from week 2. Many of the highly touted fantasy options have disappointed owners already this season in some form or another. Eddie Lacy are in a panic because of his lack of production, while LeSean McCoy owners can not be pleased by Darren Sproles stealing all of the glory from Monday night. It is a long season and their will be plenty of time for your fantasy studs to redeem themselves. If you believed in a player before the season, two bad weeks should not be enough to jump ship. The beauty of fantasy football is that you can improve your situation every week, and with all of these injuries, week 2 waiver wire has turned into a hotbed for talent. If you need to fill holes in your lineup, this is the week to address them.
Here are the players that you should target for the week in order of priority by position:
Quarterbacks
1. Kirk Cousins, Redskins: The Kirk Cousins era in Washington DC could have started yesterday. There was a strong sentiment amongst Redskins insiders that Kirk Cousins has looked better than RG3, and that theory was not disproved Sunday afternoon. Cousins completed 22 of 33 pass attempts for 250 yards and 2 TDs. Quite frankly, the Redskins offense looks better with Cousins and if you are looking for QB play, he should be your first waiver claim for the week.
2. Josh McCown, Buccaneers: Josh McCown might not grab your attention with flashy play, but through 2 games he has been as consistent a fantasy option as a plethora of other “elite” fantasy QBs such as Drew Brees, Matt Ryan, and Tony Romo. McCown has 2 big WR options, in Mike Evans and Vincent Jackson, which is similar to his situation last year in Chicago. The Buccaneers have 3 good matchups coming up against ATL, PIT, and NO who have all given up big passing days already this season. If you are in a really deep or 2-QB league McCown is worth a speculative add.
Running Backs
1. Knile Davis, Chiefs: Knile Davis might be the most talented player available on the waiver wire and should have been owned in more than 61% of ESPN fantasy leagues. There is no reason why every Jamaal Charles owner didn’t own Davis after he proved to be a more than capable RB handcuff option last season. Davis rushed for 79 yards and 2 TDs on 22 carries against the Denver Broncos. Even if Charles will only miss a short period of time, Davis should be owned in all leagues strictly based on his talent level.
2. Bobby Rainey, Buccaneers: Rainey replaced injured Doug Martin as the starter on Sunday and took full advantage of his opportunity to the tune of 144 yards rushing and 30 yards receiving. Rainey is only owned in 4.7% of ESPN leagues and that number should jump, to quote Aubrey Drake Graham “0 to 100, real quick.” On a serious note, Rainey looked quite explosive on Sunday against a good front 7 of the St. Louis Rams. Rainey might be deserving of carries even when Doug Martin returns.
3. Jonathan Stewart, Panthers: Stewart started in place of injured Deangelo Williams, and will not wow you with his numbers Sunday (15 carries 37 yards and 1 TD) but as long as Williams is out, Stewart is a decent desperation play for teams in need of RB help.
Wide Receivers
1. James Jones, Raiders: Jones was nothing more than the 3rd option in the Green Bay offense, yet he still led the NFL in TD catches in the 2012 season. Now that he is the #1 option in Oakland, Jones has the chance to really pad his stats, even if some of them come in garbage time. Garbage stats count just as much as stats accumulated in competitive games. The Oakland Raiders will be down a lot this year, and QB Derek Carr seems just competent enough as an NFL QB to make Jones fantasy relevant.
2. Brian Quick, Rams: Quick is owned in only 3.7% of ESPN leagues but has emerged as the #1 WR option in the St. Louis offense. Quick followed up a 7 catch 99 yard performance last week with another 7 catches for 74 yards against Tampa Bay. While Quick has not had the explosive game that fantasy owners drool over,but his 9 targets per game make him nice volume play at WR.
3. Andrew Hawkins, Browns: Hawkins is a diminutive slot WR who made a name for himself as a weapon in the Cincinnati Bengals offense, but is now getting his opportunity to shoulder more responsibility with the Browns. Hawkins leads the Browns through 2 games in catches (15) and yards (187). Brian Hoyer seems to have built a little chemistry with Hawkins to start the season, and as long as that continues, Hawkins is worth a flyer on your fantasy bench.
Tight Ends
1. Larry Donnell, Giants: Last week Donnell was a bonus addition to the waiver wire column, but this week he appears earlier because he play has warranted such. Donnell finished Sunday’s game against the Giants with 7 catches for 81 yards on 9 targets. I will continue to promote Donnell as a viable fantasy TE as long as his ownership percentage remains ridiculously low (1.7%). Eli Manning has made a lot of TEs fantasy relevant in years pass (Jeremy Shockey, Jake Ballard, Martellus Bennett, and Brandon Meyers) and Donnell should be no different. Look for Eli to continue to take advantage of Donnell’s huge 6-5, 260 pound frame in the passing game.
2. Niles Paul, Redskins: Paul might actually be a better week to week option than Larry Donnell, but Donnell gets the nod in the article because Paul’s relevancy is still dependent on whether or not Jordan Reed can come back from injury. Paul finished with 8 catches for 99 yards and 1 TD in the Redskins blow out win over the Jaguars. Paul looks very athletic with his run-after-the-catch skills, and could become a permanent fixture in the Kirk Cousins led offense. Paul should be available in almost every league since his ownership percentage is at .7%.
3. Jermaine Gresham, Bengals: Gresham looked as if he was an afterthought in Cincinnati until Tyler Eifert injured his elbow in week 1. That combined with the injury to AJ Green, might be the opening that Gresham needs to have an impact in the Bengals offense this season.
Defense and Special Teams
1. Ravens: 27% owned, facing the Browns in week 3.
2. Bears: 5.1% owned, facing the Jets in week 3.
3. Chargers: 1.6% owned, facing the Bills in week 3.