Let’s run through some of the Week 2 news. Joe Burrow is out a minimum of three months with toe surgery forthcoming. Xavier Worthy practiced but did not suit up in Week 2. J.J. McCarthy is out for 2-4 weeks with a lower leg injury. Austin Ekeler is done for the season. Jayden Reed will miss 6-8 with a broken collarbone. Jayden Daniels is reportedly dealing with a knee sprain. Brock Purdy is down as well. Remember, this is the life we choose when we join fantasy football leagues. We know injuries are coming each season. It is not about if as much as it is about when. The real question is how you are going to react moving forward. I beg you to not bury your face in your hands. At least, not yet. The absolute worst your team can be heading into Week 3 is 0-2 and that is not a mountain too high to climb. Stand up, dust yourself off, and focus on the waiver wire.
OK, now that we have gotten the small amount of panic out of our system, and taken a deep breath, it is time to focus on making our roster(s) better. Do not allow a middling performance from your big-name players to freak you out. It happens. Did anyone notice the bounce back performances from Ja’Marr Chase and Amon-Ra St. Brown? Good players are going to be good players. I am preaching patience on Brian Thomas Jr., Justin Jefferson, and rookies TreVeyon Henderson and RJ Harvey. For some cup half full information, do not forget we are one week from a Jordan Addison sighting and 1/3 of the way through the Rashee Rice suspension. Stay the course!
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WAIVERS:
ADD OF THE WEEK = QB not named Joe Burrow – Without a doubt, the most devastating fantasy (and real) football injury is to Joe Burrow. If you spent early draft capital on Joe Cool, you are in a bad way in Super Flex but can survive both in that format and in single QB leagues. You can consider adding names like Danny Dimes (BTW – QB2 through two games), Stafford, Tua, Russ, Flacco, Mac Jones (who?), Arod, and Darnold when waivers run or you can choose to save your FAAB/Waiver Priority and stream QB based on weekly matchups. Either way, I wish you and Jake Browning the best.
RB: This position is going to be a mess all season. Do not panic is the prevailing theme throughout this article holds true for this position. Currently 55% rostered, I believe the top RB add heading into Week 3 will be Bhayshul Tuten. I am not sure he is my #1 add for the week. Check that, I know he is not my top add for Week 3 mainly because the Jags backfield is fully owned by Travis Etienne. Tuten solidified himself as the clear RB2 for Jacksonville after Tank Bigsby was dealt. Expect touches but not significant volume while ETN is playing this well. I would not give up a ton of FAAB or my #1 waiver priority to obtain Tuten.
Honorable Mention/Cheaper Options:
Tyler Allgeier – 30% rostered: Might be the most valuable handcuff in fantasy football. The Falcons have made it clear they want to run the ball. Bijan will carry the majority of the load, but Allgeier will get short yardage work and spell Bijan from time to time.
Chris Rodriguez – 4% rostered: Ekeler is done. Bill looked pedestrian at best. Rodriguez, per HC Dan Quinn “is back in the mix for Week 3.” Cheap add with a real opportunity to seize the RB1 slot for a good offense.
Kenneth Gainwell – 1% rostered: There might a three-headed monster brewing in Pittsburgh, and I am staying away from it. Gainwell had more touches than Kaleb Johnson who may be in for a long road if he continues to flub kickoff returns. Jaylen Warren is the current, clear RB1, but Gainwell offers some situational upside.
Woody Marks – 6% rostered: He is not an immediate add but watching him and Nick Chubb, TD notwithstanding, and the difference is clear. Marks deserves more touches.
WR: Quentin Johnston – 59% rostered: Week 3 is your last chance to add Johnston. Another TD, this one of the deep variety in Week 2. He is not dropping passes and Justin Herbert appears to love chucking him the rock.
Honorable Mention/Cheaper Options:
Troy Franklin – 3% rostered: The former Oregon Ducks WR appears to have a connection with fellow quacker Bo Nix. Franklin is not a starter for fantasy, yet. He is in the WR4/FLEX conversation while I expect Courtland Sutton to dominate targets with Evan Engram to be the second passing option.
Hunter Renfrow – 1% rostered: Cheap option on a team that will be forced to throw all season. Did anyone besides me notice the 53 pass attempts from Bryce Young? That will be closer to the norm moving forward.
Elic Ayomanor – 8% rostered: Though I cannot quite pronounce his name in public, yet I can tell you to keep an eye on the Week 3 stat line for the rookie WR. Calvin Ridley is still the alpha dog in Tennessee, but Ayomanor is starting to make waves. TD is Week 2 is nice to see.
TE: If you still have a chance at Juwan Johnson – 45% rostered, jump on it now! He may not be Top 12 TE material to end the season but he certainly is heading in Week 3. Other viable options are the wily veteran Zach Ertz – 57% rostered, Harold Fannin Jr. – 42% rostered, and Jonnu Smith – 37% rostered. Did someone say 2025 is the year to stream TEs? I think some of us have said that very thing for a few seasons.
As mentioned above, it has only been two weeks, so if you lost, got smashed even, relax. It will be OK. There is no need to rush to drop any specific player, unless you see the name in the opening paragraph.
Follow me @stiles08 on X and send questions comments at the bottom of this article. Make sure you jump around the Razzball site for all your fantasy football needs. We have a ton of free content to include our Slot Versus Wide tool additional articles from our crack team of writers.
-Stiles-
