The excitement is through the roof! We are merely a few days away from the kickoff of the 2024 NFL season! With that, comes the official kickoff of the fantasy football season as well. With that, many are scrambling to set the perfect lineups and develop the correct rosters to kickoff their 2024 fantasy football campaigns. Although many within the community have just drafted their teams or have yet to do so, there are still waiver wire targets that are readily available across the majority of leagues. That’s where this article series comes into play.
Each week, I will develop a list of must add targets for fantasy football leagues. My goal is to keep each suggestion under 40-percent owned in Yahoo and/or ESPN leagues. At least one of my suggestions will be owned in less than 10-percent of Yahoo and/or ESPN leagues. I will also strive to have at least one player per position (QB, WR, RB and TE.)
In future editions of this series, I will post the results from last week here. With this being the first week, there are no results.
Week 1 Suggestions
Quarterbacks
Will Levis (Tennessee Titans) - Owned in 18% of Yahoo and 9.7% of ESPN Leagues
If you didn’t invest highly in a quarterback in your fantasy football drafts, you’re likely looking to stream the position throughout the season. One of the best stop gaps that’s widely available in most leagues is Levis. Levis showed some great signs a season ago and was given a multitude of new weapons this season in Calvin Ridley, Tony Pollard and Tyler Boyd. The offensive line was also improved and Brian Callahan took over as the team’s head coach. Levis has a real chance to be a top 12 fantasy quarterback this season and grabbing him now can help you avoid streaming the position for weeks to come.
Geno Smith (Seattle Seahawks) - Owned in 32% of Yahoo and 12.9% of ESPN Leagues
We are just two years removed from Smith being the QB5 in all of fantasy football. He gets a new offensive coordinator in Ryan Grubb who will bring a new look and new life to this Seattle offense that faltered a bit a season ago. Smith also has one of the better receiving corps in the league in DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett and Jackson Smith-Njigba. It’s also worth mentioning that the Seahawks’ first four opponents this season (DEN, @NE, MIA & @DET) were four of the worst teams a season ago in terms of allowing fantasy points to opposing offenses.
Runningbacks
Jaleel McLaughlin (Denver Broncos) - Owned in 34% of Yahoo and 41.4% of ESPN Leagues
McLaughlin should be the top of your waiver wire priority leading into Week 1. Sean Payton has been known to use multiple backs in his offensive schemes which is ideal here as McLaughlin slots in as the RB2 in Denver behind Javonte Williams. The team did add Audric Estime via the draft but he’s a power back. McLaughlin is best as a receiving back which will work out greatly as Bo Nix has been known to be a check-down merchant during his college career. In full point-PPR leagues, McLaughlin is a must add.
Samaje Perine (Kansas City Chiefs) - Owned in 4% of Yahoo and 3.4% of ESPN Leagues
The Kansas City Chiefs were one of the teams in on Josh Jacobs during the off-season before Jacobs ultimately signed his big contract with the Green Bay Packers. This shows that they are not fully in on Isiah Pacheco. Clyde Edwards-Helaire has already hit the IR list and the Chiefs only drafted rookie Carson Steele. At this point, there’s little competition behind Pacheco.
Jordan Mason (San Francisco 49ers) - Owned in 28% of Yahoo and 18.8% of ESPN Leagues
This one is simple. Mason is the backup to Christian McCaffrey in San Francisco. He’s an injury away from having top end RB2 and maybe even RB1 value. If you have a spot on your bench, Mason is one of those adds and stashes that could be a league winner down the road.
MarShawn Lloyd (Green Bay Packers) - Owned in 14% of Yahoo and 25.5% of ESPN Leagues
Like Mason, Lloyd is the RB2 for his respective team. Lloyd comes in as the backup to Josh Jacobs in Green Bay. A.J. Dillon is out for the season so there is no clear competition for the RB2 slot outside of Lloyd in Green Bay. Another one of those bench stashes that could turn out to be a lottery ticket.
Wide Receivers
Brandin Cooks (Dallas Cowboys) - Owned in 32% of Yahoo and 29.7% of ESPN Leagues
Once Cooks got going in this high-flying Dallas offense late in the season last year, he was a top 15 WR in the league. From Week 10 on, Cooks had 37 receptions for 492 yards and six touchdowns. He also averaged 9.5 yards-per-target and finished as the WR14 over that span. Outside of CeeDee Lamb, there isn’t much in terms of competition in this Cowboys’ receiving corps. Cooks will also benefit from the massive defensive attention Lamb will draw on every play.
Adonai Mitchell (Indianapolis Colts) - Owned in 30% of Yahoo and 34.7% of ESPN Leagues
Josh Downs is already dealing with a high-ankle sprain and it is unclear if he’ll play Week 1 at this point. There are some question marks around Mitchell as a rookie receiver but the Colts did invest a second round pick in the Texas product. We saw Mitchell in the slot during the pre-season with Downs injured which is promising as most would assume the 6-foot-2 speedster would only be an outside, deep-ball threat only.
Ja’Lynn Polk (New England Patriots) - Owned in 23% of Yahoo and 30.5% of ESPN Leagues
Now, I don’t like Polk’s situation in New England but their receiving corps is rather limited. Polk will compete with the likes of Pop Douglas, Kendrick Bourne and Javon Baker for targets. The Patriots invested an early second round pick in Polk for a reason. Polk has the opportunity as a rookie to lead his team in receiving, which is rare.
Tight Ends
Cade Otton (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) - Owned in 21% of Yahoo and 7.6% of ESPN Leagues
There was just one tight end who ran more pass routes than Otton across the NFL a season ago. That is encouraging but he finished as the TE27 otherwise. However, that type of involvement and production can’t be ignored. He also has some great matchups with the Commanders, Lions and Broncos across the first three weeks of the season.
Juwan Johnson (New Orleans Saints) - Owned in 3% of Yahoo and 13.3% of ESPN Leagues
Johnson was out for most of training camp, which hurt his draft stock but helps those playing the waiver wire. He will be ready for Week 1. He’ll become one of the top targets for Derek Carr this season. Johnson recorded at least 11.8 PPR points in three-of-his-last-four games a season ago. He has top-ten tight end potential this season and is widely available.
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