Week 1 Waiver Wire Top Fantasy Pickups and Drops on Yahoo, Sleeper

The 2026 NFL regular season will begin with Wednesday night's Super Bowl LX rematch between the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots. From there, Week 1 will be off and running, and fantasy matchups will be underway.

While many fantasy managers opt to ignore the waiver wire ahead of Week 1, that quite often means leaving value on the proverbial table.

Depending on when your draft took place, there's a good chance that the landscape has changed enough to justify making a few drops and adds ahead of Week 1. In some cases, making pre-Week 1 moves may be absolutely necessary.

Here, we'll examine our favorite wire targets and drop candidates for point-per-reception (PPR) leagues on Yahoo and Sleeper.

All roster information is according to FantasyPros .

Add: Daniel Jones, QB, Indianapolis Colts

Managers without a high-end backup and/or those looking to stream at quarterback should take a flier on Daniel Jones ahead of Week 1. The Indianapolis Colts' signal-caller is healthy and should put up solid numbers against a Baltimore Ravens defense that was awful in 2025.

Yes, Baltimore's defense should be improved under new head coach Jesse Minter. However, Jones should still remind fans that he was a strong fantasy option before last season's Achilles tear—he finished as QB17 despite appearing in only 13 games.

If Jones does impress in Week 1, he'll be hard to pluck off the waiver wire for anyone low in the pick order. Right now, he's only rostered in 15.8 percent of fantasy leagues.

Drop: Tyrone Tracy Jr., RB, New York Giants

Tyrone Tracy Jr. saw a reasonable role with the New York Giants in 2025, especially after Cam Skattebo suffered a season-ending ankle injury. He topped 1,000 scrimmage yards, finished as RB28, and was a decent streaming flex option for managers in larger leagues.

However, Tracy can be dumped heading into Week 1. Following a series of preseason miscues, he is no longer the clear-cut RB2 behind Skattebo, who is healthy. Tracy is listed on the Giants' depth chart among a group of backups that includes Devin Singletary and recent addition Najee Harris.

It could require multiple injuries for Tracy to see the sort of workload he had a year ago. He's only rostered in 6.3 percent of fantasy leagues, but anyone who did take a late-round chance on Tracy should look for other depth options.

Add: Tyler Allgeier, RB, Arizona Cardinals

Arizona Cardinals rookie running back Jeremiyah Love was an early draft target in most formats this summer. However, Tyler Allgeier is actually listed as the starter on Arizona's depth chart . Even after Love takes over the RB1 role, Allgeier should have some solid flex value as a committee back.

It could be a few weeks before Allgeier loses his grasp on the starting job, too. Love is recovering from an ankle sprain and, according to NFL Network's Mike Garafolo , is only about "50/50" to even play in Week 1.

Allgeier's fantasy value will likely decline as Love gets healthy and becomes more of an offensive focal point. However, he's worth picking up now and is rostered in only 21 percent of leagues.

Will a non-QB be 2027's No. 1 pick? New NFL mock draft

When healthy in 2023 and 2024, Houston Texans receiver Tank Dell was a strong flex option, especially in PPR leagues. He averaged 3.9 catches and 55 yards per game and scored 10 touchdowns during that span.

Unfortunately, Dell is still recovering from a very significant knee injury—one that included a torn ACL, MCL, and LCL—that he suffered in December of 2024. He'll open the season on injured reserve, meaning he'll miss at least the first four games of 2026.

Dell will likely miss more than four games, too, as the Texans are unlikely to throw him right back into action once he's cleared to play. And once he is back in the lineup, it could be quite some time before he regains his pre-injury role or form.

Dell is rostered in 13.3 percent of leagues, but it's not really worth stashing him right now in the off chance that he can provide minor midseason value.