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Welcome to the first deep league waiver wire hunt of the year. These fantasy football waiver wire pickup suggestions are geared toward leagues with deep benches or 14-plus teams, so the obvious Week 1 darlings and obvious pickups such as Jeff Wilson Jr., Jarvis Landry, Dontrell Hilliard, and Isiah Pacheco won't be featured in this article. Instead, we're diving deeper for players who saw a surprising number of targets, newfound opportunities, or even running back stashes who moved up the depth chart, even if they won't be slated to get a ton of work immediately.
In deep leagues, stashing lotto-ticket upside plays is paramount for future upside. Even players like Craig Reynolds, Taysom Hill, and D'Onta Foreman were valuable pieces at points of the season last year, so if we can identify deep league sleepers early, it can help you win your league down the road.
Of course, we only have one week of games to look at, but these deep league waiver targets are usually cheap to obtain and can be dropped without consequence down the road if they prove to have little value to your roster.
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Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Targets for Week 2
Jerick McKinnon saw seven touches for 49 total yards, but the most important thing here is he was active against the Cardinals, while Ronald Jones was a healthy scratch. Even shallow fantasy leagues will be grabbing Isiah Pacheco, but McKinnon will fly under the radar. We could see a committee approach in the Kansas City backfield this season, but if Clyde Edwards-Helaine or Pacheco get banged up, McKinnon has a huge upside in the high-powered Chiefs offense.
Boston Scott only totaled four carries for 10 yards, but he did score a touchdown, and this Eagles' rushing attack looks elite again in 2022. He's not someone you can play immediately, but if either Kenneth Gainwell or Miles Sanders goes down, he's immediately a flex option in deep leagues. He's purely a bench stash for upside. Shallow leagues are already on Gainwell, hence why he's not on the list.
Jordan Mason and Tyrion Davis-Price could see an opportunity since Elijah Mitchell suffered a knee injury. It's unclear how long Mitchell could be out, but we've seen countless 49ers' running backs produce big numbers out of nowhere. Mason, an undrafted rookie, was active on game day while Davis-Price was not, but we can't know for sure which guy would get carries behind Jeff Wilson Jr. in Week 2.
Benny Snell Jr. has a ways to go before he becomes fantasy relevant, but he's worth keeping an eye on since Najee Harris has now suffered two lower-body injuries before we even reach Week 2. It sounds like Harris might not miss any action, but it doesn't bode well for him if he's playing hurt. Jaylen Warren will be picked up heavily, but Snell is just behind on the Steelers' depth chart.
Zack Moss seemed dead in the water in fantasy football when the Bills drafted James Cook in the second round, but Moss saw six targets against the Rams, so he might have some deep league flex value in PPR leagues. He's another guy you don't want to start right away, but until we see Cook pass him up in opportunity share, Moss is worth keeping an eye on.
Ty Montgomery was active after much speculation he wouldn't be and he caught a touchdown in the loss to the Dolphins. He also saw four targets. Could Montgomery be the new James White as the primary pass-catching back in New England? He's worth a look in PPR leagues.
Samaje Perine drew five targets against the Steelers, so perhaps he'll be used as a satellite back off the bench for Joe Burrow. Joe Mixon is still the clear workhorse in Cincinnati, but Perine could have some standalone value. If something happens to Mixon, he'll be the hottest waiver wire add immediately.
Curtis Samuel led all Commanders pass-catchers in targets (11) and receptions (eight), so while everyone else chases Jahan Dotson's two touchdowns, snag Samuel. Touchdowns aren't sticky week-to-week, but targets and usage patterns can be. Samuel could finally be back after a year-long battle with injuries.
Kyle Philips saw a 27-percent targets share (nine targets), and led the Titans' pass-catchers in receptions (six) and receiving yards (66). Treylon Burks was second in targets, and since he's a big name with first-round draft capital, most leagues will scoop him up. Philips will fly under the radar, but he's worth a flyer in deep PPR leagues.
Corey Davis saw nine targets against Baltimore and since everyone is excited about the young guys Elijah Moore and Garrett Wilson, he might fly under the radar too. He's not highly rostered in shallow leagues, and if he's available in deep leagues, he might be a steal.
Jauan Jennings was just behind Deebo Samuel in targets (six to eight), and as long as George Kittle remains banged up, he has some value. Maybe this was a fluke and Brandon Aiyuk will establish himself as the No. 2 as we expect, but this is at least worth monitoring.
Donovan Peoples-Jones commanded 11 targets against the Panthers, and anyone who can yield 10-plus targets should be watched moving forward. His upside remains capped until Deshaun Watson suits up for Cleveland, but again, we're looking for deep league production.
Richie James caught five-of-six targets for 59 yards against the Titans, and we don't know Wan'Dale Robinson's status yet, so we can't totally ignore the impressive debut. He's likely another "wait and see" guy, though.
Hayden Hurst received eight targets in the loss to the Steelers, and he was one of the popular sleeper tight ends before the season began. Tee Higgins suffering a concussion helped his chances of drawing targets, but he's worth a flyer as a part of the Bengals' offense. We saw C.J. Uzomah have a few explosive weeks as the Bengals' TE1 last season.
Tyler Conklin scored the Jets' only touchdown against the Ravens, and although we shouldn't overreact to a four-catch, 14-yard performance, he does look like the clear TE1 in New York thus far, so keep an eye out.
O.J. Howard caught two touchdowns on two targets, and although we can't simply chase a 100-percent touchdown rate, we have seen tight ends build strong fantasy seasons on the back of touchdown-dependency. At the very least, keep an eye on him moving forward.
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