Wowzers, what a Week 1. Lots of players incognito under the radar. Many top players not getting the job done for fantasy owners everywhere. Don’t panic, waivers are here to settle your nerves. You must always stay active on the waiver wire if you think you have a chance of winning your league. Monday is usually a day of number crunching in stat land. Tuesday is finalizing and prepping for waiver time.

Things most important to me in determining my waiver priorities and moves are as follows:

Who is on the field the most out of the unclaimed guys in my league. Review snap count #’s and ultimately percentage of snaps played. This will help you determine offensive players who are important to their offenses.

For running backs… Review snap percentage. Make sure you know the amount of total touches. Know how many times they ran the rock vs. how many targets they had in the passing game. Guys who have more targets are more important in PPR leagues obviously, but now you have a way to judge the importance of use by their team. Review injury news and see which running backs were banged up which might present an opportunity for a player on the wire.  Later in the year you will also need to keep tabs on players returning from injury as those types of sneaky pick-ups could keep you in front of the competition.

For Receivers and Tight Ends… Review snap percentage and know the total number of targets. Volume is the main driving factor for me here as touchdowns are unpredictable. The players you want on your roster are the guys who have the most opportunities. Also, look for the guys available on high scoring, potent offenses.

You want to add as many pieces to your roster who have the potential of blowing up and becoming a usable piece on your squad.  Know your league settings!  When are waivers processed? How do the work/run? What is your scoring structure (PPR, .5PPR, STD)?
Now that we have that out of the way, here are my findings for the WAIVER WIRE (players owned in under 40% of leagues)…

Running Backs

Malcolm Brown (LAR)
Ownership: 7% ESPN, 13% Yahoo

Snap Percentage: 27%

11 rushes for 53 yards and two touchdowns

What stands out to me here is that he was used heavily in the red zone game vs. Todd Gurley. If this becomes a trend to help lighten the season long load for Gurley, Brown could be a vulture extraordinaire.

Rex Burkhead (NE)

Ownership: 2% ESPN, 6% Yahoo

Snap Percentage: 46%

8 rushes for 44 yards, 8 Targets for 5 catches / 41 yards

I want a part of the Patriots attack. James White and Sony Michel were drafted in your league.  James White played 47%, Sony Michel 33%.  Sony did nothing with his opportunity as he ran the ball 15 times for a whopping 14 yards and saw no targets. We all know Bill Belichick and how he loves putting players in the doghouse. With Antonio Brown now in the fold, Sexy Rexy could see lots of opportunities, sign me up.

Carlos Hyde (HOU)

Ownership: 39% ESPN, 32% Yahoo

Snap Percentage: 37%

10 rushes for 83 yards, caught his lone target for 2 yards.

Hyde looked good when he had the ball and I think will be eased into the offense.  This offense will score points and both of the backs will get work. I like the potential upside and would take a flyer to see where he sits after game 2. Could be a potential good asset.

Adrian Peterson (WAS)

Ownership: 28% ESPN, 38% Yahoo

Snap Percentage: 0% – was a healthy scratch

AP time again with the Derrius Guice injury? I bet the benching will fuel the 34 year old out of the gates. How much does he have left in the tank? He is quite the specimen and I expect that he isn’t done quite yet. Ride off into the sunset with AP as your stallion, mang.

Chris Thompson (WAS)

Ownership: 19% ESPN, 13% Yahoo

Snap Percentage: 64%

3 rushes for 10 yards, 10 targets good for 7 catches and 68 yards.

Chris Thompson is a PPR gem. Derrius Guice is banged up and couple miss some decent time. AP was a healthy scratch in Week 1 which was a motivator to him but the Redskins will be playing from behind a lot. Thompson will be heavily used in this offense… get him on your roster.

Mike Davis (CHI)

Ownership: 4% ESPN, 14% Yahoo

Snap Percentage: 56%

5 rushes for 19 yards but did see 7 targets in the passing game. Caught 6 of them for a measly 17 yards.

Tarik Cohen was not used in the rushing attack by the bears. He looks more like a slot receiver. David Montgomery is a rookie and I expect that Mike Davis will be used more than most think. Montgomery’s usage will go up week to week, but big Mike Davis will be a goal line specialist and the usage in the passing game ups his floor.

Deeper finds: Raheem Mostert (SF) Snap Percentage 29% – Tevin Coleman on the shelf for a bit, door opens, Dare Ogunbowale (TB) Snap Percentage 39% – was on the field more than both Peyton Barber (36%) and Ronald Jones (31%).

Wide Receivers

John Ross (CIN)

Ownership: 5% ESPN, 11% Yahoo

Snap Percentage: 82%

12 targets total and caught 7 for 158 yards and two scores.

How many games will AJ Green miss in 2019? If he comes back week 2, is he guaranteed to be in the lineup week 4? beyond? Cincinnati will be playing from behind and will need to air it out. Andy Dalton threw the ball 51 times!!

Danny Amendola (DET)

Ownership: 3% ESPN, 6% Yahoo

Snap Percentage: 53%

13 targets were good for 7 receptions, 104 yards and a TD.

With Golden Tate out of the scene, someone will need to take over that role of getting peppered with the ball. The running game was no good, looks like Matthew Stafford will be airing it out lots again in 2019, he chucked up 45 balls in Week 1. Kenny Golladay will get his, a see Amendola pushing Marvin Jones as the #2 option for Stafford, he might have already taken it.

Ted Ginn (NO)

Ownership: 15% ESPN, 11% Yahoo

Snap Percentage: 74%

Caught all 7 targets for 101 yards.

Good thing he was help out of the end zone as if he hit pay dirt, many more owners would be snagging him this week. Ginn is the #2 receiver for Drew Brees in the passing game and Micheal Thomas and Alvin Kamara will both be seeing lots of defenders. Tre’Quan Smith got the score in Week 1, but Ginn will have more good games than stinkers. Has a great floor and potential for high ceiling.

Marquis “Hollywood” Brown (BAL)

Ownership: 28% ESPN, 32% Yahoo

Snap Percentage: 18%

Played only 14 snaps total all day and was targeted 5 times. Took full advantage of the minimal playing time and caught 4 balls for 147 yards and two scores.

This will most likely be his best game of the year. Dolphins are a bad defense. Hamper your expectations unless his usage starts to see a jump.

Terry McLaurin (WAS)

Ownership: 7% ESPN, 5% Yahoo

Snap Percentage: 93%

Caught 5 balls out of 7 targets for 125 yards and a score.

With Guice down and the Redskins offense already in a bind, I like the upside here for the rookie but this could have been his best performance of the year.

Chris Conley (JAX)

Ownership: 9% ESPN, 1% Yahoo

Snap Percentage: 76%

Targeted 7 times and caught 6 balls for 97 yards and a touchdown.

Led the team in targets, but also the team lost Foles to IR. Jaguars will be playing from behind and the veteran could be option with the most volume. Nick Foles injury hurts Dede Westbrook.

Speculative Add:

Mecole Hardman (KC)

Ownership: 17% ESPN, 15% Yahoo

Snap Percentage: 78%

Only had 1 target in Week 1 but was on the field a ton. The Tyreek Hill injury opens a door and Hardman could be the guy to try to fill it. I wouldn’t start him in Week 2, but wouldn’t be surprised if he bursts on the scene. This would be future add to stay ahead of the pack and wow your fellow GMs.

Tight End

Vernon Davis (WAS)

Ownership: 1% ESPN, 2% Yahoo

Snap Percentage: 82%

Targeted 7 times and hauled in 4 catches for 59 yards and a touchdown.

Jordan Reed was held out due to concussions.  Vernon is getting up there in age (35), but is a viable TE when Reed is out. As mentioned before, Skins are gonna have to throw to stay in games.

Good luck with waivers and hopefully this was able to help you in your time of need. Remember, even if your current starters are fine, always beef up your bench!  That is a recipe for success in fantasy football.

Todd D Clark – Fantasy Bro

Follow me on Twitter @Lunchmade