Week #1 Waiver Watch Of Truth
It’s good to be back! What seemed to be a long offseason and a preseason that dragged on is finally over and we’re back! We all know what that means! Fantasy football is here and we’ve got you covered with everything you need to know!
All rostered percentages are according to Sleeper.
Quarterbacks
Mac Jones (37% rostered) – The Patriots’ offense was somewhat of a laughing stock last season, being co-managed by Joe Judge and Matt Patricia, who are no longer with the team. Bill O’Brien came back to New England this off-season and so far seemingly has the Patriots’ offense headed in the right direction. New England battled a tough Philly defense this week and barely came up short – after falling behind early on a few miscues, they battled back with a chance to win at the end. Jones is currently the QB2 on the week, with a line of 316 yards, 3 TDs and an INT. Jones is a great streaming option next week against Miami’s high-powered offense that should keep the Patriots throwing all day.
Brock Purdy (1% rostered) – While many offenses came out a bit flat in Week 1, the 49ers seemingly picked up right where they left off and Brock Purdy showed no rust at all coming back from his off-season elbow injury. Purdy went for 220 yards and 2 touchdowns Sunday against a tough Steelers defense while the 49ers rolled the Steelers in Pittsburgh. Purdy probably doesn’t have the same ceiling as a guy like Jordan Love, but seems to be a consistent high floor option with the ability to spike occasionally given the weapons he’s surrounded by.
Jordan Love (1% rostered) – After being drafted in the first round two years ago, Jordan Love was finally given the keys to the Packers’ offense with the departure of legend Aaron Rodgers this off-season. Love looked sharp in the pre-season, but there’s always skepticism about pre-season success translating to regular season success when defenses are fielding starters. So far in Week 1, Love proved the pre-season was no fluke as the Packers massacred the Bears, and Love provided a line of 245 yards with 3 TDs and no picks. Perhaps Love will be the next Packer great to follow in the footsteps of his predecessors Rodgers and Favre. The next few weeks for the Packers are pretty favorable taking on the Falcons, Saints, Lions and Raiders, making Love a very attractive streaming candidate for the next few weeks.
Running Backs
Kyren Williams (6% rostered) – One of the few non-injury waiver adds, Williams dominated the Rams’ backfield when the game was competitive. Looking at the final box score, Cam Akers out-touched Williams, but the bulk of Akers’ carries came in the 4th quarter with the Rams comfortably ahead. Williams received 3/3 carries inside the 10 for Los Angeles, andconverted for 2 scores. He played 65% of the RB snaps and you could argue Williams looks to be the #1 RB option for the Rams who sported a surprisingly positive offense on Sunday. Sean McVay is too good a coach for the Rams to be terrible two years in a row, so don’t be surprised if they’re back to being one of the better units in the league. The tough part for Williams is the upcoming schedule. The Rams face the 49ers, Bengals, Colts and Eagles in their next 4 games, which isn’t exactly a murderers row, but it would be awfully tough to trust Williams in Week 2 against San Fran. That would mean burning a high amount of FAAB or a high priority on Williams just to bench him in Week 2, but that’s a move that could pay huge dividends throughout the rest of the season.
Kenneth Gainwell (61% rostered) – Gainwell is my unquestioned #1 waiver wire add this week given his opportunity and situation, if he’s available. He’s pretty highly rostered at 61%, but he needs to be the #1 priority if he’s somehow available. A sluggish start in Week 1 for the Eagle’s offense won’t last much longer in my opinion, and Gainwell was the clear lead RB in the backfield. Rashaad Penny was a healthy scratch and Deandre Swift mustered 2 opportunities in this game, catching 1 pass for 0 yards. Gainwell received 62% of the snaps and received 18 opportunities, making him the clear lead back in what should be one of the NFL’s best offenses. If Gainwell continues to receive this level of work and the Eagles get back to their high-powered ways on offense, Gainwell could be a league winning type of add.
Justice Hill (5% rostered)/Gus Edwards (19% rostered) – A slew of injuries took place early and often in Week 1, but the biggest headline so far looks to be starting RB JK Dobbins being lost for the season to a torn Achilles. Dobbins hasn’t been able to catch a break in his young career, with 2 of his last 3 seasons being lost due to catastrophic injury. After Dobbins left the game this week, Justice Hill jumped out in the box score, scoring two touchdowns, but I wouldn’t go crazy adding Hill with a huge amount of FAAB or a high waiver priority. The Ravens’ backfield will probably be an ugly timeshare between a few mediocre options, and you shouldn’t be relying on these guys unless you’re already desperate. Both Hill and Edwards got 8 carries in this game, and while Hill scored twice, Edwards was much more efficient on the ground. We’ve seen the Ravens add veteran running backs before when they lost Dobbins and Edwards in 2021, so don’t be surprised to see them add someone like Fournette or Hunt. Veteran Melvin Gordon has already been elevated from the practice squad so don’t be surprised to see him mix in as well. As mentioned, I wouldn’t spend my resources adding either of these guys.
Joshua Kelley (4% rostered) – Continuing the theme of possible injury replacements, Joshua Kelley was worked in an abnormal amount in the Chargers’ Week 1 loss, and speculation over Austin Ekeler “not looking right” during the game circulated the internet. As of today, we recently got an update that Ekeler is dealing with an ankle injury, and Kelley is absolutely worth an add to see how the rest of the week shakes out. Kelley has been pretty underwhelming thus far in his career, but provided a monster game against the Dolphins in Week 1 with 16 carries for 91 yards and a TD. Kelley is the clear-cut #2 behind Ekeler, and if we get news of a dreaded high ankle sprain or anything that will cause Ekeler to miss time, Kelley would most likely slot in as a volume-based RB2 with upside in a high powered offense. The Chargers play the Titans in Week 2 who have a stout run defense, so I wouldn’t expect a ceiling game for Kelley this week if he got the start, but he would be a virtual must-start option if Ekeler is sidelined.
Tyler Allgeier (46% rostered) – Another player with a high roster percentage but absolutely worth the add if available. Allgeier might not have a monster ceiling as Bijan Robinson should get more work as he gets acclimated to the NFL, but Arthur Smith picked up right where he left off from last year, imposing a smash mouth run heavy offense that provided enough opportunity for both Robinson and Allgeier to have great fantasy days. I think most weeks will prove the same, where you can start both Robinson and Allgeier and get solid RB2 production or better more often than not. The Falcons love to run the ball and were very effective last year, and that has continued right through Week 1. Desmond Ridder didn’t look great which should create even more reason for Arthur Smith to continue to pound the rock.
Roschon Johnson (2% rostered) – Johnson was a pre-season sleeper favorite by many analysts but seems like a well-kept secret given his low roster percentage. Most of Johnson’s production Sunday came in the fourth quarter while the game was out of hand, but we saw flashes of his ability which could garner him more opportunities in the backfield. Coming into the season the Chicago backfield was pretty ambiguous to begin with. Khalil Herbert was the assumed starter once Montgomery departed, but then the Bears signed free agent Donta Foreman and spent a draft pick on Johnson. Adding Johnson would be a longer term investment and might not pay dividends immediately, but we could see him slowly take over the backfield as the season goes on.
Wide Receivers
Puca Nacua (0% rostered) – An out of nowhere performance in Week 1, Nacua was a late round draft pick out of BYU and stepped up with the absence of Cooper Kupp on Sunday. There’s no telling how the depth chart will shake out once Kupp returns to the lineup, but we know there’s at least 3 more weeks without Kupp since he was put on IR last week. Nacua was second in the NFL with 15 targets this past week and turned it into 10 catches for 119 yards, and barely missed on a few touchdown opportunities. He seems to be a favorite of Matt Stafford early in the season and while next week might be a risky proposition against the 49ers, the schedule opens up a bit in Weeks 3 and 4 against the Bengals and Colts.
Jakobi Meyers (40% rostered) – Meyers looked to be a favorite target for new QB Jimmy G, gathering 10 targets before leaving the game early to a nasty hit to the head. While there’s no official word on Meyers yet, we would expect him to be out at least a week with a concussion. Even potentially missing a week, Meyers is absolutely worth stashing, especially in PPR leagues as he should provide consistent production even without touchdowns.
Tutu Atwell (2% rostered) – Similar situation to Nacua, Atwell benefitted from the absence of Cooper Kupp with 8 targets on Sunday. He’s a big-play threat with incredible speed that can take a play to the house at any given time. Nacua probably serves as a better floor option with higher expected volume, while Atwell should be a more boom/bust type of player that could provide some spike weeks until Kupp returns.
Tight Ends
Adam Trautman (4% rostered) – There was a lot of buzz this pre-season about the addition of Adam Trautman running with the starters ahead of sophomore breakout candidate Greg Dulcich, and we saw it play out on Sunday. Trautman played 72% of the Bronco’s snaps and adding to the fact Dulcich left early with a leg injury we are waiting on more clarity for. Whether Dulcichmisses time or not, Trautman seems to be the lead man for the Broncos’ Tight End position, and if Dulcich misses some time he’ll be locked in as the primary option.
Hunter Henry (65% rostered) – A high percentage rostered, it’s worth a check to see if Henry is available. He played 79% of snaps on Sunday and saw 6 targets which he turned into 5 receptions for 56 yards and a touchdown. Henry has a history of being a redzone weapon and with a step forward from the New England offense, could have a shot at double digit TDs this year.
Jake Ferguson (1% rostered) – Ferguson is very lowly owned, and anyone who rostered him ahead of Week 1 will most likely let him go given his 2 catch and 11 yard performance Sunday night. However looking at the bigger picture, Ferguson got 7 targets on a night where Dak Prescott didn’t throw the ball much at all, as the defense and special teams of the Cowboys smothered the Giants, not to
mention the fact that he leads the NFL in red zone targets. If Ferguson can gather 7 targets in a game like this, I think he'll have a good shot at consistently seeing 6-8 targets a game which should make him a usable PPR asset.
Good luck on the wire and as always, stay true.
