Week 2 Fantasy Football Wide Receiver Waiver Adds: Can Anyone Replace Puka Nacua?
Ted breaks down the top wide receivers to add to your fantasy football roster after Week 1's action.
The question of this year’s fantasy football offseason was, “Who is this year’s Puka Nacua?” After one week, the answer seems to be nobody. Only one player had as many as Nacua’s 15 Week 1 targets this season … and I doubt Cooper Kupp is available on many waiver wires.
Still, there are some intriguing wide receivers who are widely available heading into Week 2. Unfortunately, some of these receivers may be needed to replace the real Puka Nacua, who is now on IR with a knee injury. I can’t promise a full replacement, but these WRs can help your team recover. Let’s get started!
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Week 2 Fantasy Football Wide Receiver Waiver Adds
Romeo Doubs, Green Bay Packers (45% Rostered)
It’s a bad time to be buying into the Packers’ passing offense with Jordan Love likely to miss time. However, what Doubs did in the Packers’ season opener in Brazil can’t be ignored. He easily led the team’s WRs with an 89.5% route participation rate and also tied for the team league in targets with six. When Love comes back, that role will absolutely be enough to make him valuable.
Gabe Davis, Jacksonville Jaguars (43.2% Rostered)
This is another case in which we are chasing route participation, even if we don’t love the talent. Davis led the Jaguars in routes on Sunday, running a route for all but two of Trevor Lawrence’s dropbacks. And while Davis is a known cardio king from his time in Buffalo, he actually led the Jags in receiving yards in his debut, catching all three of his targets for 62 yards. He doesn't have a particularly high ceiling, but he is someone you can pick up and start immediately if need be.
Adonai Mitchell, Indianapolis Colts (33.3% Rostered)
If Davis and Doubs are high-floor, low-ceiling pickups, Mitchell is the complete opposite. A second-round pick in this year’s draft, Mitchell is a remarkable deep threat with 4.3 speed. That makes him a perfect fit for the Colts, where he is playing alongside the human catapult known as Anthony Richardson. Unfortunately, along with his incredible arm strength, Richardson still struggles with accuracy, and he missed Mitchell not once but twice for what could have been huge TDs in Week 1:
If even one of those big TDs had connected, Mitchell would be this week’s hottest waiver pickup. However, there is some reason to proceed with caution. Mitchell was just third on the Colts in routes run on Sunday, and he lined up in the slot on over a third of his routes. Before Josh Downs was injured during preseason, Mitchell was reportedly fourth on the Colts' depth chart. Downs was out this week, but the slot specialist should return soon. There’s a solid chance that Mitchell will find himself reduced to a very part-time role when that happens. But if the rookie is able to beat out Pierce for the full-time deep threat role in this offense, his ceiling is sky-high; he’s worth stashing just in case.
Demarcus Robinson, Los Angeles Rams (10% Rostered)
If we want to look on the Rams for a replacement for Puka, Robinson is my pick. Former Buccaneer Tyler Johnson had the better game in Week 1, but Robinson is the better player with a more established role in this offense: He played over Johnson throughout all of 2023 and ran 47 routes to his 33 on Sunday night.
Even Cooper Kupp can’t get 21 targets every week, so Matthew Stafford is going to have to throw the ball to someone else. Aside from RB Kyren Williams and TE Colby Parkinson (who is also a good pickup, by the way), Robinson is that guy. He’s worth adding in most formats.
Joshua Palmer, Los Angeles Chargers (48.5% Rostered)
We go back to the boring veterans with this pick. Palmer was flat-out bad in his first game under Jim Harbaugh, catching just two of four targets for 15 yards before getting himself ejected late in the fourth quarter. However, he led the Chargers in routes, even with the ejection.
Harbaugh and Greg Roman’s offense was run-heavy as expected in Week 1, but they will have to pass more often against tougher opponents. When that happens, Palmer should have value as the receiver out there most often when Justin Herbert drops back.
Wan'Dale Robinson, New York Giants (8.3% Rostered)
Robinson actually tied for second in the league with 12 targets this week. He did catch just six of those targets for only 44 yards, but 12 targets is 12 targets. It is worth noting that he only posted a 74% route participation rate, mostly seeing the field in three-WR sets. He will also never be a high-ADOT receiver, serving as a safety blanket out of the slot. But given that he is a top target on a Giants team that will be trailing early and often, Robinson is worth consideration in deep PPR leagues.
Xavier Legette, Carolina Panthers (24.1% Rostered)
With seven targets on 23 routes, Legette posted an incredible 30% target per route rate (TPRR) in his NFL debut. Of course, it’s not a good thing that he ran just 23 routes, a 61.5% participation rate. And even that number is boosted by the fact that he stayed in for garbage time while some of the Panthers’ starting WRs rested. But any rookie putting up a 30% TPRR is worth considering. It will take some movement up the depth chart and Bryce Young not being the worst quarterback in the league, but Legette has a real shot to be fantasy relevant at some point this season.
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