CFB Waiver Wire: Players to Pick Up Week 2

Welcome to this year's first installment of the waiver wire watch. Throughout the college football season, I'll pick two guys from every active conference who either caught my eye in the previous week or who have a favorable match-up in the near future. As always, I'll get to any questions or comments you have in the comments section below.

Slate Background: Hard to follow up that absolutely loaded season-opening slate, but here we are. We have four games on Friday headlined by Kansas at Coastal Carolina, hello Chanticleers who should light up their teal turf with fantasy points! UTEP at Boise State will also be an interesting one for fantasy purposes. On Saturday, we're treated to Oregon at Ohio State, Iowa at Iowa State and Texas at Arkansas to name a few. It was very interesting to see some FCS schools knock off FBS squads in the first week which could only help fantasy as that means starters will stay in games longer if that trend continues.

*Fantasy Points referenced in article are DK format.
**To qualify for recommendations, players must be owned in less than 50 percent of Fantrax Leagues

AAC

Tanner Mordecai, QB, SMU

Mordecai beat out freshman Preston Stone for the starting job and didn't turn back as he threw for 317 yards and seven touchdowns in his Mustangs debut. I fully expect this kind of production to continue as the SMU offense is nuts and Mordecai was previously the back-up at Oklahoma, so he definitely has the talent to string together some impressive performances. Moreover, SMU has North Texas and Louisiana Tech in the next two weeks, the sky is the limit for SMU's new signal-caller. He's rostered in 48 percent of leagues and available for many.

Brandon Thomas, RB, Memphis

Thomas was named the Tigers' starting running back for their season opener against Nicholls. While all of their backs saw some work in that game, Thomas held his own with 147 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries (9.2 yards per carry) which makes him worth being owned in most leagues. Memphis' offense is just too good and their running backs have a history of being important pieces for fantasy owners. Thomas is available in 90 percent of leagues.

ACC

Mataeo Durant, RB, Duke

Durant should have been rostered in more leagues prior to the season than 35 percent of leagues, but I guess it is Duke who allowed Charlotte to get their first-ever win against a Power-5 team. The shifty back made this list on multiple occasions last season as he eclipsed 20 DK points in five of the Blue Devils' final seven games. That's back when he was receiving just 10-15 touches per game. If he's going to get 31 touches like he did against Charlotte, he could have a monster year.

Emeka Emezie, WR, NC State

I'm on board with many members of the Wolfpack for their upcoming game at Mississippi State as the Bulldogs just gave up 34 points to Louisiana Tech. QB Devin Leary (12 percent rostered) and RB Ricky Person (seven percent rostered) are other possible waiver wire adds, but I like Emezie (21 percent rostered) the most because of the potential for this game to be a shoot-out. Mississippi State will want the pace to be fast and Emezie was the top target in NC State's first game against USF where they didn't really need to throw the ball. 

BIG 12

Mario Williams, WR, Oklahoma

In a wild game against Tulane, Williams was active in his collegiate debut with a team-high eight targets. He also snagged QB Spencer Rattler's only passing score and could develop an intriguing role in one of the nation's best offenses. He's rostered in just 21 percent of leagues and will have another chance to shine against Western Carolina as no other Sooner receivers have impressed outside of lead guy Marvin Mims. While it's very possible that Rattler and the starters do not play the entire game on Saturday, I could see them focusing on Rattler's passing production in the first half, so that he can maintain his Heisman candidacy after throwing a couple of picks in the season-opener.

Hudson Card, QB, Texas

Card was fantastic in his debut while completing 66.7 percent of his passes for 224 yards and two touchdowns while adding a rushing score in a little over two quarters of play. More importantly, it appears that Texas is happy with their starting quarterback as they easily dismantled a good Louisiana squad on the offensive end. Although back-up Casey Thompson did play in the second half of their first game, Card looked like he's more than prepared for this stage which makes him an attractive fantasy asset for the rest of the season. He's rostered in just 29 percent of leagues, so go get him as I anticipate a fun game against Arkansas.

BIG TEN

Kenneth Walker, RB, Michigan State

With one Big Ten workhorse in Minnesota's Mohamed Ibrahim going down with a significant injury, here pops up another workhorse as Walker was downright dominant against Northwestern this past week. He garnered 23 of the team's 27 carries and rumbled for 264 yards and four touchdowns for 53.4 DK points. If you are an unfortunate manager of Ibrahim, maybe you can nab Walker as he's available in 72 percent of leagues. I can almost guarantee that he will not qualify for this article for the rest of the season, so grab him while you can.

Payne Durham, TE, Purdue

Durham was the top-performing tight end in the first week while reeling in all seven of his targets for 120 yards and two touchdowns against Oregon State. He's rostered in just nine percent of leagues and appears he will be a significant threat in the Boilermakers passing game which includes superstar receiver David Bell. There's likely a ton of targets to go around as Bell had 12 and Jackson Anthrop had nine against Oregon State and yet Durham was still able to make a huge impact in the season-opener with his seven grabs.

C-USA

Chris Reynolds, QB, Charlotte

Congratulations to the 49ers for knocking off Duke and notching their first-ever win against a power-five program. Reynolds was able to take this program to those new heights after racking up 324 yards through the air and four total touchdowns. He's not likely to slow down against Gardner-Webb this next week and is rostered in just 20 percent of leagues. His talented receiver, Victor Tucker, is also available in 30 percent of leagues if you want to stack the two.

Rasheen Ali, RB, Marshall

The fantasy game is all about touchdowns and that's why Ali should be your guy as he racked up four touchdowns in the season opener as a co-starter alongside Sheldon Evans. Ali received 14 carries and rushed for just 59 yards, but was the team's obvious choice around the goal-line. Meanwhile, Evans rushed nine times for 27 yards and two touchdowns at Navy. The Thundering Hurd will be a great team in 2021 and should have no problem pouring on the points against North Carolina Central and East Carolina over the next two weeks. The best part is that he's owned in just one percent of leagues.

MAC

JaCorey Sullivan, WR, Central Michigan

The Chippewas were impressive this past weekend as they stuck around with Missouri for most of the game and Sullivan was a big reason why. He developed some early chemistry with QB Jacob Sirmon on his way to eight catches for 102 yards and two touchdowns. Kalil Pimpleton is considered the number one receiver, however, received just 11 targets compared to Sullivan's 13 targets on the day. Anytime someone gets double-digit targets with multiple scores and are rostered in just one percent of leagues, they're going to get consideration for this article. Plus, they play Robert Morris this next week and should put some points on the scoreboard.

Jerome Buckner, WR, Ohio

Most of the MAC teams have tough match-ups with Power Five schools, so I'll stick with the Bobcats who have Duquesne who couldn't even play full 15-minute quarters against TCU in the second half this past week (they agreed to 12-minute quarters due to depth issues). While it's a slight concern if that happens again, Ohio is not nearly as good as TCU. Buckner was a pleasant surprise for Ohio while turning a team-high nine targets in to seven catches for 102 yards. He's one of my dart throws as he is rostered in zero percent of leagues. If he hits, he'll be a huge add for when MACtion begins.

MWC

Charles Williams & Kyle Williams, RB & WR, UNLV

The Williams teammates dominated the Rebels' production in their first game against Eastern Washington. Charles (42% roster percentage) went for 34.1 DK points and Kyle (nine percent rostered) garnered 50 percent of the targets with 11 which were converted to six catches for 87 yards. They have no shot against Arizona State this week, however, I think the volume will make them both worth it on your fantasy team. They could also be interesting plays when the conference season begins.

Terry Wilson, QB, New Mexico

Wilson is a familiar name in the fantasy community as he was a known dual-threat quarterback at Kentucky from 2018 through 2020. He showed off his arm in his Lobos debut with three touchdowns against Houston Baptist to go along with 49 rushing yards. I like him for a spot start against a bad New Mexico State defense in Week 2 as he's rostered in just seven percent of leagues. Please note that he does play at Texas A&M the following week which would not be advised for fantasy purposes.

PAC-12

DeaMonte Trayanum, RB, Arizona State

Both Trayanum and teammate Rachaad White scored a pair of touchdowns in the season opener, suggesting that the team will utilize a committee approach. That may change against stiffer competition, but that's not going to be the case this week when they take on UNLV. With that in mind, I'm completely comfortable recommending the talented Trayanum who is owned in just 29 percent of leagues at the moment. Arizona State should have a great offense on the season which means they could have two running backs who are useful for fantasy purposes.

Trevon Bradford, WR, Oregon State

Despite some uninspiring quarterback play from both Sam Noyer and Chance Nolan, Bradford was the clear-cut number one target with five grabs for 75 yards on nine targets. I love his upcoming match-up against Hawaii and I have a good feeling that the Beavers are going to need to chuck the ball in most of their contests, no matter who is playing quarterback. That means that Bradford should be rostered in more than three percent of leagues as a true number one receiver.

SEC

Will Levis, QB, Kentucky

Levis passed the test against Louisiana-Monroe's awful defense with 367 yards and four touchdowns. Two of those scores went to fellow transfer Wan'Dale Robinson who provides the team with an entirely different dynamic than they've had in the past. Robinson and Josh Ali can take the top off a defense while running back Chris Rodriguez handles the ground game with great efficiency. There's a chance that this is all too good to be true due to how bad Louisiana-Monroe is, but we'll learn a bit more when the Wildcats play Missouri this week. 

ZaQuandre White, RB, South Carolina

With presumed starter Kevin Harris coming back from a back injury and missing the Eastern Illinois game with an illness, it was White's chance to shine. He did just that while racking up 35.7 DK points on just 16 total touches. He was great in the run game while averaging 10.7 yards per carry on 16 totes with a score and was solid in the passing game with four catches for 39 yards with another touchdown. Until we see that Harris is healthy and ready to take the job back, I think you have to consider White against East Carolina as he has just one percent rostered in leagues and has huge upside if he finds a significant role on this team.

SUN BELT

Shermari Jones, RB, Coastal Carolina

It was intriguing to see Jones score the first rushing touchdown for the Chanticleers with teammate Reese White adding his two rushing touchdowns in the second quarter. Jones would also score two touchdowns with another in the third quarter to go along with his 100-yard rushing performance on just nine carries. That signaled to me that Coastal Carolina will utilize both backs and considering how good this team is, I think they both have fantasy value. It's very likely that they both rack up touchdowns against Kansas on a Friday Night tilt on national television. Jones is owned in just one percent of leagues while White is rostered in 60 percent of leagues.

Jake Bentley, QB, South Alabama

Bentley won the job over Desmond Trotter and has an absolute stud receiver in Jalen Tolbert. There's no reason he should be available in 80 percent of leagues as he will put up production in a softer Sun Belt conference long-term and he gets to go up against Bowling Green this upcoming weekend who won't provide much defensive opposition on the upcoming slate. He and Tolbert already started balling out against Southern Miss in the first week while connecting five times for 168 yards.

INDEPENDENTS

Neil Pau'u, WR, BYU

Pau'u was already receiving rave reviews out of fall camp and he delivered in the Cougars first game with eight catches for 126 yards and two touchdowns. He'savailable in almost every league and is realistically BYU's top receiver as Gunner Romney (12 percent rostered) exited the game against Arizona with a knee injury and was seen on crutches prior to halftime. It's not like Pau'u is new for BYU either as he did log 45 catches for 603 yards and four touchdowns on 56 targets during the 2020 season. I think he's a smart add as BYU will be competitive in most of their match-ups.

DEFENSE RECOMMENDATIONS

Purdue (vs. Connecticut) - The Boilermakers defense didn't look great against Oregon State, but UConn's offense shouldn't be able to stick with any Big 10 team. Purdue's defense is rostered in zero percent of leagues.

Boston College (at Massachusetts) - Bonus play looking ahead here as the Eagles have lowly UMass and then follow that up with Temple the following week who gave up five turnovers and a score to Rutgers in the season-opener. Just 12 percent rostered.

Florida (vs. South Florida) - South Florida could only muster 271 total yards against NC State and coughed up three turnovers. I'm guessing Florida can do even more damage to this team with SEC talent.

SUMMARY & TOP RECOMMENDATIONS

Utilizing the two players for each conference above, here are my top recommendations for the week by position:

QB: SMU Tanner Mordecai, Texas Hudson Card, Charlotte Chris Reynolds

RB: Michigan State Kenneth Walker, Duke Mataeo Durant, Memphis Brandon Thomas

WR: BYU Neil Pau'u, NC State Emeka Emezie, Oregon State Trevon Bradford

TE: Purdue Payne Durham

D/ST: Boston College (at Massachusetts), Florida (vs. South Florida), Purdue (vs. Connecticut)