The first two weeks of the 2024 NFL season are almost in the books. After a handful of surprising performances and a few noteworthy injuries, the fantasy football waiver wire should be pretty active again this week.
Here is a closer look at the fantasy waiver wire rankings entering Week 3 of the 2024 NFL season.
Who are the Top Players to Target On This Week’s Waiver Wire?
1) Carson Steele, Kansas City Chiefs, RB
The injury to Isiah Pacheco certainly opens up a sizeable role in the Kansas City Chiefs’ backfield, which should catch your attention as a fantasy football manager.
One could certainly make a case that Samaje Perine is in this waiver wire conversation here, which is fine. But I’m willing to bank on Steele’s usage as a ball carrier in Week 2 as the priority add in KC.
Steele saw seven carries to Perine’s zero against the Cincinnati Bengals, which is why I’m giving him the edge as a player who could be an effective short-yardage carrier with his physical running style when the Chiefs inevitably generate trips to the goal line.
Perine could certainly be involved in passing down situations, which gives him some intrigue in full-PPR formats, but I want to target the player who has been the preferred ball carrier option through the first two weeks of the season.
2) Bucky Irving, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, RB
The efficiency issues fantasy managers have seen from Tampa Bay Buccaneers RB Rachaad White continued against a stingy Detroit Lions front seven in Week 2, but the starting running back picked up a groin injury that will need to be monitored very closely entering their Week 3 matchup against the Denver Broncos.
The numbers are pretty concerning for White through the first two games. He has 35 fewer rushing yards on nine more carries than Irving and could be hampered even more while battling through a soft tissue injury.
Irving has provided a small spark to this offense in a complementary role through two weeks but is fully capable of contributing in the passing game should his role expand against a Broncos defense that gave up 111 rushing yards to Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren on Sunday.
3) Hunter Henry, New England Patriots, TE
The New England Patriots have played two games this year and Hunter Henry has more than triple the amount of targets, receptions, and receiving yards than any other individual pass catcher on the roster.
Henry’s 10 receptions for 127 yards may not sound like an astronomical total, but he currently ranks as the TE4 overall in full-PPR formats.
Hunt is feeling it today 🔥@Hunter_Henry84 | #NEPats
📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/x1bN1KLq3R
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) September 15, 2024
I am fully aware that the thought of trusting any Patriots pass catcher in your starting lineup with Jacoby Brissett under center in an offense that has handed the ball to its running backs 66 times through the first two games isn’t exactly exciting, but when the Patriots have gone to the air in 2024, it has been to Henry.
Like it or not, that type of reliable volume in the passing game normally equals fantasy success at the tight end position, which means he should be worth consideration as a low-end TE1 option in Week 3 until another pass catcher emerges.
4) Jerry Jeudy, Cleveland Browns, WR
This may be a bit tough to believe, but Jerry Jeudy is currently a top-30 fantasy WR in full-PPR formats.
An injury to David Njoku and the struggles of Amari Cooper through the first two weeks of the season have helped Jeudy produce eight receptions for 98 yards and a score through his first two games with the Browns.
Quite frankly, saying that Cooper is struggling is putting it very gently. Jeudy has more receptions, receiving yards, and touchdowns than Cooper on three fewer targets. Additionally, Cooper has multiple drops on his profile, while Jeudy continues to be the significantly more efficient option.
Jeudy’s realized air yards sits at 52.7% — which isn’t exactly a great mark — while Cooper is concerningly bad at 11.1% (which ranks 120th at the WR position this season).
Jeudy may not be the fantasy stud many hoped he would be entering the league, but he has managed to carve a fantasy-relevant role in this Browns offense, which does make a WR3 option against the New York Giants in Week 3.
5) Alec Pierce, Indianapolis Colts, WR
All Anthony Richardson concerns aside, the second-year quarterback clearly has established a nice rapport with Alec Pierce through the first two games of the 2024 NFL season.
Pierce made an appearance on this list last week and followed up his 21.5 fantasy points — on three receptions for 125 yards and a score — in Week 1 with five more receptions for 56 yards and another score in Week 2.
Pierce saw his snap share jump from 84% in Week 1 to 95% in Week 2, which suggests he is firmly entrenched at the moment as a focal point of this passing attack.
The Colts do draw a tough matchup against a stingy Chicago Bears secondary this week, but as Pierce has already proven this year, he is capable of having a successful fantasy day with just one big vertical down the field in this offense.
6) Braelon Allen, New York Jets, RB
If you are finding yourself a bit confused on what to make of Braelon Allen’s 19.6 fantasy points in Week 2 — where he registered two TDs and 56 total yards on just nine touches — then take some comfort you aren’t alone.
Allen’s jump in usage from Week 1 to Week 2 is certainly noteworthy.
Braelon Allen 2024 Weekly Stats
- Week 1: 18% snap share, two touches for 17 yards
- Week 2: 35% snap share, nine touches for 56 yards and 2 TDs
Can fantasy managers expect Allen to get Breece Hall off the field this much moving forward? I don’t believe so, but I do think this now needs to be monitored when trying to set weekly expectations for this Jets backfield moving forward.
Hall still saw 21 total touches for 114 yards and a score in Week 2, which means he still more than doubled Allen’s total in the touches and yardage production department.
While Allen’s performance in Week 2 was outstanding, I’m not ready to suggest he should be in your starting lineup with stand-alone value quite yet. But he is certainly now in the conversation for the best fantasy handcuff in the league.
7) Justin Fields, Pittsburgh Steelers, QB
The box scores don’t reflect how well Justin Fields has played through the first two games of the 2024 NFL season.
Fields had a touchdown pass and a 40+ yard completion to George Pickens both called back due to penalties against Denver on Sunday. Additionally, another explosive play to Pickens was called back in the season opener against Atlanta.
Fields is playing great football and still has the elite rushing upside in this run-heavy offense — that isn’t afraid to dial up QB-designed runs — which makes him a quality streaming option against the Los Angeles Chargers.
The Chargers love to run the ball but have faced off against two subpar defensive units where this offense hasn’t been tested against a quality unit like the Pittsburgh Steelers defense, who have allowed just 16 points through the first two games of the season.
It is only a matter of time until Fields breaks through for a big fantasy performance, and I believe this matchup provides George Pickens with an opportunity to have a huge performance in Week 3.
8) Mike Gesicki, Cincinnati Bengals, TE
Don’t look now, but the TE7 overall through the first two weeks of the 2024 NFL season is Mike Gesicki of the Cincinnati Bengals.
Ja’Marr Chase hasn’t looked like himself, Tee Higgins is dealing with a hamstring injury while playing on the franchise tag, and the running game hasn’t exactly been stellar for Cincinnati, which has helped Gesicki see 13 targets and produce 10 receptions for 109 yards in this offense.
Situational awareness by Gesicki is so good here ⛓️
📺: #CINvsKC on CBS/Paramount
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/6inxvB3lHy— NFL (@NFL) September 15, 2024
Joe Burrow has shown us in the past he is capable of leading an explosive offense in the NFL, which makes Gesicki a potential low end TE1 option if this involvement in the passing attack continues.
9) Josh Reynolds, Denver Broncos, WR
The Denver Broncos’ offense has been a dumpster fire-type mess through the first two weeks of the season, but fantasy managers who took a swing on my recommendation of Josh Reynolds last week were rewarded with 13.3 fantasy points in Week 2 on four receptions for 93 yards.
Unfortunately, I can’t confidently say I trust the level of play from Bo Nix at this time because it was really a flea flicker in the second half that generated over half of Reynolds’ yardage output last week. That doesn’t exactly inspire confidence in a reliable floor.
Yet, a Week 3 matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers may provide an opportunity to operate in a favorable game script against a secondary that just got torched by Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams last week.
I wouldn’t recommend starting Reynolds unless you’re desperate, but considering he has outscored Courtland Sutton by 11 fantasy points through the first two games combined, there is an actual case that Reynolds is the WR1 in Denver.
10) Jordan Whittington, Los Angeles Rams, WR
Let’s be real: The Los Angeles Rams offense has to be the most banged-up unit in the league through the first two weeks of the season.
Puka Nacua is on IR, multiple offensive linemen have appeared on the injury report on numerous occasions, and Cooper Kupp failed to finish the team’s Week 2 contest against the Arizona Cardinals after picking up an ankle injury.
These injuries to the WR position should open up a plethora of targets for other options on the depth chart.
Most fantasy managers believe the best WR options from this offense could be Demarcus Robinson or Tyler Johnson. To be fair, you can make a case for both of those players — but I’m going to take a swing on rookie receiver Jordan Whittington to see an expanded role in Week 3 against the San Francisco 49ers.
Whittington had a rushing touchdown called back due to a holding call in Week 1 against the Detroit Lions and saw his snap count jump from 3% to 50% in Week 2 — where he caught both of his targets for 22 yards.
Last year, a rookie Nacua exploded when Kupp was out of the lineup through the first four games of the season. Is the situation not eerily similar for Whittington entering Week 3 if Kupp should miss time with this ankle injury?
We have a good idea who Robinson and Johnson are at this point in their careers, Whittington actually fits a similar prospect profile to Nacua — which could act as an introduction to fantasy managers in Week 3 should his role continue to expand against the Niners.