Week 2 QB/TE Waiver Wire Targets: Baker Mayfield, Isaiah Likely, Derek Carr and More

Identifying some quarterback and tight end waiver wire targets as week 1 of the NFL season winds down.

There’s still one more week 1 game on Monday night, but because a lot of fantasy football league’s waiver wires process on Tuesday, we need to talk about some options for owners to target.

I’m in charge of the quarterback and tight end waiver wire pickups, and if you already read my takeaways story, you know this isn’t going to be that pretty.

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Tight End Waiver Wire Options

Let’s start with the tight end position, because it’s a short and sweet list - Isaiah Likely. That’s it.

Likely came into the season as a fringe draftable player, and I was kind of surprised by that because Mark Andrews was back healthy again.

He’s owned in about 25% of leagues right now, but he honestly might be close to 100% owned by the time week 2 kicks off.

In the season-opening game on Thursday, Likely had nine receptions on 12 targets for 111 yards and a touchdown. His fantasy output would have been even higher if his foot was about an inch shorter. 

(That play was overturned after review, and I’m not really sure why the team kept it up on their X page.)

Anyways, Likely far out produced Andrews. The veteran had two grabs on as many targets for 14 yards.

What’s more interesting is the playing time each player got. Across 80 offensive snaps, Andrews led the tight ends with 59 snaps, but Likely was at 53.

Likely played more snaps than Derrick Henry (37), Justice Hill (43) and Nelson Agholor (30) and was behind just Andrews, Zay Flowers (71) and Rashod Bateman (67) among the skill position players.

What I’m getting at is that the Ravens don’t have a ton of playmakers, leaving a big opportunity for Likely to carve out a big offensive role this season. 

I don’t think it’s time to panic on Andrews yet (more on that in another story coming soon), but at the same time, I think it’s possible for Likely to also be a weekly fantasy asset in this offense. 

Likely isn’t going to replicate these numbers weekly, or maybe ever again this season, but at a weak fantasy TE position that’s already a big banged up, I don’t think it’s a bad idea to target Likely in any league type. He probably would be my top waiver wire priority at any position (unless of course you are severely lacking at another spot).

Quarterback Waiver Wire Options

While there is a lack of tight end waiver wire options, there’s several quarterback options. Baker Mayfield, Derek Carr, Geno Smith, Sam Darnold and Justin Fields are the ones I want to focus on.

Mayfield went off against a Commanders’ defense that allowed the most fantasy points per game to the QB position in 2023. Mayfield was 24-of-30 for 289 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions. He added 21 rushing yards on three carries.

Mayfield should see a healthy bump in his own percentage this week, and has another decent matchup in week 2. He’ll face the Lions, who just allowed Matthew Stafford to throw for 317 yards, a touchdown and a pick.

Carr ripped apart a Panthers’ defense that was one of the best against fantasy QBs last season. He was 19-of-23 for 200 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. Carr added 13 rushing yards on two carries and could have had an even bigger day if the Saints weren’t up big.

The Saints have the Cowboys in week 2. Dallas allowed 169 passing yards and a touchdown, while picking off two passes against Deshaun Watson and the Browns in week 1. 

Smith enjoyed a strong day against a Broncos’ defense that was in the bottom half of the league in slowing fantasy QBs last season. He had 171 passing yards, a touchdown and an interception on 18-of-25 passing. Smith added 30 rushing yards and a score on four carries.

His matchup in week 2 isn’t great, as he’ll take on the Patriots. New England limited Joe Burrow to 164 passing yards and no touchdowns in week 1.

Darnold was pretty good in week 1, although it came against the Giants. New York was pretty average against fantasy QBs in 2023. Darnold had 208 passing yards and two scores on 19-of-24 passing, while also throwing a pick. He rushed three times for three yards.

Darnold has a much more daunting task in week 2 when the Vikings play the 49ers. We’ll see how the Niners look on Monday night, but they were one of the best in stopping fantasy QBs in 2023, and I don’t expect a drastic dropoff this season.

Fields got the start in place of the injured Russell Wilson in week 1 and led Pittsburght to a win. He took on a Falcons’ defense that was allowed the eighth-most fantasy points to opposing QBs in 2023. Fields was 17-of-23 for 156 yards, with no touchdowns or interceptions. He added 57 rushing yards on 14 attempts.

It remains to be seen if Fields gets the start again in week 2, but if he does, he’ll take on the Broncos. We already mentioned that Smith had a big fantasy day against Denver in week 1, and with Fields’ rushing ability, that looks like another chance to put up decent numbers again.

I didn’t get to do this for the tight ends with only one player mentioned, but for the quarterbacks, I want to order them in terms of the best week 2 options (essentially streaming possibilities) and season-long options.

For both lists, I like Mayfield. His week 2 matchup against the Lions is favorable, and I think he’s the best fantasy option among this group most weeks. He showed last year he can be a good fantasy option most weeks, and there’s no reason to expect much differently this season.

I’d love adding Mayfield as long as you don’t have one of the elite guys (Jalen Hurts, Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson). Maybe Mayfield is only a backup option, but there’s weeks where he’s a better starting option than just about everyone other than the four we just mentioned.

As far as the rest of the streaming list goes, I actually like Fields next, but his uncertain starting job definitely complicates things. If he slips through the cracks on the waiver wire, maybe you can add Fields later in the week if he’s named the starter again. Despite being the best week 2 streaming option of the four left, he’s also the worst long-term option, but that’s also because of his uncertain role going forward. He has more fantasy value than everyone but Mayfield in this list because of his rushing ability.

The final three guys I’d rank in the same order regardless if we are talking about a week 2 starting option or a long-term guy.

Carr is who I like next, with Smith after that and finally Darnold.

Carr gets the slight edge over Smith because he’s done it for longer and despite having less offensive weapons than Smith. Neither are guys I’d want starting every week (outside deeper formats), but they are going to have some more solid weeks this season.

Darnold surprised a lot of people in week 1, but I also think the Giants are going to be one of the worst teams in the league, so one OK showing is not going to sway me. If he is even average against the Niners, then we can revisit things, but outside the fantasy owners in the deepest leagues who are desperate for another QB, I’d try to avoid Darnold until he proves something against a good defense.

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