Waiver Wire Week 2: Top Pickups and Drops

Injuries are always going to play a role in fantasy football leagues, and the news from Week 1 may have been enough for the season for some players.

Dak Prescott, Elijah Mitchell and Keenan Allen suffered injuries on Sunday and are all expected to be out for Week 2. In the case of Prescott and Mitchell, they will be on the bench or injured reserve of fantasy rosters for the long term.

Some fantasy football players may not be willing to wait until the middle of the season for Prescott and Mitchell to return, which will lead to a high drop rate over the next few days.

Allen likely won't play in Week 2 because of the Los Angeles Chargers' short turnaround from Sunday to Thursday, but he appears to be in better shape than Prescott and Mitchell.

The rush to pick up players at multiple positions comes with some difficulty ahead of Week 2, because of the uncertainty surrounding certain waiver-wire targets.

Jeff Wilson Jr. is the natural replacement for Mitchell in San Francisco, but what if you can't land him on the waiver wire and have to settle for someone like Rex Burkhead, who gained plenty of snaps in Week 1 but could be replaced at any time by rookie Dameon Pierce.

Some Week 2 additions may not stay on your roster for long, but based on the Week 1 performances, some names are worth picking up to replace the injured stars.

Any fantasy football player in need of a running back put a waiver claim in on Jeff Wilson Jr. on Monday morning.

As of Tuesday night, the 26-year-old was second on Yahoo's transaction trends list in additions. He was one of three players with over 10,000 adds. The others were Washington wide receiver Curtis Samuel and the Cleveland defense.

Wilson is expected to take over the bulk of the rushing load in the San Francisco offense with Elijah Mitchell out due to a knee injury. He was placed on the injured reserve list on Tuesday.

San Francisco will likely bring in another running back to fill its depth, but two unproven options in Jordan Mason and Tyrion Davis-Price are behind Wilson for now.

Wilson finished Week 1 with 22 rushing yards on nine carries, but those numbers should not be a concern since he played on the rain-soaked field in Chicago.

The North Texas product has the potential to produce plenty more yards at home in Week 2 against the Seattle Seahawks. He could be in for 20-25 carries if the 49ers are not willing to put trust in its two unproven running backs.

Wilson appears to be the best option to pick up at running back, but he's not the only player who could help your squad in place of Mitchell.

Everything we thought we knew about the Houston Texans' running back situation was torn to shreds in Week 1.

Rex Burkhead played 71 percent of Houston's offensive snaps compared to 29 percent out of rookie Dameon Pierce.

The usage inside the Texans offense may change over the next few weeks, but we have to approach the situation with Burkhead as the top running back for the moment.

The 32-year-old ran for 40 yards on 14 carries and caught three balls for 30 yards in the 20-20 draw with the Indianapolis Colts.

By no means is Burkhead a RB1 in fantasy football, but he could be a decent RB2/RB3 or flex option in points-per-reception leagues.

The Nebraska product's pass-catching ability could keep him on the field more than Pierce in September and that is the most important factor to considering him on the waiver wire.

He could also be a stopgap between losing Mitchell and the potential development of other RBs who emerge in the coming weeks.

Burkhead isn't the sexy fantasy football pick, but his role in Houston's offense suggests he could be useful if you are in a bind.

Curtis Samuel emerged from Week 1 as a potentially viable waiver-wire target in fantasy football.

That is a perplexing sentence for some because the 26-year-old did little of note in 2021.

Samuel displayed spurts of his talent over four years with the Carolina Panthers, but he managed just three touchdown catches when he set his single-season high in receiving yards in 2020.

There is some hype surrounding the Washington Commanders man going into Week 2 because he caught eight of his 11 targets for 55 yards and a touchdown. He also carried the ball four times for 17 yards.

Terry McLaurin is still the top target in the offense, but Samuel may emerge as the legitimate No. 2 over Jahan Dotson and others if he puts in performances like he had in Week 1.

Some fantasy football players may be hesitant to pick up the Ohio State product because of the injuries that derailed his 2021 season, but he could be a nice short-term choice to replace someone like Keenan Allen, who might play in Week 3 or 4 if his hamstring heals.

Samuel could turn into a season-long threat inside your lineup, but that needs to be proved first.

For some fantasy players, Week 1 was enough of a sample size required for a pickup. Samuel was the most added player on Yahoo's transaction trends list as of Tuesday night.

Dak Prescott and Elijah Mitchell will be on significantly fewer fantasy football rosters in Week 2.

Prescott's hand injury will keep him out for a few games, but he is not going on the injured reserve. Dallas owner Jerry Jones outlined the hope within the Cowboys organization about that to 105.3 The Fan in Dallas, per Todd Archer of ESPN.com:

"If we thought he wasn't going to be ready to go until after four games, we would put him on IR. We're not doing that. We think he can come in and play, so we don't want to not have him out there practicing. We want him getting prepared and we'll see how he handles this thing, how it heals, mainly his strength, how he can grip the ball, [will determine] what his status is. That's not [being] an optimist. The proof is that we got a good surgery, got good technique and feel better about it than we did Sunday night."

Prescott's injury outlook appears to be in much better shape than Mitchell, who was placed on IR on Tuesday.

The Dallas quarterback's status could improve over the next couple weeks, but he will not be in the forefront of many fantasy football discussions for a while.

Mitchell should be dropped by a majority of fantasy players who had him in the lineup for Week 1. His situation looks less promising, and managers can't afford to waste a roster spot on someone who is not playing at the most valuable position in fantasy football.

Kadarius Toney found himself off plenty of fantasy football rosters after Week 1.

The New York Giants wide receiver was on the field for seven offensive snaps in the 21-20 win over the Tennessee Titans.

The 23-year-old produced 23 yards on two carries, but he did not catch a ball in his limited time on the field.

The Giants had five other wide receivers play more snaps than Toney, including Richie James and David Sills, both of whom were not expected to play much over their teammate.

James led the Giants in receptions, Sterling Shepard had the most receiving yards, and even Saquon Barkley got in on the passing game with five receptions on six targets.

Toney's role seems to be in danger, and that is why he is the fifth-most dropped player on the Yahoo transaction wire.

The good news for the Florida product is that he has nowhere to go but up with his production, but whether that turns around anytime soon is anyone's guess.