Aaron Rodgers and Marquise Brown are among UPI senior sports writer Alex Butler's top fantasy football waiver wire priorities for Week 2 of the 2025 NFL season.

Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Marquise "Hollywood" Brown is my among my favorite waiver wire targets for Week 2. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI UPI Quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers will host the Seattle Seahawks in Week 2. File Photo by Archie Carpenter/UPI UPI Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford walks off the field after defeating the Houston Texans on Sunday at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif. Photo by Jon SooHoo/UPI UPI Brenton Strange of the Jacksonville Jaguars is my favorite tight end to target on waiver wires. File Photo by Joe Marino/UPI UPI New York Giants quarterback Russell Wilson can be dropped in fantasy football leagues. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI UPI Jacksonville Jaguars rookie Bhayshul Tuten (33) is among my running back waiver wire targets for Week 2. File Photo by Joe Marino/UPI UPI

MIAMI, Sept. 9 (UPI) -- Aaron Rodgers and Marquise Brown are among my top fantasy football waiver wire priorities for Week 2 of the 2025 NFL season.

Dylan Sampson, Geno Smith, Bhayshul Tuten and the Los Angeles Rams defense/special teams are among my other targets.

Check out my full list of waiver wire targets below if you need replacement options for injured starters. Injuries, breakout performances and other factors have cleared the way for several players to warrant a spot on fantasy football team benches or maybe even in starting lineups.

My waiver wire priorities each carry an ownership percentage of 60% or less.

Here are my top players to add and top players to drop for Week 1:

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ALL-ADD TEAM

QB | Aaron Rodgers, Geno Smith; RB | Dylan Sampson, Bhayshul Tuten, Trey Benson; WR |Marquise Brown, Quentin Johnston, Keenan Allen; TE | Pat Freiermuth, Brenton Strange; D/ST | Los Angeles Rams; K | Tyler Loop

HONORABLE MENTIONS

QB | Trevor Lawrence, Matthew Stafford, Michael Penix; RB | Quinshon Judkins, Ray Davis, Miles Sanders; WR | Calvin Austin III, JuJu Smith-Schuster; TE | Juwan Johnson; D/ST | Arizona Cardinals; K | Will Reichard

TOP DROPS

QB | Russell Wilson; RB | Jerome Ford, Chris Rodriguez; WR | Xavier Legette; TE | Darren Waller; D/ST | New York Jets; K | Tyler Bass

QUARTERBACK

You don't want to depend on Aaron Rodgers as your QB1 on a weekly basis, but he could contribute Top 14 production again in Week 2. The Pittsburgh Steelers veteran threw for 244 yards and four scores to open the season. This week, Rodgers and the Steelers will face a Seattle Seahawks defense that just allowed 277 yards and two scores to Brock Purdy.

I expect the Steelers to be in close games throughout their 2025 campaign and Rodgers' arm to be active in games in which they trail. Look for at least 250 yards and two scores from the veteran quarterback in his second game with the Steelers. He will be inside my Top 14.

Geno Smith is another fringe QB1 for Week 2. The NFL journeyman totaled 362 passing yards, the second-most among quarterbacks, in Week 1. Smith only threw one touchdown toss in the Las Vegas Raiders' season-opening win over the New England Patriots, but I expect multiple scoring passes in Week 2 against the Los Angeles Chargers.

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Look for the Raiders and Chargers to air it out in this matchup, with Smith eclipsing 200 passing yards and finding the end zone twice.

RUNNING BACK

This week's running back group is a little bit shaky, when it comes to immediate value, but still worth looking into for depth or lottery ticket potential.

Dylan Sampson of the Cleveland Browns is probably my top pick of the group if you need a Week 2 streamer.

Sampson looked to be the leading candidate for the most touches among Browns running backs going forward after totaling 20 in Week 1 against the Cincinnati Bengals. He amassed 93 yards from scrimmage on those touches, but 64 of those yards came from eight catches. I don't expect a ton of ground production from Sampson, but he should continue to be involved in the Browns' passing game as they are likely to trail most weeks.

Jerome Ford, who was listed as the Browns' Week 1 starter, totaled just seven touches in the loss. Rookie Quinshon Judkins is expected to soon cut into the Browns' backfield split, but Sampson deserves priority on your waiver wire due to his emergence and a potential positive game script in Week 2 against the Baltimore Ravens. The Browns will likely be forced to keep up with the Ravens' high-powered offense, potentially leading to more catches for Sampson.

Bhayshul Tuten and Trey Benson are among my favorite lottery tickets. Both players should be added to rosters because of their potential to provide RB2 value if the respective starters from their teams get injured. They also could have standalone value even if those players stay healthy, if given more opportunities.

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WIDE RECEIVER

Marquise "Hollywood" Brown is my favorite wide receiver target for Week 2. The Kansas City Chiefs playmaker opened his 2025 campaign with 10 catches for 99 yards against the Los Angeles Chargers. He could be in line for similar statistics over the next few weeks due to the absences of fellow Chiefs wide receivers Xavier Worthy and Rashee Rice.

This week, I expect a shootout when the Chiefs face the Philadelphia Eagles in a rematch of Super Bowl LIX.

Quentin Johnston and Keenan Allen were on the other end of the Chiefs-Chargers matchup in Week 1. Both Chargers pass catchers provided WR1 value in the victory, led by Johnston's two-score performance.

I don't expect many more weeks with Johnston and Allen placing within the Top 10 among wide receivers, but I wouldn't be shocked if one of them finishes inside the Top 15 again this week. Allen is probably the safer play, due to his team-high 10 targets and seven catches in the Chargers' season-opener, but both players are worth adding to rosters.

This week, the Chargers face a Las Vegas Raiders defense that just allowed 287 passing yards to Drake Maye. Herbert is more than capable of surpassing that total, increasing the value for Allen and Johnston.

TIGHT END

Pat Freiermuth and Brenton Strange are my top tight end targets this week, but are both likely touchdown-or-bust options. Freiermuth totaled three catches for 28 yards in Week 1, while Strange logged four catches for 59 yards.

Strange is a bit more intriguing, due to his heavy early usage from Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence. He will also face a Cincinnati Bengals defense that just allowed 100 yards on 10 catches to Cleveland Browns tight ends. The Jaguars' 6-foot-4 target is a fringe TE1 going forward.