Fantasy Football Waiver Wire for Week 1 (2023)

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Welcome to our first Waiver Wire article at Fantasy In Frames for the 2023 fantasy football season!

While we know there haven’t been any games played yet this season, there are several players on your waiver wire that I believe can bring you a winning advantage in Week One that should make room for on your rosters. This season, we will be using rostership percentages found on Sleeper HQ, as it is one of the most popular fantasy football platforms to play on. However, for those using ESPN or Yahoo, chances are the percentages found on those platforms are fairly similar to those on Sleeper HQ, so you shouldn’t have to worry about any major discrepancies across platforms. With that said, I’m Chris Battistel (Twitter/X @FFChrisB), and here are my recommendations in my Fantasy Football Waiver Wire for Week 1 (2023) article.

1. Kenny Pickett – Sleeper Rostered Percentage: 41%
   • Pickett had a solid Preseason, going 13/15 with 199 Yards, 2 TDs, and a perfect passer rating.
   • He starts with San Fran in week one but has a decent stretch after that with Cleveland, Las Vegas, Houston, and Baltimore before his bye.
2. Sam Howell – Sleeper Rostered Percentage: 24%
   • Howell is a sneaky good fantasy asset and could become an elite stash. Sam finished with a rushing line of 183/828/11 in his final year as a Tar Heel. 
   • With his rushing upside tied into his ability to move the rock downfield with his arm in the Bienemy system, Howell could be the steal of your week one waivers.
3. Ryan Tannehill – Sleeper Rostered Percentage: 14%
   • With Treylon Burks back into the fold after missing some time due to injury, Tannehill has his best set of pass catchers in his career.
   • With the 8th Best Strength of Schedule for the position on a team that will have to score a lot to stay in any of their games, Tannehill can be your best bet as your QB2.

1. Sean Tucker – Sleeper Rostered Percentage: 7%

• Named as Tamp Bay’s RB2, and let’s face it, the worry surrounding Tucker wasn’t his talent. It was his health. He will definitely be nipping at the heels of Rachad White.
• With his ability to break tackles and move the chains, Tucker can be utilized as that primary goal line/short yardage back.

2. Jaylen Warren – Sleeper Rostered Percentage: 57% 

• He doesn’t hold much standalone value, but he has looked good when given any opportunity this preseason.
• More efficient than Najee, if Harris lost playing time or came out of the first couple of weeks slow, Warren could be the handcuff to draft.

3. Raheem Mostert – Sleeper Rostered Percentage: 71% 

• With the Dolphins failing to make a move for a running back and Jeff Wilson going down, Mostert steps directly into the RB1 for the Miami Dolphins.
• Top 20 in breakaway runs, adding 10 lbs to his frame, the speedy running back is the ZeroRB drafter must claim.

1. Nico Collins – Sleeper Rostered Percentage: 42% 

• With Brandin Cooks on the team, Collins demanded a 24% target share. Now Cooks is gone, and Collins is set up to be the defacto WR1 on Houston.
• Preseason numbers with CJ Stroud were an outstanding, 91% Route Participation, 30% target share, & 34% Air Yards share. 

2. Darius Slayton – Sleeper Rostered Percentage: 8% 

• Outside of Darren Waller, Darius Slayton earned the right as the Giants WR1 last season. He averaged 8.8 targets and 59 yards between weeks 5-17.
• Slayton will most likely be a boom-and-bust type of player for the Giants but can be a great plugin come bye weeks.

3. Jonathan Mingo – Sleeper Rostered Percentage: 42%

• Played every snap with the 1’s this preseason and was the 2nd most-targetted WR behind Adam Thielen.
• Chark is injured, Marshall is mid, and Mingo has the draft capital you want for a great stash on an offense with a rookie QB.

1. Luke Musgrave – Sleeper Rostered Percentage: 26% 

• 84% route involvement, a 24% target share, and an end-around in the red zone; Musgrave should be at the top of your list of adds.
• LaFleur loves his game and is quoted as saying that the rookie will be used a lot. If you stream tight ends, Musgrave should be on your radar

2. Juwan Johnson – Sleeper Rostered Percentage: 30%

• Big, fast, has a QB that loves to throw to his tight ends in Derek Carr.
• He will compete for targets but will build on his 2022 year, where he was 3rd in total TDs at the position.

3. Cade Otton – Sleeper Rostered Percentage: 6% 

• He is another TE who has competition for targets, but he has a QB in Baker Mayfield who makes friends out of tight ends. That needs to be on a shirt.
• During his time in Cleveland, he was the QB2 when it came to targeting the position where they had a 28.7% target share.

1. Jacksonville Jaguars – Sleeper Rostered Percentage: 20%

• They get a rookie Quarterback with accuracy issues to start the season who completed less than 50% of his passes in preseason, and is without his star running back.
• The Colts’ offensive line struggles could lead to a healthy amount of QB sacks if they decide to run a ton of option plays.

2. New York Giants – Sleeper Rostered Percentage: 5% 

• This is more of a beat the Week Two rush where the Giants have a great matchup against the Arizona Cardinals, who will most likely be starting Joshua Dobbs.
• With the additions they made in the offseason with the 2nd year of Thibodeaux, I’m expecting big things from this Giants defense.

3. Seattle Seahawks – Sleeper Rostered Percentage: 29% 

• They have a Week One matchup against the Rams, who might be without Cooper Kupp.
• The Seahawks are looking to return to their “Legion of Boom” days as they invested in their secondary in the offseason.
• The Ram’s offensive line is porous, which should lead to opportunities for the Seahawks’ defenders to lay the wood on Stafford.