2024 Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Week 1: Ja’Lynn Polk, Deshaun Watson

We did it. We made it. Your fantasy football draft is in the books. But that’s only the start, my friends. Leagues aren’t won with pre-draft fantasy football rankings. They are won here, in the trenches. With your lineup decisions. Your trades. And, especially, with the best waiver wire picks.

You need to keep your focus on improving your team. There’s no better way to start than by making 2024 fantasy football waiver wire Week 1 picks. And the best time to start is now. Clean that team up with our 2024 fantasy football waiver wire week 1 top targets!

2024 Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Week 1 Top Targets

Fantasy football drafts are a hectic time – especially live ones. The odds that you got it exactly right are pretty slim. Even though games haven’t started yet, there’s probably some great 2024 fantasy football waiver wire Week 1 pickups sitting there right now. And there are probably also some bums on your bench that you don’t need to hold. 

You might even be able to slide an injured player like Jonathan Brooks, Nick Chubb or T.J. Hockenson into an IR spot and add someone for free. So, let’s take a look at some of the players that might be available right now for you to add off the 2024 fantasy football waiver wire for Week 1 – for free! 

For each position, we’ll look at the best waiver wire picks for Week 1 that are rostered on 50% or less of teams on Yahoo (if a player is close, we’ll give them an honorable mention). We also have two additional articles for Fantasy Alarm members specifically looking at Players to Stream in Week 1 and Deeper Players to Stash for Week 1, so be sure to check those out. 

If you aren’t a Fantasy Alarm member yet, you can get 40% off your annual membership if you sign up right now or 50% off your first month with promo code LETSGO if you just want to check things out. 

P.S. At the very bottom of this article, I will update my Yin & Yang Tight End chart each week!

NFL Week 1 Waiver Wire Quarterbacks

Deshaun Watson, QB, Cleveland Browns, Yahoo: 18%| ESPN: 44% | Sleeper: 92%

A big part of Deshaun Watson being rostered in so few leagues is stigma. Folks don’t want to root for this guy. And we wrote an entire article that discussed the psychology of that as well as his upside. The short and sweet is that this guy is the QB3 in fantasy points per game – of ALL TIME. And that’s with an average of just over 20 points per game. Last year, even in the games with a broken shoulder, he was averaging around 18. 

We need to acknowledge that there is a world where Watson is still very good at football. Most of the players in this article this week will be “free adds” as we don’t have a lot of new info to move the needle following fantasy drafts that just happened. And you’ll probably want to save your priority/FAAB for the huge rankings movement that often follows Week 1. 

Just keep in mind that, if your league has IR spots, the folks that drafted Nick Chubb, Jonathan Brooks, T.J. Hockenson, etc. will have an open roster spot. So, if you really want to add a player, you might need to sprinkle some FAAB on them. I still wouldn’t use that top waiver priority on anyone right now though.

• Waiver Priority: Free Add
• FAAB: $0

Will Levis, QB, Tennessee Titans, Yahoo: 18%| ESPN: 9% | Sleeper: 5%  

Guys like this (and even Bryce Young) will always intrigue us. Will Levis is a big, strong-armed QB who’s willing to let it fly. My best comparable player for him coming out of college was Jay Cutler as someone who needed to work on fundamentals but has the raw talent. Now, Jay Cutler never really worked on his fundamentals, but he definitely had some fantasy-relevant stretches. 

With the weapons Levis has at his disposal in Calvin Ridley, DeAndre Hopkins, Tyler Boyd, Chigoziem Okonkwo, Tony Pollard, Tyjae Spears, etc., he could absolutely make some noise this year. The Titans are banking on it, and he’s just sitting there on the wire in most leagues.  

• Waiver Priority: Free Add
• FAAB: $0

Russell Wilson, QB, Pittsburgh Steelers, Yahoo: 8%| ESPN: 6% | Sleeper: 52%

Just like Deshaun Watson, the stigma surrounding Wilson clouds our judgment on what his upside might be. I mean, last year he missed two games and still finished as the QB14. Does that justify him being the QB32 off the board and rostered in less than 10% of leagues? Like any player, if he gets hurt or benched, we drop him. But, as of now, he’s the starting QB for a team that won 10 games last year and went to the playoffs with Kenny Pickett. 

And people forget that Arthur Smith quietly made Ryan Tannehill the QB7 one year in fantasy. It’s worth seeing what it looks like in Pittsburgh. If they use Justin Fields in some sort of weird wildcat package, we just drop Russ back to waivers. But Mike Tomlin really does not strike me as some gimmicky, wildcat guy. The standard is the standard, after all.

• Waiver Priority: Free Add
• FAAB: $0

NFL Week 1 Waiver Wire Running Back

J.K. Dobbins - Los Angeles Chargers, Yahoo: 45%| ESPN: 77% | Sleeper: 96%

Early in drafts, we want certainty. We want safety AND upside. Later on though, uncertainty is our friend. All that matters is upside. Yes, J.K. Dobbins has dealt with a number of serious injuries. Those might have permanently changed the way he plays football. He might not have the explosive ability he once had. But we also haven’t seen him this preseason. 

What if he has made a full recovery? It’s not out of the realm of possibility. He’s played in Greg Roman’s scheme before and his career yards per carry in that scheme is a whopping 5.8. Gus Edwards isn’t necessarily an insurmountable starting RB, and I think there’s enough uncertainty there to just see what JK Dobbins looks like Week 1. 

• Waiver Priority: Free Add
• FAAB: $0

Ty Chandler - Minnesota Vikings, Yahoo: 34%| ESPN: 52% | Sleeper: 11%

After cutting Kene Nwangwu, this team currently only has three backs on the roster. And one of them is fullback C.J. Ham. That means that Aaron Jones and Ty Chandler are guaranteed to get snaps here even if they elevate Myles Gaskin or Zavier Scott from the practice squad. 

Aaron Jones should be the pass down back, but his age coupled with his injury history is a big reason the Green Bay Packers ditched him for Josh Jacobs. I would not be surprised to see Ty Chandler handle a good chunk of the early down and short yardage work and, if Jones goes down again, they literally have no one else.

• Waiver Priority: Free Add
• FAAB: $0

Jaylen Wright, RB, Miami Dolphins, Yahoo: 21%| ESPN: 23% | Sleeper: 0%

In our deeper Running Back Stashes article, we get a little deeper into roster construction and who you want on your bench. If you are thin at RB, you might want someone like Dobbins or Chandler who could be relevant right from the rip. 

Guys like Jordan Mason or Jaylen Wright are more RB handcuffs, but Wright is unique in that he’s a DOUBLE handcuff if either one of Raheem Mostert or De’Vone Achane gets hurt. And, with his 99% speed in this incredible offense, that type of upside could be worth keeping an eye on. Or a last roster spot.

• Waiver Priority: Free Add
• FAAB: $0

NFL Week 1 Waiver Wire Wide Receiver

Ja’Lynn Polk - New England Patriots, Yahoo: 23%| ESPN: 29% | Sleeper: 0%

We obviously have our Streamers Article for players that may not be super exciting but offer a decent floor in your lineup. And we have our Stashes Article for players that are hard to trust now but are worth holding onto. This article has the guys who offer the best of both worlds – they could be useful right away AND they offer the best upside. Ja’Lynn Polk is exactly that. 

This is a brand-new regime and a highly uncertain target pecking order. The Pats used an early second round pick on Polk and Patriots WR coach Tyler Hughes was one of Polk’s coaches at Washington just last season. Hughes obviously had a say in the drafting of Polk, so he’ll likely give the young rookie every opportunity to make him look smart.

• Waiver Priority: Free Add
• FAAB: $0

Jerry Jeudy - Cleveland Browns, Yahoo: 43%| ESPN: 72% | Sleeper: 0%

If Rashid Shaheed is out there, that’s the guy we prefer – we have an entire article dedicated to his upside. But he’s rostered at 54% on Yahoo so just out of our parameters. We are also higher than most of the industry on Jerry Jeudy after he was cast-off by Sean Payton’s new Broncos regime. 

We explained in our article on Tight Ends To Fade that Deshaun Watson did not dump the ball down to David Njoku nearly as much as the backup QBs – Watson prefers to extend the play and look downfield. That’s generally going to favor the wide receivers operating on the outside. Elijah Moore was easily the least efficient WR in the ~100 target range last year so that job is Jeudy’s for the taking.

• Waiver Priority: Free Add
• FAAB: $0

Brandin Cooks - Dallas Cowboys, Yahoo: 32%| ESPN: 29.6% | Sleeper: 87%

CeeDee Lamb is a target hog. There’s no doubt about that. Jake Ferguson is fine but, with a 4.81 40-yard dash, I’m really not sure that’s a guy you want as a focal point of the offense getting ~120 targets. There is room for another pass-catcher to emerge here and Brandin Cooks is obviously in the driver’s seat. Cooks struggled at the beginning of last season with a knee issue and only registered one game with more than four targets over the first half of the season. 

Down the stretch, however, he put it together a bit and managed to finish the season with eight touchdowns. He’s dealt with a little knee soreness this offseason so we might want to keep an eye on Jalen Tolbert too, but Cooks could be in for a bounce-back season on a Cowboys team that is lacking in depth. 

• Waiver Priority: Free Add
• FAAB: $0

NFL Week 1 Waiver Tight End + Yin & Yang Tight End

Hunter Henry - New England Patriots, Yahoo: 27%| ESPN: 11% | Sleeper: 7%

We just talked about this with Ja’Lynn Polk – there is a lot of uncertainty in New England. We don’t know who the top dogs will be. And we’ve already written a full article on why we think Hunter Henry could be one. The short and sweet is that Henry has always been good vs. man to man which makes him great in the red zone. 

But the Patriots called zero tight end screens last year, so they really didn’t draw much up specifically for the tight ends. New OC Alex Van Pelt’s Browns, on the other hand, called the second-most tight end screens of any team last year. With more manufactured touches and a quarterback upgrade, Henry could find himself as a top two target on this team. And he could finally live up to the lofty expectations. 

• Waiver Priority: Free Add
• FAAB: $0

Greg Dulcich - Denver Broncos, Yahoo: 2%| ESPN: 1% | Sleeper: 45%

Only 2% of folks on Yahoo recognize the upside that Greg Dulcich brings to the table. Last year he started the first game playing half his snaps at WR and got two targets on three drives before essentially missing the rest of the year. Adam Trautman served as the inline blocking tight end then Lucas Krull took over the role meant for Dulcich, running more routes than Trautman over the second half of the year. 

The biggest threat to Dulcich’s play in the slot, Tim Patrick, was released by the Broncos last week. Dulcich could find himself in a “Jimmy Graham-lite” role as the Joker tight end in Sean Payton’s offense. And, with Bo Nix running Joe Lombardi’s dink and dunk scheme, Dulcich could be the second target on this offense behind Courtland Sutton. Staying healthy is the key to all of this so Dulcich’s biggest threat right now is himself. 

• Waiver Priority: Free Add
• FAAB: $0

Juwan Johson - New Orlean Saints, Yahoo: 3%| ESPN: 13% | Sleeper: 39%

We’ve made it clear that we like Rashid Shaheed to be the second target behind Chris Olave. But that’s not guaranteed. If Juwan Johnson is healthy coming off the foot issues, there’s a possibility that Johnson could work his way into a major role in this offense. 

Klint Kubiak does come over from San Francisco where they obviously featured George Kittle, after all. The converted wide receiver already has a nose for the end zone and, just like he did with converted WR Darren Waller, Derek Carr is not afraid to look for him in the red area.

• Waiver Priority: Free Add
• FAAB: $0

Week 1 Yin & Yang Tight End

As promised, here are our updated Yin & Yang Tight End rankings going into Week 1. If you are not familiar with this strategy, the full write-up on it is available in our 2024 Fantasy Football Draft Guide. The short and sweet is that, if you don’t get an elite tight end, you roster two – someone “safe” to start early on (Yin) and the highest risk, highest reward option on the bench (Yang). 

As you can see, we separate who we consider a Standalone tight end option where we only care about their bye week vs. the situations where you should roster two. You can use your own judgment on that based on your league size and you can also go with the riskier Yang-Yang pairing if you dare. We’ll be updating this throughout the season.

As a reminder:

Green = willing to reach above ADP

Yellow = willing to take around ADP

Red = willing to draft only if they slide past ADP