Week 1 was not our best work, certainly. Fortunately, it’s a small sample size.
The Cleveland Browns rookie receivers showed enough promise to keep a roster spot. Kaleb Johnson had exactly the impact we expected (none). Every nice thing we said about the Chicago Bears or Jacksonville Jaguars offense looked 100 percent accurate.
But Terrance Ferguson ended up on a “MISSING” poster. Kayshon Boutte was a non-factor in a Houston Texans-Buffalo Bills shootout. Ja’Kobi Lane and Malachi Fields showed off some vague promise but had minimal actual fantasy impact.
Thus, we venture into the breach once more. I'm joined by fantasy expert and Rhode Island Scumbag Mike "Yaj" Boyajian to break down the fast risers and late-draft/waiver wire sleepers generating
buzz as the second week of the 2026 season looms. We'll talk about those players, as well as the guys rostered around their level and reasonably higher, to figure out if you should add Bryce Young, Caleb Douglas or Devaughn Vele to your rosters -- and who you should drop to bring them aboard.
The rules? There's pretty much only one; players have to be 33 percent owned or less in Yahoo! fantasy football leagues. Who's been responsible for the most Week 2 buzz after lighting up the free agent pile in Week 1?
QB Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers (14 percent owned in Yahoo! leagues)
Young led a revitalized Panthers offense to 37 points in its season opener. Carolina still lost by 22, but that’s a feature, not a bug, for fantasy scoring. He threw for more than 300 yards, tossed three touchdowns through the air and added a fourth on the ground.
The question now is whether that’s sustainable or a function of playing the Chicago Bears. Should you draft or add him over…
Daniel Jones, Indianapolis Colts (24 percent owned)
Christian: No. Am I an idiot, falling for it again? PERHAPS. But Jones’ running potential outweighs Young’s, and we’ve seen him be a fantasy force on a weekly basis for longer stretches than Young. Of course, Jones only ran the ball once for four yards in Week 1, but he’s still working back from the torn Achilles that ended his 2025. Once he’s a viable ground threat again, the Colts offense will open up and he’ll be a useful fill-in waiver wire grab.
Yaj: Yes. Carolina’s beat writers were very excited to see the same Bryce Young they thought they were getting a glimpse of in the preseason. He made some great decisions yesterday, and clearly has a connection with Coker and McMillian.
The Panthers won’t be in a track meet every week, but Young is showing he can lead the offense, and has some good weapons to help. Plus, the defense is shaky, so there could be more shootouts in the future.
C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans (29 percent owned)
Christian: (deep sigh) Yes. Let me assure you; I fully hate this. Stroud is perpetually on the brink of falling to pieces, and we saw it on full display in Week 1. On average, he’s better than Young (that Panthers trade in 2023… oof), but he’s also going to have his impact limited by
- A revitalized run game (David Montgomery, hoooo buddy)
- A limited receiving corps that has little established talent behind Nico Collins and Dalton Schultz, and
- A defense that will not be as bad as it was in Week 1 and create lots of handoff-heavy fourth quarters
Give me the chaos of Young and his rising receiving corps instead.
Yaj: Yes. Carolina’s passing offense as a whole looked much more explosive than Houston’s did, and Stroud doesn’t look like he’s getting back to that magical 2023 level of production. Combined with the fact that the Houston defense should tighten up as the season wears on, they may focus more on the rejuvenated run game instead.
Tyler Shough, New Orleans Saints (40 percent owned)Christian: No. Both these guys played under special, stat-boosting circumstances; overtime for Shough and a game against the Bears defense for Young. But Shough’s second half awareness – he jumps from 35th in the NFL in expected points added (EPA) in the first half but up to 21st in the second– showcases the late-game grit that will produce rally-creating points in both real life and fantasy. Shough (who is nearly two years older than Young, which doesn’t mean anything here but is still wild) thrived against Detroit’s blitz and was especially useful downfield in a way we haven’t seen from Young.
Tyler Shough on passes that traveled at least 13 yards downfield vs. the Lions:10-12, 241 yards, 1 TD, 0 INTs
— Christian D'Andrea (@trainisland.bsky.social) 2026-09-14T00:53:08.943Z
Yaj: No. Tyler Shough was a sleeper this summer for a reason, and Week 1 didn’t shake that sentiment. He looked great in the comeback loss to the Lions, and made some really nice throws in the second half and overtime especially. Kellen Moore knows how to run an offense, and I can see less peaks and valleys occurring with Shough than Young. I’ll take the steady production from Shough.
WR Devaughn Vele, New Orleans Saints (Seven percent owned)
Vele was an advanced stats darling in 2025, but that resulted in meager targets and only a three-week stretch of fantasy relevance. With first round rookie Jordyn Tyson sidelined, he emerged as New Orleans' No. 2 wideout in Week 1, turning nine targets into seven catches, 69 yards and a touchdown in an overtime loss to the Detroit Lions.
Should you add or draft him over…
Jerry Jeudy, Cleveland Browns (10 percent owned)
Christian: Yes. Jeudy tied for second on his team in targets in a blowout loss. That still left him with four. The Browns have two rookie wideouts to prioritize in yet another rebuild, and they aren’t even getting their blowout losses right. The veteran had a whopping -41.6 expected points added (EPA) when targeted. At some point even Cleveland is going to figure out how bad that is. Vele had 19.2 EPA last season and was only targeted 39 times.
Yaj: Yes. I’m out on Jeudy this year. The rookie tandem (KC Concepcion and Denzel Boston) is looking like they will be the most valuable receivers the Browns have to offer this season. With Jordyn Tyson on injured reserve, Vele looks like he’s right back where he was at the end of last season. Shough clearly trusts him, and he’s going to benefit from the attention defenses have to pay to Chris Olave.
Keenan Allen, Indianapolis Colts (26 percent owned)
Christian: Yes. Allen is going to be a volume play in PPR leagues, but he’s on the wrong side of 30 and his days of being a consistent breakaway threat are behind him. His yards per catch have declined each of the last three seasons. He turned six catches (nice) into 32 yards (less nice) in a rout. While I think he’ll be a key part of the offense it will be in a lesser role than Vele as long as Jordyn Tyson is hurt.
Yaj: Yes. Vele has more pep in his step and can actually make plays all over the field. Allen is a glorified tight end at this stage in his career. He isn’t going to pile up yards after catch, and Tyler Warren is a better option when the Colts get into the red zone. Vele’s track record suggests he will maintain the production as long as he’s a top option.
Rashid Shaheed, Seattle Seahawks (46 percent owned)
Christian: Yes. But here’s the rub. Shaheed has enough name value to be tradable. Find someone who is willing to buy low on him, then make another move to replenish your receiving ranks with Vele.
Seattle already used Shaheed primarily as a decoy with a healthy Sam Darnold. Now he’ll have to find a way to dent the stat sheet and not just be a rising tide that makes his teammates look better with either a diminished Darnold or a full strength Drew Lock.
That leaves lots of wiggle room. I’d prefer the current Saint in the short term over the former one.
Yaj: Yes. Shaheed simply isn’t going to get the opportunity that Vele will. Even when Tyson comes off IR, there’s no guarantee he reclaims the WR2 spot right away. Shaheed is going to be great for a couple boom weeks here or there, but with Jaxon Smith-Njigba in the picture, he’s mostly just a decoy. I’ll take the upside of Vele once again.
WR Caleb Douglas, Miami Dolphins (12 percent owned)
Douglas was Malik Willis' huckleberry in Week 1 -- a 14-point loss to the Las Vegas Raiders that gave us a great vantage point of how often the Dolphins will be playing from behind this fall. He finished his NFL debut with seven targets, five catches and 94 yards. He proved to be the kind of player who can cut into an opponent's lead with quickness. Should you add or draft him over...
Jalen Nailor, Las Vegas Raiders (17 percent owned)
Christian: Yes. Nailor is going to rise up and have solid weeks in the future. However, it’s clear Douglas has a rapport with Malik Willis after an impressive debut. The Raiders relied more on targets to its running backs and tight ends in a low impact passing game, even with Brock Bowers sidelined. The Dolphins, however, are going to be going full send late in many, many games this season – that’s where Douglas will shine.
Yaj: Yes. Although Nailor got some looks (five targets, three receptions for 27 yards), the Raiders offense is going to be run heavy, at least until Bowers gets back and possibly balances things out. Douglas made the best of his targets (94 yards) and is clearly the WR1 in Miami. The opportunity is going to be there, and Willis trusts him.
Denzel Boston, Cleveland Browns (29 percent owned)
Christian: Yes. Boston is the more talented player. But as long as Deshaun Watson is quarterback, Miami’s offense has far more explosive capabilities. The Washington product’s value lies in his downfield ability, which is awesome when it works (see his Week 1 deep ball garbage time touchdown) but rarely does because he’s a Brown. Douglas’ average target distance in his debut was 16.7 yards downfield, so he’s in a similar boat with higher volume and a better passer.
Yaj: Why? This feels very personal to me. All jokes aside, I’m trying to find a way to get both of these guys for now. Boston flashed his potential, albeit in garbage time, but he did what he was drafted to do. In a full PPR league, I’d lean Douglas due to target potential and his connection with Willis, but in standard and half PPR, Boston’s big play ability could end up being more valuable.
Khalil Shakir, Buffalo Bills (43 percent owned)
Christian: No. Douglas is going to have some weeks where he disappears – no one is going to be taken by surprise as his game tape accumulates. But Shakir was a reliable engine for Buffalo who should have more room to operate from the slot with D.J. Moore occupying defenses on the sideline. It might be a bunch of six catch, 60-yard lines, but those play too!
Yaj: Yes. Shakir showed us yesterday where he stands in the pecking order (third behind Moore and Kincaid). He still managed four catches on six targets, but most of his receptions were close to the line of scrimmage. I’d much rather roll with the potential of Douglas here. Safe doesn’t win you anything.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Fantasy football waiver wire Week 2: 12 add/drop candidates to debate
