Waiver Wire Advice: Week Two

Ken Kelly Posted On September 11, 2012

We’ll be covering some of the hot names on the majority of dynasty league waiver wires each week for our premium content members. These players will likely be owned in a great minority of dynasty leagues. We won’t waste your time with bigger names who are likely owned in your league like Randall Cobb or Alfred Morris because you guys are just too good for that. We’re simply going to cover some players who could be targets this week if you have an open roster spot and are willing to throw a dart and hope to get lucky.

Just remember one very important thing – you’re in a dynasty league, not a re-draft league. Don’t get too enamored by the one hit wonders and drop your young projects in a quest to find lightning in a bottle. Savvy dynasty league owners will tell you the best players on the wire each and every year end up being the ones dropped by impatient owners, not the ones who suddenly break out.

With that being said, here they are in order of priority:

1.) Kevin Ogletree, WR DAL

We covered Ogletree at great length last week. He’s the number one target this week, but be very cautious with how you play this. Sure, the eight catches for 114 yards and two touchdowns look great and it’s easy to say he could be this year’s Laurent Robinson. However, it’s just as easy to say the Giants weren’t ready for him and their secondary was banged up. He most certainly belongs on a roster, but I wouldn’t be using all my precious auction dollars on him. Remember, Robinson was great in the red zone last year and did a lot of his damage when Dez Bryant or Miles Austin were hurt – he’s still going to be no better than the fourth option in this passing offense.

2.) Dexter McCluster, RB/WR KC

McCluster was used a ton in the preseason, leading to rumblings he could be a third down presence during the regular season. That seemed to come to fruition as he posted six catches for 82 yards on a healthy ten targets this week. It’s possible the Chiefs are just giving Jamaal Charles some time to settle in, but McCluster looks like a low cost PPR option this season. As a bonus, many formats allow him to be played as a running back or a receiver, allowing you ultimate flexibility.

3.) TJ Graham, WR BUF

Graham was inactive on Sunday, but the loss of David Nelson to a torn ACL is going to open the door for him to perform. The Bills look like a team that may find itself behind and forced to throw a lot and Graham really looked good in the preseason. He’s a project player who has a chance early – you can’t ask for much more than that.

4.) Aldrick Robinson, WR WAS

After Pierre Garcon went out with a foot injury, it was Robinson, not Santana Moss, Leonard Hankerson or Josh Morgan who became the apple of Robert Griffin’s eye. He finished the game with four catches for 52 yards and one touchdown. We’ve seen the hype on him before and now it looks like it’s really warranted.

5.) Daryl Richardson, RB STL

It’s safe to say that Isaiah Pead is not the unquestioned handcuff to Steven Jackson after he had a very unimpressive preseason. In fact, it was Richardson who was able to get a couple of touches this week as Pead sat on the bench. If Jackson was ever to miss time, Richardson has earned at least a time share. With the way Pead has looked so far, he could even be the “1” in a “1-2” punch. Regardless, you could do worse with a dynasty league stash.

6.) Donald Jones, WR BUF

We’ve seen enough of Jones to know he’s not a dominant player. However, the season ending injury to Nelson is going to likely push him to slot duties and that puts him squarely on the radar in PPR leagues. He had five catches for 41 yards and a score this week playing on the outside, but he should still benefit from the move to the slot, especially in PPR leagues.

7.) Andrew Hawkins, WR CIN

The Bengals have been searching for a second receiver to pair with AJ Green and Hawkins was it in week one, as he led the Bengals with eight catches for 86 yards. He’s very small, but he could be the future slot receiver in Cincinnati and that merits watching in a dynasty PPR league.

8.) Ryan Lindley, QB ARI

With John Skelton on the shelf for a few weeks, Kevin Kolb is going to be the quarterback in Arizona for the near future. From what we’ve seen from Kolb, that could last less than a series. He was good last week, but it’s hard to see him keeping that up. It’s conceivable that Lindley could get in a game here soon since he’s next in line. He’s far from ready, but Kolb hasn’t shown us anything consistently to give us any type of confidence, even in short term relief of Skelton.

9.) Chris Rainey, RB PIT

Rainey had only three touches and four yards on Sunday night, but you can really see he has dynamic talent if you watched the preseason. He’s purely a long term stash in dynasty leagues and could only have value in the short term in leagues that reward return yardage. However, if you have a deep roster, he could be worth it in the long term.

10.) Cecil Shorts, WR JAX

Shorts was a hot name last year as the Jags brass really talked him up. Unfortunately, he just never really produced much of anything with Blaine Gabbert struggling so much. With Gabbert finally looking mediocre, can he build on his four catch, 74 yard performance that featured a score this week?

11.) Colt McCoy, QB CLE

Look, we know what McCoy has been and it’s not much more than a desperation QB2 play. If Brandon Weeden continues to look this bad, McCoy is going to get a second chance to prove he can be better than that.

12.) Tarvaris Jackson, QB BUF

We also know what Jackson is and that’s not incredibly impressive, either. However, Ryan Fitzpatrick now has 17 INTs in his last nine games and that’s just not going to get it done. Fitzpatrick is going to have a relatively long leash, but Jackson could end up starting some games in a month or so. If you have a dire need for a backup for the bye weeks if injuries strike your team, Jackson could be a future option.

13.) Brandon Gibson, WR STL

Gibson seemingly has nine lives and has now effectively held off both Chris Givens and Brian Quick for the time being. He played well on Sunday with four catches for 51 yards a touchdown. It’s hardly a signal of Gibson finally emerging, but the Rams are desperate for someone to make some plays and he and Danny Amendola stand to make the most at the moment.

14.) Anthony Allen, RB BAL

The Ravens cut Bobby Rainey today and elevated Allen from the practice squad, which was quite a surprise considering how well Rainey played in the preseason. Rainey and Allen are two completely different players and the Ravens chose to go with more of a power back, but Bernard Pierce has been pretty unimpressive as the backup to Rice. Allen is worth watching just to see if he gets any touches ahead of Pierce or worth picking up if you have a bunch of deep roster spots and miss out on the players listed above. Keep an eye on Rainey and wait to cut him – he may not make it on to the Ravens practice squad.

Those are really the most intriguing names who are out there in many leagues. We’ll be back next week with some more, exclusively for our premium content members!

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Ken Kelly

Co-Founder at DynastyLeagueFootball

Ken is a corporate trainer by day an a tireless editor of dynasty content by night. His passion for the World Champion Seattle Seahawks is second only to his love of fantasy football and the dynasty format.

Ken is on Twitter at DLF_KenK