Week 1 IDP Waiver Wire: Pickups & Targets (Fantasy Football 2025)

In a perfect world, a Week 1 waiver wire column is something that you don't need. Unless you've drafted over the past 24-48 hours, news has likely impacted your IDP league in some way, shape, or form.

After teams reduced their rosters to 53 players last week, depth charts have shifted, and roles have been established. We're still dealing with some unknowns heading into Week 1, so I want to help you leverage that before we kick off on Thursday night's season opener.

My intention here is to cater to a wide variety of leagues every week. IDP leagues are like snowflakes, so if you have specific questions, jump into our subscriber Discord, find the IDP channel, and tag me with any questions you have. Some of you play in leagues where all of these players are already owned, and some of you play in IDP leagues where only 3-4 players are rostered on each team, so the players listed below might not even be on your radar, so don't be afraid to reach out with specific questions. For now, expect at least one recommendation for shallow, medium, and deep leagues.

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Week 1 IDP Waiver Wire

Defensive Line

Josh Sweat, Arizona Cardinals

I'm above market on Josh Sweat this season. He's set up for a strong 2025 campaign in the Arizona desert, back under the tutelage of his former Philly DC Jonathan Gannon. He should be universally rostered, but in shallow leagues, I've seen him available quite a bit.

Sweat's Week 1 draw is favorable, as the Cardinals are the favorites against arguably the worst team in the league, the New Orleans Saints. Sweat should be working against the left side of the Saints' offensive line, which is rookie Kelvin Banks Jr. and Trevor Penning. Penning's struggles at tackle forced the Saints to move him inside to guard after he allowed the most pressures in the league (54) last season.

The Spencer Rattler won the Saints' starting quarterback job during training camp, and that's great news for IDP leagues. Things got better for Rattler as he learned to get the ball out quicker, but he still managed to take 22 sacks in just seven appearances on the year, posting a 22.4% pressure-to-sack rate, the 10th-highest in the league. Fire up Sweat with confidence in Week 1.

Malcolm Koonce, Las Vegas Raiders

I was excited to draft Malcolm Koonce in 2024 IDP drafts after his blistering finish to 2023, but an ACL injury derailed those plans and ended his season before it began. Koonce is back with the Raiders after signing a one-year deal this offseason, and he's betting on himself, looking to parlay a strong 2025 performance into a multi-year deal next offseason.

His burst looked good this preseason, tempering any concerns about how his knee injury would impact him this season. He posted 52 pressures and 8 sacks in 2023, finishing in the 30-35 range in PFF's rank for pass rush grade, total pressures, and pass rush win rate. Out of sight, out of mind, Koonce is now going outside the top 50 at defensive end, and is available on too many waiver wires at the moment.

The Raiders take on the New England Patriots in Week 1, and while New England's roster revamp centered around the offensive line, it's still an average or worse unit, especially with two rookie starters on the left side.

James Pearce Jr., Atlanta Falcons

I'm out of fresh James Pearce Jr. propaganda. I've highlighted him in all of my IDP content this summer, even betting him at 19/1 to win Defensive Rookie of the Year. The latest national news includes former All-Pro Gerald McCoy's quote, which continues to beat the Pearce drum.

"I know a lot of people in (Atlanta's) building," McCoy said. "All I hear about James Pearce is how dominant he is and how he's unblockable."

ESPN's Louis Riddick took it a step further this week.

"I don't know how many people know this name," Riddick said, later comparing him to Jevon Kearse. "If you are a draftnik like we are, you know how James Pearce Jr. is. How about James Pearce Jr. leads the league in sacks this year."

Pearce Jr. needs to be rostered everywhere. He's less appealing in tackle-heavy scoring formats because his base work might be limited, but his upside is worth it.

Linebacker

Devin White, Las Vegas Raiders

Anyone ready to get back on the Devin White rollercoaster? White has bounced around a lot in the past calendar year or so after leaving Tampa Bay. He appeared to be in line to start for the Eagles last year, but he couldn't beat out Zach Baun and Nakobe Dean. Then he went to Houston, and he struggled to find his footing, playing more than more than 50% of the snaps just once outside of his garbage time role in Week 18.

White is still just 27 years old, and the former fifth overall selection of the 2019 draft is getting another shot. After an interesting training camp battle that looked like either Germaine Pratt or Elandon Roberts would be the LB1 in Las Vegas, it's White who has emerged from the pile, spotting the coveted green dot as the signal caller for Pete Carroll's defense.

IDP managers know that nothing matters more than opportunity, especially at linebacker, so while you're leaguemates can argue all day about whether or not White is still good or not, you can scoop him up because he looks like a near every-snap player heading into Week 1.

Dee Winters, San Francisco 49ers

I gave Dee Winters his flowers in my preseason breakout linebacker piece, but he's still been coming off the board later than he should be in drafts, meaning in shallow leagues, he's very likely available.

Winters won the LB2 role in San Francisco, and he's been named anytime a 49ers player or coach is rattling off someone who's emerged during training camp. Robert Saleh is back in the Bay as the defensive coordinator, and we've seen him lean heavily on two linebacker sets in the past. Last season with the Jets, Saleh used two linebackers on 95.5% of the team's snaps, the fourth-highest rate in the league. Winters is stepping into a near every down role, and his Week 1 matchup is solid.

The Seahawks have been vocal about their desire to run the football more in 2025, and their early offensive line investments in the 2025 draft match up with that narrative. Over the past two seasons, opposing defenders have seen a 2.75% bump in assists when visiting Seattle, which helps Winters tackle upside in Week 1.

Joe Bachie, Indianapolis Colts

Jaylon Carlies had a clear path to Indianapolis' LB2 snaps after E.J. Speed signed with Houston this offseason, but an ankle injury landed him on the IR for at least the first month of the season. There's an outside chance that Cameron McGrone fills in, so he's worth a stash in deeper leagues, but a lot of the local reporting suggests that new DC Lou Anarumo will tap Joe Bachie for the role.

Bachie was with Anarumo in Cincinnati the past few seasons, and though he was never a factor there because he was buried on the depth chart as an UDFA out of Michigan State, he's clearly familiar with what Anarumo is looking for at the position. He's a limited athlete but has always graded out well as a run stopper. That, combined with playing time, is enough for me.

Defensive Back

Xavier Watts, Atlanta Falcons

As teams whittled down their training camp rosters this week, one of the more surprising cuts was the Falcons' moving on from free agent signee Jordan Fuller. It's exciting news for IDP leagues, though, because the two candidates behind Fuller, DeMarcco Hellmas and Xavier Watts, are a lot more exciting. I think both Hellmas and Watts have IDP upside this season, but it's the rookie Watts who's been named the starter opposite Jesse Bates.

"The X-Factor", which is such a great and easy nickname, led college football in interceptions the past two seasons, but fell to the third round after underwhelming athletic testing leading up to the draft. It was hard to watch a Notre Dame game and not be impressed with Watts, but we've seen this before. I believe Kyle Hamilton was another great tape/poor testing safety from South Bend.

The "X-Factor" isn't alone, though, as DeMarcco "The Hitman" Hellmas is worth a stash in deeper leagues. I think we'll see Atlanta use three safeties a bit this season, with Hellmas playing a pseudo-linebacker role when he's on the field.

Evan Williams, Green Bay Packers

Evan Williams battled injuries and an uncertain role at times last season, but he was terrific on the field through both a real football and IDP lens. The Packers' defense ranked third in EPA per play with Williams on the field in 2024. Injuries caused a domino effect in the Packers' secondary, which led to Williams finally getting a full-time role in Week 5, and he responded with 10 combined tackles against the Rams. He played every snap again two weeks later against the Texans, and finished with 9 combined tackles.

Both Williams and Xavier McKinney rotate down into the box at times, which is what I'm looking for in my defensive backs. Williams has a great Week 1 matchup against the Lions. Safety groups against Detroit averaged 16.2 combined tackles per game last season, the most in the league and 2.76 more than the league average. While things might look a little different with Ben Johnson gone from Detroit, Jared Goff still loves to work over the middle of the field.

Jacob Parrish, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

This one's for deeper leagues where a cornerback is required. Tykee Smith finished as the CB21 on a per-game basis last season as the nickel cornerback in Todd Bowles' defense, but Smith is moving to strong safety this season, opening up a role for rookie third-round pick Jacob Parrish.

Parrish was the fastest cornerback at this year's scouting combine, but that's not his calling card. Parrish is an aggressive run-filler who brings experience as a second-level blitzer from his time at Kansas State. Parrish had an incredibly impressive preseason and is a target of mine in deeper leagues.