Fantasy Football: 3 Plug-and-Play Pickups for Week 2

It's late in the week, and you're in a pinch with your fantasy football team. You want to find an injury replacement or bye-week fill-in who you feel good about, right? Well, sometimes the answer to your problem is sitting out there on the waiver wire.

If you need to make a plug-and-play pickup late in the week or are playing some large-field NFL DFS tournaments on FanDuel and need to unearth an overlooked gem, this article can help you out.

Here are some readily available players who can give you some production this week.

We'll reference our fantasy football projections. All NFL odds come from FanDuel Sportsbook, and lines may change after this article is published.

Fantasy Football: Plug-and-Play Pickups for Week 2

Jaleel McLaughlin, RB, Denver Broncos

Yahoo! Roster Percentage: 36% | FanDuel Salary: $5,200

Jaleel McLaughlin played only 36.2% of snaps in Week 1, but the Denver Broncos made it clear they want the ball in his hands when he's on the field. McLaughlin tied for 20th among running backs with 20 adjusted opportunities (carries plus 2x targets) and was sixth among backs that saw double-digit touches in rate of opportunities per snap (60%).

He finished with 10 carries for 27 yards, adding just 1 receiving yard on 5 receptions.

The end result was only 5.3 half-PPR fantasy points, but he underperformed relative to his opportunities. According to PFF's expected fantasy points model, McLaughlin had the fourth-biggest difference between actual and expected fantasy points (-4.0) among running backs.

With third-string running back Audric Estime hitting injured reserve, McLaughlin is the clear change-of-pace behind Javonte Williams. That's not a bad role to have when you're a pass-catching back on a Sean Payton offense.

This week, McLaughlin has a tough matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers. There's likely not a ton of upside given Denver's 17-point implied total, but McLaughlin could PPR his way to a viable fantasy outing. The Steelers allowed the 12th-highest in running back target share (20.8%) in 2023 and gave up a 20.8% running back target share again in Week 1.

Our fantasy football projections project him for 48.1 total yards and 7.3 fantasy points.

Wan'Dale Robinson, WR, New York Giants

Yahoo! Roster Percentage: 16% | FanDuel Salary: $5,400

Wan'Dale Robinson led the New York Giants with 6 receptions and a 31.6% target share last week, and while that only culminated in 8.8 fantasy points, that utilization bodes well for him in a better matchup this week.

Sure, a 4.8-yard average depth of target (aDOT) limited him to 44 yards despite the 12 targets, but he still saw 2 downfield targets and was targeted in the red zone three times.

Robinson underperformed relative to his expected fantasy output, too. According to PFF, Robinson scored 5.7 fewer half-PPR points than expected.

That could correct itself this week against the Washington Commanders. Washington entered the year with PFF's 30th-ranked secondary, and they were pummeled for 289 yards and 4 touchdowns through the air in Week 1. They surrendered the highest passing success rate (69.7%) and allowed two different receivers to finish as top-12 fantasy finishers.

That sets Robinson up for a nice showing, especially in scoring formats that award a full point per reception.

In half-PPR, we project him for 7.8 fantasy points thanks to 4.2 receptions and 38.6 yards.

His receptions prop is set at 4.5 with +112 odds toward the over on FanDuel Sportsbook.

Zach Ertz, TE, Washington Commanders

Yahoo! Roster Percentage: 7% | FanDuel Salary: $4,800

If you're hurting at tight end this week, you could do a lot worse than Zach Ertz on the other side of this Giants-Commanders matchup.

The veteran was the clear No. 1 tight end for the Commanders in Week 1, playing 69.6% of snaps while running a route on 80.8% of drop backs. Though Ertz caught only 3 of 4 targets, he tied for the team lead in target share (16.7%) and was second in air yard share (22.5%).

But we could see Washington's Jayden Daniels air it out more this week with the Giants in town. New York allowed the ninth-highest passing success rate (51.9%) in Week 1, and they surrendered the eighth-highest tight end target share (21.7%).

We project Ertz for 5.1 fantasy points via 2.8 receptions and 25.1 yards.

His receiving yards prop is set at 22.5 on FanDuel Sportsbook.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.