The Week 2 fantasy football waiver wire had a few worthwhile names, but no one that jumped out as a must-add. Nevertheless, if you missed out on the primary guys, fear not, as there are still some options to consider. Especially for fantasy managers in deep leagues, here are some seldom-rostered players who could be surprisingly useful going forward.
*All players are rostered in 25% or fewer of Yahoo leagues.
Daniel Jones, QB, Indianapolis Colts
Rostered: 21%
Looking at a fantasy lineup featuring Daniel Jones doesn’t exactly create that warm and fuzzy feeling inside. Nevertheless, the former New York Giants quarterback has shown fantasy upside in the past.
In Week 1, the best version of Jones was on full display. He threw for 272 yards, ran for 26 more, and scored three total touchdowns.
Daniel Jones to Michael Pittman Jr. connection!#MIAvsIND on CBS/Paramount+https://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/PYMcl8DT11
— NFL (@NFL) September 7, 2025
You probably don’t want to start him against the Denver Broncos’ elite defense in Week 2. They kept the Tennessee Titans out of the end zone entirely in Week 1. However, if Jones has another impressive outing, he could find himself surging up the QB ranks. If you have someone like Brock Purdy as your QB1 and need a replacement, Jones is not the worst idea.
Rico Dowdle, RB, Carolina Panthers
Rostered: 17%
There was no timeshare in Carolina. This is Chuba Hubbard’s backfield. But in the modern era of fantasy football, any running back with a viable path to fantasy value is rostered. That means nearly every handcuff.
Rico Dowdle does not possess any standalone value. His five total touches in Week 1 cements that. But is the clear RB2 and proved last season he is capable of handling a full workload if necessary. Throw Dowdle on the back of your bench if you have room. You never know what the next starting RB might go down.
DJ Giddens, RB, Indianapolis Colts
Rostered: 7%
Even before Tyler Goodson’s preseason elbow injury, DJ Giddens was well on his way to winning the RB2 job behind Jonathan Taylor. Obviously, Taylor is a bellcow and there is no room for two backs to have fantasy value on the Indianapolis Colts. But Giddens is very likely the back you would want if Taylor missed time.
There are so many handcuff running backs more heavily rostered who are more speculative than Giddens. We saw JT exit last week’s game in the fourth quarter. Taylor is fine, but the more important takeaway is after he left, it was the rookie who was the clear lead back.
Giddens handled 12 carries in the Colts’ demolition of the Miami Dolphins. He was inefficient, only managing 3.4 yards per carry, but that was more due to the Dolphins knowing the Colts were just trying to run out the clock in a blowout.
Taylor has not exactly been the pinnacle of health throughout his career. If you have room, throw Giddens on your bench.
Kyle Monangai, RB, Chicago Bears
Rostered: 6%
We can be reasonably confident that the reason Roschon Johnson was inactive in Week 1 was due to injury. We also saw D’Andre Swift operate as a bellcow, playing 80% of the snaps. There is no standalone value for a non-swift Chicago Bears running back.
Now, what happens if Swift goes down? Conventional wisdom suggests it would be Johnson. Maybe. Maybe not.
Kyle Monangai earned the RB3 role out of training camp. Johnson is a replacement-level talent, at best. It’s very easy to make the case that Monangai is already more talented. I certainly would.
Johnson still isn’t healthy, which makes it possible the rookie serves as the RB2 behind Swift once again. A Swift injury before Johnson gets back on the field would give Monangai a chance to solidify himself as the 1a of a non-Swift committee. For deep leaguers, that’s about the best you’re going to do.
Kendre Miller, RB, New Orleans Saints
Rostered: 4%
Is this the year Kendre Miller finally stays healthy? Who knows? He’s healthy now and looks to be the clear RB2 behind Alvin Kamara.
Miller was given five carries in Week 1 and looked pretty good, turning them into 24 yards. It stands to reason that if Kamara went down, Miller would serve as the RB2.
Neither was an explosive run, but Kendre Miller’s contact balance is impressive. Somehow managed to gain positive yards on each run pic.twitter.com/SjFU6cWqb3
— Billy M (@BillyM_91) August 18, 2025
As a reminder, Kamara is 30 years old. He’s been relatively healthy throughout his career, but that can change anytime. When talking about deep league stashes, a guy like Miller is about as good an option as you can hope for.
Joshua Palmer, WR, Buffalo Bills
Rostered: 25%
Joshua Palmer just barely made the cut. After Week 2, it’s entirely possible, if not likely, he graduates from being considered a deep league guy.
Palmer has always been a solid producer when given opportunity throughout his career. He’s not flashy. He’s not special. He’s just reliable.
The Buffalo Bills had to throw the ball a ton in Week 1, as they trailed throughout. Negative game script resulted in 46 Josh Allen pass attempts. That obviously served to bolser the production of all of their pass-catchers. Every Bill was productive in Week 1.
While that won’t happen every week, Palmer still projects to be startable in a bind. He should be a safe 4-6 points. That’s nothing to write home about, but in deep leagues, there may come a point where that’s useful. Plus, there’s contingent upside if something were to happen to Keon Coleman or Khalil Shakir, resulting in a more consolidated target distribution.
Kayshon Boutte, WR, New England Patriots
Rostered: 23%
Given the reactionary nature of fantasy managers, it is pretty shocking that Kayshon Boutte is still rostered in fewer than 25% of leagues. He served as the clear top option for Drake Maye in Week 1, hauling in six of eight targets for 103 yards.
Boutte probably isn’t good. This probably is a flash in the pan. But in fantasy football, if you wait to act until you know for sure, it’s too late.
Boutte was not a particularly good prospect, but we can’t hold sixth-rounders to the same standards as Day 1 or Day 2 picks. When these guys emerge, it is typically later and unexpected.
Pretty impressed with Kayshon Boutte after week 1.
He won in a lot of different ways. He’s got the timing down with Drake Maye.
At least 7 targets and 90 yards in 3 of his last 4 games. pic.twitter.com/GykkIXVtCe
— Alfredo Brown (@AlfredoABrown) September 8, 2025
Stefon Diggs is almost 32 years old. DeMario Douglas is a nice player, but he’s never been a special talent. What if Boutte ends up being the WR1 for the New England Patriots this year?
Right now, you can grab Boutte for free. If you wait another week and he has another strong outing, the cost will be much more.
Luther Burden III, WR, Chicago Bears
Rostered: 16%
Maybe Luther Burden III is just terrible and is going to be a bust. Possible? Sure. Likely? I don’t think so.
This looks like your classic case of a rookie having to earn it. You mean to tell me the Chicago Bears’ second-rounder is seriously going to spend the entire season behind Olamide Zaccheaus?
Obviously, Burden belongs nowhere near fantasy lineups in the short term. But there’s a decent chance he ends up as this team’s WR3 by midseason. Plus, an injury to either DJ Moore or Rome Odunze would accelerate Burden’s potential ascent.
If you add Burden, just know what you’re getting into. The most likely scenario is that you need to sit on him for quite a while before you can potentially start him.
Dont’e Thornton Jr., WR, Las Vegas Raiders
Rostered: 15%
This one is more speculative. Dont’e Thornton Jr. did win the WR3 role ahead of higher-drafted rookie Jack Bech. However, Thornton’s usage in Week 1 wasn’t all that great.
Brock Bowers and Jakobi Meyers are going to dominate targets the entire season, as long as they are healthy. That leaves Thornton, at best, as the third target earner in a Geno Smith offense. That caps his upside. Plus, he only played 60% of the snaps in Week 1.
With that said, Thornton could easily overtake Tre Tucker as the WR2 sooner rather than later. We know what Tucker is at this point and he’s not someone who is ever going to be an impact player.
Thornton got a ton of buzz during training camp. Maybe he figures it out. This is the epitome of a deep league stash, though.
Isaac TeSlaa, WR, Detroit Lions
Rostered: 9%
I am pretty convinced that Isaac TeSlaa is a talented player who will produce when he gets the chance. We saw it last week. It may have been garbage time, but he got in the game late and made an impressive heel-tapping sideline touchdown grab. After the game, offensive coordinator John Morton said they intend to expand the rookie’s role.
Isaac Teslaa’s first NFL touchdown: pic.twitter.com/BManUMSNlD
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 7, 2025
Now, to be fair, we don’t know what “expand” actually entails. TeSlaa can and will easily play more snaps going forward, but that doesn’t mean he will be fantasy relevant. He was on the field for a total of three snaps in Week 1. If an expansion results in 20 snaps, that’s not going to help.
This is more of a bet on talent and situation. The Detroit Lions were a disaster in Week 1. But do we really think they are just bad now? That they’re not going to score points? The Lions will rebound and still be a very good offense, at worst.
It will admittedly be a challenge for TeSlaa competing with Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, Sam LaPorta, and Jahmyr Gibbs for targets, but this is a bet on talent. If TeSlaa ever finds himself in a starting role, I’m very confident he will be worth starting in fantasy.
