The NFL season is back and so is the unpredictable nature of professional football. The Super Bowl-hopeful Cincinnati Bengals lost to division rival Cleveland Browns; J.K. Dobbins sustained yet another injury tearing his Achilles; and Tua Tagovailoa threw for the top five most yards all time on a kickoff weekend. With all that in mind, here are the top five waiver wire targets that could put your team above average heading into Week 2.
(All FAAB projections will be based on a $100 yearly budget)
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Puka Nacua, WR, Rams – $26
The Los Angeles Rams were able to walk away from their road game in Seattle last night with a 30-13 win in Week 1 despite the absence of superstar receiver Cooper Kupp. Many expected tight end Tyler Higbee and receiver Van Jefferson to pick up the targets that Kupp’s absence brought, but it was Puka Nacua who was the hero of the night.
In just his first NFL game, Nacua commanded 15 targets from quarterback Matthew Stafford. That’s seven more targets than the next closest player. He caught 10 of those targets for 119 yards, tied with Tutu Atwell for the most receiving yards on the team. It seems certain that for at least the next three weeks while Kupp is on injured reserve, Nacua will be a big part of this Los Angeles offense.
Gus Edwards / Justice Hill, RB, Ravens – $13
No one ever expects an injury to a player in the NFL and even more so after that player is already coming back from a major injury. However, expected or not, that was the reality for the Baltimore Ravens during Week 1. Running back J.K. Dobbins was returning to form after tearing his ACL, meniscus, LCL, and hamstring in August of 2021 when he went down yesterday. Reports were later brought forth that he tore his Achilles and would miss the remainder of this season as well.
Gus Edwards and Justice Hill ended the game with the same exact amount of carries at eight each. Edwards took his for 32 yards averaging 4.0 yards per carry while Hill ran just nine yards but broke the endzone twice for 12.90 fantasy points. Expect moving forward Edwards to get the majority of the work while Hill gets goal-line carries. Both are strong waiver adds.
Jordan Love, QB, Packers – $6
If you are in need of a quarterback off the waiver wire heading into Week 2 or want to roster a backup quarterback and don’t already have one, Jordan Love is your target. Love is only rostered in 31% of fantasy leagues at the moment but after his Week 1 domination of the divisional-rival Bears, that could change quickly. Love worked Sunday without lead receiver Christian Watkins and still threw for 245 yards and three touchdowns.
He was efficient as well, completing over 50% of his passes and averaging 9.1 yards per completion. He finished with a 123.2 QB Rating and a 73.4 QBR. With Watkins likely back next week, Love’s production should only increase.
Luke Musgrave, TE, Packers – $7
On the back of Jordan Love being one of the top QBs from Week 1, his tight end Luke Musgrave also became a candidate for TE1 numbers. In his first regular-season action of his career, Musgrave hauled in three receptions on four targets for 50 yards. He averaged 12.5 yards per target and 16.67 yards per catch. He finished with just eight fantasy points which was good enough for TE13 overall in the week. If he added a touchdown to those numbers, he would have finished with 12 points and shot up to TE5 on the week.
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