Hey folks! We cannot understate the importance of being in on Week 2 waiver wire players early while the FAAB price is cheapest (or free!), so you can add them to your roster. Not just for adding them to your roster so your leaguemates don’t get them first, but so you can build a strong roster that has depth and can provide some additional cover from the chaos that is the NFL season.

Nothing goes exactly to plan in the NFL, as we know, so we want you to be as prepared as possible to weather the uncertain storm of injuries, role changes, scheme changes, and any other general chaos that can happen in a given NFL season.

I’m Kevin Tompkins and while I may not have drafted a running back ever, I have picked up quite a few in my day as a noted Zero-RB guy, Luckily, it won’t just be the running back position I’ll be helping you all with this season.

Each week, I’ll provide five players as look-ahead players for the next week, who could be THE waiver wire claims for the following week. But they won’t be available in your league because you already have them. We haven’t even played a snap of regular-season football yet, but we’re already looking ahead to Week 2’s players.

Note: If these players get hurt in Week 1, I cannot be held responsible, so please don’t tweet me @ktompkinsii if that happens.

Quarterback

Geno Smith (QB – SEA)

ESPN Rostership (12.9%)

If you’re in the streaming quarterbacks game this season or just want a solid second quarterback and have the bench room, Smith is an excellent option to take a peek at. Gone are Pete Carroll and Shane Waldron; in are Mike Macdonald and former University of Washington offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb, who will call plays and coordinate this offense.

If you watched college football last season, you’ll know just how electric the Huskies’ offense was with four top-92 picks in this past April’s NFL Draft with quarterback Michael Penix Jr. plus receivers Rome Odunze, Ja’Lynn Polk and Jalen McMillan.

The Grubb offense at Washington used a ton of 11 personnel and should give second-year wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba an increased routes share from the 74.6% he had last year under former coordinator Waldron’s direction. Add in stalwarts DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, and Noah Fant, and this offense should not only be more condensed but also extremely productive.

Smith came a bit back down to earth as he averaged just 15.3 fantasy points per game as fantasy’s QB25. Everything is in place for Smith to jump back up to top-12 quarterback season, and you’re getting him at a discount with virtually zero risk. If the Grubb-led offense comes out firing at home against the Broncos in Week 1, the Seahawks get a stellar matchup against the Patriots in Week 2 to take advantage of.

Running Back

Ray Davis (RB – BUF)

ESPN Rostership (14.2%)

Davis is a solid, productive prospect who put up at least 950 yards at three different stops at Temple, Vanderbilt, and Kentucky. The Buffalo Bills have been looking for a power complement to incumbent running back James Cook since the now-retired Damien Harris went down with an injury.

The team cycled through a who’s who of dustball running backs like Latavius Murray, Ty Johnson, and Leonard Fournette before deciding to spend a fourth-round selection this past April on Davis.

Johnson is still a member of this backfield and technically ahead of Davis on the Bills’ official depth chart, but Davis’ strong training camp and preseason should carry over to the regular season, where his juice and productivity should leapfrog Johnson sooner rather than later. Buffalo jettisoned wide receivers Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis early in the offseason, replacing them with Curtis Samuel and 2024 first-round pick Keon Coleman.

Reading the tea leaves for the Bills, the offense may lean more toward the run game and away from some of the Josh Allen improvisation to keep their quarterback a bit healthier.

Davis is a little bit less of a mystery box option than a typical rookie, but Week 2’s waiver wire could be the last opportunity to get in on the ground floor without needing to spend a decent chunk of your FAAB or a high waiver claim on Davis’ excellent contingent and burgeoning standalone value in fantasy.

Tyrone Tracy (RB – NYG)

ESPN Rostership (11%)

The thesis for Tracy is the same as it was for Antonio Gibson in his rookie season with Washington. Tracy is a converted wide receiver now playing running back, so we automatically think “good pass-catcher” as the focal point of the archetype.

That’s not all Tracy can do. Per PFF, Tracy was fourth in yards after contact per attempt and fifth in elusive rating at Purdue last season. He’s not just a pass-catcher, folks.

The competition in New York is currently not significant in terms of talent, with career journeyman Devin Singletary and Eric Gray in front of him on the depth chart. If Singletary gets hurt, Tracy will lose the path for long down and distance, third down, and two-minute drill work.

Heck, Tracy can earn most of that without the need for an injury to a running back ahead of him. It’s an even clearer path if the Giants are awful and the team wants to evaluate its younger players, considering that starting quarterback Daniel Jones has a clause in his contract similar to Russell Wilson with the Broncos last season.

Jones is due to earn $30 million in 2025, and $23 million of that is guaranteed against injury. So if Jones, who was limited with neck injuries and then tore his ACL last season, gets hurt, the Giants could be on the hook for that $23 million. That could propel Tracy to immediate work; even three-down duties are in play.

There are lots of outs toward Tracy playing a significant role this season, and not all of them are purely situational, either. The contingent factor for Tracy is through the roof, so in poker terms, you’re holding four cards to an ace-high flush.

In normal person terms, you should add him to your bench because his role will likely expand into something usable in your fantasy football lineup.

Wide Receiver

Jalen McMillan (WR – TB)

ESPN Rostership (2.9%)

It seems as though Trey Palmer will be waking up angry for a different reason this season. After the Buccaneers drafted McMillan — henceforth known as “McMillions” — in the third round of April’s NFL Draft, McMillan has been a regular star of Bucs’ camp and, on their initial depth chart leading up to Week 1, is the starting outside wide receiver opposite of Mike Evans.

Tampa’s passing game was 10th in EPA/pass attempt last season and, under former offensive coordinator Dave Canales, resurrected the career of quarterback Baker Mayfield.

The offense is now under the direction of former Rams assistant and offensive coordinator Liam Coen, and the offensive plan is mapped out for the Bucs this season. Wide receivers coach Bryan McClendon has said that Chris Godwin would find a home back in the slot “pretty much the majority of the time,” where he’s had his best fantasy seasons.

In 2023, Godwin saw his worst percentage in the slot since 2018 at just 37%. It’s no wonder his fantasy points per game also cratered to 12.3.

Why is this relevant to McMillan? It’s entirely possible that McMillan may not come off the field as much when Tampa’s formation condenses to just two wide receivers. That said, Tampa did run the seventh-highest percentage of 11 personnel, and Coen is a Sean McVay disciple.

The Rams have run the most 11 personnel several years running, including 2022, when Coen was the Rams’ offensive coordinator.

The “tl;dr” is: McMillan, a Day 2 draft pick, runs a ton of routes for a solid passing game alongside two stud wide receivers that command a bunch of attention.

Get in while the getting’s good.

Tight End

Zach Ertz (TE – WAS)

ESPN Rostership (2.1%)

Look, I don’t like it either.

I may not be writing this in full protest, but that doesn’t mean I agree with touting Ertz as a look-ahead guy. The bar is set so much lower for a tight end in fantasy than it is at any other position, so if a player wins a job and has a history with his coach or offensive coordinator, we have to take notice. Ertz joins the Commanders and his former head coach in Arizona, Kliff Kingsbury, who is now the Commanders’ play-caller and offensive coordinator.

We know Kingsbury’s “horizontal raid” offensive system in Arizona led to his eventual firing and a one-way ticket to Thailand, so has Kingsbury changed his ways in 2024?

Before his season-ending injury last season, Ertz averaged exactly six targets per game, and while he seems ancient, Ertz is somehow only 33 years old. The Commanders have a wide-open hole with their second pass-catcher after trading Jahan Dotson to their division-rival Philadelphia Eagles, so besides Terry McLaurin, who is going to step up here?

Immediate (and admittedly, gross) short-target equity is now Ertz’s game, as he should command rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels’ attention to start the season. Even if the horizontal raid comes back in our nation’s capital, Ertz seems to have the very first crack as a top-two pass-catcher. If that results in 70-80% routes for Ertz, he’s a clear target. Scoop him early and reap the benefits.

Kevin Tompkins is a contributor for Optimus Fantasy Football. Find more from Kevin on X (formerly Twitter) @ktompkinsii and right here on Optimus Fantasy.