Fantasy football is an unforgiving beast, and even if we're only exiting Week 2 of the season, that was proven true yet again. Managers had to watch one of the top quarterbacks for the 2025 season, Joe Burrow, go down with a toe injury that will now sideline him for three months. Beyond that, we're continuing to see some highly drafted studs let everyone down, whether that's Chase Brown (RB23), Justin Jefferson (WR21), Drake London (WR48), any Chiefs running back, or many others. That's why we're back to hitting the fantasy waiver wire hard.
While it's been a frustrating two weeks for fantasy football managers, the waiver wire entering Week 3 offers what seems like far more opportunity than it did a week ago. For one, there are running backs with more upside than a Dylan Sampson now coming across the wire, not to mention some high-upside quarterbacks and wide receivers have emerged, and a steady crop of tight ends.
But which players should be your first click on the waiver wire going into Week 3? I'm here to ease some of the burden on fantasy football managers with a look at each position and the guys you should be targeting to add, whether you need replacements or are simply aiming to find some upgrades to your roster already.
Note: Roster percentages are in ESPN fantasy leagues. All rankings and point totals are in PPR leagues and entering Chargers-Raiders for Monday Night Football.
Quarterbacks to add from the fantasy waiver wire
Daniel Jones, Indianapolis Colts (21.2% rostered)
I'm not even sure you can call it a resurgence for Daniel Jones, considering that there may not have ever been an initial surge from Danny Dimes when he was in New York. A change of scenery was apparently everything that the former first-round pick needed, though, because the signs of a true breakout season with the Colts are all there through two weeks.
Jones is the overall QB2 in fantasy football through two weeks, averaging 294 passing yards and a touchdown per game, along with already having three rushing touchdowns. Most importantly, though, this doesn't have the makings of a fluke. While you could hand-wave doing it against the Dolphins in Week 1, it's much harder to do that after he continued his strong work against the vaunted Denver defense. Furthermore, he's passing the eye test.
If you lost Burrow, might be without Justin Fields, or were even banking on someone like Bo Nix or Trevor Lawrence this season, as crazy as it is to say, Jones is the better option in fantasy right now.
Jake Browning, Cincinnati Bengals (0.1% rostered)
Speaking of the Burrow injury, that means that w'ere likely going to see a ton of Jake Browning this season, barring a trade, for the Bengals. And if what we saw in Week 2 when he came into the game in relief of Burrow, then there is some serious upside when it comes to the veteran backup, even if there is also some inherent risk involved as well.
Browning, despite playing just over half of the game, threw the ball 32 times for the Bengals, and completed 21 of those passes for 241 yards and two touchdowns, not to mention rushing for another score as well. Of course, all of that came with three interceptions, but the production was still there enough to put him at 17.7 points for the week without playing the full game.
The risk with Browning comes with the turnovers, but we know the firepower that's around him in this offense. It might not be pretty, but if you had Burrow or are in a deep or Superflex league, then you should give Browning a serious look on the wire.
Mac Jones, San Francisco 49ers (1.4% rostered)
Never forget the fact that 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan was rumored to want Mac Jones instead of Trey Lance whenever the team traded up. Now, he has Jones and, with Brock Purdy dealing with a toe injury, Shanahan got a chance to show what he could do with Jones under center. Lo and behold, the offensive genius may have been onto something, because the former Patriots first-rounder looked damn impressive in Week 2.
Jones finished the week as the QB8 with 279 passing yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions. He seemed in full command of the offense, even while the Niners continue to deal with a litany of injuries throughout the offense.
Now, we don't know a clear timetable on Purdy and, unfortunately, the 49ers are one of the worst teams to deal with when it comes to injuries (thanks a lot for the CMC situation last season, y'all). However, if Purdy is going to miss more time, then Jones should absolutely be a consideration. Not only did he put forth a good effort, but you can't understate the fact that the head coach has had faith in him for years, even if he's just now getting to put that to use.
Running backs to add from the fantasy waiver wire
Bhayshul Tuten, Jacksonville Jaguars (40.0% rostered)
The hope when the Jaguars traded Tank Bigsby to Philadelphia was that rookie Bhayshul Tuten would start to take over that workload as the 1B or even the RB2 behind Travis Etienne in Jacksonville. And for once in our frustrating fantasy football lives, it seems like that might be exactly what's happening in Liam Coen's offense. Now it's time to pick him up and hopefully watch the young back start to flourish.
Tuten finished as a Top 17 running back in Week 2, earning only 10 touches, but more than making the most of them as he finished with eight rushes for 42 yards along with two catches for 32 yards and a touchdown.
Not only do I expect Tuten's role to continue to marginally increase, but his ability also indicates that he might also not need a ton of touches to be a valuable option in fantasy. He's as explosive as they come and averaging 7.4 yards per touch on Sunday is further indication of that. The path is now clear for him to be a legitimate factor in fantasy moving forward, though.
Tyler Allgeier, Atlanta Falcons (34.1% rostered)
Bijan Robinson remains the workhorse and the back you obviously want most in Atlanta, but this team doesn't seem too keen on not making Tyler Allgeier part of the offense. In the Falcons' big win over the Vikings, the veteran back recorded 17 total touches and made good use of them. He rushed for 76 yards and a score on 16 carries and caught his only target for four yards, good enough to finish as RB19 for the week.
Even when the game wasn't as lopsided as the Falcons' Week 2 victory, Allgeier still remained a factor in the offense. In the loss to the Bucs, he still got 10 carries to his credit. Atlanta is going to continue to run the rock heavily as they get Michael Penix Jr. more time to get comfortable early in his career, and Robinson can't shoulder that load by himself. That means continuous work for Allgeier and, especially in deeper leagues, he has value now but also as a handcuff.
Wide receivers to add from the fantasy waiver wire
Troy Franklin, Denver Broncos (2.0% rostered)
Whenever the Broncos landed Troy Franklin last year, everyone was quick to make the note that he was Bo Nix's college teammate at Oregon and tab the then-rookie as a sleeper. That turned out to be a bad call, however, as Franklin struggled to get on the field for Denver. A year later, however, Franklin is not only getting on the field, but he's starting to look like he might be an integral part of Sean Payton's offense.
Franklin finished as the WR7 in Week 2, catching eight of his nine targets for 89 yards and a touchdown while also adding an 11 yard rush on top of that. While that definitely qualifies as a breakout performance, it's especially notable after he garnered six targets in Week 1 as well. Franklin appears to be someone that is going to be a consistent presence in the offense, which is increasing snap count also indicates, and he should be added immediately as a result.
Wan'Dale Robinson, New York Giants (29.9% rostered)
Look, I'm not going to lie to you and tell you that I expect Russell Wilson to throw for 450 yards every week. Hell, there are going to be a lot of weeks when I don't expect Mr. (Un)Limited to throw for even 300 yards. However, whenever the Giants are dropping back to pass, what we're seeing right now is that it's Malik Nabers and Wan'Dale Robinson as the top two targets in this offense, which makes the latter 100 percent worth an add off the waiver wire.
After catching six of eight targets for 55 yards in Week 1, Robinson went nuclear with eight catches (on 10 targets) for 142 yards and a touchdown in New York's loss to the Cowboys on Sunday. Robinson has long held some value in deep PPR leagues because of his work underneath as a safety valve, but Week 2 showed he might be emerging as more than just that, someone who gets volume and opportunities in explosive play situations. That chance alone makes him a hot commodity on the wire this week, and you better act now if you want him on your fantasy team.
Elic Ayomanor, Tennessee Titans (7.7% rostered)
While I wouldn't say that you should add Titans rookie Elic Ayomanor and start him immediately, the signs are there that such a scenario could be the case sooner rather than later. In Week 1, the Stanford product really didn't offer all too much as he caught just two passes for 13 yards. However, the fact that he got seven targets stood out, especially with a rookie QB in Cam Ward who is also finding his footing.
So it's even more notable that we saw the connection start to grow a bit in Week 2 as Ayomanor was targeted six times, but this time hauled in four receptions for 56 yards, one of which went for a touchdown. Again, he might be a bit touchdown-dependent, but it's clear that Ward trusts his fellow rookie and is going to be looking his way often. With the Titans offense flashing promising signs, there's a lot of hope that Ayomanor can continue to build off a solid start to the season and become, at worst, a viable flex option in fantasy for the rest of the year.
Hunter Renfrow, Carolina Panthers (1.7% rostered)
Make no mistake, I'm not tripping over myself to go and add Hunter Renfrow simply because he was the WR8 in Week 2. The two touchdowns that he garnered on Sunday aren't exactly something that any fantasy manager worth their salt is going to bank on moving forward. What you can bank on, however, is that the veteran appears to be someone that Bryce Young is going to keep feeding in this Panthers offense.
Through two weeks and despite his hiatus from the NFL, Renfrow is averaging seven targets per game for Carolina. Particularly in PPR leagues, and with Xavier Leggette likely losing some of his target share given how ineffective he's been, I expect Renfrow to continue to see a good number of targets that could make him a usable flex option with more upside that's touchdown dependent.
Tight ends to add from the fantasy waiver wire
Harold Fannin Jr., Cleveland Browns (27.7% rostered)
The Harold Fannin Jr. train isn't stopping after his good Week 1. While he wasn't quite the same workhorse in the second outing of his rookie season, the Browns' new chess piece still showed up solidly with five catches for 48 yards, hauling in all of his targets on the day. Just as importantly, he remained a fixture for the offense, playing 63% of the offensive snaps on Sunday.
While he might still have some work to do in order to supplant David Njoku as the number one option in the Cleveland offense, I'm bullish on his value and talent moving forward given the role he's already playing this early in his career.
Juwan Johnson, New Orleans Saints (48.2% rostered)
While it may be short-lived, the fact that Juwan Johnson is still available in more than 50% of leagues is crazy to me. He's the TE2 on the season simply because he continues to be a target hog with Spencer Rattler at quarterback for the Saints, hauling in five of nine targets in Week 2 for 49 yards and a touchdown after posting an 8-76-0 line on 11 targets the week prior.
Johnson remains a favorite option for New Orleans in the red zone right now and, until Taysom Hill returns, I don't expect that to change. If he's available in your league, you'd be doing yourself a disservice if you didn't take a look, especially if you're searching for answers at tight end as many managers always are.