Week 2 Fantasy Football Wide Receiver Waiver Adds: Marquise Brown, Cedric Tillman and More

Just like that, the first weekend of fantasy football action is in the books. As always, the first Sunday of the season shattered plenty of our preconceived notions, although some things will clearly never change (Arthur Smith and confounding usage). 

It is now time to turn our attention to the most important waiver wire run of the entire season, as we scoop up the players who went overlooked in draft season. With that said, this year's Week 2 waiver wire is surprisingly dry. There's not always going to be a “this year's Puka Nacua,” but there is usually at least one no-brainer must-add. I don't see that player this year. With that said, there are still plenty of names to consider, so let's get started with taking a look at the top wide receivers available.

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Marquise Brown, Kansas City Chiefs (35.6% Rostered)

Rashee Rice was already suspended for the first six weeks of the season, and now Xavier Worthy is set to miss an indeterminate amount of time with a shoulder injury. Just like that, the man they call “Hollywood” is the WR1 for the Kansas City Chiefs.

Brown racked up 14 targets on Friday for an absurd 36% target share, catching 10 for 99 yards. He also posted an elite 94% route participation rate, the only KC receiver to be above 70%. He is a must-add in all formats and will be a weekly WR3 option, at least, while Rice and Worthy remain sidelined. 

Cedric Tillman, Cleveland Browns (35% Rostered)

Really, we shouldn't be surprised that Tillman put up a solid outing in Week 1, catching five of eight targets for 52 yards and a score. For one, the Bengals' defense is notoriously terrible. We also know that the combination of Joe Flacco and Kevin Stefanski is a recipe for high passing volume. And Tillman has absolutely no competition to be the team's WR2 behind Jerry Jeudy (his 92% route participation rate was over 60% clear of WR3 Jamari Thrash).

But even beyond all that, this is simply Tillman picking up where he left off. Tillman played four full games after the Amari Cooper trade before suffering a season-ending concussion. In those contests, he averaged 15.6 half-PPR points per game on a 21% target share (9.8 targets per game) and a 32% air yards share. In fact, he was arguably the Browns' WR1, as all of those numbers easily outpaced Jeudy over the same sample. The Browns' passing attack will be fun for fantasy as long as Flacco is under center, making Tillman a high-priority add. 

Quentin Johnston, Los Angeles Chargers (9% Rostered)

Could his big game in Brazil be the start of a third-year breakout for the former first-round pick? Stranger things have definitely happened. Johnston more than doubled his yards per route run from year one to year two, jumping from 0.88 to 1.77. In Week 1, he took another step forward with a 2.19 mark, catching five of his seven targets for 79 yards and two touchdowns. 

The peripheral stats were encouraging, too: Johnston posted an 88% route participation rate, 10% ahead of Keenan Allen for second behind Ladd McConkey. The Chargers don't have much to write home about in terms of receiving TEs, and Greg Roman offenses usually don't target their backs much. That means there is potentially room for all three of these receivers, QJ included, to have fantasy value.

Elic Ayomanor, Tennessee Titans (11.2% Rostered)

Ayomanor's Week 1 stat line wasn't as flashy as most of the names in this article. He caught only two passes for 13 yards for a measly 2.3 half-PPR points. However, it's always worth noting when a rookie sees usage in their NFL debut, and that's what Ayomanor did. He ranked second among Titans WRs with a 74% route participation rate and saw seven targets (one fewer than team leader Calvin Ridley) for a 25% share. 

Those targets also came on a massive 18.4-yard ADOT, so Ayomanor's 48.5% air yards share ranked 10th among WRs for the entire league. He'll obviously have to start connecting on more of those deep shots to be a fantasy starter, but if we can bet on anyone's efficiency to improve as the season goes on, it's a rookie WR with a rookie QB. If you're looking for more of a stash than an instant starter, the fourth-rounder out of Stanford is a name to know. 

Wan'Dale Robinson, New York Giants (25.7% Rostered)

Wan'Dale is essentially the opposite of Ayomanor. There's no massive upside here. He's not a rookie, and his ADOT is consistently one of the lowest among high-volume WRs. But if you're looking for a plug-and-play starter in deep PPR leagues, you could do a lot worse than the shifty slot receiver. 

In 2024, Robinson finished as the PPR WR24 (WR41 in half-PPR). He ranked 19th among receivers with 7.8 targets per game, but made the least of those targets with a tiny 5.0-yard ADOT. He picked up where he left off in Week 1, commanding eight targets (a 14.7% share) on a somehow even more miniscule 3.5-yard ADOT. Still, in PPR formats, his six catches for 55 yards were good for a respectable 11.5 points. That's pretty much what we can expect from him going forward.

Kayshon Boutte, New England Patriots (2% Rostered)

Once a highly-touted prospect, Boutte eventually fell to the sixth round of the 2023 NFL Draft. His first two seasons were unimpressive, as he failed to make much of an impact even in a talent-starved Patriots receiver room. However, he generated positive headlines during camp this offseason.

Through one week, that hype seems to be paying off. Boutte led all Patriots receivers in routes, albeit still only posting a just-okay 76% participation rate. He also led the team in targets (eight), catches (six), and yards (103). He's worth adding in deeper formats in case he really has turned a corner.

Calvin Austin III, Pittsburgh Steelers (4.4% Rostered)

A 2022 fourth-round pick, Austin was the Steelers' clear WR2 behind DK Metcalf on Sunday. He ran 25 routes on 34 Aaron Rodgers dropbacks for a 74% participation rate — no other non-Metcalf WR was above even 18% (Roman Wilson). 

Austin was targeted six times on those routes, catching four for 70 yards and a touchdown. In general, the Steelers' passing offense was shockingly effective, as Rodgers lit up a solid Jets defense to the tune of 244 yards and four touchdowns. If that efficiency lasts, Austin could be fantasy-relevant as Pittsburgh's WR2 … although I wouldn't necessarily count on it. 

Ted Chmyz is a fantasy football contributor for FantasySP. Find him on Twitter and Bluesky @Tchmyz for more fantasy content or to ask questions.