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:
Darrell Williams (8% owned):
With starting running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire down with an injury for the foreseeable future, Darrell Williams is going to step right into the role CEH had. Already we can see the potential Williams has with eight total touches which includes five targets. Williams has a good amount of upside in an explosive Chiefs offense and definitely needs to be picked up given how he will be the starting running back. Additionally, the Chiefs already really like Williams as even before the CEH injury he had 12 touches in week four as well as a touchdown.
Devontae Booker (4% owned):
It truly is the year of injured running backs as yet again we have a guy on this list who is stepping in for the starter. With Saquon set to miss some time for what looked like a brutal ankle injury, Booker will be the workhorse for this team. There was a ton of evidence of Booker having a massive role as illustrated by his 19 touches this past week. I think Booker is a must pick up given how huge of a role he will have in this offense. He even had two total touches this week (one on the ground and one through the air). It’s hard to find elite workhorse roles on the waiver wire and Booker might have that for the Giants.
Khalil Herbert (5% owned):
The sixth round rookie got his first real opportunity this past week and looked really, really good against a decent Raiders front. Herbert had 18(!) rush attempts for 75 yards which equates to a very respectable 4.2 yards per carry. Herbert seems to have a much larger role in this offense than expected and even had more carries than Damien Williams. Although he won’t have the passing role of Williams, Herbert is getting way too many carries to not be rostered everywhere possible.
Wide Receivers:
Kadarius Toney (12% owned):
The Giants got a lot of flak for taking Toney in the first round of the 2021 draft but man is he proving every single person wrong. Toney broke Odell Beckham Jr’s record for most receiving yards by a rookie with ten receptions for 189 yards. He definitely could have surpassed 200 yards if not for punching a Cowboy and promptly being ejected. Toney is incredibly explosive and has 22 targets over the past two games. Anyone with that many targets is worthy of a pickup not to mention the fact that Toney is doing a lot with the targets he is being given.
Rondale Moore (37% owned):
Moore has not been as productive as fantasy owners might have hoped after having a seven reception game for 114 yards and a touchdown in week two. However, according to PFF Moore is tied for the best graded rookie wide receiver (yes even with Ja’Marr Chase) and has looked good when given opportunities. That’s the key word though. It’s hard to tell whether Moore will ever be a consistent player but I truly believe that he should be picked up because he offers big play upside and has decent week to week ability.
Tim Patrick (30% owned):
Patrick has been very involved in this Broncos offense since Jerry Jeudy went down with injury. Patrick is one of those guys who is simply consistent and is getting 4+ targets every week. He has 3+ catches and 37+ yards in all five games thus far showing that he deserves to be rostered for the obvious reason that he will be getting a solid amount of points on a week to week basis. Not to mention the fact that Patrick is due for a touchdown as he has not scored one since week two and his 6’5 frame tells me a touchdown is coming.
Amon-Ra St. Brown (4% owned): St. Brown has been heavily, heavily targeted the last two games. Goff threw him the ball eight times in each of the last two games which has led to six and seven catches respectively. With no other established wide receivers on the team, the rookie has taken things into his own hands to begin producing at a very solid level. I think that if this role continues, St. Brown could be an every week plug in play in the flex spot and won’t even carry much risk.
Tight Ends:
Hunter Henry (36% owned):
Is one of the Patriots highly paid tight ends actually going to be fantasy relevant this year? It seems like Henry might finally be stepping up. He has touchdowns in back to back games not to mention the fact that he just had eight receptions for 75 yards. Henry has been relatively consistent too as he has not scored below 6.1 points in any given week. He even ranks as a top ten tight end through five weeks. With tight end as shallow as it is, get him immediately.
Dan Arnold (1% owned):
The Jaguars desperately wanted a tight end and made a move to get Arnold who has been solid in two games with the team. Arnold had a big game Sunday with six receptions, on eight targets, for 64 yards. Arnold should be a safety net for Trevor Lawrence and while he won’t be the most reliable guy, if you truly need tight end he’s definitely worth a shot.