There seem to be two extreme points of view most people follow when negotiating the fantasy football waiver wire.
There are the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” folks, who hoard their waiver priority or FAAB dollars for something big, then there are those who routinely swap out players from their bench, creating a revolving door of hopefuls and short-term disappointments rarely to be used in starting lineups.
Your stance should always be based on both team needs and available players, but even if your team doesn’t need a player, you should always look to make improvements.
The wide receivers you have on your bench should be a mix of both high-floor, steady players you can move in and out of your lineup depending on matchups and bye weeks; and high-upside hopefuls you are expecting to break out.
Someone like Tyler Boyd fits the first profile, and a rookie like Jalin Hyatt satisfies the second. But sometimes we find players who merge the two criteria, and those are who we should target.
We may not like the Texans, and this is clearly a team that is going to lose a lot of games as rookie C.J. Stroud learns the ropes, but Nico Collins has shined bright enough through the first two weeks to warrant a spot on your roster.
The third-year wideout has seen 20 targets in two games, caught six balls for 80 yards in Week 1, and followed that up with seven catches for 146 yards and a touchdown.
He’s played the second-most snaps among the Texans receivers, and he leads the team in targets.
It actually helps that the team is bad because it forces it to throw the ball more in the second half, so make that move if you have someone who isn’t seeing a strong target-share on their team.
Collins is still available in nearly 40 percent of leagues on ESPN and Yahoo.
You may also want to check out Lions wide receiver Josh Reynolds, who is rostered in just 12 percent of leagues on Yahoo and fewer than 5 percent on ESPN.
With Jameson Williams suspended through Week 6 and Amon-Ra St. Brown drawing the heavy coverage, Reynolds has been solid through two weeks — totaling nine catches on 13 targets for 146 yards and two touchdowns.
Both scores came in Week 2, which means the price tag is going to be high this week, but locking him in now and reaping the benefits for at least the next month is going to be helpful, especially with the bye weeks coming soon.
Betting on the NFL?
If you are making waiver moves this week, be specific and have a purpose.
Do not just chase last week’s points.
Examine the player’s situation and potential opportunity.
If it profiles as more than a one-week wonder, investigate further and add.
Howard Bender is the head of content at FantasyAlarm.com. Follow him on X @rotobuzzguy and catch him on the award-winning “Fantasy Alarm Radio Show” on the SiriusXM fantasy sports channel weekdays from 6-8 p.m. Go to Fantasy-Alarm.com for all your fantasy football advice.
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