We made it through the preseason and finally started the fantasy football season on Sunday. While the draft is a major component of fantasy football, playing the waiver wire might be just as important, if not more so. Making the right moves at the right time can mean the difference between winning your league or missing the playoffs altogether.
Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images
The byes are still a few weeks away, so we don’t recommend shaking up your lineup too much. Quarterback play was a mixed bag in Week 1, with a handful of top-tier players struggling (Russell Wilson, Tom Brady) and some even getting benched (Tom Savage, Scott Tolzien). We shouldn’t be reacting too much to one game, but if your team is already in a bind, here are some waiver wire options owned in 50 percent or less of Yahoo! leagues.
Tyrod Taylor, Buffalo Bills (51 percent)
Taylor was almost an afterthought in fantasy circles after a having a bad preseason and losing his best receiver (Sammy Watkins) to trade, but he took care of business against the New York Jets, throwing for 224 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception on 16-of-28 passing. Taylor’s ceiling is low on a run-heavy team without much passing volume, but he’s a decent QB2 most weeks. He’ll take on the Carolina Panthers next week.
Jay Cutler, Miami Dolphins (28 percent)
The Dolphins’ Week 1 game got postponed due to Hurricane Irma, so we didn’t get to see Cutler in action yet. There still isn’t much to go on aside from a handful of preseason drives, so Cutler remains something of a mystery when he faces the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 2. One thing to watch for is his promising connection with DeVante Parker.
Alex Smith, Kansas City Chiefs (22 percent)
No, Smith isn’t going to throw for 368 yards every week, and he probably won’t embrace the deep ball like he did against the New England Patriots. But that was still a hell of a game from Smith, who needs to be much better this year with Patrick Mahomes looking over his shoulder. We’ll see if he keeps it up against the Philadelphia Eagles, but that was a really promising start for the Chiefs’ season.
Deshaun Watson, Houston Texans (11 percent)
Watson replaced Savage after a brutal first-half performance. He honestly wasn’t much better, completing just 12 of 23 passes for 102 yards and taking four sacks. Watson has potential, but we can probably expect a lot of rookie jitters in the early going. He has a decent matchup with the Cincinnati Bengals, but the Texans have a short week playing on Thursday night, so Watson is more of a deep-league stash at this point.
