Welcome to our first Waiver Wire article at Fantasy In Frames for the 2023 fantasy football season!
Hey everyone, I’m Drew, and welcome to my first waiver wire article for the fantasy football season. This season, we will be using roster percentages found on Sleeper HQ, as it is one of the most popular fantasy football platforms to play on. However, for those using ESPN or Yahoo, chances are the percentages found on those platforms are fairly similar to those on Sleeper HQ, so you shouldn’t have to worry about any major discrepancies across platforms. With that said, I’m Drew Scott (Twitter/X @Drew3MR), and here are my recommendations in my Fantasy Football Waiver Wire for Week 2 (2023) article.
Jordan Love
He completed 15 of 27 passes for 245 yards and was the only QB with 3+ TDs and 0 INTs in Week 1 without his top weapon, Christian Watson, albeit against a less-than-impressive Chicago Bears defense, and he gets another beatable defense in the Atlanta Falcons in Week 2.
The Packers offensive line allowed only two pressures in Week 1, giving Love plenty of time to make plays. He also didn’t have to show his rushing ability much in Week 1, which he can do when needed.
Mac Jones
Jones completed 35 of 54 passes (yes, you read that right – 54 passes) for 316 yards with 3 TDs and 1 INT against a tough Philadelphia Eagles defense. Turns out it’s helpful to have an actual offensive mind as your offensive coordinator instead of a former defensive coordinator.
They play the Miami Dolphins in Week 2, who should be able to put up points, which could lead to another game with a high number of pass attempts from Mac Jones and the Patriots offense. He could get Devante Parker back in Week 2 as well.
Baker Mayfield
Completed 21 of 34 passes for only 173 yards, but 2 TDs and 0 INTs. We know how great Mike Evans and Chris Godwin are, and the impressive preseason from rookie Trey Palmer continued in Week 1 as well. With these weapons in the right matchup, he is a streaming option.
Speaking of the right matchup, remember the less-than-impressive Chicago Bears defense that Jordan Love picked on in Week 1? That’s Baker Mayfield’s matchup for Week 2. It’s going to feel gross, but you can do much worse as a streaming option this week.
Kyren Williams
Williams finished Week 1 with 15 rushing attempts for 52 yards and 2 TDs, and while he wasn’t efficient on the ground, he got the important touches early in the game.
Even though the difference in snap counts and touches at the end of the game doesn’t look that big between Williams and Akers, Williams out-touched Akers 14 to 11 until the Rams went up by 11 late in the game. I would pick him up, but I’d be hesitant to start him in a tough matchup next week against the San Francisco 49ers whenever we’re still not 100% sure how the timeshare between Akers and Williams will shake out.
Kenneth Gainwell
Rashaad Penny was a surprise healthy scratch prior to the Eagles Week 1 matchup against the New England Patriots, and that led to Kenneth Gainwell dominating the backfield. He had 14 rushing attempts for 54 yards and another 4 receptions for 20 yards. While he wasn’t extremely efficient with his touches, you’ll want to add an RB getting that many opportunities in an offense as good as Philadelphia’s.
We’ll see if things change on a short week, going up against the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday Night Football in Week 2, but the other two RBs active for Week 1 (D’Andre Swift & Boston Scott) combined for only 2 rushing attempts for 6 yards. Week 1 was the Kenneth Gainwell show.
Joshua Kelley
With J.K. Dobbins’ season-ending injury, I’m sure you were expecting to see a Baltimore Raven in the RB section of this waiver wire article, and while I do think it’s worth it to take shots on Gus Edwards and Justice Hill, I think you should prioritize Joshua Kelley of the Los Angeles Chargers over both of them. Joshua Kelley played 48% of the snaps compared to Austin Ekeler’s 51%, and while he won’t cut into Ekeler’s receiving work, he carried the ball 16 times for 91 yards and found the endzone.
The Chargers ran the ball 53% of the time in Week 1, which is up considerably from the 35% clip they ran last year. It’s only one week, but I believe this is noticeable with the change at Offensive Coordinator this offseason. With that many carries in this offense, Kelley could have standalone value while being one of the most valuable handcuffs in fantasy football.
Puka Nacua
During the Fantasy In Frames Pregame Show for Week 1, I mentioned that Puka Nacua was someone that you should keep your eye on this week due to his profiling as the WR best fit to take on the Cooper Kupp role in this offense, but that you shouldn’t be starting him in the rookie’s first career game. Boy, was I right and wrong all at the same time. If you’re a part of the 1% of people in Sleeper leagues that started Puka Nacua in Week 1, you came away very happy with his 10 receptions on 15 TARGETS for 119 yards in his first career start.
Puka Nacua earned an insane 39.4% target share and should remain a high-volume target for Matthew Stafford while Cooper Kupp is out. Even once Kupp returns, I believe Nacua will continue to have a role in this offense.
Zay Jones
It looks like the preseason usage of Zay Jones as the WR2 in this Jaguars offense over Christian Kirk might be a real thing. Zay Jones had a 94% route participation in Week 1, well ahead of Christian Kirk’s 67% route participation and only behind Calvin Ridley’s 97% route participation.
Zay Jones was 12th in red zone targets last year, and he found the end zone yet again in Week 1. Trevor Lawrence clearly trusts him in that area. so you’ll want to pick up the 2nd option on an ascending offense attached to a great QB.
Rashid Shaheed
Rashid Shaheed is a boom-or-bust option, but he’s been a lot more boom than bust dating back to the 2nd half of last season, and that continued in Week 1. Rashid Shaheed had 5 receptions on 6 targets for 89 yards and the Saints’ lone TD of the week.
Among players that ran 10+ routes, Shaheed was 3rd in yards per route run in Week 1. He was 3rd on the Saints in targets but only had two fewer targets than Michael Thomas and had a couple of rushing attempts as well, which is a trend that should continue in the short term due to the lack of depth in the RB room at the moment.
Luke Musgrave
Typically, I try to stay away from rookie TEs in redraft leagues, but this rookie class is really putting that to the test. Musgrave’s Week 1 usage makes him tough to ignore. He played on 81% of the snaps and had an 85% route participation on Jordan Love’s dropbacks. However, for Musgrave to be a consistently reliable option at TE, the Packers will need to throw the ball more than 27 times, especially once Christian Watson makes his return.
Musgrave caught 3 of his 4 targets for 50 yards in Week 1 and gets a Week 2 matchup against an Atlanta defense that gave up a 5 reception / 41-yard / 1 TD day to Carolina Panthers’ TE Hayden Hurst.
Hayden Hurst
Speaking of Hayden Hurst, he’s the next TE waiver wire option that I want to highlight. As I said, he’s fresh off a 5 reception 41-yard day with a TD in Week 1. He had a solid route participation of 71%, and with a questionable WR room in Carolina could continue to earn targets.
If you do pick him up, I would be hesitant to immediately throw him in your starting lineup. Hayden Hurst has to play the Saints in Week 2, who have historically been tough against the TE and just held Tennessee Titans TE Chigoziem Okonkwo without a catch in Week 1, however, Hurst could be a viable option at TE throughout the season.
Hunter Henry
I already talked about Mac Jones’ impressive Week 1 performance during the QB waiver wire portion of the article, and Hunter Henry was one of the benefactors of the Patriots’ high passing volume day. He caught 5 of 6 targets for 56 yards and a TD, and he’s currently the TE1 on the week.
His playing time makes it clear that he’s the TE to own for New England, finishing Week 1, playing 78% of snaps with a 77% route participation. He’s not going to do much after the catch, but similar to most fringe TE1 options, you’re looking for volume combined with an opportunity to find the end zone. Hunter Henry provides both.
New York Giants
The answer to this week’s question of who plays the Arizona Cardinals? The New York Giants. It’s truly as simple as that, folks.
I understand being scared to put the New York Giants in your fantasy lineup after that awful showing against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 1 on Sunday Night Football. Still, the Arizona Cardinals only put up 210 yards of total offense in Week 1 and will be a team we’ll target while streaming defenses all season.
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos draw the Washington Commanders in Week 2, who come off a Week 1 performance with 3 turnovers against the Arizona Cardinals. The Denver Broncos have a lot more talent on the defensive side of the ball, so I like their chances in this matchup.
As an added bonus, if you can hold on to them through their difficult Week 3 matchup against the Miami Dolphins, you get another juicy matchup in Week 4 against the Chicago Bears.
Cleveland Browns
Whenever you’re talking about the most impressive defensive performances from Week 1, Cleveland has to be on the short-list after holding the Cincinnati Bengals to 3 points and Joe Burrow to the lowest passing yardage total in one game so far in his career.
Now this defense that impressed in Week 1 gets the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 2 and the Tennessee Titans in Week 3, two plus matchups for your D/ST. This is a streaming defense you can get two weeks out of instead of just one.
