Post Week Two Waiver Wire Pickups

Follow@cimini It was a rather quiet week for breakout performances from unknown players. That’ll happen in the first few weeks of the season. Injuries are soon to come in the upcoming weeks and that’s where you’ll see breakout performances come from. Find out who you should be looking at for waiver wire pickups this week. Quarterbacks Ryan Tannehill Two straight road wins by the Dolphins to start the season. It has largely been due to Tannehill’s amazing pocket presence and accuracy. Sunday he threw some incredible accurate throws that were huge for Miami’s close win over the Colts. He has elevated himself into the range of an on the cusp starter and sure fire fantasy backup quarterback. EJ Manuel After the preseason and first two games of the season Bills fans have to be extremely pleased with the drafting of Manuel. A pick that was downgraded by scouts, analysts, and the media. They have their true quarterback of the future finally in Buffalo. He just makes plays and will only get better. Dynasty leagues should consider trading for him or pursuing him via trade. In deeper leagues snare Manuel in case of injury or a need to start over a poor performing quarterback. Kirk Cousins This is an anticipatory move. RG3 is no where near ready to step onto the field. Sooner rather than later Mike Shanahan has to make the move to Cousins to protect the Redskins season from going down the drain. It’s clear that RG3 needs more time to acclimate his body, timing, and overall health. Cousins has shown he can step in and deliver, and would fit right back into an offense that is fantasy friendly. Running Backs Bernard Pierce John Harbaugh shook off the injury to Ray Rice postgame by stating Rice will be fine. We will all see about that. Extreme caution has to be paid here, and that means that you need to pickup Pierce if you own Rice. If you have a higher waiver wire priority try and steal Pierce over a Ray Rice owner. Dexter McCluster Kansas City has kept their offense very basic. It’s been extremely similar to how San Francisco based theirs around Alex Smith. When they’re forced to make a play offensively they have went more and more to the direction of McCluster. His value is great in PPR leagues and will rise as Kansas City is forced to attempt to score more points. Charles Clay Clay had a breakout game against the Colts. Miami is doing an excellent job of finding complimentary players to produce without a tight end to step up. Clay and Brian Hartline are getting extra looks and attention in the offense because of it. Giovanni Bernard Bernard provides that spark factor that forces a coach's hand to get him onto the field. His pass blocking skills still are not where they need to be, so Bernard's fantasy impact will have to come in a decreased amount of plays on the field. As the season wears on if Bernard can show an increased knowledge on picking up blitzes he may become a fantasy viable threat. For now he can be used in PPR leagues but standard leagues should be leery on using him. Danny Woodhead A crowded backfield in San Diego was pieced together on purpose. Woodhead is who he is, and though he didn’t have major damage yardage wise Sunday, he filled up PPR leagues with nine catches. That can’t be overlooked, and neither can the constant shuffling of backs San Diego has been doing. Andre Ellington Arizona has found there third down back and it comes in the sixth round pick in Ellington. With Arizona struggling to produce more than a field goal, Ellington was able to take a wide open pass into the end zone. Palmer has always been fantasy friendly to his running backs, and that won’t come with Mendenhall. In Bruce Arians passing attack a back like Ellington is a quality waiver wire pickup. James Starks Down went Green, and now so has Eddie Lacy. Green Bay has constantly had running back injury woes over the last three to four years, and this time they protected themselves. Keeping James Starks on the roster was a smart move, when most thought they may cut him after the drafting of Lacy and Jonathan Franklin. Starks performance has to be calibrated appropriately, as he gained a lot of yardage when the Packers had a huge lead. The key takeaway though is he will be a complimentary focus back to Aaron Rodgers guerilla passing attack. Wide Receivers DeAndre Hopkins I’m not a big fan of rookie wide receivers as they have a hard time retaining value week to week. But Hopkins was drafted to detract attention from aging wide receiver Andre Johnson. The weeks Hopkins rises to the occasion will be the large question. Towards the end of the year he may have higher value. Foreseeing that is a great reason to stash Hopkins as your fifth or sixth fantasy wideout on your bench. Eddie Royal One can’t help but still classify Royal as a weekly wonder. It’s two weeks in a row now, and Royal has totaled five touchdowns. San Diego’s mix of pass plays has been stellar to start the season. Royal’s five touchdowns has equaled what he had from 09-12. His role seems to fit perfectly with what the Chargers new passing attack brings to the table. Ted Ginn Jr There is no possible way that Cam Newton will continue to be relegated to how he has performed the first two weeks of the season. Ginn Jr. wanted a new chance at wide receiver after being pushed back for years on other teams. He has his chance in Carolina and has done a solid job in the first two weeks of the season. As soon as Cam opens the passing game back up, Ginn may have a breakout game. Mohammed Sanu Cincinnati desperately needs either Sanu or Jones to emerge and solidify themselves as a threat opposite AJ Green. Sanu was drafted for the role a year ago, and should be able to handle the role. He is available in the majority of leagues and would be worth taking a flier on for a developmental roster spot on your team.

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