You can’t win your league at the draft, which is why you need to give yourself every advantage possible by using the waiver wire to your benefit. Getting yourself back into the habit of putting in your waiver claims on a Tuesday evening early will help set you up for success.
We all make mistakes during the pressure of draft day, so there’s likely a player or two currently on your roster that you ultimately don’t need to hold onto. Conversely, maybe you picked a couple players who are opening the season on the PUP list and now have some open roster spots. Grabbing someone prior to week 1 who can help you for early in the season is just smart fantasy football.
As we did with last year’s series, our waiver wire articles will highlight players who are owned in 50% or fewer of Yahoo fantasy leagues. As we get into bye weeks, we’ll start highlighting streaming quarterbacks and tight ends so you have an idea of how to plug those temporary roster holes. But for the first few weeks we’ll focus solely on players whose situation and/or performance has improved enough to be viable fantasy options.
Quarterbacks
It’s highly unlikely that you’re looking for a waiver wire quarterback this early in the season, but hey, mistakes happen.
Geno Smith – Seattle Seahawks – 32% Owned
Smith is back for his third season in Seattle, looking to return to the form he displayed in 2022 where he finished as a top 5 fantasy quarterback. This year, however, Smith has a new offensive coordinator in Ryan Grubb orchestrating the Seattle offence.
Grubb’s college offences all focused on speed of play, helping his teams to help earn more snaps and time of possession each game. Seattle was in the bottom of the league in offensive snaps per game in 2023, which was partly due to their play calling, and part to their inability to convert on third downs. With a little improvement in play and health from the team’s offensive line, as well as a new look explosive offence, Smith might work his way back into the QB1 conversation this season in Grubb’s system.
Seattle also has a cakewalk early season schedule, playing three of their four first games against teams who were in the top twelve in terms of fantasy points allowed to a quarterback last season. So for those of you looking for an early season streamer after punting the position completely in your draft, Smith is the guy to target.
Wide Receivers
Mike Williams – New York Jets – 44% Owned
Last time we saw Williams on the field he was a top 25 fantasy wide receiver. Unfortunately a torn ACL in week 3 ended his 2023 season early, leading to the Chargers making the decision to release the 30 year old wide out last March. He signed in New York and will look to help rejuvenate this Jets offence along with a (hopefully) healthy Aaron Rodgers.
Williams may not be ready to go in week one, but when he does eventually return to the lineup, his target competition is fairly limited. Garrett Wilson will likely be a target hog, and Breece Hall will continue to be used in the passing game, but Williams should easily beat out Allen Lazard and Malachi Corley for the WR2 spot. He might not be as explosive as he was pre-injury, but Rodgers will be happy to have Williams’s 6’4” frame to target downfield and in the red zone.
Adonai Mitchell – Indianapolis Colts – 30% Owned
Mitchell was a surprise pick by the Colts in the second round of the draft as he was expected to go much earlier than the 52nd overall selection (eleventh receiver off the board), but they’re set to take advantage of Mitchell’s draft fall. Josh Downs has missed the past month of training camp due to a high ankle sprain, opening the door for Mitchell to earn first team reps in the slot and begin building chemistry with quarterback Anthony Richardson.
Mitchell has never been a leading receiver on any of his college teams, and didn’t surpass 1,000 yards receiving in any single season, but his size and speed combination (he ran a 4.43 40 while measuring in at 6’2” and 205 pounds) give him an athletic advantage that most players don’t have. Alec Pierce, the Colts WR 2/3 last season, was effectively out there running cardio for the Colts last year, and it appears Mitchell has already surpassed Pierce on the depth chart due to his ability to play both inside and out on offence.
If Mitchell can solidify that WR2 spot lining up across from Michael Pittman while also working the short yardage passing game he can surprise fantasy managers with his upside this season, even when Downs returns from injury.
Demario Douglas – New England Patriots – 15% Owned
Taking any skill position players from the Patriots might not feel great, but “Pop” Douglas deserves to be rostered more than in just 15% of leagues. Douglas had an impressive 2023 season considering the state of the Patriots offence, earning a role in the slot from day one as a sixth round pick. After Kendrick Bourne suffered an ACL tear in week 8, Douglas played more on the outside and had at least five targets in his nine appearances from week seven on, leading the team in yards with 561.
He has more competition for targets this year with rookies Ja’Lynn Polk and Javon Baker fighting for reps alongside free agent signee K.J. Osborn, but it’s been Douglas who has impressed the new Patriots coaching staff the most this offseason. The Pats offence might not be fun to watch, but Douglas may come out as the only fantasy viable option early on this season.
Andrei Iosivas – Cincinnati Bengals – 2% Owned
This pick up is if you are in need of a starter for the first couple weeks of the season. Iosivas has been playing with the first team offence all offseason, ahead of exciting rookie Jermain Burton, who will likely supplant him later on in the season. However, as it stands now, there’s a very real chance that Ja’Marr Chase will either not end his contract holdout with the Bengals, or (which I think is more likely) he’ll sign a massive contract this week with the team and be very limited in his week one snaps as he eases back into football shape. In any case, Iosivas has proven to be a reliable starting wide receiver for this Bengals offence and could put up a few good weeks this year, particularly at the start of the season.
Running Backs
Rico Dowdle – Dallas Cowboys – 49% Owned
Dowdle won’t be under the 50% threshold for long. He’ll be the number one workhorse back for the Cowboys to start the season, so he’s most certainly worth finding some roster space for. The Cowboys offensive line has gotten slightly worse compared to when it was considered one of the best in the league. But when this offence is humming they have one of the best run games in the NFL.
Head coach Mike McCarthy already said he will be cutting Dowdle’s snaps on special teams to keep him fresh to be the lead back on offence. If Ezekiel Elliot earns snaps with this offence it’s likely to be in a pass catching/blocking role, so I don’t expect him to take away many rushing snaps from Dowdle. The signing of Dalvin Cook also isn’t a deterrent. Cook looked washed last season, and the fact that both he and Elliot are now 29 spells the end for either of them taking a major rushing role. Dowdle is no spring chicken himself – he’s already 26 years old, and is an undrafted running back that’s never held down a starting role, but he’s a safe bet to be the lead back in Dallas this season.
Ty Chandler – Minnesota Vikings – 34%
Chandler is a great stash pick either at the end of your draft or via the waiver wire. Aaron Jones has a tendency to miss games, including six games last year, his final season in Green Bay. Chandler has stand alone value as a flex option even with Aaron Jones healthy thanks to his explosiveness and pass catching ability, but could really take off if Jones misses time. The Vikings have an excellent offensive line and head coach Kevin O’Connell might be forced to run a more conservative offence with Sam Darnold at the helm, leading them to rely more heavily on the run game.
Rookie Running Backs
If you have an extra roster spot, grab one of Jaylen Wright (MIA, 21% owned), Bucky Irving (TB, 18% owned), Ray Davis (BUF, 18% owned), MarShawn Lloyd (14% owned), Braelon Allen (NYJ, 11% owned), Kamani Vidal (LAC, 10% owned), Cason Steele (KC, 4% owned ) or Tyrone Tracy Jr. (NYG, 8% owned).
Players like Wright, Lloyd and Davis are one injury away from taking over a leading role in a high volume offence. Allen, Steele and Tracy could have a role in their respective offences from day one, with Allen possibly punching in touchdowns for the Jets, Steele rotating in with Pacheco, and Taylor catching passes in New York. Using a roster spot on veterans like Dalvin Cook or Antonio Gibson might feel like the safer choice, but they really don’t give you much upside even if they “hit” as draft picks. Taking a flier on a rookie running back gives you that opportunity to find that league winning back if things fall their way.
Tight Ends
Again, it’s unlikely that you’re already in need of a tight end but here are a couple to monitor just in case.
Noah Fant – Seattle Seahawks – 32% Owned
Fant is finally in an offence that won’t pigeon hole him as a blocking tight end and should be utilized more the passing game. I think he’s extremely valuable as a player, but he faces plenty of competition for targets in this offence with D.K. Metcalf, Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Tyler Lockett still on the team. Fant is a dart throw until we actually see how the targets shake out in Seattle.
-Devon Gallant
Twitter: @DevGallant
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