It was a weekend filled with running backs going down and for your sake, hopefully, you own one of the handcuffs already. It goes to show how quickly your fantasy team could be flipped on its head. In case you missed the action, Adrian Peterson has a torn meniscus, Danny Woodhead tore his ACL, Jonathan Stewart has a hamstring injury, Arian Foster is exactly who we thought he was (injury prone), while Ezekiel Elliott is not who we thought he was (yet). Not all was negative, though, in Week 2. Victor Cruz is dancing again which is nice to see and a few other lesser-owned receivers showed up for a second week in a row to prove doubters wrong.

With tough decisions facing you on who to use your waiver claims on, we’ve asked our featured experts to rank the top waiver options that are readily available. The players have been ranked accordingly (rest of season value) below and the pundits are also giving their thoughts on streaming defenses ahead of Week 3.

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Featured Pros:

Walter Cherepinsky – WalterFootball

John Halpin – Fox Sports

KJ – Fantasy Team Advice

Zach Wilkens – RotoBaller

Waiver Wire Rankings (STD Scoring)

Q1. Give us your thoughts on a waiver wire target (or two) you especially like as a pickup.

“It sure is crowded in New York with Brandon Marshall, Eric Decker and Matt Forte all requiring a healthy dose of targets. That said, you can’t deny the clear chemistry between Ryan Fitzpatrick and Quincy Enunwa. Enunwa has 13 catches on 14 targets and has forced himself onto Fitzpatrick’s list of regular targets. He won’t be startable every week, but if you can identify games where the Jets are likely to throw a lot, Enunwa will be worth starting.

I also like Jamison Crowder. He isn’t putting up huge numbers, but he leads all Washington WRs in targets and receptions. With Kirk Cousins struggling early on this season, it appears Crowder has been his safety blanket on short routes. Assuming Cousins does regain some of his high-level play from last year, that connection with Crowder will only grow. He’s worth owning in 12 team standard leagues and all leagues with PPR scoring.”

– Zach Wilkens (RotoBaller)

“Jerick McKinnon last started a game for the Vikings in 2014 as a rookie and averaged over 5 YPC. If Adrian Peterson is out for an extended period as expected, McKinnon will have high-end RB2 value. If the Vikings finally decide to let him handle goal line carries as well, he can flirt with weekly RB1 status.”

– KJ (Fantasy Team Advice)

“Jerick McKinnon is the obvious pick-up this week, and you can throw Fozzy Whittaker and Theo Riddick in there as well, as they’ll be replacing injured running backs. One name no one seems to be talking about though is Isaiah Pead. I thought Pead looked the best of all the Miami running backs in the preseason, and he drew praise from Adam Gase. Pead, who has talent as a former second-round pick, could challenge Jay Ajayi for work going forward if Ajayi continues to struggle as Arian Foster’s replacement. Tyrell Williams tied for the team lead in targets (6) against the Jaguars, and he might see more looks with Danny Woodhead hurt. The Chargers’ next three opponents are the Colts, Saints and Raiders, so there will be plenty of opportunity for Williams, and then you can potentially sell him high to another team once the schedule becomes more difficult.”

– Walter Cherepinsky (WalterFootball)

“Jerick McKinnon is the obvious choice… but I drafted him everywhere I could, so I can’t pick him up in most cases. Jay Ajayi is owned in 27% of Yahoo leagues, and is the injury replacement most likely to get a full workload in Week 3. Oh, and he’s playing against the Browns.”

– John Halpin (Fox Sports)

Q2. For owners renting a D/ST in Week 2, what readily available option should they target and why?

“The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have allowed 57 offensive points through two weeks. That’s pretty bad and yet I have no fear of streaming them against the Case Keenum Rams in Week 3. Despite a win over the Seahawks, the Rams have yet to score a touchdown through two games. Todd Gurley is talented, but the offense around him is so bad that even he hasn’t been able to do much. Tampa Bay may not have a top tier defense, but for one week, they will be.”

– Zach Wilkens (RotoBaller)

“There won’t be many DST options available this week, so I’d take a shot on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers who get the lackluster Rams in week 3. While the Bucs defense hasn’t been overly impressive, the same can be said about the Rams offense, and if you’re looking for a streamer I prefer to target the worst offenses in the NFL. The Rams certainly qualify.”

– KJ (Fantasy Team Advice)

“The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are owned in just seven percent of Yahoo! leagues, but they’re worth adding as a Week 3 streamer. Tampa will be battling the Rams, and we all saw what Case Keenum is capable of when he was shut out in Week 1. Keenum played better this past week, but the Buccaneers will be motivated to bounce back following their 40-7 shellacking at Arizona.”

– Walter Cherepinsky (WalterFootball)

“Sorry to be repetitive, but the low-owned Miami Dolphins (7%) are a terrific play at home against the Browns, and that was true even before the news that Josh McCown might not play. Grab them as soon as you can. Streaming DSTs don’t get more obvious than this.”

– John Halpin (Fox Sports)

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Thank you to the experts for ranking their top readily available waiver candidates. Be sure to give them a follow on Twitter for more advice.



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