Hitting The Waiver Wire For Week Two; Matchups To Watch For

Last week I went over some free agents that could help you in week one. Now that the season is underway and one full week of games under your belt I will go over the top five waiver wire pickups for week two, and the top three matchups that could be beneficial to helping your team succeed this week.

First I will go over some waiver wire acquisitions.

The top player I see coming off the board this week and onto fantasy teams is Joique Bell of the Detroit Lions. While Bell is not the starter, he did get two goal line touches that Reggie Bush owners are blistering over. While Bush had a great game, Bell outscored him in many leagues because of his touchdowns. Bell is owned in almost 90 percent of leagues already, so if you are lucky enough to grab him, what’s the wait? The Lions face off against the Cardinals this week, in what should be a high scoring affair. I could see Bell grabbing another goal line score.

The second best acquisition this week is Terelle Pryor of the Oakland Raiders. While you might think going after a quarterback in the waiver wires is a poor idea, just look at the matchup. Last week Pryor looked good, if not great against a solid Indianapolis Colts team, this week he faces the god-awful Jacksonville Jaguars. If Pryor was to add on to his NFL leading rush total, this would be the week. Pryor is available in over 80 percent of leagues. My question to you is, are you willing to take a chance on a repeat performance? If the answer is yes, Pryor is the man for you.

The third best acquisition this week is Kenbrell Thompkins of the New England Patriots. While he has actually been dropped in over 30 percent of leagues after his so-so performance in week one, he will be the main target for Tom Brady this week against the New York Jets with Danny Amendola going down. I wouldn’t wait around for Thompkins to have a good performance because if you do, he will be snatched up before you can say touchdown Patriots. Thompkins value should decline when Rob Gronkowski comes back, but until then ride him, and ride him hard!

The fourth best acquisition this week is the Dallas Cowboys defense. So the Cowboys were hyped up this preseason as usual, and like they have in the past, they had a great game against the New York Giants to open the season. While I wouldn’t expect as many turnovers in week two against the Kansas City Chiefs, they are going against a much more bland offense headed by Alex Smith. The Cowboys are available in over 40 percent of leagues right now, this will likely change going forward, but for now they are a good start in week two if you choose to grab them.

The fifth best acquisition for this week is Brandon Jacobs of the New York Giants. Formerly a free agent, Jacobs, was scooped up by his former team after their loss to the Cowboys on Monday night. Jacobs will not get the majority of snaps right away, but with the reliability of starting back David Wilson in question, Jacobs might jump the depth chart and turn into a quality start soon. Right now Jacobs is available in over 90 percent of leagues, but if he had a quality outing against the Denver Broncos this week watch that number drop. I would jump on Jacobs if you have Wilson.

The matchups I really like this week to play are the New England Patriots against the New York Jets. While the Patriots are limited on quality options for Brady to find, I still believe in Brady’s ability to beat divisional opponents and have a big game. I would start Brady, Ridley and Thompkins in this matchup.

The second matchup that catches my eye is the Oakland Raiders against the Jacksonville Jaguars. As I mentioned earlier, Pryor had a nice week against a playoff team in the Indianapolis Colts. Now he gets to come home in front of the home fans and torch a poor team in the Jaguars. I would start Pryor, Darren McFadden, Denarius Moore, Jacoby Ford and any other option the Raiders might throw at the Jaguars.

The third matchup this week that I feel very comfortable with choosing players in is the Baltimore Ravens at home against the Cleveland Browns. While the Ravens lost Jacoby Jones for a few weeks in their loss to the Denver Broncos, week two offers a much easier matchup against the Browns. I would suspect that Joe Flacco and Ray Rice will have monster weeks against a poor Browns defense. As well I expect a bounce back week from the Ravens defense that allowed 49 points last week.

That’s all for this week, check back next week as I go over the top five acquisitions for week three and a few matchups that caught my eye.