Amazing how quickly fantasy football draft season comes and goes, isn’t it? Some of you still have last-drafts coming up in the final days before the NFL’s Thursday-night opener, but most of us have shifted from draft mode to in-season mode. Most leagues have a waiver wire run just before Week 1, so it’s time to roll up your sleeves and start managing.

Not that you’re obligated to do any waiver wire shopping this week. Maybe you’re perfectly content with the hand you’re holding. No problemo.

Some fantasy football managers confuse activity with productivity, doing more harm than good with restless overmanagement. Sometimes, the best thing you can do for your fantasy football team is nothing. There is a concept of Taoism called wu wei, which essentially means “do without doing.” In other words, inactivity is sometimes the most prudent choice.

On the other hand …

Early waiver wire shopping has its benefits. A year ago, this Week 1 waiver wire article included Puka Nacua, De’Von Achane, Jake Ferguson, Jayden Reed and Jordan Love. All were rostered in under 50% of Yahoo leagues heading into Week 1, and all became impactful fantasy assets.

Who among this summer’s widely undrafted players might be able to help your fantasy football team? Let’s have a look at our top fantasy football waiver wire pickups ahead of Week 1. Below we dive into our top fantasy football Week 1 waiver wire pickups at Running Backs.

• Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Advice
• Weekly Fantasy Football Expert Rankings
• Fantasy Football Start/Sit Advice
• Fantasy Football Trade Tools

Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups: Running Backs

Running Backs

Jaleel McLaughlin (RB – DEN): 33% rostered

Four reasons to roster McLaughlin: (1) He was good last year as a rookie, averaging 5.4 yards per carry and catching 31 passes. (2) Denver RBs had a league-high 153 targets last season, and the Broncos’ new quarterback, Bo Nix, is a screen/checkdown machine. (3) Broncos head coach Sean Payton’s offenses have traditionally produced more than one fantasy-relevant RB, largely because RBs always play such a big role in Payton’s passing game. (4) Payton has gone out of his way to praise McLaughlin for his work ethic. Oh, and did you know that McLaughlin is the NCAA’s all-time leading rusher after piling up 8,166 rushing yards in 56 combined games at Notre Dame and Youngstown State? McLaughlin could be on the verge of a breakout season.

Rico Dowdle (RB – DAL): 48% rostered

Some fantasy managers lost interest in Dowdle after the Cowboys signed Dalvin Cook last week. But Cook appeared to be out of gas last year during his 15 games with the Jets, averaging 3.2 yards per carry and 3.9 yards per target. Cook and Ezekiel Elliott are both 29 — nearly geriatric by the standard of NFL running backs. Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy recently said he sees Dowdle as a three-down back and that he’ll be reducing Dowdle’s role on special teams in anticipation of a larger offensive workload.

J.K. Dobbins (RB – LAC): 45% rostered

Dobbins has had terrible injury luck since entering the NFL, tearing an ACL, MCL and meniscus just before the 2021 season, then tearing his Achilles in Week 1 of 2023. He was held out of the preseason but says he’s 100% healthy. It appears that Dobbins and Gus Edwards will split carries early in the season, and new Chargers offensive coordinator Greg Roman has traditionally been extremely run-heavy in his playcalling. Dobbins was a force of nature during his college career at Ohio State, and if he’s at or near his old form, he could become a major fantasy asset.

Jordan Mason (RB – SF): 26% rostered

With Elijah Mitchell going on season-ending IR last week, Mason becomes one of the most important handcuffs in fantasy football as the backup to Christian McCaffrey. Mason reportedly had a strong training camp, and he was PFF’s second-highest-graded runner in the preseason, with 14 carries for 76 yards and two TDs. If McCaffrey were to go down, Mason would be the leadback in one of the most potent offenses in the league.

Ray Davis (RB – BUF): 17% rostered

There will be widely unrostered rookie RBs who become coveted fantasy assets this season. Count on it. Davis could be one of them. A fourth-round pick who had more than 1,000 rushing yards for Vanderbilt and Kentucky in his final two college seasons, Davis looked sharp in the preseason, finding creases in the defense and making yardage after contact. The Bills would be wise not to overwork 190-pound RB James Cook, and Davis could be an important part of the Cook management plan.

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