Week 2 Fantasy Football Mailbag: Should We Be Concerned About Colston Loveland or Jaylen Waddle?
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Following the first week of the 2026 NFL season, there’s some information and metrics to go off of when making fantasy football decisions. On the other hand, calm minds will prevail, and we shouldn’t overreact to certain things or completely ignore other developments entering Week 2.
For this week’s installment of our fantasy football mailbag, I’ll be picking some questions I’ve received or seen on social media. Let’s get right to it!
Note: Feel free to reach out to me on Twitter to potentially have your fantasy football questions answered in future articles.
All stats used in this article are from PFF or Sumer Sports unless stated otherwise. Fantasy rankings and fantasy point totals are courtesy of FantasyPros.
Should There Be Any Concern for Colston Loveland and/or Jaylen Waddle?
There were a handful of marquee players who had disappointing fantasy football performances in Week 1, including Colston Loveland and Jaylen Waddle. Loveland produced a goose egg in the fantasy points department despite the Chicago Bears scoring 59 points, and Waddle tallied only 1.2 fantasy points in full-PPR formats in his debut for the Denver Broncos.
Beginning with Loveland, there is zero panic for the talented second-year tight end. Along with playing the most passing-down snaps (38) among the Bears’ skill players, Loveland also had a healthy 89.5% route rate with the second-most slot snaps (13) in the offense.
Week 1 route rate leaders at TE:
— Jacob Gibbs (@jagibbs_23) September 14, 2026
90% - Colston Loveland
88% - Tyler Warren
87% - Trey McBride
86% - Cade Otton
83% - Sam LaPorta
82% - Juwan Johnson
81% - Kyle Pitts
79% - Mark Andrews
79% - Dallas Goedert
77% - Michael Mayer
77% - Harold Fannin Jr.
Sharp fantasy football players won’t be selling low on Loveland already, but it’s still worth sending some trade offers to your leaguemate who has the Bears’ pass-catching tight end in hopes of buying low after his quiet outing in Week 1. Call me crazy, but I don’t believe Kalif Raymond is going to lead Chicago in receiving this season.
On the other hand, the panic meter is sitting at a mild 1 out of 10 for Waddle entering Week 2. Even though Waddle caught just one of his three targets for two yards against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 1, he logged the second-most passing-down snaps (29) with a 93.1% route rate and a team-high 19 slot snaps.
The only reason there is any concern for Waddle is the fact that quarterback Bo Nix looked shaky in his first game back from a season-ending ankle injury. Among the 32 starting quarterbacks in Week 1, Nix was 31st in adjusted EPA/play (-0.46), 28th in completion percentage over expected (CPOE; 7.8%), and 32nd in air yards per attempt (3.9), per rbsdm.com.
Broncos Week 1 WR Utilization:
— Dwain McFarland (@dwainmcfarland) September 15, 2026
Waddle: The WR2; bad games happen in 1-week samples, y'all
Sutton: See Waddle above
Bryant: The WR3; Highest target share (24%) and could push for more work as the season goes pic.twitter.com/zw2sTiM4Kr
That being said, I still have confidence in Sean Payton figuring out ways to get Waddle more involved in the offense moving forward. Similar to Loveland, it’s unlikely you can buy-low on Waddle this early in the new campaign, but it’s worth sending out any feelers to whoever rosters him.
Is Brock Bowers Worth Starting if He’s Active?
People who used an early-round pick on Brock Bowers took a hit ahead of Week 1, with the standout tight end undergoing a meniscus trim, which forced him to miss at least one game. The early reports suggest there’s a chance Bowers returns in Week 2, but it remains to be seen if that’s true and how he looks after his knee procedure.
After undergoing a meniscus trim Tuesday, the Raiders believe there’s a realistic chance Brock Bowers will miss only one game and return for Week 2 at the Los Angeles Chargers, per sources. Team will see how he’s feeling this week, but a potential return next week is within the… pic.twitter.com/YYADYQ7AN1
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 13, 2026
Considering that the Las Vegas Raiders aren’t a team that is desperate to win now, you’d think they wouldn’t put Bowers back on the field until he’s fully ready to play. So, if Bowers is active in Week 2, I’d be willing to start him in lineups unless you have another TE1 option available.
There is undoubtedly long-term concern for Bowers now, lowering his value in dynasty leagues. However, after using a premier pick on Bowers in fantasy football, the upside he brings at anything close to 100% healthy dwarfs the ceiling of most options at tight end.
If Bowers remains sidelined, Michael Mayer should be started comfortably against the Los Angeles Chargers.
Can Jalen Coker Be Trusted As A Weekly Starter?
Jalen Coker was one of the standout fantasy football performers in Week 1, exploding for 33.8 fantasy points en route to being the WR1 on the week. After his notable outing to begin the year, many are wondering if Coker is someone to trust in our starting lineups moving forward.
The role was fantastic for Coker in the Carolina Panthers’ season opener, as he led the team in passing-down snaps (42) and slot snaps (17), and he had a 95.2% route rate. Additionally, Coker had the 17th-highest target share (26.5%) and 12th-most yards per route run (3.45) among wideouts with 10-plus routes run in Week 1.
Since the end of last season, the gap between Coker and Tetairoa McMillan is not as wide as many believe. While McMillan is certainly going to be the primary target in other weeks, Coker has the talent to earn volume in Dave Canales’ offense.
Receptions across the last eight games, including playoffs: Jalen Coker 39, Tetairoa McMillan 26.
— Adam Levitan (@adamlevitan) September 14, 2026
pic.twitter.com/IoeXl9licv
With the Panthers being a team that will be underdogs in plenty of games, Coker can be trusted as a WR2 or flex option in favorable matchups. At the same time, I wouldn’t blame anyone for selling high on Coker if any leaguemates are willing to offer a player at a premium position in a better offensive environment due to Bryce Young being a volatile quarterback.
Hopefully everyone experiences plenty of success in Week 2!
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Skyler Carlin is an experienced sports writer and editor with nearly a decade of experience covering the NFL, NBA, MLB, college football, college basketball, and soccer for FanDuel Research and USA Today. Outside of writing, he enjoys cooking, watching movies, and playing video games.
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