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Zach Wilkens analyzes 2014 fantasy football waiver wire pickups and sleepers for Week 1, covering NFL running backs (RBs), wide receivers (WRs), tight ends (TEs) and quarterbacks (QBs).
Week 1 Waiver Wire for Fantasy Football
We have many great waiver wire articles at RotoBaller that will be coming out weekly, covering individual players and digging deeper into each position for fantasy football.
This waiver wire piece is an overview for all the position players, and highlights who I believe to be the best waiver wire pickup options and potential sleepers at each position for the week. Each week, I am going to discuss three players owned in less than 50% of Fleaflicker leagues, including one deep sleeper with an ownership of 10% or less.
As the NFL and fantasy football seasons are about to kick-off, and most of you have completed your drafts, there's no better time than now to hit that waiver wire and beef up your teams. Stay tuned for more great articles and waiver wire analysis at each position, including risers/fallers, deeper league sleepers, rankings and more. Good luck RotoBallers!
Editor's Note: be sure to also regularly check out our 2014 fantasy football waiver wire pickups list, which is a running list of waiver wire pickups for all positions. Given the different types and sizes of fantasy football leagues, the waiver wire pickups list is updated regularly throughout each week to highlight the more obvious pickups, and also those for much deeper leagues.
Quarterback Waiver Wire Pickup Options
1. Geno Smith: Fantasy Football Player News & Analysis" href="http://www.rotoballer.com/fantasy-football-nfl-news/?player=Geno+Smith">Geno Smith vs Oakland (21% owned on Fleaflicker)
A lot of people won't even touch Smith in fantasy and that is fair. His schizophrenic play last year led to 5 games of 20 or more points and 6 games of 5 points or less. Yikes! However only two of those bad games came at home, while four of the good games were at home. With a home matchup against a mediocre Oakland team and a huge upgrade at WR1 in Eric Decker, Smith could have a really big game.
2. Jake Locker @ Kansas City (28% owned on Fleaflicker)
Yes, Kansas City's defense is pretty good. Jake Locker doesn't have a great reputation, but he started last season with 6 touchdowns and no interceptions in his first four games before getting hurt. When he came back he didn't play as well and then got hurt again. This year is probably his final chance to show us what he can do, and I think he could very possibly show a lot of promise if he stays healthy. Kendall Wright enjoyed a really nice breakout season last year as the possession receiver and now Justin Hunter is expected to make a big leap forward as well. If he does, it should be a really solid first game for the offense, Locker included.
3. Shaun Hill vs Minnesota (6% owned on Fleaflicker)
Do you find yourself streaming in a 2QB league or a league with 16+ teams? Shaun Hill might be your best option. His career numbers are surprisingly not awful (62% completion rate, almost 2:1 TD:Int) though he hasn't started a game since 2010. I'm feeling good about St. Louis handily winning this game which should actually help Hill to not force deep throws and play conservatively. He won't win you your week, but if you are desperately looking for a starting QB, he probably won't lose your week for you.
Running Back Waiver Wire Pickup Options
1. LeGarrette Blount vs Cleveland (47% owned on Fleaflicker)
Make all the Blount jokes you want, the fact remains that he is not suspended and WILL be playing in week one. Bell will definitely be the feature back, but it looks like Blount will be handling the grunt work, short-yardage and goal line situations. This makes him a great shot at a touchdown in any given week and the first game should be no different. At 250 lbs, Blount is among the biggest backs in the game and has a great ability to get into the end zone. Of all backs with seven rushing TD in '13, Blount had the fewest carries and that doesn't even include his 4 TD playoff game. Now with the Steelers he could be even better.
2. Ahmad Bradshaw @ Denver (40% owned on Fleaflicker)
Let's just get this out of the way: I still don't like Trent Richardson one bit. He continued to show abysmal skill during the preseason and I really have no reason to believe he will exceed 4.0 YPC for the first time in his career. In such a tough week one game, I think the Colts will be quick to let Bradshaw do the heavy work if we see a few 2 yard gains for T-Rich. It would not surprise me at all if Bradshaw ends up with more touches in the first week. It's not something I'd like to bet on, but if you are employing the zero-RB strategy, its a safer bet than most.
3. Lorenzo Taliaferro vs Cincinnati (4% owned on Fleaflicker)
The super sleeper for week one. With Ray Rice out, the rookie Taliaferro should see at least a few touches in the first game of the season. Will it amount to anything? Probably not, but if you look at Bernard Pierce's (a big breakout candidate pick for many) numbers from last year, they were strikingly similar to Trent Richardson's....but worse. Pierce also suffered a mild concussion and did not make the trip to New Orleans for the final preseason game. He should be a full-go and will likely get the majority of touches regardless of performance, but its enough to make Taliaferro my super sleeper in week one.
Wide Receiver Waiver Wire Pickup Options
1. Greg Jennings @ St. Louis (34% owned on Fleaflicker)
Fun Fact: All four of Jennings' touchdowns last year came with Matt Cassel as quarterback. Especially in PPR, Greg Jennings is a pretty solid play. He had at least five receptions in five of the seven games that Cassel started. One of the other two games was a 3-catch 92-yard 2 TD performance. Yeah, I like that. Cordarrelle Patterson: Fantasy Football Player News & Analysis" href="http://www.rotoballer.com/fantasy-football-nfl-news/?player=Cordarrelle+Patterson">Cordarrelle Patterson has the explosive talent, but Jennings should remain the consistent possession receiver across from him. I love the Rams Defense this week, but someone has to catch some passses!
2. Brian Hartline vs New England (38% owned on Fleaflicker)
I'm not super high on Hartline, but he has one major benefit going for him - Darrelle Revis should be shadowing Mike Wallace, not Hartline. That means Wallace probably won't get many looks at the benefit of Hartline. For whatever its worth, the Dolphins did play the Bucs last year and Wallace got 4 recs for 15 yards while Hartline had a modest 5 for 57. I'm expecting better this year as the offense should be better.
3. Jeremy Kerley vs Oakland (8% owned on Fleaflicker)
Fantasy players are understandably lukewarm at the thought of owning and especially starting Jeremy Kerley. Keep in mind he has spent the past two years as the #1 receiver for the Jets when he should never have been in that position. Now he finally has Eric Decker (who should have a pretty nice game himself) which should actually help Kerley a lot. Against top cornerbacks, no thanks. Against #2's? Maaaybe. Enough of a shot that he's my super sleeper for the week.
Tight End Waiver Wire Pickup Options
1. Travis Kelce: Fantasy Football Player News & Analysis" href="http://www.rotoballer.com/fantasy-football-nfl-news/?player=Travis+Kelce">Travis Kelce vs Titans (27% owned on Fleaflicker)
This is an easy one for me. I've been talking up Kelce for a while now and I recently tweeted out that Kansas City's collection of WRs could be considered "A barf-bag of wide receivers". That might have been a little harsh, but with Dwayne Bowe suspended for week one, the top options are Donnie Avery, Frankie Hammond Jr, Junior Hemingway and A.J. Jenkins. Yeah, good luck there. Jamaal Charles will get his of course, but besides that Travis Kelce could be getting 10+ targets in this game. Much like Jordan Cameron last year without Josh Gordon: Fantasy Football Player News & Analysis" href="http://www.rotoballer.com/fantasy-football-nfl-news/?player=Josh+Gordon">Josh Gordon, Kelce could breakout in a big way right from the get-go.
2. Dwayne Allen @ Broncos (25% owned on Fleaflicker)
You shouldn't need me to tell you that the Colts will pass a lot in this game. Dwayne Allen missed almost all of last year and Coby Fleener established himself as the starting tight end, but it appears Allen has taken the spot back. When they were both rookies in 2012, Allen was the better player. He is also a better blocker meaning he'll get on the field more, which should lead to more opportunities. The Colts have three decent wide receivers, but there could easily be room for more in the passing game this week as well.
3. Ryan Griffin: Fantasy Football Player News & Analysis" href="http://www.rotoballer.com/fantasy-football-nfl-news/?player=Ryan+Griffin">Ryan Griffin @ Redskins (2% owned on Fleaflicker)
This is quite the longshot, but that's what super sleepers are all about. Here's what we know: Bill O'Brien was in New England at the height of the Patriots pass attack with Gronk/Hernandez. You should also know that Ryan Griffin was way more efficient with his targets last year compared to Garrett Graham. However, he also appears to be 3rd on the depth chart. Rookie C.J. Fiedorowicz ahead of him seems to be more of a blocking tight end. It's unlikely, but Griffin could be on the field in two-tight end passing sets and see some big opportunities.
