Week 1 Waiver Wire Pickups: 19 Players to Consider Adding Before Kickoff
You don’t need to wait for Week 1 results to upgrade your fantasy roster.
Injuries, preseason standouts, and late depth-chart changes have already altered the names that matter. Moving early gives you a chance to patch roster holes or simply add upside before your league mates react.
Here are 19 names to consider adding now, plus a defense worth streaming in Week 1.
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Running Backs
MarShawn Lloyd, Packers
Blind Bid Recommendation: 40-50%
Lloyd’s probably already rostered in your league, but ESPN’s numbers find him available in 20% of leagues. So we’re including him simply as a reminder to check waivers if you
Lloyd has played in just one game through his first two years, but he opens the season atop the Packers' depth chart.
How the backfield split plays out against the Vikings is one of Week 1's bigger mysteries.
But with Josh Jacobs facing a presumably lengthy absence and no proven depth behind him, Lloyd is the most lucrative waiver option ahead of Week 1.
Mike Washington Jr., Raiders
Blind Bid Recommendation: 10-15%
Washington might similarly have gone around the middle of your draft, depending on your timing. But he remains available in 60% of ESPN leagues.
The Raiders' latest coaching regime inherited Ashton Jeanty and Dylan Laube but selected Washington in the fourth round of this year’s draft.
Washington played for three different schools over his final three collegiate seasons, finishing with 17.6 PPR points per game in his lone year at Arkansas.
His prospect profile doesn’t historically point to rookie-year production. But Jeanty’s uncertain Week 1 status could put Washington in line for a large workload vs. a Miami defense that’ll miss mammoth DT Kenneth Grant.
Jonah Coleman, Broncos
Blind Bid Recommendation: 10-15%
Coleman was the fourth running back taken in April’s draft, landing with the Broncos just a year after they chose RJ Harvey in the second round and despite J.K. Dobbins returning.
He also joins JK Dobbins in a slightly crowded backfield.
So there shouldn’t be any expectation for Coleman to produce instantly. But as part of an offense that’s projected to be one of the higher-scoring ones, he’s attractive even if he’s not atop the depth chart.
Dobbins’ lengthy injury history and Harvey’s poor rookie-year rushing metrics only add to Coleman’s chances of seeing fantasy-friendly volume at some point.
Emmett Johnson, Chiefs
Blind Bid Recommendation: 8-12%
Johnson is no stranger to handling a large workload. He was the only RB in college football to handle at least 60% of his school’s rush attempts last season.
Johnson didn’t just stand out as a rusher either; his 15.5% target share was the highest among all Power 4 running backs.
He won’t get anywhere near that type of workload this year but profiles as the Kenneth Walker handcuff.
Braelon Allen, Jets
Blind Bid Recommendation: 8-12%
Allen flashed as a rookie, including a 19.6-point PPR week. But he lost nearly all of his second season to a Week 4 MCL sprain.
Allen sits behind Breece Hall in what should be an improved Jets offense.
Hall has been a model of RB availability since tearing his ACL as a rookie, but if he misses time, Allen has handled a starting role before. Hall has returned from an August groin injury, but that issue adds at least a bit of risk to his outlook.
While we’ve seen a high-ranking week from Allen, we’ve yet to see him carry out a bellcow workload since his time at Wisconsin. That indicates that Isaiah Davis would be a part of any split if Hall were to miss time.
Wide Receivers
Keenan Allen, Colts
Blind Bid Recommendation: 8-12%
Allen has commanded at least a 20% target share every season of his lengthy career. That includes last season, when he posted a 21.4% target share despite not signing with the Chargers until August.
Allen now enters his age-34 season after signing with the Colts in August.
He finds another potential path to 20% targets with a Colts team that traded Michael Pittman Jr. to the Steelers and went without Alec Pierce nearly all of the summer following ankle surgery.
You shouldn’t look to start Allen right away, but he’s stashable while we see how playing time and targets get spread among Indy wideouts.
Tre Tucker, Raiders
Blind Bid Recommendation: 8-12%
Tucker has improved his production every season since entering the league out of Cincinnati.
His career-high 17.9% target share last season led all Raiders wide receivers, and Tucker looks likely to do that again.
Although a healthy Brock Bowers will eat a large share of the targets, potential improvement in the passing game -- and the offense overall -- should help Tucker’s efficiency. If his target share also improves for a fourth straight season, he could present fantasy-starter value.
Tight Ends
Terrance Ferguson, Rams
Blind Bid Recommendation: 10-15%
Ferguson hit last year’s draft as one of the most athletic tight ends to recently come out with an impressive 4.63-second 40 time (90th percentile for the position) at 6’5 and 247 pounds.
Unfortunately, it led to less than 5.0 PPR points per game thanks to a sub-6.0 % target share and 0.50 yards per team pass attempt.
But we’re reminding you of the athleticism because Ferguson should see significantly more usage in his second season. He returns to an offense that produced the second-most total TE PPR points last season.
The big question will be whether Ferguson can earn a large enough cut to be worth starting in fantasy. Stash him on your bench while we await that answer.
Deep Options
Quarterback
Malik Willis, Dolphins
Blind Bid Recommendation: 5-8%
Willis makes his Dolphins debut against the Raiders this Sunday. While it may not be a matchup that stands out given the low scoring projection, Willis getting to start his season throwing in a dome against a defense that ranked outside of the top 10 in passing yards allowed last season is an ideal setting.
In his lone start for the Packers last year, Willis produced 32.5 fantasy points while accounting for 3 total TDs.
Running Back
George Holani, Seahawks
Blind Bid Recommendation: 5-8%
The Seahawks lost Kenneth Walker during free agency and have Zach Charbonnet working back from a January ACL tear. That leaves Holani in a backfield with rookie Jadarian Price and former Packer Emanuel Wilson.
Price is the prized first-rounder from this past draft who sits atop the depth chart. But in the four years he was at Notre Dame, he was never responsible for more than 26.3% of the team’s rush attempts.
With Charbonnet missing at least four weeks and questions surrounding Price’s ability to handle a big workload, Holani has an opening to earn a useful early-season role.
In fact, ESPN’s Brady Henderson expects the Seahawks to mix in a “heavy dose” of Holani, “whose receiving and pass-blocking skills seem perfectly suited for third-down work.”
Kaelon Black, 49ers
Blind Bid Recommendation: 5-8%
Black was a surprising third-round pick by the 49ers after spending six seasons in college.
Since then, Black has piled up positive training-camp reports and reportedly climbed to the No. 2 RB spot behind Christian McCaffrey.
McCaffrey stayed healthy last year but missed 13 games in 2025. Should he go down again, Black would become a potential fantasy starter in San Francisco’s perennially efficient offense.
Malik Davis, Cowboys
Blind Bid Recommendation: 5-8%
Davis beat out Jaydon Blue and others for Dallas’ No. 2 job, with Emari Demercado behind him after a late-August waiver claim.
Davis is a bit of a mystery as a fourth-year undrafted free-agent with only 90 career carries. Still, there’s value in backing up Javonte Williams in an offense that returns the key pieces from last year’s unit, which ranked second in yards and seventh in scoring.
Don’t expect Davis to see much work alongside a healthy Javonte Williams after HC Brian Schottenheimer called Williams a “bellcow.” But Davis could become a fantasy starter if Williams misses time.
Seth McGowan, Colts
Blind Bid Recommendation: 3-5%
McGowan has gone from seventh-round pick to sitting behind only Jonathan Taylor on the depth chart.
That position won’t leave the 24-year-old rookie much work as long as Taylor’s healthy. But a Taylor injury would open loads of opportunity to a prospect with a particularly intriguing receiving profile.
McGowan averaged 11.0 yards per catch across 55 receptions over three seasons of solid-to-strong usage at three FBS stops.
Wide Receiver
Devaughn Vele, Saints
Blind Bid Recommendation: 5-8%
Vele’s first season with the Saints after the trade from the Broncos produced just 5.1 PPR points per game on an 8.6% target share.
But when Vele was on the field, his 16.1% target rate trailed only Chris Olave among Saints WRs.
New Orleans will miss rookie WR Jordyn Tyson for at least the first four games thanks to a hamstring injury. That figures to help Vele's playing time and target share. And the pass offense should improve in QB Tyler Shough's first full starting turn.
Ryan Flournoy, Cowboys
Blind Bid Recommendation: 5-8%
Flournoy’s just the No. 3 WR in Dallas. But when he was on the field last season, he earned targets on 20.5% of his routes and averaged 1.74 yards per route run. Fewer than 30 WRs topped both his target rate and yards per route run.
Flournoy will be tough to use when CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens are healthy, but he has already flashed the upside an injury to ether guy could present.
Flournoy delivered a 6-114 receiving line in a Week 5 game Lamb missed and 9-115-1 in the Week 14 contest Lamb left early.
Malachi Fields, Giants
Blind Bid Recommendation: 5-8%
Fields has been earning praise in a Giants wide receiver room with opportunity behind Malik Nabers.
Fields posted merely OK production for his college career but drew a solid 18.4% target share at Notre Dame last season, alongside Jeremiyah Love, Jadarian Price, and Eli Raridon.
The rookie's no lock to get the No. 2 role for the Giants, but Darius Slayton's release this week helps. Darnell Mooney presents primary competition, coming off a 32-443-1 season in Atlanta.
Ja’Kobi Lane, Ravens
Blind Bid Recommendation: 5-8%
This third-round rookie has piled up positive reports as the Ravens’ top training-camp standout.
Lane earned a 20.8% target share and accounted for 13.4 PPR points per game last year in his junior season at USC while playing alongside first-round WR Makai Lemon.
The battle for targets behind Zay Flowers -- and potentially behind Rashod Bateman -- won’t be easy, but we’ve seen Lane earn volume and produce alongside quality competition before.
Bateman’s lingering criminal case adds some risk that the veteran could see league discipline at some point.
Caleb Douglas, Dolphins
Blind Bid Recommendation: 3-5%
It’s not often that a third-round rookie WR has a chance to be his team’s lead receiver by opening day. But such is the case with Douglas.
Douglas enters a wide receiver room with Malik Washington and Jalen Tolbert who each fell short of 7.0 PPR points per game last season.
Douglas wasn’t a high-end scorer as a collegiate WR but produced at least 1.75 yards per route run both of his seasons at Texas Tech and has been earning recognition as a training camp standout for the Dolphins.
Douglas makes for a risky Week 1 start before we get a look at the regular-season offense. But one good week in a favorable matchup could make him a coveted waiver target.
Tight End
Michael Mayer, Raiders
Blind Bid Recommendation: 5-8%
Klint Kubiak’s first season as Raiders head coach is expected to feature more multiple-TE sets. Last year’s Raiders ranked eighth in the league by using 2+ TEs on 42% of offensive snaps. So any growth beyond that would be great news for Mayer, who earned a target on 17.9% of the routes he ran last season, ranking 11th among all TEs.
The ultimate upside path for Mayer would obviously follow a Brock Bowers injury. But there’s room for him to reach fantasy relevance even alongside Bowers, especially if the offense and QB play improve their efficiency under the new coaching staff.
Mayer makes particular sense as a stash if you play in a TE-premium format.
Top Streaming Defense for Week 1
New York Jets at Tennessee Titans
Cam Ward tied Geno Smith for the most sacks taken last season (55). He struggled particularly when pressured, with 22.9% of those pressures turning into sacks. That ranked third-worst among 29 QBs with 300+ dropbacks.
Ward also tied for the league lead with 11 fumbles.
Can the Jets take advantage?
New York somehow failed to record a single INT last season and finished 31st with just 26 sacks. But there are reasons to expect improvement.
HC Aaron Glenn is taking over defensive play calling. His Lions defenses improved from 24th in percentage of drives ending in a turnover in 2021 to 15th, 14th, and seventh over the next three seasons.
The personnel looks better, too, with veterans David Onyemata, Demario Davis, and Minkah Fitzpatrick arriving. Most intriguing is No. 2 overall pick David Bailey, who led the FBS with 14.5 sacks and a 21.3% pressure rate last season.
A low 39.5-point over/under adds to the appeal, giving the Jets a favorable setup as a Week 1 streaming defense. They sit available in 96% of ESPN leagues as of this writing.
