The Ticker, Week 3: 2 episodes is long enough, it’s time to look at the waiver wire

It's the same in fantasy. In Week 1, things happen. Frank Gore looked bad. Matt Ryan looked tremendous. But deciding on one "episode" of football is just too fast. Too much is going on. My motto is two weeks, two games. Two episodes. If it isn't an enjoyable experience by then, it isn't likely to be.

I wasn't sure about Jones in Oakland after Week 1 when, despite a touchdown, he only had three receptions and 34 yards. I wasn't at all convinced Derek Carr was a good enough quarterback to get his receivers the ball, and with Jones, Denarius Moore, Rod Streater and Andre Holmes there to catch balls in Oakland, I wasn't sure Jones would get enough of whatever Carr did offer. Sunday shut those concerns down, though, as Jones was targeted 14 times, caught nine of them and went for 112 yards and a touchdown. With none of the team's other receivers coming even close to any of those numbers, Jones is the Oakland guy to own, and at this point he's a perfectly viable fantasy play.

Geno Smith

Smith's odd season a year ago was well chronicled. He had five games of 20-plus fantasy points, seven in the single digits (including two in the negative) and only four games between 10 and 20. It was wildly inconsistent, but his highs were as high as some every-week fantasy starters. So far this season, it's been the exact opposite for Smith, who has put up 11 and 17 points in two weeks. Still, he ran for 38 yards in Week 1 before going for 26 and a touchdown Sunday; he ran for 366 and six scores last year. The rushing isn't as big a part of Smith's game as it has been for, say, Cam Newton or Michael Vick, but it's definitely there, and the ability to add a handful of fantasy points through the rush always helps a quarterback's value.

Niles Paul

There are three versions of Niles Paul to consider. The first is the guy from a couple weeks ago, who was the backup behind fantasy-draft darling Jordan Reed, and as such was basically irrelevant. Then there was the Paul who came in to replace Reed in Week 1 and put up 86 yards, yeah, but did it on only four targets for a team that had Pierre Garcon and DeSean Jackson. He was interesting if you were in a bind, but that was it. But now there's this version of Paul, who followed up that Week 1 with eight catches, 11 targets, 99 yards and a touchdown. This is a tight end who is relevant, especially with Jackson out for some amount of time. Paul is close to a starting tight end, and he'll be some level of relevant even when Reed is back and healthy.

Owen Daniels, TE, BAL (12 percent)

It's possible I'm just a disgruntled Dennis Pitta owner here, and I'll admit that. But Daniels, despite his two touchdowns Thursday, has 11 targets through two games, while Pitta has 18. And Pitta, despite seven fewer targets than Steve Smith Sr. so far, has the exact same number of receptions. It's just a matter of time for Pitta to break out. He'll be fine. Daniels, meanwhile, likely just had the best game as a Raven he'll ever have. (Also, with that ticker symbol, there's an "ODN's Raven" joke just begging to be made, and I can't quite find it.)

Mohamed Sanu, WR, CIN (8 percent)

With Marvin Jones sidelined so far this season, Tyler Eifert hurt in Week 1 and A.J. Green hurt last week, things have shaped up perfectly for Sanu to be really successful. And his "really successful" included 84 yards and a touchdown Sunday, which was nice, but as the Bengals' only real option Sunday, dude was still targeted only four times. Assuming Green misses Sunday, Sanu will have a small opportunity, but both Green and Jones appear likely to return after the team's Week 4 bye. Sanu's value, meager as it is, also comes with a definite expiration date.

Stop it. Seriously. It's Kirk freaking Cousins. If he was going to be good filling in for Robert Griffin III, he'd have done it by now, but, even after two touchdowns against no interceptions Sunday, he has a 10:10 TD:INT career ratio. He looked awful against the bad defenses of the Cowboys and Giants last year, and I'm always hesitant to ascribe great meaning to the games when a quarterback has to enter in an emergency and looks good -- the Jaguars prepared for Griffin Sunday, and Griffin and Cousins could scarcely be more different. Jacksonville has a hard enough time prepping for one quarterback, let alone two. Don't bother with Cousins.

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In my preseason ranks, I had Bush just barely ahead of Joique Bell, which was closer than most had them. Even at that, it's pretty clear I was wrong, as Bell is getting far more usage and offering far more value for his fantasy owners through two games. He's gotten 10 more rushing chances and been targeted three more times in the passing game. Bush will almost certainly have a moment or two this season, but if he's been slotted in as your RB2, you could do better.

Josh Gordon, WR, CLE (66 percent)

I run the War Room chat twice a week, and all Monday night I was getting roster questions about people who desperately needed to add a running back or what have you to replace an injured player, only they couldn't figure out who to drop because they had a lot of relevant guys. And inevitably, these guys would have Gordon on their roster. Look, I had Gordon last year, and I loved it. Assuming he's back in Week 12, that could be good times. But there is a lot happening between now and then. Heck, he hasn't even faced discipline for his alleged DWI yet, and that could affect his return, to say nothing of him staying obedient in the meantime. If you can stash Gordon, great, but if you need a roster spot in any way, he's the guy you drop, and you don't think twice.

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Marques Colston, WR, NO (94 percent)

Look, I can't explain what happened Sunday. Game plans change, things happen, but not only did Colston have no catches, he didn't even have any targets in a game where Drew Brees threw the ball 40 times. Colston had 110 yards only a week ago, and while it did end with a fumble, there's no real reason to think the Saints are out on him to this extent. Notice that no one other than Jimmy Graham had even four catches for the Saints Sunday. And next week, they get a home game (and a dome game). Colston will be fine.

When Maurice Jones-Drew was ruled out of Sunday's game, Murray started looking like a viable fantasy option. That was pretty clearly premature, as Oakland rode Darren McFadden against the Texans, giving only one rush to Murray. Still with the already injured Jones-Drew and the could-get-hurt-at-any-moment McFadden as the guys in front of him, there's every chance Murray could see more usage as the season goes on.

David Nelson, WR, NYJ (0 percent)

Nelson had a couple of brief moments last year, when the Jets' skill players were a bunch of injured nothingness. With Eric Decker in the fold and Jeremy Kerley apparently healthy, Nelson had to take a backseat. But now, Decker is banged up, and if he misses time, Nelson could be an interesting play, especially in PPR league -- when he was a real option in the Jets' passing game last year, he was heavily targeted, including a 12-target, eight-catch game in Week 8. This is a deep-league option, but if Decker's out, Nelson is intriguing.

Lorenzo Taliaferro, RB, BAL (2 percent)

Ray Rice is gone. Justin Forsett is a journeyman who nobody has ever envisioned as a starting running back. Bernard Pierce is ... well, not very good. Taliaferro might not profile as anything special, but he's no less special than his competitors. As Baltimore works on its running game, and realizes the backs who are doing the job so far aren't great, expect Taliaferro to take on an increased role in the offense, if only to offer a different sort of look.

Jordan Todman, RB, JAC (1 percent)