Welcome to Waiver Wire (Week 2). This is where we highlight a few players at each position that we want to add this week. As for ownership percentages we will be using Yahoo Fantasy. For our full weekly rankings list, head to The FFU Weekly Rankings Page or try our Sit/Start Tool Powered by Fantasy Pros. As far as the quarterbacks are concerned, we will be referring to 1QB leagues. That’s the only format where quarterbacks are readily available, if you’re in a superflex league, it’s doubtful any usable quarterbacks are available.
Quarterbacks
Malik Willis, Packers (0% rostered)
Willis was traded from the Tennessee Titans to the Green Bay Packers only a few weeks ago. The fact that he was routinely beaten out by terrible quarterbacks such as Joshua Dobbs and Will Levis during his time in Tennessee isn’t encouraging. The sole reason for picking up Willis is because he is going to be the starter for a solid Packers offense for the next four to six weeks. He isn’t a high-upside pick, but if you lost Jordan Love, he may be the Hail Mary you need.
Sam Darnold, Vikings (10% rostered)
Darnold wasn’t earth-shattering in Week 1 against the New York Giants, but he has more than enough weapons to be a low-end QB2 every week. I don’t suggest him as a waiver target to be your QB1, but he is startable in a pinch for sure. I far prefer him as my starting quarterback to Malik Willis in the event I was the Love manager. In either case, it’s a dart throw.
Justin Fields, Steelers (14% rostered)
Fields was decent in Week 1, but nothing special. It remains a total mystery exactly how long he will be the starter in Pittsburgh as we have no clue how serious the injury is to Russell Wilson. He has an ever-present rushing upside and if he can just be an average passer he has a top 10 quarterback upside. Pick him up and hope for a little luck and maybe Fields is the guy you need.
Baker Mayfield, Buccaneers (34% rostered)
Mayfield was riding high after a 2023 season that saw career production for him and the best fantasy finish of his career. Despite a career season, he went undrafted in many leagues as he was seen as a one-hit wonder. One week into the NFL season and he finds himself as the QB1 overall for fantasy, pending the outcome of the Monday Night Game. The fact he is available in 68% of leagues goes to show you how bland and uninspiring the fantasy community sees Mayfield. He is a great quarterback to pair with a struggling rookie such as Caleb Williams or Bo Nix, and in the end, he may turn out to be your season-long starter. He is a free QB1 and that’s not nothing!
Geno Smith, Seahawks (32% rostered)
Smith looked bad in 2023 after a breakout in 2022 and hoped to rebound in Week 1 of the 2024 season. He didn’t appear to be firing on all cylinders like he was two seasons ago, but he looked far better than he did at any point in 2023. The Broncos were a prime matchup for a quarterback and I expected far better from Smith, but it’s still a sign of improvement and it makes him worth rostering.
Derek Carr, Saints (30% rostered)
Carr may turn out to be an anomaly from Week 1, but wow was he something else. Derek Carr and the New Orleans Saints hung 47 points on the Carolina Panthers and Carr had easily the best game of his tenure in New Orleans. I don’t expect Carr or the Saints to be anywhere near this good for the entire season, but it goes to show you that if you need a backup quarterback, Carr still has some game left in him.
Justin Herbert, Chargers (66% rostered)
Herbert and the Chargers didn’t exactly set the world on fire in Week 1 against a lackluster Raiders defense, but they were good enough to warrant his addition if he is available in your league. After losing his two best weapons Keenan Allen and Austin Ekeler, he looked destined for a tough season with no weaponry. A collection of misfits including JK Dobbins and rookie Ladd McConkey showed that there is still hope that he can be a borderline QB1. He isn’t the same fantasy stud he once was, but he still needs to be rostered.
Matthew Stafford, Rams (68% rostered)
Stafford didn’t sling it all over Ford Field as we anticipated on Sunday Night, but the second half saw both teams ratchet up the passing game a bit. Puka Nacua is going on IR for at least the next four games, but a renewed relationship with his breakfast buddy Cooper Kupp saw Kupp targeted 21 times. Get ready for another vintage Stafford to Kupp season where they could both rewrite the record books. Stafford is a weekly high-end QB2 with QB1 upside in a plus matchup.
Brock Purdy, 49ers (74% rostered)
Purdy is the boring option on the QB1/2 borderline but that doesn’t mean he isn’t a must-have. For a quarterback to be a potential top-10 option and yet be available on waivers in 26% of leagues is utterly insane. He isn’t available in many leagues, but if he is in your league, snatch him up now. Regardless of how Week 1 went for him, his matchups are only going to get easier as the season goes on, grab him now if you can.
Running Backs
Alexander Mattison, Raiders (4% rostered)
Mattison came out of nowhere to be the passing downs back for the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 1. He managed to carve out a decent role in the running game as well but his value comes as a pass-catcher. Zamir White was assumed to be the starter for the Raiders, but even though that was partially true in Week 1, Mattison was far more productive. This backfield is likely to be messy, but Mattison is a nice free square for your flex position.
Justice Hill, Ravens (6% rostered)
Hill, much like Mattison, carved out a much larger role than we would have liked. This one won’t be an every-week asset but over the past few years in Tennessee, Derrick Henry has proven to be incredibly game-script-dependent. Henry doesn’t catch passes and is simply a rushing downs back. In the games where the Ravens are underdogs, Hill should see much higher volume and provide you with a decent floor as a flex play. In the games where the Ravens are favored, he can be left on the bench.
Bucky Irving, Buccaneers (21% rostered)
Irving didn’t steal much of the passing work from Rachaad White, but he took about half of the running back carries and was far more efficient with them. My fear for White is that Irving is going to become the rushing downs back with White operating as the pass-catching back. That effectively nukes White’s fantasy value and gives Irving some potential as a handcuff and standalone flew option.
JK Dobbins, Chargers (49% rostered)
Dobbins seems to be the winner of the ambiguous Chargers backfield. This is another example of why we target these backfield situations. In the event you made the correct guess in Dobbins, you now have a far more valuable asset than you had a week ago. Dobbins was awesome in Week 1 against the Raiders and seemed to have a stranglehold on the Chargers lead-back role. He is an ever-present injury risk, but if he stays healthy he has RB2 potential.
Zach Charbonnet, Seahawks (47% rostered)
Charbonnet was decent in Week 1, but that isn’t why he is on this list. He makes my waiver target list because he is an elite handcuff and Ken Walker left Sunday’s game with an abdominal injury. If Walker misses any significant time and Charbonnet gets the bulk of the workload, he has the potential to be an RB1 (top 12 at the position). Once again, running back handcuffs are the most valuable of all waiver wire targets and most likely to be hit.
Jordan Mason, 49ers (37% rostered)
Mason already cashed in on the running back handcuff lottery, but if he is still available in your league you need to change that. He got a spot start for Chrisitan McCaffrey in Week 1 and until we know exactly how long McCaffrey is going to miss, Mason becomes the most valuable waiver wire target on the board. At the time this article is published, his rostership has likely gone from 37% to 95%, but if your league is in the 5%, you need to pick him up now.
Jerome Ford, Browns (74% rostered)
Ford was my champion for the entire offseason. I get that he is a boring and non-awe-inspiring selection, but he has the size and speed to make the most of his opportunity. Nick Chubb is going to miss at least the next three weeks and I anticipate him being out or limited for much longer than that. I said all offseason that Ford was the Cleveland running back to the roster, and I fully stand by that now.
Ezekiel Elliott, Cowboys (75% rostered)
Elliott showed up as Old Faithful and did what he has done lately. He put up average numbers on a decent workload. He is not the running back to target in the event you need upside, but Zeke is a perfectly startable plug-and-play flex option if you are desperate. Having said that, Jerome Ford is an infinitely better option.
Trey Benson, Cardinals (63% rostered)
Benson is the ultimate handcuff now that the Jordan Mason lottery ticket has been cashed on Monday Night Football. The Christian McCaffrey situation is a prime example of why you need to roster the high-end handcuffs. Benson is exactly that, a high-end handcuff. He does have some limited standalone value, but if you roster James Conner, Benson is a must-roster.
Wide Receivers
Alec Pierce, Colts (1% rostered)
Pierce was the beneficiary of a beautiful throw by Anthony Richardson and could have sneaky value. richardson seems to go off-script often and improvise and his Ryan Fitzpatrick-level YOLO ball makes any player on the field a decent target. Pierce can reel in a weekly deep ball and is now a worthy pick in this exciting offense.
Kavontae Turpin, Cowboys (0% rostered)
Turpin is an option in leagues that could return yards and nothing more. He is like Rashid Shaheed except without the receiving yards. The new dynamic kickoff rules make kick returners far more valuable for fantasy football and Turpin is a prime example of that. If you get desperate at receiver and return yards count in your league, take a look at Turpin.
Ray-Ray McCloud, Falcons (2% rostered)
McCloud was the leading receiver for the Atlanta Falcons in Week 1 because, well I’m not sure why. Kirk Cousins looked out of sorts and the only real connection he appeared to make all game was with McCloud. I don’t expect him to be anything more than a desperation play, but the Atlanta Falcons have a track record of odd player usage and that appears to be the case again in 2024.
Brandin Cooks, Cowboys (32% rostered)
Cooks is somehow relevant in 2024. It wasn’t a great Week 1 for the Dallas Cowboys as Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb failed to do much against a tough Cleveland Browns defense. While Cooks was a game-breaker, this game served to help us realize that when Lamb is being double-covered, which he normally is, Prescott is comfortable diverting his attention to the veteran and peppering him with targets.
Jerry Jeudy, Browns (45% rostered)
Jeudy was about as boring as they come in Week 1 and didn’t do anything explosive. He did, however, volume his way to a half-decent fantasy performance that went largely unnoticed by the fantasy football community. Much like the Cowboys, Cleveland is going to see better games when they don’t face an elite defense and that will be a prime spot for Jeudy to put up decent stat lines and compete to be a WR3 for fantasy.
Gabe Davis, Jaguars (37% rostered)
Davis was even less exciting than Jeudy, but at the end of the day, he was the leading receiver for the Jacksonville Jaguars. It’s obvious that all of the attention is going to speedy rookie Brian Thomas Jr, but Davis should not be overlooked as a solid flex play with WR3 upside. Davis has shown in the past the ability to have explosive performances, so why not take a shot on him at little cost.
Rashid Shaheed, Saints (54% rostered)
Shaheed is the receiver that most of your league mates have likely never heard of, he just isn’t a household name yet. I don’t expect the Saints to pummel every opponent as they did the Panthers, but Shaheed should still be a reliable receiver on the WR2/3 border. Last season he put up a quiet 700 receiving yards and if your league counts return yards, he is one of the best kick-returners in the game.
Tyler Lockett, Seahawks (61% rostered)
Lockett isn’t dead after all, at least not in Week 1. This one is admittedly a risky play. He led the Seahawks receivers in Week 1 by a sizeable margin, but that was with DK Metcalf getting the Patrick Surtain shadow treatment. Lockett is the reason you look at WR/CB matchup charts in fantasy football. If Metcalf is likely to match up against an elite defensive back, you play Lockett. If Metcalf is not going to be shadowed, you bench Lockett. It’s as simple as that. As always, Lockett is far better in the best ball due to his volatility.
Ladd McConkey, Chargers (74% rostered)
McConkey was the most productive receiver for the Chargers in Week 1, but not by much. It looked to be an even distribution between McConkey, Joshua Palmer, and Quentin Johnston with McConkey reeling in a touchdown and being the most useful for fantasy. McConkey has significant upside and is even more valuable in dynasty leagues, but you should expect this to be an inconsistent situation with a different producer each week for Los Angeles.
Tight Ends
Juwan Johnson, Saints (3% rostered)
Johnson is one of three New Orleans Saints tight ends in the top 10 in fantasy points after Week 1. That should tell you how bad the position was this week. Johnson has always been a talented body in the Saints lineup but has never received enough volume to be consistent. He may not be consistent this season, but he is worth stashing in the event he can carve out a sizeable role in this offense and sneak his way into the TE1 ranks.
Chigoziem Okonkwo, Titans (10% rostered)
Okonkwo was easily the best pass-catcher for a Tennessee Titans offense that looked awful in Week 1. While I don’t advocate for stocking up on pieces of this offense, desperate times call for desperate measures and there are certainly worse options on the tight-end waiver wire. Okonkwo has the size and talent to be a stud for fantasy, he simply needs to put it all together, and hope Will Levis plays better.
Isaiah Likely, Ravens (28% rostered)
Likely is going to be the most added tight end and maybe the most added player this week and that’s justified. He has the size and speed to be elite and in Week 1 he showed how good he could be when given the opportunity. The problem for Likely is, that Week 1 was likely his best game of the season. Mark Andrews was double-teamed and Derrick Henry was ineffective, but that isn’t going to be the case every week. Andrews is going to get him, Henry is going to be used in better game-scripts and Zay Flowers is going to be second in targets. That leaves Likely as an inconsistent third option in a run-heavy offense. I don’t mind adding Likely, but I’m sure I won’t have a high enough FAAB bid to win him in many leagues. I’ll let someone else deal with the headache.
Hunter Henry, Patriots (32% rostered)
Henry isn’t young, explosive, or exciting. What he is, is a boring touchdown-dependent tight end who can produce when he scores. This has been the case all along for Henry. When he scores, you are happy you started him, and when he doesn’t score, you will regret it. Again, desperate times call for desperate measures and he isn’t the worst option available.
Pat Freiermuth, Steelers (74% rostered)
Freiermuth is the second target in a disjointed Steelers offense, but given how bad the tight end market is, he may not be a terrible option. He is Hunter Henry except with a higher floor. In the weeks where he scores he is going to be TE6 or better, but even if he doesn’t score he should still be startable. He isn’t the most exciting option, but he is consistent.
Taysom Hill, Saints (57% rostered)
Hill is Hill. He is going to score 40 fantasy points in one week, and 0 in the next. If you are in a best ball league, he is probably a top 5 tight end. If you have to set your lineup, good luck! Add Hill, and pray he blows up when you need him the most.
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