A lot of times in fantasy football, players will bust or get injured and you feel your team is basically done for the year. However, without even making trades you can drastically improve your team by working the waiver wire. For those new to fantasy football, the waiver wire is full of ‘free-agent’ players that you can pick up and add to your team.
Oftentimes, there will be a variety of players worth adding to your roster and depending on your team this article might contain most of them or just a few. Therefore, whenever I put a player on this list he will have a 50% ownership percentage or lower to make it so there should be players for everyone to add and make their teams significantly better.
Additionally, all ownership percentages will be based on the ESPN website data but usually the percentages are relatively uniform across platforms from my experience.
I am going to always divide this article into three sections: Running Backs, Wide Receivers, and Tight Ends. So if you need one of those positions more than anything else feel free to just scroll to that given section.
Running Backs:
Mark Ingram (11% owned):
Well, Mark Ingram is back and ready to go. While he was not efficient, (just 3.3 yards per carry), Ingram received an insane 26 rushing attempts for 85 yards and a touchdown. This is even more ridiculous when you consider the fact he only had 72 rush attempts in all of last year. The Texans clearly view him as their clear number one back and any running back getting 25+ touches deserves a pick up especially given how shallow the depth at this position can be late in the season.
Ingram is most certainly worth an add to your squad and if he receives a ton of touches every week has very solid upside.
Elijah Mitchell (2% owned):
With Raheem Mostert down with injury, the rookie Mitchell absolutely had a game to remember. Mitchell had 19 carries for 104 yards (5.5 YPC) and a touchdown. The most impressive statistic to me, however, was the fact that Mitchell out-touched the next running back by 18 touches.
I understand that Shanahan has shown recently that he goes by the “hot-hand” approach but he really did feed Mitchell and if Mitchell fills the Mostert role that’s still 15+ touches every single game. Pick him up and if the situation is truly that murky drop him but he is going to have a role this year.
Kenneth Gainwell (4% owned):
The fifth round rookie demonstrated his versatility yesterday as he was productive in both the run and pass game. Gainwell had 43 yards on 11 touches to pair with a really nice red zone touchdown run. Even with Sanders getting 19 touches, Gainwell showed his ability to play and I think he’s going to have a role in what looks like a run-based offense. I would wait to actually start Gainwell to see what his role actually is but he’s worth a bench stash for now.
Tony Jones Jr. (15% owned):
Jones was the entire reason that Latavius Murray ended up getting cut and now we clearly saw in week one why. Jones had 12 touches for 53 total yards with a 4.5 yards per carry clip. On an offense that should score a decent amount of points Jones does have some upside as a backup but the real value lies in the fact that if Alvin Kamara were to go down Jones Jr. would be THE guy in the backfield with RB1 upside every single week. Get him now if you’re a Kamara or just as future trade bait.
Wide Receivers:
Sterling Shepard (25% owned):
Shepard, when healthy, has always been a very productive wide receiver but in the past concussion issues have severely hampered his fantasy football production. In week one, Shepard showed that he is not some washed up player and is actually very good. He had nine targets for seven receptions and 113 yards plus a touchdown. He led the team in targets by two and I really do not think this was just a fluke game.
I like him as a player with great flex ability and I would not honestly be too mad about starting him even next week. He’s just a good, solid wide receiver who definitely has chemistry with Daniel Jones.
Zach Pascal (2% owned):
Pascal won the slot job outright in camp despite Parris Campbell coming in as a heavy favorite to have that role. Although Pascal was third on the team in targets, he actually led all wide receivers in targets which shows just how much Carson Wentz loves him. Not to mention the fact that he had four receptions for 43 yards and two touchdowns. Pascal could have a really big spot on this team and he’s been a relatively consistent wide receiver when given opportunity in the past.
Christian Kirk (4% owned):
We have been waiting for a Christian Kirk breakout season for what feels like years. Could this finally be the year? Kirk caught all five of his targets for 70 yards and a couple beautiful touchdowns catches. Kirk has the ability to produce in an offense that should score a lot of points. I think he is talented enough to be Kyler Murray’s WR2. Add him while you still can.
Nelson Agholor (30% owned):
Agholor showed why he got paid 13 million a year this year in his week one performance. Was last season not quite the fluke a lot of people thought it could have been? Agholor had five receptions for 72 yards and a touchdown. He is a sneaky back-end WR2 upside if he is the number one guy for this Patriots team. Look to add him immediately.
Tight Ends:
James O’Shaughnessey (0% owned):
Were his stats probably a bit inflated from a ton of garbage time? Probably. But this Jaguars defense is absolutely atrocious and I fully expect him to keep getting targets. O’Shaughnessey had eight targets for six receptions for 48 yards. That’s pretty darn good production for a guy people probably don’t even know about. He’s a good backup option with potential top 15 upside at the position.
Juwan Johnson (1% owned):
Coming seemingly out of nowhere this offseason, Johnson had two touchdown catches in week one. Johnson could potentially have a big role in this offense in the red zone going forward and given how there is almost no depth at tight end usually during the season, Johnson is most certainly worth an add in my opinion. He only had 21 total yards but to be fair Jameis Winston only threw 148 yards so I wouldn’t look too too much into that.