Waiver Wire Targets – Fantasy Football Week 1 Analysis

Waiver Wire Targets Week 2 – Fantasy Football Week 1 Fallout

The week 1 waiver wire is upon us.  Let me start with this – don’t overreact.  Is anyone out there thinking about dropping Ja’Marr Chase because he had a stinker against Cleveland this weekend?  No, of course not.  So if you drafted someone you have faith in somewhere in the middle or late rounds, don’t give up on them after one bad game.  That said, there are always players that you need to pay immediate attention to (Tyler “my name sounds like cheese” Allgeier and Kenneth Gainwell come to mind).

Then you have guys that are filling in like Puka Nacua.  Is he a future star?  I think so.  Will he score well for the next few weeks?  Yep.  Will he keep up this pace once Kupp is back in action?  No, he won’t.  But he’ll still probably be a bench-worthy player.  So pick him up, but don’t go blowing your FAAB budget on him.

Did you get bit by Cam Akers or D’Andre Swift?  Those were two guys I ranked much lower than other books.  I’d ditch them both if you can get reasonable value.  If you can’t get good value, both are worth holding. 

RE: Gainwell…. I’m sorry, but I still think Penny is the best RB in that locker room and I think that’ll prove itself over the season.  I would pick up Gainwell, yes.  But if you have roster room to spare, I’d probably keep Penny on my roster too.

Anywho… here’s my post-Sunday waiver wire list as we look to week 2.  Note: for anyone picking this up later in the week, I’m writing this before the MNF game between the Jets and Bills. 

As always, I am including my overall waiver wire list and my top fantasy football waiver wire targets at each position.  I also include a “Might Be Available” list because if any of these players are, for some reason available, you should absolutely snatch them up.  My assumption is that they won’t be, but you should take a look. 

Might Be Available (available in 15-30% of All Fantasy Football Leagues):

• QB, Tua Tagovailoa
• QB, Kirk Cousins
• RB: NA
• WR: Michael Thomas
• WR: Jordan Addison
• WR: Zay Flowers
• WR: Jakobi Meyers
• WR: Jahan Dotson
• TE: NA
• DST: Baltimore Ravens
• DST: NY Jets
• DST: New England Patriots

Overall (Available in 30% of leagues or more):

1. Gus Edwards
2. Kenneth Gainwell
3. Tyler Allgeier
4. Kyren Williams
5. Romeo Doubs
6. Tutu Atwell
7. Sam LaPorta
8. Brock Purdy

Good Chance They Will Be There (available in more than 30% of Fantasy Football leagues):

Quarterbacks:

1. Brock Purdy – he picked up right where he left off.  This team has weapons at every position.  He won’t be a star (yet), but will get you consistent TD production and better scramble ability than you might think. 
2. Jordan Love – I liked the read option looks and downfield shots he was taking.  This is more of a speculation choice than for immediate production.
3. Matthew Stafford – he just missed several TD passes.  He’ll sharpen up. 
4. Jared Goff – plenty of TD passes are coming.
5. Sam Howell – He needs to get the ball out quicker, but he will scramble for TDs and be fantasy-relevant all season.
6. Jimmy Garoppolo – I’d like to see him spread the ball more, but he’s solid as a passer.

Running Backs:

1. Gus Edwards – he is set to be the lead back in Baltimore, but he will also be splitting carries with Justice Hill moving forward.
2. Kenneth Gainwell – I’m not convinced just yet that he’ll be the unquestioned starting RB the rest of this season.  I suspect the superior Eagles back will rotate weekly, but you have to put a claim on him this week if you need a RB.  If he does wind up the starter all year, he’ll score very well.
3. Tyler Allgeier – At some point, Bijan Robinson should get 60% or more of all touches.  I don’t think Allgeier will dominate goal line carries all season, but he will have a consistent role. 
4. Kyren Williams – The Rams are using both backs and Williams catches more passes than Akers.  He had several targets inside the red zone that didn’t pan out.  I like him more than Akers.
5. Justice Hill – He will split snaps with Edwards and will have a chance to surpass him on the depth chart as the season moves along.
6. Joshua Kelley (added to this list) – I don’t think Kelley is a threat to Ekeler, so I have him much further below the other 5 guys above him. But Kelley will be a solid back and get carries. Consider him one of the better handcuffs. If Ekeler does get hurt, Kelley would split the backfield with Spiller, who I think would eventually supplant Kelley as the primary back for what that’s worth.
7. Roschon Johnson – I still think Herbert is better, but it looks like the Bears moved him ahead of Foreman despite what the depth chart says.
8. Chuba Hubbard – he did well with his carries.  Sanders is still the guy, but keep an eye on Hubbard

Wide Receivers:

1. Romeo Doubs – He’s consistent and I think his production will be similar in terms of receptions.  Keep in mind that Christian Watson will get more goal line looks than Doubs, so he’s not going to catch 2 TDs every week.  But this Packers offense will produce well.
2. Tutu Atwell – Nacua had the better game on paper, but I think Atwell will be more consistent over the course of the season.  When Kupp is back in the lineup, Atwell’s routes will be similar and hopefully his production will be as well.
3. Puka Nacua – if you’re in a keeper or dynasty, snap him up.  I really liked what I saw. He had two TD balls right on his fingertips.
4. Rashee Rice – he struggled with drops in camp, but he looked like the best WR to me in KC. 
5. Allen Robinson – he could definitely bounce back after a rough season with the Rams last year.  He’s the third option on a team that should pass often.  Also, Diontae Johnson might have a lingering hamstring issue (we’ll know more in the coming days). 
6. Robert Woods – Stroud went to him often.  He didn’t get in the end zone, but the Ravens are a solid defense.  The Texans will score more points moving forward.
7. Kendrick Bourne – he had a great game, but things could easily change with Parker back in the lineup.  Also, more coverage was focused on Smith-Schuster this week.  I think JuJu is still the guy to have.
8. Rashid Shaheed – the entire Saints offense looked good, but I like how Shaheed looked in the first game.  He seems to get better every week. 

Tight Ends:

1. Sam LaPorta – it’s easy to forget about him because he played on Thursday and didn’t get into the end zone, but he looked the best of all rookie TEs to me (with respect to Luke Musgrave)
2. Zach Ertz – the target total was there and he had a TD on his fingertips, but the pass was too high for him.  He should produce well every week.
3. Logan Thomas – I liked Thomas before the season, but wasn’t sure if Cole Turner would be an immediate threat.  Thomas’ role looks safe for now.
4. Hayden Hurst – Hurst had a huge first half, but the Falcons adjusted.  The good news is that he should draw consistent targets and he did find the end zone this week.
5. Hunter Henry – I’d have Henry higher, but he hasn’t been a consistent scorer with the Patriots.  This is a new system, so that could change this year.  If he has another strong week, he’ll probably be my top waiver wire tight end
6. Luke Musgrave – Musgrave can be a fantasy star, but I’m not convinced Green Bay will target him enough to get there.  He may move up this list as the weeks move on.

DST:

Note: I’m not picking these based on offensive opponent this week.  I don’t start looking at those types of matchups until week 3 or 4.  It’s too early in the season to really worry about what happened in week 1.

1. New England Patriots – vs Miami Dolphins
2. Arizona Cardinals – vs NY Giants
3. Jacksonville Jaguars – vs KC Chiefs
4. Green Bay Packers – vs Atlanta Falcons
5. Tennessee Titans – vs LA Chargers