Fantasy Football Week 2 FAAB Bids: Daniel Jones, Harold Fannin Jr., and More

Remember everything you knew heading into Week 1? Well, forget it all, because the season has actually started now, and we have to react as much as we project what will happen. If we knew what was going to happen, we wouldn't be here playing fantasy football; we'd be in Vegas making real money.

Instead, the best thing we can do is take in what we have seen and make decisions based on what's most likely heading forward. After just one game from each team, not everything we think we know is real: remember last season that the Patriots held the Bengals to 10 points in Week 1 and the Saints looked like the best offense in football after scoring 47 points.

Some things are based on good/bad matchups, and others happen just due to dumb luck in one football game, but it's the best we have right now, and we have to meld together what we knew before the season and the one week of information from 2025.

Let's look at players at each offensive fantasy position who are available in most leagues and can be picked up. Rather than just thinking in waiver terms, we are looking at the FAAB world, where waivers must be bid on.

I'm basing the numbers off a $100 budget. “Conservative bids” are for players you might start some weeks; “need bids” are for players you would consider every week and start at least half the time; “desperation bids” are for players who you would expect to step in and be a starter essentially every week.

Check out the FantasySP waiver tool to see the most added and dropped players and keep up with the latest trends.

Quarterback

Daniel Jones, Indianapolis Colts

Jones was THE surprise of Week 1, finishing tied for second in QB fantasy points before Monday's game and leading the Colts to points on all seven of their drives against Miami. Jones can use his legs, which is a plus, but we have six years of evidence that he is a below-average quarterback, so I'm betting that he regresses, and we will look back as the first instance of the Dolphins being terrible.

Don't count on Jones as anything more than a streamer against the best matchups.

Conservative Bid: $0

Need Bid: $1

Desperation Bid: $2-3

Aaron Rodgers, Pittsburgh Steelers

There were a handful of surprising quarterback performances, and Rodgers had one of them. He has looked below average since his last year in Green Bay in 2022, but Rodgers threw for 244 yards on 8.1 per attempt with four touchdowns and no interceptions.

Without running the football, Rodgers relies on big yardage and touchdowns with his arm. Late in his career, Rodgers isn't likely to sling the ball around every week, and without big touchdown numbers, he will settle in as a middling fantasy player. Expecting regression, Rodgers is another streaming player who should be played only with the right matchups.

Conservative Bid: $0

Need Bid: $1

Desperation Bid: $2-3

Geno Smith, Las Vegas Raiders

Vegas made three major upgrades over the offseason in Smith, running back Ashton Jeanty, and head coach Pete Carroll. In their Week 1 win over the Patriots, Smith threw for 362 yards on 10.6 per attempt with a touchdown and an interception. He won't gain over 10 yards every time he throws the ball, but there are pieces here to make this at least an average offense.

Smith is another guy likely to ebb and flow with the matchup, though, and not a QB who will be a weekly fantasy star. Smith has been a very average quarterback, and settling into that range is the most likely outcome.

Conservative Bid: $0-1

Need Bid: $2-3

Desperation Bid: $4-5

Running Back

Kenneth Gainwell, Pittsburgh Steelers

With a Pittsburgh veteran (Jaylen Warren) and a third-round rookie (Kaleb Johnson) both in the backfield, Gainwell improbably carved out a major role at the start of the season, carrying the ball seven times and catching three passes. He only gained 23 yards, but Gainwell touched the ball just three less times than Warren, while Johnson got one attempt for negative-two yards and fumbled.

The production was bad, but the volume is what matters. If Gainwell is a major part of the offense, he is worthy of a bench spot if nothing else. He probably won't turn into a major fantasy player, but a running back who gets the ball is always intriguing.

Conservative Bid: $1-3

Need Bid: $4-7

Desperation Bid: $8-11

Dylan Sampson, Cleveland Browns

Sampson led the charge for the Browns, carrying the ball 12 times (versus just six for Jerome Ford) and catching all eight of his targets. He wasn't very efficient, but Sampson's involvement is very valuable in fantasy football.

His future production might depend on another rookie, second-round pick Quinshon Judkins. Judkins finally signed his rookie contract last week and could get into the rotation as soon as Week 2, though it will likely take time to get into the full swing of things. With so much uncertainty, I'm not looking to spend big on Sampson.

If anything, I'd rather put in a bigger bid for Judkins, but he is owned in most leagues and probably not available for you. Treat Sampson as a guy who could have a few weeks of volume while maybe falling off after that.

Conservative Bid: $1-3

Need Bid: $4-5

Desperation Bid: $6-11

Wide Receiver

Kayshon Boutte, New England Patriots

It would be easy to assume that Boutte's six-catch, 103-yard game was the best of his career, but he actually had one better outing, and it was the final game of 2024, when he caught seven passes for 117 yards and a touchdown. That means Boutte's past two games have him looking like a star after otherwise topping out as middling at best.

Is it sustainable? The most likely outcome is no, and Boutte will look more like an OK depth receiver than a fantasy star. There's at least a little intrigue, though, and any owner short at receiver could do worse than adding a possible volume player for cheap. Don't overspend since we don't know if it will sustain, but Boutte has a chance to put up some numbers.

Conservative Bid: $1

Need Bid: $2-4

Desperation Bid: $5-7

Marquise Brown, Kansas City Chiefs

Brown's opportunity comes about mostly due to the injury to Xavier Worthy. Rashee Rice is suspended for five more weeks, and Worthy left Week 1 after just three plays. We don't know when he will be back, but it's likely that Worthy misses some time.

With Brown operating as the top option, he caught 10 of 16(!!!) targets for 99 yards. JuJu Smith-Schuster caught five passes for 55 yards, and no one else had more than two receptions. It wouldn't be a surprise to see Brown, a former first-round pick, operate as the clear top option until Week 7 when Rice returns.

That's a valuable fantasy receiver. He's most likely to have some good games but won't be a top fantasy player, so conserving your FAAB budgets is probably the right move unless you're truly desperate, which very few owners are at this point in the season.

Conservative Bid: $2-3

Need Bid: $4-6

Desperation Bid: $7-11

Tight End

Harold Fannin Jr., Cleveland Browns

Fannin had a very nice debut, catching seven passes for 63 yards and even taking a carry for three yards. It was easy to assume that the rookie third-round pick wouldn't get many chances because he has veteran David Njoku on the depth chart in front of him, but Cleveland is short on talent, so Fannin got his chance early and made the most of it.

The only Cleveland pass catchers who played more snaps than Fannin were Njoku and receivers Jerry Jeudy and Cedric Tillman; Fannin is likely to continue having a decent role in the offense. That leaves intrigue if you walked away from the draft without a weekly option at tight end, though there's still plenty of concern that he will be buried in the pass-catching hierarchy.

Conservative Bid: $0-1

Need Bid: $2-3

Desperation Bid: $4-6

Juwan Johnson, New Orleans Saints

With Taysom Hill out indefinitely as he recovers from a torn ACL and Foster Moreau missing at least the first four games, Johnson is left as the lone tight end of note in New Orleans. Chris Olave and Alvin Kamara are the only skill players who are definitely above him in the pecking order, making Johnson an intriguing option.

He made the most of it in Week 1, catching eight passes for 76 yards (both led the team). The Saints are likely to be one of the worst teams in the league, but someone has to gain yards, and a lesser quarterback in Spencer Rattler might rely on his tight end more.

Johnson is unlikely to move into the must-start fantasy range, but he could find a consistent role, putting up at least middling production. That makes him a usable fantasy tight end and someone you can consider in all but the worst matchups, even if he never hits big.

Conservative Bid: $1-2

Need Bid: $3-4

Desperation Bid: $5-6