Waiver Favors™: 2024 Week 2 Fantasy Football Pickups
By Ha Kung Wong Week 2 Fantasy Football Pickups
Twitter: @FBGarbageTime
As I do every year over the last 12 years, I’m here to help with waiver wire adds via my weekly Waiver Favors™ article! And I’m assuming if you’re reader right now, you’re in your fantasy football playoffs, so congratulations!I’ll make a couple suggestions for after Week 2 of the 2024 fantasy football season that hopefully will keep your team running. You’re welcome. Again.
As usual, all pickups are available in at least 50% of Yahoo standard fantasy football leagues (with some minor exceptions) as of Sunday evening.
And don’t forget that I have my previous recommended pickups this season at the end of the article, categorized by which leagues I would still pick them up in.
Derek Carr
QB – New Orleans Saints – 19% Owned
No one expected anything out of Derek Carr in his second year with the Saints, but he and the Saints just keep rolling. Sure, Week 1 was against the lowly Carolina Panthers, but he still managed 200 yards and 3 TDs adding 2 carries for 13 yards. And I mentioned on the podcast that I was very interested in the game between the Saints and Cowboys, both of which beat up on weak teams in Week 1, to see which one was real. Turns out, the answer is, at least for now, the Saints.
Carr completed 11 of 16 passes for 243 yards and 2 TDs with an interception, adding a 1-yard TD run on his way to routing the Cowboys 44-19. He’s never looked this good before, but its been two weeks in a row, so if you’re looking for a QB replacement due to injury (e.g., Tua Tagovailoa or Jordan Love) or underperformance (e.g., Trevor Lawrence), you could do worse in all 12-team leagues or deeper.
| Season | Team | G | Cmp | Att | Cmp% | Yds | TD | Int | Y/G | Rate | QBR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | OAK | 16 | 348 | 599 | 58.1 | 3270 | 21 | 12 | 204.4 | 76.6 | 42.1 |
| 2015 | OAK | 16 | 350 | 573 | 61.1 | 3987 | 32 | 13 | 249.2 | 91.1 | 43.1 |
| 2016 | OAK | 15 | 357 | 560 | 63.8 | 3937 | 28 | 6 | 262.5 | 96.7 | 56.1 |
| 2017 | OAK | 15 | 323 | 515 | 62.7 | 3496 | 22 | 13 | 233.1 | 86.4 | 50.4 |
| 2018 | OAK | 16 | 381 | 553 | 68.9 | 4049 | 19 | 10 | 253.1 | 93.9 | 46.5 |
| 2019 | OAK | 16 | 361 | 513 | 70.4 | 4054 | 21 | 8 | 253.4 | 100.8 | 64.1 |
| 2020 | LVR | 16 | 348 | 517 | 67.3 | 4103 | 27 | 9 | 256.4 | 101.4 | 64.3 |
| 2021 | LVR | 17 | 428 | 626 | 68.4 | 4804 | 23 | 14 | 282.6 | 94.0 | 58.4 |
| 2022 | LVR | 15 | 305 | 502 | 60.8 | 3522 | 24 | 14 | 234.8 | 86.3 | 57.6 |
| 2023 | NOR | 17 | 375 | 548 | 68.4 | 3878 | 25 | 8 | 228.1 | 97.7 | 56.5 |
| 2024 | NOR | 1 | 19 | 23 | 82.6 | 200 | 3 | 0 | 200.0 | 142.5 | 84.7 |
| 11 Y | 11 Y | 160 | 3595 | 5529 | 65.0 | 39300 | 245 | 107 | 245.6 | 92.6 | 42.1 |
| 17 G | 17 G | 17 | 382 | 587 | 65.0 | 4176 | 26 | 11 | 245.6 | 92.6 | 4.47 |
| OAK | OAK | 142 | 3201 | 4958 | 64.6 | 35222 | 217 | 99 | 248.0 | 91.8 | 42.1 |
| NOR | NOR | 18 | 394 | 571 | 69.0 | 4078 | 28 | 8 | 226.6 | 99.9 | 56.5 |
Carson Steele & Samaje Perine
RB – Kansas City Chiefs – 3% Owned & 5% Owned
Isiah Pacheco is out with a broken fibula and will likely be put on IR this week, meaning he’s out for at least the next 4 games, and likely longer. Rookie Carson Steele is the only other RB to receive a carry over the first two weeks, with 3 carries in Week 1 and 7 carries in Week 2. Steele did well at UCLA so should be able to pick up the early down carries with Samaje Perine likely being rotated in on passing downs. Even after Steele fumbled in Week 2, Perine didn’t get a carry, so I’d be surprised if they gave Perine significant carries going forward. There’s almost certainly going to be some adds to the Chiefs RB room, but Steele had the whole off season to become familiar with the Chiefs system, so he’s the odds-on favorite to get first crack at taking on the majority of carries moving forward.
UPDATE 9/16/24 – 3:45 PM ET – Pacheco now projected to miss 6-8 weeks.
Cam Akers
RB – Houston Texans – 1% Owned
Dameon Pierce out with an ankle injury and Joe Mixon with a potential ankle injury puts Cam Akers on my radar. If you have Mixon, it’s worth scooping up Akers as an insurance policy in all leagues. He did manage to fumble in the redzone. But I think he has more upside even if Pierce comes back from injury.
Quentin Johnston
WR – Los Angeles Chargers – 6% Owned
The Chargers didn’t have to pass much in Week 1, but still had 3 receptions from a healthy 5 targets for 38 yards. There wasn’t much reason for the Chargers to pass in Week 2 either, but Johnston still managed to lead all receivers catching 5 of 6 targets for 51 yards and 2 TDs. He’s among the top two receiving targets for the Chargers, and that’s worth your attention in all 14-team leagues or deeper.
Tyler Johnson
WR – Los Angeles Rams – 11% Owned
With Cooper Kupp out with an ankle injury late in the 2nd quarter and Puka Nacua already out on PUP for at least another 3 games, Tyler Johnson will likely become a top-2 target with Demarcus Robinson. Robinson was in my pickups last week, and he’s still only 42% owned, so go pick him up if he’s there. Johnson had snagged 5 of 7 for 79 yards in Week 1, and only had 2 of 3 targets for 20 yards in Week 2, but everything was going wrong for the Rams in Week 2. Johnson is worth a speculative pickup in light of the injury to Kupp.
Jauan Jennings
WR – San Francisco 49ers – 2% Owned
Yikes. It’s injury city in the NFL this week, and the most recent victim is Deebo Samuel, who will be out at least a couple weeks with a calf strain. Other than Brandon Aiyuk and George Kittle, it’s unclear who else will pick up the targets, but a decent option might be Jauan Jennings. Yes, he plays in the slot, but he’s a veteran who should be leaned on more by Brock Purdy as they move forward. He managed to catch all 5 targets for 54 yards in Week 1 and 2 of 4 for 37 yards in Week 2, so he’s been getting targets even with Deebo on the field. He’s worth a speculative pick up in 14-team PPR leagues or deeper.
Hunter Henry
TE – New England Patriots – 24% Owned
So this kinda came out of nowhere. After a Week 1 where the Patriots decided to just run every down, the Patriots decided to go a little more diverse in Week 2 leading to Henry’s massive 8 of 12 for 109 yards. To put that in context, almost 45% of Jacoby Brissett‘s passes went to Henry. That’s some ridiculous target share there. It probably won’t be like that every week, but any TE that gets that many looks is worth your attention in all 12-team leagues or deeper.
Luke Schoonmaker
TE – Dallas Cowboys – 3% Owned
With Jake Fergoson out with a MCL sprain, Luke Schoonmaker managed to catch 6 of 6 targets for 43 yards in Week 2. In Week 1, Schoonmaker played 30% of the snaps even with Ferguson in, so it appears that Dallas has been trying to integrate him regardless. If Ferguson remains out, he’s worth streaming, particularly in PPR leagues.
UPDATE for Monday Night Football
Darnell Mooney
WR – Atlanta Falcons – 16% Owned
After catching only 1 of 3 targets for just 15 yards in Week 1 from a rusty Kirk Cousins, Darnell Mooney stepped up in a big way in Week 2 catching 3 of 7 targets for 88 yards and a TD. Mooney had as many targets as presumptive WR1 Drake London and the Falcons offense looks to be coming together. Mooney should continue to get plenty of opportunities in Atlanta after this outing, so he’s worth picking up in all 12-team leagues or deeper.
Here are pickups that I’ve discussed in previous “Waiver Favors” and where I think they should be picked up:
10-Team Leagues
RB – J.K. Dobbins, Jordan Mason
WR – Rashid Shaheed
12-Team Leagues
WR – Jerry Jeudy, Alec Pierce, Demarcus Robinson
TE – Isaiah Likely
14-Team Leagues
WR – Brandin Cooks, Allen Lazard, Wan’Dale Robinson
16-Team Leagues or Deeper
WR – Greg Dortch, Devaughn Vele
Check back every week for more Waiver Favors!