2022 Fantasy Football: Early waiver wire pickups for Week 2

It's never too early to look toward your next matchup and a chance to bolster your fantasy football lineups. Here are three options to consider putting in a waiver for ahead of Week 2.

Jeff Wilson Jr., RB, San Francisco 49ers (16 percent rostered)

San Francisco pretty much played in a monsoon that ended up in a Bears victory, but starting the season off 0-1 isn't the sole reason the 49ers are probably dealing with some frustration. Elijah Mitchell — the team's starting running back known for his elite speed but unfortunately for his injury history — suffered a knee injury that knocked him out of the game.

Mitchell's direct backup, Jeff Wilson Jr., took over the backfield in his stead — well, "took over" might be too strong a description, as both Trey Lance and Deebo Samuel got their touches in the backfield, too.

The extent of Mitchell's injury is unknown as of this writing, but what is known is his aforementioned history; as you recall, Mitchell left with an injury in Week 1 last season, too.

Nonetheless, we want pieces of this San Francisco backfield and Kyle Shanahan run game. If Wilson is set to get first dibs if Mitchell misses time as the depth chart and Week 1 told us, he should be the priority pickup of Week 2.

Curtis Samuel, WR, Washington Commanders (4% rostered)

The Commanders won their first game of the season with Carson Wentz — who threw four touchdowns in the victory over the Jaguars — at quarterback and, to the pleasant surprise of, well, pretty much anyone, Wentz made good use of pretty much all of Washington's weapons.

Leading the offensive pack was Curtis Samuel, who turned in an 11-8-55-1 receiving line as well as 17 yards on the ground (he also lost a fumble). That dual-threat ability opens the eyes of all fantasy managers, but the 11 targets might even be more important.

Washington takes on Detroit in Week 2 — a Detroit secondary that just allowed A.J. Brown to erupt for 10 catches and 155 yards. Go get Samuel.

Devin Duvernay, WR, Baltimore Ravens (30% rostered)

Sure, we're all waiting for Rashod Bateman to reach his potential, but — and no pun intended — we gotta take what the defense gives us. The "defense" (aka, the field of play) showed us Devin Duvernay catching two touchdowns (Bateman caught one score too).

We know the Ravens want to elevate Bateman. We know Mark Andrews will likely remain the focal point of Lamar Jackson when he throws. But it's not like the Ravens couldn't use another pass catcher to emerge. Duvernay caught all four of his targets for 54 yards and the aforementioned two scores. As of this writing, he could just be a speculative, reactive waiver add — but with room for more.