Good W.I.L.L Hunting - Week 2 Waiver Wire

Every Tuesday, @TrueNorthFFB's very own Will Harris @itsharristime will be providing you with his W.I.L.L (Weekly Insights to Lead Your League). He’ll provide an in-depth positional look at the top waiver wire adds of theweek that are rostered on less than 40% of Yahoo leagues. @itsharristime will also give you three Professor Lambeau Picks just in case you cannot get the recommended waiver add for each position. To cap it off, Searching For Will Hunting, looks at a hidden gem/player that you can stash on your bench and watch blossom later in the season.

QUARTERBACK

Gardner Minshew - rostered @ 26%, Jacksonville Jaguars

Minshew Mania picks up exactly where it left off. Not only did Gardiner Minshew beat COVID-19, he also managed to defeat the heavily favored Colts in Week 1.

How did Minshew do it? He did it through the air with a 95% completion percentage and three TDs. That’s an impressive 142.3 QB rating which was the highest in the young QB’s career. He did it, in true Minshew fashion - with moxy.

What is even more promising for Minshew is, he did it without relying on his legs. Last season during his 'breakout,' Minshew rushed for an average of 24.7 yards/game. However, in Week 1, Minshew only rushed for 19 yds vs the Colts. He didn’t need to uncork the lightning in his legs. He distributed the ball evenly amongst his wide receivers - Keelan Cole (5 targets), rookie Laviska Shenault (4 targets) and familiar target D.J Chark (3 targets). This diversity in distribution may lead to more than one viable fantasy receiver in Jacksonville, and is something to keep an eye on.

Minshew’s 22.82 fantasy points in Week 1, put him ahead of QB1 Patrick Mahomes, and that came without eclipsing 175 yards passing or fully unlocking Minshew’s sneaky rushing upside, meaning more fantasy points are to come in the future.

I’m all in on this Stache Ride that’s going to hit the countryside in the coming weeks. Minshew’s next four opponents? The Titans, Dolphins, Bengals and Texans. None of those teams are exactly world beaters with their secondaries. Minshew has clearly set his weekly floor, and I can’t wait to see his ceiling with the next four upcoming matchups.

Professor Lambeau’s Picks

• Teddy Bridgewater - 22%, Carolina Panthers

• Derek Carr, 18% - Las Vegas Raiders

• Kirk Cousins, 34% - Minnesota Vikings

RUNNING BACK

Jerick McKinnon - 11%, San Francisco 49ers

The real answer here is James Robinson of the Jacksonville Jaguars who is rostered in 54% of leagues. When writing this column, I was impressed that fantasy footballers were already on the UDFA out of Illinois State. Alas, fantasy football managers are getting smarter, so that’s a bit of a pat on the back to all the fantasy analysts and great tools that are providing these types of insights.

Don’t fret. Jerick “Jet” McKinnon is a great second option if you can’t snag Robinson. Heading into Week 1, there was some hope that Deebo Samuel would be available to play. Now that Samuel is officially on IR, and rookie Brandon Aiyuk is less than 100%, McKinnon will continue to play an important role for the 49ers offense.

You are probably thinking to yourself: Why would I want a RB from San Francisco when it is one of the most muddled RB rooms in the NFL?

For one, it was clear that McKinnon was the 49ers 3rd down back and was also brought into play in key situations. This was the case when he punched home his first TD with less than 10 minutes to play in the 4th quarter. Jimmy Garappolo hit McKinnon in the flat and there was no looking back for Jet.

McKinnon received five targets, which was part of a four way tie to lead the 49ers in Week 1. Jet also out-snapped Tevin Coleman (only 10%), and with continued injuries mounting to the 49ers receiving corps, it wouldn’t surprise anyone if McKinnon was used more in the slot. He lined up twice in the slot, and once out wide in Week 1. This increased usage, as well as being the clear 3rd down option for the 49ers makes Jet my favourite RB add this week.

Who doesn’t like a feel-good comeback story that helps you win your fantasy weeks?

Professor Lambeau’s Picks

• Joshua Kelley - 13%, Los Angeles Chargers

• Nyhiem Hines - 20%, Indianapolis Colts

• Peyton Barber - 4%, The Washington Football Team

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WIDE RECEIVER

Robby Anderson - 31%, Carolina Panthers

Usually, Robby likes to save his breakouts for the second half of the season. Have we seen the former Temple wide receiver turn over a new leaf after being reunited with his collegiate chums? It seems that Matt Rhule’s Temple University south is just the kind of education that Anderson has been searching for. For those that rostered Anderson in Week 1, you were rewarded handsomely. Anderson scored 25.50 fantasy - he had five receptions for 115 yards, a touchdown and a 2-point conversion. That performance was good for WR5 on the day.

Now, if you’ve played fantasy football for any length of time, I’d put money down on the fact that you’ve probably been burnt by Robby in the past. Either over-drafting him based on a strong end of season, or, dropping too early before one of his late season surges. I get it. The heartache is real with Robby.

Do you want to win fantasy championships? Get over the past with Robby and look to the future. We heal and we pick up Robby Anderson off of waivers. The Panthers defense post Luke Kuechly and with the departure of underrated corner James Bradberry looked like the worst defense in football. That is good for fantasy football! Teddy Bridgewater proved in Week 1 vs. the Raiders that he has no problem leading the Panthers in a shootout type of game. Bridgewater also showed that Anderson is a clear target, having lined him up 8 times in Week 1. Keep in mind that the Panthers also have the 3rd best WR strength of schedule according to PFF. A high flying division, a bad defense, and a head coach that plays up tempo offense?

Let’s get emotionally prepared for a Robby Anderson season.

Professor Lambeau’s Picks

• Russell Gage- 2%, Atlanta Falcons

• Parris Campbell - 14%, Indianapolis Colts

• Laviska Shenault Jr - 12%, Jacksonville Jaguars

TIGHT END

Logan Thomas - 2%, The Washington Football Team

In life, we can count on death, taxes, and infuriating tight end play. True to form, and for the year we are all having, 2020 is no different.

The big dogs at the tight end position ate. And then there was everyone else.

One lone bright spot was Washington’s Logan Thomas. For those not familiar with Thomas, he fits the bill of a potential breakout tight end. He is hyper athletic, oldish (29), and, in an ambiguous receiving corps outside of Terry McLaurin. We’ve seen this before with the likes of Gary Barnidge, Tyler Eifert, and, last season with Darren Waller.

Thomas didn’t disappoint in Week 1 and was given every chance to shine with Dwayne Haskins targeting Thomas eight times. As with many TEs, Thomas needed a TD to be fantasy relevant, and he put up a TD en route to scoring 13.70 fantasy points which was good for TE6 on the day.

With a super soft tight end matchup coming up against Arizona in Week 2, followed up by the Browns in Week 3 and the 3rd strongest TE strength of schedule in 2020, Thomas is a no-brainer TE addition this week.

Professor Lambeau’s Picks

• Greg Olsen - 26%, Seattle Seahawks

• OJ Howard - 17%, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

• Pick a Texans TE - Pick One, Any One

Searching for Will Hunting

Royce Freeman - RB, 2%, Denver Broncos

Freeman quickly became the forgotten running back in Denver once Melvin Gordon III was signed this offseason. It was not so long ago that the starting job in Denver looked to be Freeman’s, a former 3rd rounder from the University of Oregon.

That was until UDFA Phillip Lindsay took the league by storm in 2018 with a 1000 yard rushing season and averaged nearly 15 fantasy points a game. Freeman clearly played second fiddle to Lindsay, seeing just over 35% of the team's snaps, and this continued into last season where Freeman commanded just over 37% of Denver’s snaps. What is interesting about his usage over the two years, is his involvement in the passing game. Keep in mind that at Oregon, Freeman had three seasons of 1000+ rushing yards, and, though active in the passing game (26 receptions in 2016), wasn’t a prolific or often used receiving weapon.

Fast forward to 2019, and Freeman had 43 receptions, which ranked 18th amongst RBs last season. Freeman has proven himself to be a sure handed receiver, and one that the team relied upon in passing situations.

Thank you for reading my waiver wire article. Make sure to come back next week and please leave a comment or message me on Twitter @itsharristime

Edited by: Joe Simonetti (@joesimonetti77)

Graphic work: Dan Made Graphics (@DanMadeGraphics)