Week 1 might not long have arrived, but already it can pay to be looking ahead to Week 2 and considering the players on waivers that you should be stashing now, rather than having an all-out Waiver Wire War with your fellow league mates in a few days time.
This column will take a look ahead each week at players rostered less than 50% on Yahoo leagues.
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Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Stashes
Sam Howell (QB – WAS): 22% Rostered
It’s fair to be unconvinced by Sam Howell‘s NFL career so far. After all, Howell was unable to push Taylor Heinicke to the point where he would start ahead of him in 2022, having to wait till the final game of the season before it took Heinicke finally convincing the coaching staff to give Howell a start. Howell completed 11 of his 19 passes for 169 yards and a touchdown, as well as adding one on the ground, in a reasonable debut, and looks ready to build on that this year going through preseason with a 76% completion record for 265 yards and three touchdowns, with one interception. In Howell’s last year at college, he rushed for 800 yards and 11 touchdowns, which is the kind of production we’ll be hoping to see in Week 1. If Howell does that, he’ll be a hot name on waivers ahead of a Week 2 game against the Broncos.
"I'm 100 percent on the Sam Howell Bandwagon. He's a silent killer. He never looks fazed. It's crazy." — @Commanders WR Jahan Dotson.
— Peter Schrager (@PSchrags) September 5, 2023
Jaylen Warren (RB – PIT): 49% Rostered
Najee Harris isn’t going to roll over and let Jaylen Warren take the lead back duties away from him, but this weekend’s fixture against the 49ers might allow the Niners defensive line to exploit a weak Steelers offensive line, if that happens then it’s entirely possible that Kenny Pickett looks to get the ball out quickly and to players near the line of scrimmage. In the post-Roethlisberger era, Warren has been the better receiving back, putting up 8.3 yards per reception to Harris’s 5.5. Warren should be rostered in all formats, as his ability to play in all areas of the game makes him a true standalone value, as well as a top-tier handcuff.
Ty Chandler (RB – MIN): 8% Rostered
Jaylen Warren should be your priority but don’t overlook the primary backup in Minnesota either. The Vikings seem ready to place their faith in Alexander Mattison, but we really have seen very little of Mattison throughout his NFL career, with an average of 6.8 touches per game through four years in the league. DeWayne McBride was cut from the roster during training camp and Kene Nwangwu was placed on short-term IR, meaning that Ty Chandler is essentially all the Vikings have been Mattison for the time being.
Marvin Mims (WR – DEN): 37% Rostered
Sean Payton traded up to select Marvin Mims with his first draft pick as head coach of the Denver Broncos and ever since things have set up well for Mims to hit the ground running in 2023. Jerry Jeudy is listed as questionable for Week 1 with a hamstring injury, which doesn’t sound particularly good and the Broncos have had issues at the position already with KJ Hamler released with an injury settlement and Tim Patrick missing his second consecutive year. Mims is a downfield player who can win in the types of ways that Sean Payton has liked throughout his coaching career, and from the get-go, Mims could be playing on a high percentage of snaps. If Mims has a good Week One, he’ll be hot property for a matchup against the Commanders defense in Week 2.
Marvin Mims at $3000 on #DraftKings might just be my cash game lock of the week if Jerry Jeudy is out.
— Wyatt ? (@WyattB_FF) September 8, 2023
Michael Gallup (WR – DAL): 30% Rostered
This Summer’s ADP seemed convinced that Michael Gallup was the Cowboys WR3, behind CeeDee Lamb and new Cowboy, Brandin Cooks, but it’s entirely possible that Gallup could actually be the WR2 still. Last year with Gallup returning from a nasty knee injury that hampered his playing time and ability when on the field, his targets per game dropped to a five-year low of 5.2 and his average depth of target dropped to a career-low 11.1 as Gallup’s deep target rate also dropped from a career average of 0.22 per target to 0.12. Now a year further removed from the ACL injury, Gallup should rediscover some of his downfield ability and be able to feature more in the Cowboy’s plans, like they imagined when they chose to extend Gallup and move on from Amari Cooper in 2022.
Jayden Reed (WR – GB): 9% Rostered
Christian Watson has been ruled out of Week One and Romeo Doubs is also dealing with a hamstring issue of his own. The Packers aren’t blessed with depth at pass-catching positions and Reed could easily establish himself a consistent role straight from the get-go this year. Reed is a target-earner and can make the slot receiver job his in this young offense. Reed should be considered the lowest priority add of the skill position players in this column, but don’t be surprised if he becomes more relevant than ADP would have expected.
Matt LaFleur just ruled out Christian Watson for the Bears – Packers game on Sunday.
Green Bay’s starting WR’s
Romeo Doubs
Jayden Reed
Samori Toure— Max Markham (@MaxMarkhamNFL) September 8, 2023
Gerald Everett (TE – LAC): 42% Rostered
The Chargers are prime for a big bounce-back season after Justin Herbert, dealt with injuries last year that combined with poor playcalling to see his average depth of target hit a career-low 6.4 yards per attempt. With Kellen Moore calling the plays we should expect the Chargers to open things up more and while the addition of Quentin Johnston makes the wide receiver room trickier to predict, Gerald Everett is still the TE1 in this offense and we’ve seen enough from him, and Justin Herbert to know that the two can be a good pairing for fantasy football, with Everett finishing as TE13 in points per game last season. There are numerous tight end injuries looking to mess with this opening slate of games, don’t wait around for someone else to grab Everett. Consider it a priority move to make.
Who will be on the cover of Week 2 waiver wire articles?
My guess: Chargers TE Gerald Everett after going 6-70-1 with an elite 80%+ route rate.
— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) September 7, 2023
Green Bay Packers (DST): 32% Rostered
The Packers play the Bears this weekend followed by the Falcons in Week Two. That’s not a terribly imposing opening schedule. Turnovers and sacks are the name of the game for fantasy defenses and these two matchups could feature plenty of them.
L.A Chargers (DST): 9% Rostered
In Week Two the Chargers play the Titans, who might just have the worst offensive line in the league. The Chargers will give up rushing production, but if their offense clicks the Titans will be forced to play faster and likely put Tannehill in situations where he has to force the ball into less than safe areas of the field. The Chargers could easily hit five or more sacks in this fixture.
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