Waiver Wired: Waiver Wired: Week 1

Welcome to the first edition of Waiver Wired for the 2015 season. As has always been the case, this column will be your guide to the best players available in at least 50 percent of Yahoo fantasy leagues. Some of those players will be plug-and-play options who could help this week while others will be stashes who may become useful in the future.

Each profiled player will come with a recommendation of what size league they should be owned in. This does not mean they cannot be owned in shallower leagues, but they are not must-adds in the smaller formats. Also, a watch list will follow each position group. These are players who could be added if a roster spot were available, but they are not yet must own players. Now that the explanation is out of the way, let’s move on to Week 1.

A flurry of activity during and shortly after final cuts created a more interesting initial waiver wire than fantasy players are usually treated. Despite the added players, the philosophy of the wire this early in the season remains the same. With the drafted starters hopefully healthy and locked into lineups, high-upside options who have a reasonable shot at playing time should be prioritized over lower-upside options with defined roles when determining the bottom of the roster.

Three steps to fantasy football glory. Buy the Rotoworld Season Pass, stay up to date on all the breaking news at the Rotoworld News Page, and follow @Rotoworld_FB and @RMSummerlin on Twitter. Championship.

Quarterbacks
1. Jay Cutler
2. Tyrod Taylor
3. Andy Dalton
4. Alex Smith

Running backs
1. Duke Johnson
2. Matt Jones
3. Danny Woodhead
4. Christine Michael
5. Andre Williams
6. Chris Johnson

Wide receivers
1. Brian Quick
2. Dorial Green-Beckham
3. Rueben Randle
4. Kamar Aiken
5. Marvin Jones
6. Danny Amendola
7. James Jones

Tight ends
1. Ladarius Green
2. Eric Ebron
3. Coby Fleener

Defense/Special Teams
1. Jets
2. Broncos
3. Vikings 

Kickers
1. Josh Scobee
2. Brandon McManus
3. Josh Brown
4. Josh Lambo

Editor’s Note: Help Rotoworld maintain its reputation as the leader in fantasy sports content by getting to know you better. Please take this survey to help us keep improving our coverage.

QUARTERBACKS

1. Jay Cutler, Bears – Owned in 50 percent of Yahoo leagues
Jay Cutler’s ADP was one of the most peculiar storylines this summer, and Cutler being owned in fewer leagues than Joe Flacco and Colin Kaepernick is just an extension of his odd fall from grace. Despite struggling in real life last season, Cutler was just as effective on a per-game basis as all the quarterbacks in the low-end QB1 streaming range. He finished with more points per game than Flacco and Kaepernick, he put up the same per-game totals as Philip Rivers and finished just .2 per-game points behind Eli Manning. The injury to Alshon Jeffery is concerning, but Cutler still has weapons on the outside. More importantly, OC Adam Gase may not be a step down from Marc Trestman. Under Gase, Peyton Manning bettered his career averages in touchdown percentage, interception percentage, completion percentage and adjusted yards per attempt every season. Cutler was fine last year, and he could be better this season.
Recommendation: Should be owned in 12-team leagues.

2. Tyrod Taylor, Bills – Owned in 8 percent of Yahoo leagues
The group filled with the most joy when Rex Ryan announced Tyrod Taylor as the Bills’ starting quarterback was unquestionably fantasy players. Dual-threat quarterbacks are beloved in fantasy leagues because of simple math. In a game where 10 rushing yards equals the same number of points as 25 passing yards and two rushing touchdowns are worth three passing, it makes sense quarterbacks who score fantasy points with their legs would be sought after, and Taylor showed in the preseason he could do just that. The problem is running quarterbacks also need to be able to throw, and that part of Taylor’s game is still unproven. He is worth a look in deeper formats and perhaps a start Week 1 for streamers, but expectations should be tempered.
Recommendation: Should be owned in 14-team leagues.

3. Andy Dalton, Bengals – Owned in 27 percent of Yahoo leagues
Andy Dalton did not have many weapons to throw to last season. A.J. Green played in just 12 games and was no 100 percent in others, Tyler Eifert played eight snaps total and Marvin Jones missed the entire season. Those absences left Dalton with Mohamed Sanu and Jermaine Gresham as his top targets for a lot of the season, so it is not that surprising Dalton saw his per-game average fall 4.6 points from the year before. Dalton was inconsistent two years ago, but he put up several QB1 performances. He could have a similar year this season.
Recommendation: Should be owned in 14-team leagues.

4. Alex Smith, Chiefs – Owned in 20 percent of Yahoo leagues
Alex Smith was the butt of many jokes this offseason after not throwing a single touchdown pass to a wide receiver last year, but the reality is the wide receivers he had to target were not worthy of the looks. That changed when the Chiefs brought in Jeremy Maclin. Maclin is a legitimate No. 1 receiver who has already shown his worth this preseason. Smith scored almost 17 fantasy points a game two years ago, and he could get back to that level with Maclin as a target this season.
Recommendation: Should be owned in 14-team leagues.

Watch List: Blake Bortles had a quality preseason, but he has several difficult matchups in the first seven weeks. If he can play well against the likes of Miami and New England, he could find himself in the streaming class. … Like Tyrod Taylor, Marcus Mariota brings the rushing ability fantasy owners love. If the Titans offense offers enough scoring opportunities, he will be worth a look. … Jameis Winston has much better weapons than Mariota, but he is also much more likely to have a three-interception game. … Derek Carr has better weapons this year, but he has to prove he is more than a check-down quarterback. … Ryan Fitzpatrick and the Jets’ offense has more upside than most realize. He has been a low-end QB2 the last two seasons.

This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service – if this is your content and you’re reading it on someone else’s site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php#publishers.