Football's back, baby! Week 1 was a lot of fun, especially for me as a Texans fan. My team is 1-0 and the rest of our division is 0-1. Let's go! And hey, maybe someone from that game will be in our Week 2 wide receiver fantasy football waiver wire pickups list.
Below, you'll find some wide receivers that you should be targeting on the fantasy football waiver wire ahead of Week 2. Not all of these waiver wire options are the same. Some players may be better in PPR or deeper leagues, so it’s not a one-size-fits-all comparison. Use your best judgment when deciding which of these players is the right fit for your roster.
Be sure to also check out our Waiver Wire Adds for Week 2 for help at all the skill positions. All players on this list are around 50% rostered or below.
Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for 2024:- Quarterback fantasy football rankings
- Running back fantasy football rankings
- Wide receiver fantasy football rankings
- Tight end fantasy football rankings
- Kicker fantasy football rankings
- FLEX fantasy football rankings
- Defense (D/ST) fantasy football rankings
- Superflex fantasy football rankings
- IDP fantasy football rankings
- Dynasty fantasy football rankings
Wide Receiver Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups
Rashid Shaheed, New Orleans Saints - 54% rostered
Last season with Rashid Shaheed, it felt like a big play was always around the corner. Sometimes it was. Other times, Shaheed never got going.
The Rashid Shaheed breakout season is fully upon us.
I might honestly be more surprised if he *doesn’t* hit 1,000 yards this season than if he does. pic.twitter.com/PSmJa2XXKl
— Mike Kennedy (@MikeKennedyNFL) September 8, 2024
On a day when the Saints dominated against the Carolina Panthers, Shaheed tied for the team lead with five targets. He caught three of those for 73 yards and a touchdown. Most expect Shaheed to play a larger role in 2024 and his Week 1 performance backs that up.
Gabe Davis, Jacksonville Jaguars - 37% rostered
Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence really spread the ball around in Week 1. Christian Kirk, Evan Engram, and Brian Thomas Jr. shared the team lead in targets with four while Gabe Davis was just one target behind them, but Davis led the team with 62 receiving yards. We know Davis has immense fantasy upside, but he struggled big time with consistency last year.
Brandin Cooks, Dallas Cowboys - 32% rostered
Brandin Cooks was solid as the No. 2 receiver for the Cowboys this weekend, catching four of his seven targets for 40 yards and a touchdown. With the news that Jake Ferguson suffered a knee injury on Sunday, quarterback Dak Prescott may have to become even more reliant on Cooks going forward.
Romeo Doubs, Green Bay Packers - 54% rostered
I'd be higher on Romeo Doubs if Jordan Love hadn't gotten hurt in Week 1. Uncertainty at QB definitely lowers the appeal of this entire Packers offense, especially if the team ends up going with Malik Willis.
"Malik Willis will get the start." @JayGlazer on FOX regarding the Packers home opener.
— Aaron Nagler (@AaronNagler) September 8, 2024
Notably, seven of Love's targets went to Doubs, the most on the team. Jayden Reed and Christian Watson have more fantasy upside, but Doubs has a shot to be a reliable source of targets in a high-powered offense... once Love is back, at least.
Jakobi Meyers, Las Vegas Raiders - 48% rostered
The fact that Jakobi Meyers was targeted just three times was concerning, but he caught all three for 61 yards. Based on this week, the Raiders should wind up throwing the ball a lot so as long as Meyers is out on the field, he should be in a position to deliver solid results.
Jerry Jeudy, Cleveland Browns - 45% rostered
It was a solid Cleveland Browns debut for Jerry Jeudy, who was targeted eight times. He caught three of those passes for 25 yards and a score. The Browns offense looked rough and Deshaun Watson barely looks like an NFL quarterback, but that doesn't mean Jeudy doesn't have some value if his role continues to look like this. Notably, he had a much more significant role than Elijah Moore.
Alec Pierce, Indianapolis Colts - 2% rostered
Maybe putting Alec Pierce in this section instead of in the deep-league targets is a little too optimistic about Pierce, but he appears to be the primary deep threat right now in an offense where Anthony Richardson is going to take some deep shots. This week, he caught all three of his targets for 125 yards and a touchdown. He's likely a boom-or-bust play, but those booms are going to be worth having.
Deeper Wide Receiver Fantasy Football Pickups For Week 2
Greg Dortch, Arizona Cardinals - 5% rostered
Tight end Trey McBride led the Cardinals in targets, which wasn't much of a surprise. What was a surprise was that Greg Dortch was second on the team in targets with eight while rookie Marvin Harrison Jr. was targeted just three times.
Arizona Cardinals route participation and targets for Week 1 (early data):
Marvin Harrison Jr: 95%, 10%
Michael Wilson: 92%, 7%
Greg Dortch: 68%, 26%Trey McBride: 90%, 29%
James Conner: 50%, 21%
Emari Demercado: 24%, 7%
Trey Benson: 8%, 3%— Dwain McFarland (@dwainmcfarland) September 8, 2024
Dortch brought in six of his targets for 47 yards while Harrison grabbed just one for four yards. While that's likely to switch at some point, Dortch looks firmly ensconced as the team's No. 2 wideout.
Wan'Dale Robinson, New York Giants - 10% rostered
Malik Nabers was the best Giants receiver in his NFL debut, but Wan'Dale Robinson was the one who saw the most targets as Daniel Jones looked his way 12 times. He caught six of those of 44 yards and also added a 14-yard run.
Robinson saw a lot of those targets near the line of scrimmage, which lowers his yardage upside. It does make him a deep-league PPR option though, especially with Darius Slayton and Jalin Hyatt combining for less than half of Robinson's targets.
Josh Reynolds, Denver Broncos - 1% rostered
Alright, so I really expected Marvin Mims Jr. to have a larger role, but he was targeted just once on Sunday. Instead, it was Josh Reynolds who emerged as the primary contender to be the No. 2 receiver in Denver. He tied for second on the team in targets with eight, hauling in five of those for 45 yards. Who did Reynolds tie with? Well...
Devaughn Vele, Denver Broncos - 0% rostered
Bo Nix was spamming the short throws this week. Rookie Devaughn Vele had a solid PPR day because of that, catching all eight of his targets for 39 yards. You obviously wish the yardage total was higher, but Vele has some appeal because of how involved he was in Denver's offense.
Rashod Bateman, Baltimore Ravens - 13% rostered
The whole Rashod Bateman thing never really happened. He's now in his fourth NFL season and has just one year with over 500 yards. Still, he was on the field a ton in Week 1 and caught two of his five targets for 53 yards, so there's some upside here.
Andrei Iosivas, Cincinnati Bengals - 13% rostered
With Tee Higgins out with a hamstring injury, Andrei Iosivas tied for the Bengals lead in targets with six. Of course, Ja'Marr Chase clearly outperformed him despite the same number of targets, but Iosivas still has some streaming appeal if Higgins ends up missing more games.
Ray-Ray McCloud III, Atlanta Falcons - 2% rostered
New coaching staff, same issue where Drake London just disappears. London was targeted just three times, as was Kyle Pitts. Meanwhile, Ray-Ray McCloud had seven targets on his own, catching four passes for 52 yards. I'm hesitant to believe this is sustainable, but he's worth a speculative add in deep leagues just in case he maintains this volume.
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