Fantasy football: Ravens RB among best Week 1 waiver wire pickups originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Your fantasy football draft is in the books, and you like your team, but you’re not thrilled about some of your Week 1 matchups.
Enter the waiver wire.
The ultimate fantasy football lifeline, the waiver wire is where you can find studs like Jacksonville Jaguars running back James Robinson, who emerged from relative obscurity to become a top-10 fantasy RB last season.
Identifying top waiver wire targets before games begin is an inexact science, since everyone is starting with a clean slate. But there are plenty of players with enticing matchups and/or fortuitous situations in Week 1 who are worth adding and potentially starting on your squad.
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Here are five players to consider adding via the waiver wire in Week 1. All players are rostered in fewer than 50% of Yahoo leagues.
Ty’Son Williams, RB, Baltimore Ravens (32% rostered)
J.K. Dobbins and Justice Hill are both out for the season, meaning Williams is the top backup to new starter Gus Edwards in Baltimore. Williams had already solidified that top backup role with a strong preseason and could see significant touches right out of the gate against a Las Vegas Raiders team that allowed the fourth-most fantasy points to opposing running backs last season.
The Ravens love to run, so Williams is worth adding in virtually all formats.
The 5-foot-10 Moore has an opportunity to be the slot machine heir apparent to Jamison Crowder. Crowder looks on track to play in Week 1 after testing positive for COVID-19 last week, but the Jets may give their rookie more run out the gate with Crowder missing practice time. It’s not a slam-dunk matchup against the Carolina Panthers in Week 1, but Moore could pay dividends later in the season.
Tevin Coleman, RB, New York Jets (23% rostered)
Coleman is listed as the Jets’ No. 1 running back for Week 1, so New York isn’t ready to hand the keys to rookie Michael Carter just yet. It’s hard to envision quarterback Zach Wilson throwing 30-plus passes in his first NFL start, so Coleman could see a decent amount of touches and has RB2 upside if some of those touches come in the red zone.
Tyrell Williams, WR, Detroit Lions (32% rostered)
Williams’ inclusion is more about situation than talent. The seven-year veteran is the No. 1 option in a thin Lions receiving corps, and Jared Goff is a capable enough quarterback to feed him steady targets. Detroit could find itself trailing the San Francisco 49ers for most of Week 1, which means more opportunities for Williams.
Zach Ertz, TE, Philadelphia Eagles (33% rostered)
Ertz isn’t the same guy who caught 116 passes in 2018, and he’s behind Dallas Goedert on the depth chart after a failed trade attempt this offseason. But if you need a tight end streamer for Week 1, Ertz and Goedert both should put up numbers against an Atlanta Falcons team that allowed the most passing yards in the NFL last season.