Fantasy Football Week One Waiver Wire Watch

Week one does not always give a clear picture of usage and situation, but you can take a step towards a fantasy championship by aggressively grabbing the right waiver wire target. Below are some of my recommendations. Editor’s Note- This post will be up on Tuesdays of each and every week moving forward.

Carson Palmer Arizona Cardinals (56% owned ESPN)
Palmer showed in week one why I had him as one of my top sleeper QBs this fantasy season. He moved around extremely well and was able to find the open receiver constantly. Palmer didn’t even have Michael Floyd at full strength and lost a nice passing game weapon in Andre Ellington during the game. Given that John Brown will continue to grow and Floyd will be back to himself soon, you have to love Palmer going forward.

Alex Smith Kansas City Chiefs (26.2% owned ESPN)
Alex Smith did not throw a touchdown to a wide receiver again! Who cares as long as Travis Kelce and Jamaal Charles are around. Both Kelce and Charles can take it to the house any time they get the ball in their hands and that make Smith dangerous.

Marcus Mariota Tennessee Titans (56% owned ESPN)
The game plan was perfect for the Titans in week one. Quick hitting plays and extremely hard to defend zone read – option passes. Mariota showed off more arm strength than he did in the preseason and his accuracy was still on point. His accuracy will be at the forefront of his fantasy points if he can continue to hit Kendall Wright in full stride as well as put the ball on his running backs so that they don’t have to adjust to the ball.

Bishop Sankey Tennessee Titans
Sankey is widely owned in ESPN leagues, but in CBS and Yahoo 10 team leagues he is available in some PPR leagues that feature more WRs. He needs to be rostered with the way Mariota and the Titans offense looked. Sankey gets lucky with CObb being injured as well as Anontio Andrews nursing a hammy, but he took full advantage in week one.

David Johnson Arizona Cardinals
The injury to Andre Ellington and the speed he showed in the passing game mean it’s only a matter of time before he breaks out. Grab David Johnson instead of Chris Johnson and wait until it pays off. It may be sooner than later.

Dion Lewis New England Patriots
The Pats D gave up yards in bunches against the Steelers and I don’t think their secondary is going to be much better against much of the league. Lewis will play a major role when they are down and or in shoot outs so if you’re in a PPR league make him a priority.

Darren Sproles Philadelphia Eagles
Sproles looked finished just two years ago in New Orleans, but he must have been playing injured. He was excellent last year, even stealing red zone carries from LeSean McCoy. This year he picked up where left off torching the Falcons with his incredible route running and speed.

Khiry Robinson New Orleans Saints
The Saints have issues getting the ball to their wide receivers right now. It looks like they will continue to feature both Ingram and Robinson in the passing game until CJ Spiller returns and Robinson will still have value even when Spiller returns.

Terrance Williams Dallas Cowboys
The injury to Dez Bryant is more likely to be an 8 week injury than it is to be a 4 week injury. Williams becomes the number one in Dallas and with their running backs not setting the world on fire they may have to lean on the passing game a little more.

Donte Moncrief Indianapolis Colts
Moncrief was involved in the offense even before TY Hilton went down with a knee injury. I don’t think Hilton misses much time, if any, but Moncrief should be scooped up. Andre Johnson had trouble getting open and the Colts run game looked nonexistent. With the Colts D showing no teeth they are going to have to rely on the arm of Andrew Luck again and I want his receivers if that’s the case.

Stevie Johnson San Diego Chargers
I loved Johnson as a sleeper target until his price rose to almost crazy levels over the summer. After week one, I think I may have pumped the breaks when I should have continued to buy. Malcolm Floyd was not involved much and Johnson was dynamite in the WR screen and quick hitting game.

Percy Harvin Buffalo Bills
Rex Ryan really like Percy Harvin and more importantly it looks like Tyrod Taylor really like Percy Harvin. As long as he’s at least the number two option in the offense I think he has value. Especially in standard leagues. I n PPR I may look elsewhere.

Cole Beasley Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys are going to have to count on their role players with Dez Bryant sidelined. In deeper PPR leagues I would scoop up Beasley.

Tyler Eifert Cincinnati Bengals
Eifert was only 40% owned on ESPN entering the weekend, but those days have passed after his breakout performance. He’s always been talented, but just needed to stay healthy to show it. He is still available in 30% of leagues and that should be gone by the time everyone’s FAAB bidding ends. Eifert is the number two receiver in the offense and the Bengals have showed that they have game plans that heavily involve him.

Jordan Reed Washington Redskins
Jordan Reed may be the luckiest fantasy asset on the planet. Ste to take a back seat this season, Niles Paul and Logan Paulsen get injured in the preseason. During week one DeSean Jackson injures his hamstring and Reed is put at the forefront of the Redskins passing game. Reed is talented and looks stronger this season. Grab him, let him score some points for you and then trade him before he pulls a hamstring again.

Austin Sefarian-Jenkins Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The old adage that rookie and new QBs like to throw to the closest thing to them proved true in week one as Jameis Winston found Seferian-Jenkins several times. With Tampa Bay’s defense still not much improved I would suggest grabbing this big tight end where you can.

Heath Miller Pittsburgh Steelers
For the next few weeks Heath Miller will continue to feature in the passing game until Martavis Bryant returns from suspension. Miller was a PPR beast in week one and should get some red zone looks moving forward. The fact that Markus Wheaton didn’t look all that great week one makes me like playing miller even more.

Ladarius Green San Diego Chargers
Green was set to miss week one with a concussion, but made a miraculous recovery in time to face the Detroit Lions. His speed and size make for big play ability and he is definitely Rivers best option in the red zone until Antonio Gates comes back.

Brandon McManus Denver Broncos
Who benefits from the Broncos offense struggling a bit? The kicker does! McManus easily beat out Connor Barth this preseason and rocketed multiple 50 yard plus field goals this weekend. Top 6 kicker for me.

Zach Hocker New Orleans Saints
With Jimmy Graham in Seattle it looks like New Orleans is going to have a tougher time punching it in when they get to the red zone and Hocker will be the one to benefit the most.

Chandler Catanzaro Arizona Cardinals
Catanzaro is a decent pick for anyone who needs a kicker in deeper leagues. The Cardinals will put up points this year and their running game doesn’t look like it’s built for short yardage success so Catanzaro will benefit.

Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs defense looked very solid this week even on the road. The return of Derrick Johnson and the continued dominance of Justin Houston mean the Chiefs are going to be better than I gave them credit for before the season.