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Week 2 Adds, Drops, Buys, and Sells
What a week! Week 1 was exhilarating but the turnaround is quick. Waivers are running and we have championship rosters to build. With that in mind, here are the adds, drops, buys, and sells to consider making in Week 2.
START/SIT ASSIST | TRADE CALCULATOR
Add Avery Williams
With Damien Williams exiting early, Avery Williams played 30% of the snaps as the RB2 behind Cordarrelle Patterson. He was the only other Falcons running back to take a snap with Tyler Allgeier inactive. He also ran a route on 45-percent of Marcus Mariota’s drop backs so we could see some more passing game usage as well. Even if Williams is expected to miss extended time, Williams is just a speculative add. Patterson is locked into a significant role and Allgeier could emerge as well.
Add Jeff Wilson, Jordan Mason, & Tyrion Davis-Price
Jeff Wilson was the only 49ers running back to take an offensive snap after Elijah Mitchell departed with a knee injury. He didn’t perform particularly well but we have to remember the field conditions were atrocious. The usage was encouraging, though, and that’s what we’re buying. Elijah Mitchell is expected to miss about two months and Wilson projects as the top choice to take over that role, at least in the short term. Jordan Mason and Tyrion Davis-Price are both worth bench stashes as well. TDP would be my priority between the two.
Drop Jalen Tolbert
Jalen Tolbert was one of my favorite late-round wide receivers to draft early in the summer. But the lack of any positive training camp news cooled my takes on him a bit by the time we got to prime draft season. Then, he starts the year as a healthy scratch while the Cowboys offense looked atrocious on Sunday night. Now, even if he cracks the lineup, he’ll be without quarterback Dak Prescott for some time. This one’s an easy drop.
Add Jaylen Warren
Like Jeff Wilson in San Francisco, rookie Jaylen Warren was the only Steelers running back to see the field after Najee Harris left with a foot injury. Harris has already said he’s fine and expects to play in Week 2 against the Patriots, but Warren is worth an add just in case. Remember, Harris dealt with a lisfranc injury throughout camp as well. If at any point he misses time, Warren looks like he’ll get first crack at the RB1 job.
Buy Saquon Barkley
It’s okay to buy high. Saquon Barkley came out looking like the guy we knew from a few years ago. Healthy, fast, and explosive. Barkley is one of the most dominant running backs in the league when he has his health. Not only did he rip off long runs, he led all running backs for the week with a 33-percent target share. Whoever rosters him in your league may still be worried about him getting injured. But we don’t play scared. We play to win. Barkley is looking like a potential league-winner already. Go get him before he repeats this performance and the cost goes up.
Add Gerald Everett
We figured if Gerald Everett could establish himself in this offense, he’d be a steal at his ADP. He got off to a solid start with a 12-percent target share and catching three of his four targets for 54 yards and a score. He’ll be more of a boom-or-bust play, but if you’re in need of a streamer at the position it’s hard to find a better option than a playmaking red zone target in the Justin Herbert offense. Everett will be particularly appealing if Keenan Allen misses time with his hamstring injury.
Add Josh Palmer
I talked all summer long about Josh Palmer. Not only did I love the stand-alone value as the WR3 in an explosive offense, but I loved the upside of becoming the WR2 if either Mike Williams or Keenan Allen experienced an injury. As it turns out, Allen is already battling a hamstring issue coming out of Week 1. While DeAndre Carter looked good in his opportunities on Sunday, Palmer was well ahead of journeyman receiver. Palmer played 75-percent of the snaps to Carter’s 37-percent. Their Route participation discrepancy was similar.
Add Kyle Phillips
Rookie Kyle Phillips led all Titans receivers with a 27-percent target share. He also hauled-in the catch that set up what would have been the game-winning field goal had Randy Bullock not missed from 47 yards. But I digress. Phillips finished the game with 66 receiving yards. Phillips came into the league as a polished route runner who projected as a slot receiver. He had taken that role by the horns and run with it already. He could become a steady WR4 in PPR scoring.
Buy AJ Brown
Like I said with Saquon Barkley, it is perfectly okay to buy high. This is not a Week 1 overreaction, but more like Week 1 was a confirmation of what we thought we were getting with the Jalen Hurts to Brown connection. Brown is one of the most talented wide receivers in the league. He’s battled some injuries in recent seasons but he looked as healthy as ever against the Lions. Brown was a target hog, finishing the week second to only Davante Adams in target share (41%) among wide receivers. He turned that into 10 catches for 155 yards. We expected the Eagles to be a more pass-friendly offense this season and Week 1 did not disappoint.
Drop Mike Gesicki
We were below consensus on Mike Gesicki throughout the summer. We knew he wasn’t a fit for what new head coach Mike McDaniel wants to do with his tight ends. Trade rumors in late August only confirmed that. In Week 1, Gesicki ran a route on just 43-percent of Tua Tagovailoa’s drop backs. He was targeted once—resulting in a one-yard catch. He can be safely dropped for someone like Albert Okwuegbunam, Irv Smith, Gerald Everett, Hayden Hurst, Logan Thomas, or Evan Engram.
Sell Rashaad Penny
Rashaad Penny looked healthy and explosive on Monday night. Let’s take advantage of that and cash in. Why? Because this is still Geno Smith and the Seattle offense. I understand they exceeded expectations and admittedly impressed in Week 1, but do we really expect that to be the norm? It’s still a bad offense with a questionable offensive line. Even in a surprising positive game script, Penny still only managed 12 rush attempts. And that was with the rookie second rounder—Kenneth Walker—inactive. Walker is expected back soon which will only muddy the waters for Penny. You made a mistake by drafting him, but the universe has given you a mulligan. Don’t squander it.
Buy Mike Williams
I loved Mike Williams coming into the season. Week 1 was a dud but that doesn’t change my projections for him. He was on the field, running routes, it just wasn’t his week for one reason or another. Now he’s going to be the clear top dog with Keenan Allen expected to miss at least Week 2. Chargers-Chiefs on Thursday night should be high-scoring which will open up red zone opportunities for this red zone monster. Buy him this week before he has his first explosion of the season.
Hold Trey Lance & Brandon Aiyuk
Did you see the weather in that 49ers-Bears game? It was legit monsoon conditions. There was literally like two inches of water on top of the field. It was a mess. Because of that, we’re basically throwing that game out of all the San Francisco and Chicago players. That includes Trey Lance who still somehow ran for 54 yards. We loved him coming into the season because of his rushing ability and cannon arm. Nothing about that has changed. We also loved Brandon Aiyuk because of his fit with Lance’s skill set. Again, that hasn’t changed. In fact, Aiyuk played on 98-percent of the snaps and ran a route on 100-percent of Lance’s drop backs. Everything is going to be okay, people.
Sell Clyde Edwards-Helaire
Oh man, talk about the perfect sell-high candidate. We actually liked Clyde Edwards-Helaire in Week 1. He was in a couple of our lineups that we posted in the Week 1 DFS & Betting Guide. We knew game script and scoring opportunities would be in CEH’s favor. It worked out great. It also worked out for anyone who drafted him in seasonal leagues because it opened up the trade window. He was out-targeted by Jerrick McKinnon and rookie Isiah Pacheco looked good when he came in, albeit in garbage time. McKinnon has the passing downs role on lockdown and Pacheco is a candidate for increased playing time as the season goes along. After all, we’ve seen this CEH trap before. He has a two touchdown game and then does nothing for six weeks. Sell now.
Add Zay Jones
I touted Zay Jones as a late-round target all summer long. And here we are. Jones is coming off a six catch, 65-yard outing. He ran a route on 91% of Jacksonville’s drop-backs. That was tied with Christian Kirk for the team lead. Jones also had a 21% target share and played 83% of the snaps. He’s going to he usable as a WR3/4 moving forward.
Add DJ Chark
As expected, the Lions offense put up some points in Week 1. And as expected, DJ Chark was a big part of that. Like Zay Jones, Chark is a wide receiver I had circled as a late-round target throughout the draft process. He delivered by catching four passes for 52 yards and a score. He did that while played 83-percent of the snaps, running a route on 92-percent of Jared Goff’s drop backs, and commanding a 22-percent target share. Chark also finished fourth in the NFL with 124 air yards which accounted for 40.5-percent of the team share. This was a great start to the season but even bigger weeks are coming.
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