Waiver Wire Watch: Week 1 Targets

Sep 04, 2019

Photo by Andy Lyons / Staff / Getty Images

Even though the NFL season has yet to kick off, the fantasy season is in full swing. While most drafts will conclude before you read this article, there are plenty of moves to be made, including scouring the waiver wire for last-minute adds and cleaning up your roster of drop-worthy players. Between final cuts, trades, signings, and injured reserve designations, there’s a chance a lot has changed since you made your final draft pick back in August. This article is here to help you fill in the gaps and get ready to rock for Week 1.

Before we get into the meat of the article, there are a few house-keeping items to clear up. Recommendations are based on a PPR-scoring, four-point passing touchdown, 12-team league, with ownership percentages coming from Yahoo.com. Free-agent acquisition budget (FAAB) suggestions are based on a $100 season-long budget. Lastly, the great John Paulsen will edit this article every week and adjust rankings and prices if necessary. Essentially, you’re getting two minds collaborating on this piece instead of one, so lucky you.

Now, with that out of the way, here are some players to add or drop before Week 1 hits high gear.

Quarterbacks

Jacoby Brissett, Indianapolis Colts, 12% owned ($3)

Andrew Luck’s retirement sent massive waves through the fantasy football world. It also opened the door for Brissett to slide into an interesting position as a fantasy quarterback. Don’t dwell too much on Brissett’s 2017 season with the Colts, where he was thrust into a starting role in a bad offense after joining the team in September of that year. Brissett now has a year and a half of experience in Frank Reich’s offense--an offense that set Luck up to succeed last season by creating mismatches via quick, high-percentage throws. Brissett gets a tough draw in Week 1 against a stout Chargers defense, but that’s why now is the time to strike. His schedule is more forgiving, with games against the Raiders, Chiefs and Texans before the season’s mid-point. In 10- or 12- team leagues it likely won’t cost much to stash Brissett and hope your investment pays off.

Editor's Note: One trick for finding good waiver pickups prior to Week 1 is to use our LeagueSync functionality, which will highlight your players in blue, other rostered players in orange, leaving available players in white. This will work with our preseason/draft rankings and our weekly rankings. No more scouring your league's waiver wire to find a good pickup, with LeagueSync you can identify them at 4for4 and then it's just a matter to going to your league to put in a waiver claim or pick them up. LeagueSync is available with Pro and DFS subscriptions.

Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills, 34% owned ($2)

The free-agent quarterback market in fantasy is a bit sparse, but Allen warrants a speculative add in deeper leagues. While many pundits on Twitter dot com and other sites like to chide Allen for his frequent erratic throws, the guy is a gamer and a potentially huge asset in fantasy. Allen’s ability as a rusher gives him the rare Komani-code upside in fantasy. Look no further than his rookie season, where he was fantasy’s highest-scoring quarterback from Week 12 through Week 17 thanks in larger part to nearly 500 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns. The Bills didn’t want Allen to have to win with his legs, though, and added a safety blanket in Cole Beasley and a homerun threat in John Brown via free agency. Allen is a low-risk, high-upside stash with favorable matchups against the Giants, Bengals and Dolphins in his first six games.