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This year, I was asked to help collaborate with Tommy Mo on our waiver wire articles at The Undroppables. The news comes from our dear friend – Mike Reedy – who is getting an excellent opportunity to write his content at another website, and we wish him all the best this year and his new adventure.
This series will discuss ways to shape your roster by allowing players to add off the waiver wire and who to drop to make room. We wanted to ensure we get things going even before the first week of NFL action, as fantasy football is an ever-changing landscape, and we already have some top candidates to add to your benches!
Excluding Sleeper from our rostership stats, their data looks to be updated later.
Quarterbacks
Jordan Love (Green Bay Packers)
Yahoo – 30% Rostered
ESPN – 15% Rostered
Jordan Love is the starter for the Green Bay Packers in his third year in the league. They open against the Chicago Bears, who allowed the 7th most fantasy points to the quarterback in 2022. This offense might surprise some and Week 1 might be our first look at that.
Sam Howell (Washington Commanders)
Yahoo – 22% Rostered
ESPN – 9% Rostered
Entering his second year, Sam Howell takes over Eric Bieniemy’s offense and starts with a great matchup. Arizona Cardinals look to be in full tank mode, and I expect Sam Howell to be a great Week 1 start for anyone streaming at the QB position. McLaurin and Dotson should receive plenty of targets from Howell to kick off the season.
Running Backs
Deon Jackson (Indianapolis Colts)
Yahoo – 33% Rostered
ESPN – 31% Rostered
Jonathan Taylor was placed on the PUP; he will be out for the first four weeks at a minimum. Because Deon Jackson was named the starter, and in an offense that will likely be run-heavy, you are getting an instant RB2 with upside now before the season starts.
Jaylen Warren (Pittsburgh Steelers)
Yahoo – 47% Rostered
ESPN – 46% Rostered
Making plays all preseason, if you were reading intently on Twitter from several people, Jaylen Warren is in a position to take over the workhorse role this year. Najee Harris looked slow and inefficient last year, mainly from an injury, but the changing of guard might have this year.
Wide Receivers
Nico Collins (Houston Texans)
Yahoo – 53% Rostered
ESPN – 58% Rostered
Collins is one of our favorite wide receivers this season, and seeing these roster stats is shocking. Is he the clear WR1 for a rookie QB who will throw a lot on a rebuilding team? His target competition is Robert Woods, who has yet to look the same recently, and Dalton Schultz, and I am trying to remember the last time a rookie QB featured their tight end. All targets are earned for sure, but competition is looking thin down in Houston.
Chase Claypool (Chicago Bears)
Yahoo – 4% Rostered
ESPN – 18% Rostered
Injury discount for Claypool, being sidelined most of this offseason. The Bears traded a very high draft pick for him last year. They will put him to use once he is healthy, and we know he can score TDs. He needs to stay healthy and prove his time in Pittsburgh wasn’t just a fluke.
Zay Jones (Jacksonville Jaguars)
Yahoo – 31% Rostered
ESPN – 31% Rostered
This offense will be explosive, and with the addition of Calvin Ridley, the hype went away from Zay. However, people need to remember that Zay did get paid this offseason. And they will use him on the outside with Ridley while Christian Kirk controls the slot position. Coming off a career year and is in the same offense, don’t sleep on Zay.
Tight Ends
Juwan Johnson (New Orleans Saints)
Yahoo – 38% Rostered
ESPN – 26% Rostered
I love Juwan, my sleeper candidate this year for the tight end to finish in the top 10. The former WR turned TE and gets an upgrade at the QB position. Derek Carr loves to throw to his tight ends as we saw with Darren Waller in Las Vegas. With opposing defenses focusing on Olave and the return of the Slant King Michael Thomas, expect Johnson to get looks often and early.
Kylen Granson (Indianapolis Colts)
Yahoo – 0% Rostered
ESPN – 0% Rostered
This might be our most profound find in the waiver wire in the history of The Undroppables. With Jelani Woods injured, Kylen Granson gets the start. The Colts will be against the Jaguars, which means this game could be a shootout. If you plan to stream at the TE position, here is your guy!
Drop Candidates
Anthony Richardson (Indianapolis Colts)
Yahoo – 85% Rostered
ESPN – 77% Rostered
I wrote about Anthony in my formula series, looking at rookies for redraft leagues. Anthony is incredibly talented, and his athleticism will be fun to watch. I would not feel comfortable starting him in Week 1. I’d be more comfortable starting with the candidates we mentioned at the start of this article.
I’ll keep this section short. We just drafted a lot of fliers, and we are hoping to find out more after Week 1. It seems like a cop-out, I know. I will assure you we will have some good names in our next article.
Good luck to everyone this season; check out our weekly rankings to help get your teams locked and loaded for this NFL season!
