Week 2 Waiver Wire – NFL Fantasy Football – 2025

DFS Army’s Gthom goes over the waiver wire targets for this week. These waiver wire targets are normally available in 50-percent of ESPN leagues.

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QUARTERBACKS

 

Michael Penix Jr. (ATL) – 20% Rostered

Penix threw for 298 yards and one touchdown while also running for 21 yards and one touchdown against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 1. This is the second game in a row that Penix has scored 24 or more fantasy points, stretching back to Week 18 in 2024. The main question mark for Penix is what his fantasy floor is.

For now, he seems to be a speculative add at quarterback who carries a high ceiling. Worst case, he remains a boom-or-bust option throughout the year; the better case is Penix continues to evolve into a reliable NFL starting quarterback. If he plays well against the Vikings in Week 2, he needs to be taken seriously as a potential breakout candidate.

Aaron Rodgers (GB) – 9% Rostered

Rodgers scored 25.66 fantasy points in Week 1, posting 244 yards and four touchdowns. As long as the former MVP can throw touchdowns, he will keep fantasy managers happy. It is also worth noting that the Steelers struggled to run the ball effectively, which may have caused them to lean heavier on the pass. Establishing the run will be part of their offensive philosophy throughout the season.

It is hard to imagine Rodgers being able to find the end zone two or more times each week consistently at this stage of his career. This does limit Rodgers’ ceiling. Managers can add him in hopes he continues his hot start to the season.

Daniel Jones (IND) – 5% Rostered

What a start for Jones. He threw for 272 yards, added 26 rushing yards and scored three touchdowns — two rushing and one passing. We have seen ceiling performances like this before, but this could be different after bouncing around the league for a brief stint. Two-quarterback leagues should prioritize adding Jones due to his ability to rush, and single-quarterback leagues can stash him in case these performances become a trend. The Colts face a tough Broncos defense in Week 2.

 

RUNNING BACKS

Dylan Sampson (CLE) – 33% Rostered

Sampson finished the day with 12 carries for 29 yards while catching all eight of his targets for 64 yards. Another notable takeaway from the box score is that he had twice as many carries as his platoon teammate Jerome Ford.

Sampson is an interesting PPR flier until Quinshon Judkins gets fully integrated into the offense. Judkins signed his rookie deal on Saturday, the day before the Browns’ first game. He is still being investigated by the NFL, which leaves the door open for a potential suspension. Any missed time would seemingly benefit Sampson.

Running Back Handcuffs with Low-End FLEX Usage

• Trey Benson (ARI) – 51% Rostered
• Brian Robinson Jr. (SF) – 53% Rostered
• Kareem Hunt (KC) – 12% Rostered
• Braelon Allen (NYJ) – 42% Rostered
• Tyler Allgeier (ATL) – 38% Rostered

Running Backs to Stash Only

• Jayden Blue (DAL) – 43% Rostered
• Woody Marks (HOU) – 13% Rostered

 

 

WIDE RECEIVERS

 

Hollywood Brown (KC) – 50% Rostered

With Rice suspended and Worthy (shoulder) likely missing some time, Brown will get a lot of usage in the near term. This was evident in his Week 1 game, where he finished with 10 receptions for 99 yards on 16 targets. Brown is the top waiver pickup for managers needing help at the receiver position.

Cedric Tillman (CLE) – 43% Rostered

While the targets in Cleveland were distributed across all the pass catchers, it was Tillman who led the receivers in fantasy points. He finished with eight targets, five receptions, 52 receiving yards and one touchdown. This output is no surprise if you recall Tillman’s huge… albeit brief… breakout in 2024, which was derailed by a lingering concussion. Now healthy, Tillman might be an early-season steal off waivers.

Quentin Johnston (LAC) – 3% Rostered

A two-touchdown game shows that Johnston will continue to be a red-zone threat, carrying over from 2024 when he scored eight touchdowns. The downside is that there are a lot of mouths to feed at the receiver position for the Chargers. For receiver-needy managers, Johnston is hard to leave on waivers heading into Week 2. He played 82 percent of snaps and is widely available in redraft leagues. Expect volatility to follow Johnston all season.

JuJu Smith-Schuster (KC) – 1% Rostered

Like Brown mentioned above, Smith-Schuster will also get extra run in this offense so long as Worthy (shoulder) remains out. The Kansas City receiver finished Week 1 by catching all five of his targets for 55 receiving yards.

Kayshon Boutte (NE) – 1% Rostered

Boutte could potentially be the stretch receiver this offense desperately needs. He averaged 17.2 yards per catch in Week 1, finishing with six catches for 103 yards. It is unlikely that Boutte turns into a consistent fantasy asset in 2025, but for the time being he is worth stashing on benches in case he continues to bring some juice to this young Patriots group.

Calvin Austin III (PIT) – 2% Rostered

It’s hard to imagine Austin being a consistent fantasy asset this season, but he certainly could become a weekly flier. That was evident in Week 1, where only his teammate, D.K. Metcalf, out-targeted Austin. The third-year veteran finished with four catches for 70 yards and one touchdown. It’s hard to play Austin in Week 2, but he can be stashed on benches for now.

 

TIGHT ENDS

 

Juwan Johnson (NO) – 1% Rostered

New year in a new offense, and Johnson’s Week 1 performance makes him the tight end pickup of the week. The Oregon product finished his day with 11 targets, eight receptions and 76 receiving yards. He dropped a touchdown during fourth quarter too.

Reliable tight ends Johnson seems legit, and there may be a continuation of these kinds of performances. This offense desperately needs pass catchers to step up and Johnson had the second-most air yards amongst all tight ends in Week 1 (prior to MNF).

Down the stretch in 2024, Johnson finished with 12-or-more PPR points in three of his final five games.

Harold Fannin Jr. (CLE) – 1% Rostered

Fannin played all over the field in Week 1. We saw him line up inline, in the slot, out wide and even in the backfield. This becomes even more interesting after seeing him finish with seven catches for 63 yards on a team-leading nine targets. Njoku and other pass-catching options will overshadow Fannin’s performance, but a rookie getting this much usage in his first NFL game is hard to ignore.

Brenton Strange (JAC) – 20% Rostered

Strange operated as the starting tight end for the Jaguars and finished with four catches for 59 yards. Strange is not going to be a weekly TE1 finisher, but he can provide reliable PPR points in an offense that everyone expects to improve.

Hunter Henry (NE) – 40% Rostered

Henry continues to be what he is, a PPR flier at the tight end position. He has a chance to produce better fantasy output, but that is directly tied to his quarterback, Drake Maye’s, development.

Henry finished Week 1 with 10.6 PPR points on four catches for 66 yards. This is right in line with his 2024 production, which saw 9.1 PPR points per game. Looking back on Week 1 shows Henry led all tight ends in air yards, at least prior to Monday Night Football.

Noah Fant (CIN) – 1% Rostered

Cincinnati is an interesting offense to be a part of, and Fant is a new member of it. For context, Fant is a veteran who has never scored more than four touchdowns in a single season. But in Week 1, he split snaps with two other tight ends and came away with the only touchdown on four catches for 26 yards. He led all Cincinnati tight ends in targets, receptions and total yards.

 

DEFENSES TO STREAM

1. Rams D/ST @ Tennessee Titans
2. Chargers D/ST @ Las Vegas Raiders
3. Bills D/ST @ New York Jets
4. Colts D/ST vs Denver Broncos