A lot of times in fantasy football, players will bust or get injured and you feel your team is basically done for the year. However, without even making trades you can drastically improve your team by working the waiver wire. For those new to fantasy football, the waiver wire is full of ‘free-agent’ players that you can pick up and add to your team.
Oftentimes, there will be a variety of players worth adding to your roster and depending on your team this article might contain most of them or just a few. Therefore, whenever I put a player on this list he will have a 50% ownership percentage or lower to make it so there should be players for everyone to add and make their teams significantly better.
Additionally, all ownership percentages will be based on the ESPN website data but usually the percentages are relatively uniform across platforms from my experience.
I am going to always divide this article into three sections: Running Backs, Wide Receivers, and Tight Ends. So if you need one of those positions more than anything else feel free to just scroll to that given section.
Running Backs:
Tony Pollard (39% owned):
Pollard has emerged as a weapon in this offense this year. Pollard has been averaging over 15 carries a game through the first two weeks not to mention having over three receptions a game. His efficiency is pretty amazing too at 7.7 yards per carry compared to Zeke who is at a measly 3.9 yards per carry. Pollard is a must pick up but his only issue is lack of snaps. Despite getting all of these touches he still has yet to get more than 34% of snaps in a game. If he continues to be this effective I fully expect that to change.
Cordarrelle Patterson (8% owned):
Patterson has always been an athletic freak who is electric with the ball in his hands. However, he never really has had the opportunity to display his athleticism as a full-time running back. This year seems like it will finally be different. Patterson has averaged over 11 touches per game through two weeks and appears to have the passing down role absolutely locked down in the offense. He had five receptions for 56 yards and a touchdown this past week and given how bad the Falcons defense truly is I would not be surprised to see him continue to get a lot of passing down work.
Latavius Murray (50% owned):
Murray is one of those guys who has always had a nose for the endzone. He’s found paydirt in each of the last two weeks and seems to be a player the Ravens trust down near the goal line. He is not the flashiest start every week and his bust potential is there but if he’s continuously getting touches and goal line work he is most certainly worth the pickup given how thin the running back position is on the waiver wire right now. Ravens will run the ball a ton this year so expect him to get his fair share of touches.
Mark Ingram (34% owned):
The only reason Mark Ingram is still here is due to the sheer amount of touches he is getting for the Texans. After having over 25+ touches last week, Ingram had a decent workload with 15 catches. His efficiency, however, has been absolutely atrocious and is reminiscent of Frank Gore on the Jets in 2020. He gets touches but doesn’t do much with them. He’s definitely worth a pick up just because of his touch count and as I have said running back is very, very shallow.
Wide Receivers:
Rondale Moore (19% owned):
Is Rondale Moore finally the WR2 that the Cardinals have been looking for the last few years? Moore is averaging 14.1 yards AFTER catch. He has shown the explosive athleticism he displayed at Purdue on play after play after play. Moore just had the best performance of his career with seven receptions for 114 yards and a touchdown. This comes one week after a very respectable five receptions for 68 yards game. Moore is going to be involved in this offense. 6.5 targets per game through the first two games will not just disappear. He is worth flex value every single week. Don’t think twice about this one.
KJ Osborn (1% owned): I was thinking about Osborn for my article last week but honestly due to the fact that I had no idea who he was prior to week one I figured I would wait to see if it was a fluke. So far it would appear that he is not one whatsoever. This Vikings defense has given up 27+ points in both games so far and looks to continue to not be good. Therefore, the Vikes will be throwing a ton. Osborn has had 15 targets through two games and has been averaging 83.5 yards per game. Not to mention his touchdown this past week too. I am starting to love his value and because of his lack of a name I have a feeling people might stay away.
Elijah Moore (33% owned):
I think people hit the panic button way too quick on Moore. His week one performance was not good but it’s important to remember context and Moore had missed all of preseason and a lot of camp due to injury. This week he showed his potential upside. Despite Wilson playing the worst game possible, Moore finished with four receptions for 47 yards. He had eight targets and was a big factor downfield. I think Moore has all the ability in the world and once Wilson bounces back this week, Moore can explode.
Tim Patrick (13% owned):
Like Latavius Murray, Patrick has a magnetism for touchdowns. Patrick has touchdowns in both games so far not to mention having four receptions in each. With Jerry Jeudy out for the foreseeable future do not be surprised if Patrick steps into a bigger role. Teddy Bridgewater has been playing some very solid football and Patrick has flashed his talent in the past. He’s a solid upside pick up this week.
Tight Ends:
Austin Hooper (49% owned):
Tight ends have always been a weak position on the waiver wire and it is not great this year either. Hooper is one of the better options out there and he has eight receptions over the last two games. Hooper is very talented but may finally have enough usage this year to be worth plugging into tight end if you absolutely need to.
Maxx Williams (0% owned):
The former second round pick did absolutely nothing in week one but was able to put together a seven receptions for 94 yards performance this week. Williams caught all seven of his targets. If this type of usage continues he has low-end TE1 value but more likely he has a much smaller role. Worth a shot to pick up though if you need tight end in my opinion.