Constantly building and reworking our rosters is how championship teams get assembled. It’s not from a stellar draft or one individual trade, but it’s all possible by adding players that give you the most upside. That said, the waiver wire is a great option to get your roster competitive for any championship run! A critical aspect that most long-time managers have done is look at each week’s fill-ins and add stashes for later in the season or future bye weeks. As we look at our Unbuilt Rosters, we will look to categorize Priority Adds, Stashes, and Cut Candidates for your rosters.
To qualify for an Add or Stash, you must be below 50% ownership on both Yahoo and ESPN.
Priority Adds
Baker Mayfield – Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB
Yahoo Rostership – 34%
ESPN Rostership – 31%
Baker is the QB2 on the week, depending on how Monday Night Football goes. The Bucs QB finishes the opening week with four touchdowns and almost 300 passing yards. With an excellent schedule for the next few weeks and potentially amazing division games (Carolina Panthers look to be the worst NFL team), Baker should be picked up and started with confidence. The added weapon of Jalen McMillan (later this article), the 3 WR sets, will be a nightmare to defend against.
Alexander Mattison – Las Vegas Raiders RB
Yahoo Rostership – 4%
ESPN Rostership – 11%
Zamir White saw 72% of the Raiders’ running back rushes and a 6.3% target share. Those numbers were 87% and 9.4% per game during his final four-game stretch last season. Alexander Mattison had 24 routes run to White’s 10, per PFF.
— JJ Zachariason (@LateRoundQB) September 9, 2024
Mattison scored the only Raiders touchdown, and the usage suggests that Mattison might be the lead back. This could be because they were behind most of the game, but from a game script perspective, there is a good chance that is how the season will be for the Raiders. Alexander should be a top add in all Half-PPR/PPR leagues.
Tank Bigsby – Jacksonville Jaguars RB
Yahoo Rostership – 5%
ESPN Rostership – 5%
Travis Etienne
• 12 carries
• 45 yards
• 1.67 yac/attempt
• -1.39 RYOE/attempt
• 49.6 PFF rushing gradeTank Bigsby
• 12 carries
• 73 yards
• 4.25 yac/attempt
• 1.71 RYOE/attempt
• 77.9 PFF rushing grade— Dave Kluge (@DaveKluge) September 8, 2024
Thank you, Dave, for putting this together! I love Travis Etienne and will continue to play him in all leagues, but Tank might have a role in this offense now. The drumbeats this offseason were that they would look to spell ETN, and it sure looks like it’s happening after the first week. If an injury occurs, then Tank becomes a league-winning bell-cow.
Jalen McMillan – Tampa Bay Buccaneers WR
Yahoo Rostership – 5%
ESPN Rostership – 3%
Jalen’s box score might not be fantastic, but his usage during the game was encouraging, especially after the drum beats all offseason out of Tampa. He was on the field and ran as many or more routes than Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. The 3 WR sets will be used all year, so Jalen’s opportunities will continue. It’s a risky start with those names on the field, but he can no longer be on the waiver wire after this week’s usage.
Wan’Dale Robinson – New York Giants WR
Yahoo Rostership – 10%
ESPN Rostership – 7%
I do not want to add New York Giants players if I can help, but it’s hard to ignore 11 targets and a team constantly playing from behind this season. Wan’Dale is an option for the next few weeks to replace any injuries.
Isaiah Likely – Baltimore Ravens TE
Yahoo Rostership – 28%
ESPN Rostership – 9%
There’s not much else to say if everyone watched the Thursday Night game. The only good TE play in Week 1, and it was the backup for the Ravens, Isaiah Likely. Mark Andrews will still have great weeks, and the Chiefs have generally sold out to stop him and Likely capitalized on the opportunity. They might now be a solid tandem this season, so pick up Likely in hopes they become a weekly starter in fantasy.
Stashes
Sam Darnold – Minnesota Vikings QB
Yahoo Rostership – 10%
ESPN Rostership – 4%
Sam could easily have been a priority, especially with how well he performed and with the supporting cast around them. I do not want to jump the shark because it was against the New York Giants, possibly the most dysfunctional franchise in recent memory. They also will play the San Francisco 49ers and Houston Texans in the next couple of weeks, and they are not looking to run out of Darnold in those games either. However, the Vikings have an excellent late-season schedule, so do stash if Sam stays healthy and productive.
Bucky Irving – Tampa Bay Buccaneers RB
Yahoo Rostership – 21%
ESPN Rostership – 18%
Bucky had better rushes than Rachaad White, but unfortunately, White will have the stranglehold on the receiving work that is more valuable in Fantasy. I would stash Bucky, though. Injuries happen, and Bucky could even work into a more prominent role without an injury.
Justice Hill – Baltimore Ravens RB
Yahoo Rostership – 4%
ESPN Rostership – 3%
A similar analysis from Bucky is to be applied to Justice Hill, but in this case, it is for the receiving work instead of the rushing work. Ravens were in a negative game script and left Derrick Henry on the bench. Not all games will dictate that, but in games where you think the Ravens will need to throw more than run, Justice Hill would be a solid flex option in PPR leagues.
Any of the Los Angeles Rams WRs
Yahoo Rostership – N/A%
ESPN Rostership – N/A%
I can’t pick between them because I am not sure it matters, with Cooper Kupp still getting the targets over others. However, with Puka getting hurt, Demarcus Robinson or Tyler Johnson will look to be involved until Puka is fully healthy again. Robinson was already out before the injury, so Tyler Johnson might be the waiver add since they had the higher finish.
Tucker Kraft – Green Bay Packers TE
Yahoo Rostership – 2%
ESPN Rostership – 4%
This is what “Tucker Kraft should be added off of waivers ASAP” looks like pic.twitter.com/tofswBNOZ6
— Scott Rinear (@MunderDifflinFF) September 7, 2024
There is not much to pick from in this group, but Tyler Kraft should be picked up to see if this is real or if there is a week-to-week change between the TEs. The usage was significant for any TE, but it’s tough to trust the consistency and the QB change while Jordan Love is injured.
Cut Candidates
It is very early to look at certain people to drop. It is also easy to overreact and rage-drop players after the first week. Take a breath and remember it’s a long season. Revisit this section for more usage and production data after a few weeks. Make sure to be active on your waiver wires!
