Pre-Week 1 Waiver Wire Adds Fantasy
While some leagues may not have even drafted yet, other leagues are in full swing. The season is officially a week away. We can't believe it nor can we wait! Today we are going to go over a list of players we think you should consider adding before week 1 as we believe they are going to be top tier waiver pickups going into week 2 after the first week of the season is in the books. Waivers are most important following the first couple weeks of the season because that is when the breakout players are initially added in most cases before they become well known names. You will regret not bringing in some of these guys when they become top priority players on the waiver wire going into week 2.
While the sleeper hype for Gage is building by the day and there is a good chance he goes in the late rounds of your draft, he is actually available in over 70 percent of all ESPN fantasy leagues as we speak. He is still out there for a lot of you. Gage could be on the verge of a Corey Davis like season with the Falcons. With Julio Jones shipped out to Nashville, Gage is suddenly thrust into the WR2 spot on the team. Sure, Kyle Pitts is a glorified WR2 at TE but you get the point. Gage is going to see a major uptick in receiving work in 2021. Why does that excite us? As a WR3 last year, Gage was impressive. He was a deep league play and he actually produced pretty often. He put up 72 catches for 786 yards and 4 TDs last season. Those are really good numbers for a WR3. On top of that, Gage was a legitimate good WR play in 4 of the last 5 games of the season. He was heating up as the year ended. Now, the Falcons are still the pass happy team they have been and he has a bigger role. Gage is going to be a popular add going into week 2 and it would be wise to get your hands on him now before everyone wants him.
Randall Cobb, Wide Receiver, Green Bay Packers
One thing we can count on in Green Bay is a lot of TDs. Every year with Aaron Rodgers at the helm, there are plenty of TDs to go around in this offense. We saw that firsthand last year with Rodgers' crazy MVP season in which both Davante Adams and Robert Tonyan caught over 10 TDs a piece along with Aaron Jones in the mix for a bevy of scores of his own. This season, Randall Cobb could be in line for a ton of TDs. Reunited with Rodgers and the Packers via trade a month ago, Cobb is in line to be the team's WR2. He will likely play out of the slot which will give him ample opportunities to score TDs. TD regression is almost guaranteed for Bob Tonyan, and with that, Cobb is set up for his own burst of scoring. With this, Cobb could quickly become an elite weekly flex or even WR2-3. Rodgers hand picked Cobb to return to Green Bay and be his WR2. That is super high praise from the reigning MVP. With this information, I have a ton of confidence in Cobb as a scoring threat. He and Rodgers already have great chemistry. This guy might seem like his days of fantasy relevancy are over, but trust me, they are not. Add him while you can he's available in around 70 percent of ESPN leagues as well.
Fantasy football is about having players in the best situations to succeed. Joshua Palmer, a rookie mid round WR from Tennessee, is in one of those situations. The Chargers are set to be one of the league's most explosive offenses once again. Mostly thanks to the arm of second year QB Justin Herbert who shattered records with his rookie season. Palmer has been a little talked about player this off-season for the Chargers, but get to know this name quick, because he has arrived. Palmer has won the WR3 spot on the team with Tyron Johnson being waived and not much coming from Jalen Guyton. This locks him into weekly relevance. As a rookie, there is a ton of potential. Palmer is available in over 96% of ESPN leagues. He is the kind of guy that could have 4 catches, 60 yards and a TD in week 1 and be the most popular waiver wire add of the week heading into week 2. He is going to have his opportunities to put up fantasy points in this high flying offense. If you have an open roster spot right now, get this guy, because otherwise you will likely lose him to one of the worst teams in your league heading into week 2.
Devontae Booker, Running Back, New York Giants
As far as the best handcuffs to top tier RBs in fantasy, Booker might be the one with the highest upside. Available in over 90 percent of ESPN fantasy leagues, Booker has a chance to even start right out of the gate in week 1 for the Gmen. Saquon Barkley has a complicated injury history and is close to gaining the tag of injury prone. It seems like he hasn't recovered amazingly from the ACL tear last season as he is just getting up to full speed right now. Regardless of if he plays week 1 or not, Devontae Booker should be added right away in all leagues. The potential Booker possesses is unreal. One tweak and Saquon could be done for weeks, slotting Booker into an instant RB2 in fantasy. As Josh Jacobs' backup in Vegas last year, Booker had some really nice games. And those were in limited roles. If Barkley misses any time at all during the season, Booker is going to get a full on workload. It would be exciting to see what numbers he could put up if he is thrust into the starting role. Definitely worth a waiver wire add because after week 1, there's a chance he's a hot commodity.
Deshaun Watson, Quarterback, Houston Texans (?)
If you either have an open bench spot or have a low quality QB1, you should consider grabbing Deshaun Watson. This is a potential league winning move right now. He is going undrafted in almost every league. While there is really no clarity on his situation right now, things could take a big turn almost instantly. In terms of his legal matter, the court date isn't until after this season. That means if you get him on your team, you do not have to worry about a suspension for this season. He is perfectly healthy but he and the Texans understand he won't really play another down for them and will ride the bench until an offer comes the team's way that they like. There have been tons of rumors of trade talks heating up over the past few days and with a player as high profile as Watson, that's the most news you will really get before a deal goes through. These types of massive trades end up happening seemingly out of the blue. Jamal Adams requested a trade last season and after that things got quiet again and then suddenly he was moved to Seattle. If you have space for him to sit on the end of your bench, it's a super low risk/high reward type play. I believe he will be traded and play somewhere at some point this season. The 5th ranked QB in terms of fantasy points scored last season is healthy and is a free agent almost everywhere, PICK HIM UP!
This is a pretty deep sleeper right now and you should honestly only pick him up if you have a free spot. At this current moment, it's not worth dropping a better player for him. Again, if you have an open spot to take a flier however, this is the player for you. Tight End is the weirdest position in fantasy. So little stars, so little production. A TD and you are likely instantly among the highest scoring TEs of the week. Aside from Kelce, Waller, and Kittle, there are no guarantees. That is why you have to research and try and find guys who could be a gamechanger at the position. Just 2 years ago, Darren Waller was the same type of deep sleeper going into the year like Brevin Jordan is right now. And look how it's turned out. The rookie TE out of Miami, Jordan was a projected second rounder who somehow fell to Houston in round 5. Sure he might be a little undersized for the position at 6'3 but his frame makes up for it and he plays like a tight end. One x-factor that Jordan possesses is elite speed. At the TE spot, the speed that we see in Jordan makes him one of the fastest guys in the league at the position. That is something to take note of. Also, the Texans are super weak in the receiving game. Brandin Cooks and a whole lot of nothing else. Jordan will split work with Jordan Akins as the team's top TE. We think given the talent that Jordan has, he will gain the starting job pretty quickly, and could instantly be a weekly TE starter. He has the potential and the talent, he just needs the role. He has a great chance of finding that role somewhat early on with Houston. This could be the next Darren Waller TE breakout. In closing, Jordan is available in over 99 percent of leagues. He could shock everyone, and we mean everyone.
Meyers is available in around 46% of ESPN fantasy leagues, making him less widely available as some of the others on this list but still realistic. If Meyers is available in your league, I strongly recommend picking him up before he pops week 1. Meyers might just be the WR1 this year in New England's new look offense. He got a lot of targets last year and did pretty well with them and now seems like the clearcut favorite to lead the team in targets for 2021. With rookie QB Mac Jones looking so sharp in the pre-season, he could be an amazing QB for Meyers in fantasy. Rookies usually establish their go to guys early on as a safety blanket sort of thing. Meyers is likely going to be that guy for Mac Jones. With Jonnu Smith and Hunter Henry dealing with nagging injuries right now, it bodes even better for Meyers. You have to add this guy and could even think about flexing him week 1.
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