Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Week 1: Target Caleb Douglas and Kaelon Black

· Yahoo Sports

Week 1 of the 2026 NFL season is in the books, Monday Night Football aside. That means it's time for the first run of waivers. Every play in this article is available in at least half of all Yahoo leagues. Players within each position are generally ordered by FAAB/waiver priority.

▶ Quarterback

Visit newssport.cv for more information.

Tyler Shough, Saints

The Saints ran 81 offensive plays in their Week 1 shootout with the Lions. They ran 13 more plays than any other team, though making it deep into overtime certainly helps. Kellen Moore dialed up the fastest offense in the NFL last year. They remained a fast-paced unit in Week 1, and their pass rate over expected went from -2.9% in 2025 to +4.1% on Sunday. If that holds, this will be the highest passing volume team of the season. Shough struggled mightily in the first half versus Detroit but turned things around late in the game, resulting in a slightly positive EPA per dropback. That plus the passing volume is enough to get him in the QB1 mix next week.

Bryce Young, Panthers

I will admit that I’m skeptical Young can sustain his elite Week 1 showing, but it's hard to oversell how good the results were. He threw for 361 yards and three scores while also punching in a fourth on the ground. The Bears’ defense played poorly and their offense nearly scored 60, creating the perfect environment to force the Panthers to score points of their own. That won’t happen every week. On the other hand, Young ranked eighth in EPA per dropback, ninth in CPOE, and seventh in PFF passing grade, pending Monday's game. It was a great showing from him. He’s entering his fourth season and is working with a pair of ascending wideouts in Tetairoa McMillan and Jalen Coker. Maybe this is his breakout year.

Malik Willis, Dolphins

Willis comes in a tier or two below the previous two streaming quarterbacks. As expected, the Dolphins were extremely run-heavy in Week 1, logging a -3.7% PROE. He attempted just 27 passes, was sacked five times, and threw one interception. On the plus side, Willis rushed six times for 39 yards and a touchdown. Pending Monday Night Football, he had the third-most scrambles in Week 1. Willis’s struggles as a passer will prevent him from cracking the QB1 ranks, but he’s a fine QB2 option.

▶ Running Back

Kaelon Black, 49ers

The 49ers have a locked-in RB2. Jordan James was a healthy scratch while Black out-carried Christian McCaffrey 14-10. This is unprecedented usage for McCaffrey’s backup.

McCaffrey was reportedly dealing with cramps in a game halfway across the globe, so it’s probably safe to assume he will return to leading the team in carries next week. Still, his efficiency numbers cratered in 2025 and he looked phenomenal in Week 1, so a touches split might make sense for him. Black could have some standalone value going forward and is the best contingent bet on waivers. In terms of FAAB, Black may ultimately get over-hyped. If CMC does flip him in carries next week, he’s barely a viable FLEX option. This is roughly a 20% spend for me.

Tyler Allgeier, Cardinals

Allgeier out-carried Jeremiyah Love 17-11, though both backs got red zone opportunities and Love was the only one to cash in. Love also saw four targets to Allgeier’s two. With Love still working through his preseason ankle injury on Sunday, it made sense for the Cardinals to ease his workload, especially in a game they inexplicably won. The Cardinals get brutal matchups with the Seahawks and 49ers coming up, so it’s hard to imagine Allgeier pushing anywhere close to 20 touches in either of his next two games. He will be a two-down RB4 for Week 2, but that might be a useful waiver wire add for some fantasy managers.

Braelon Allen, Jets

Allen’s 10 carries for 40 scoreless yards deserve a mention, even if he’s not on the fantasy radar for Week 2. Breece Hall ran the ball 22 times, earned four targets, and saw all of the goal line work. Allen was only targeted once. The Jets handled business against the Titans in Week 1 but are still 4.5-point dogs to the Packers next week. Assuming Vegas is correct, there will be way fewer carries to go around in this backfield. Allen is the clear handcuff to Hall but nothing more.

Kendre Miller, Saints

Miller split carries evenly with Travis Etienne in Week 1. Both backs saw nine attempts and Miller was the one who punched in a red zone score. Even third-string running back CJ Donaldson got in the mix for two carries plus two targets. This backfield is only going to get messier when Alvin Kamara returns, which should happen next week. Miller is worth an add in deeper leagues, but his value will likely take a hit in Week 2.

Week 1 Stock Up, Stock Down: Bear returnsRivers McCown looks at four players who saw their fantasy football stock go up and four players who saw their fantasy football stock decline from Week 1’s early returns.

▶ Wide Receiver

Caleb Douglas, Dolphins

Hot off an electric training camp, Douglas drew the start and ran a route on 86 percent of Willis's dropbacks. He earned 26 percent target share and a monstrous 40 percent first-read target share. Douglas turned this role into five catches for 94 yards. Miami’s run-first offense will be an issue for Douglas and the rest of the pass-catchers in the long-run, but a Day Two rookie is the focal point of a team’s passing attack in Week 1. That is a clear target off the waiver wire, regardless of how many times the team throws. Douglas is the No. 1 FAAB priority this week, slightly ahead of Black.

Deebo Samuel, 49ers

De’Zhaun Stribling is expected to miss an extended period of time with an ankle injury he suffered in Week 1. Samuel only ran half of the routes in Week 1, splitting the WR2 role with Demarcus Robinson. On the plus side, Samuel tied Mike Evans at seven targets and posted a 6/48/1 receiving line. He also turned his lone carry into a 12-yard gain. Samuel’s route share should grow with Stribling out and he already looked good on a per-route basis. Samuel is barely available in over half of Yahoo leagues, but he’s shaping up to be a WR3/4 if you can get him.

Devaughn Vele, Saints

With Jordyn Tyson on IR, Vele took over the No. 2 role on a Saints team that was about to pass more than any other squad in the league. He played extremely well, turning his nine targets and 70 air yards into a 7/69/1 receiving line. Vele ran a route on 92 percent of Shough’s dropbacks. He isn’t the most exciting add, but Vele looks like a WR4 in another potential shootout with the Ravens next week.

Tre Harris, Chargers

Ladd McConkey went down with a chest injury in the third quarter. Harris and Quentin Johnston each logged a 77 percent route rate. Both players saw six targets, though neither did much with them. Harris was nominally more productive, catching three of his looks for 20 yards. Harris posted absurd numbers in college and was drafted in the second round. He didn’t do much as a rookie, but a McConkey injury could clear the way for a second-year breakout.

Dontayvion Wicks, Eagles

As expected, Wicks operated as the Eagles’ No. 2 receiver, running 91 percent of the routes. He was primarily a deep threat. Wicks had an aDOT of 21.8 and was targeted on a measly 13 percent of his routes. He, of course, got home with a 64-yard touchdown on one of his two receptions.

Wicks is a good deep threat, but he’s going to be extremely frustrating to roster on a weekly basis.

Kalif Raymond, Bears

The Bears dropped 57 points on Carolina and none of the pass-catchers we care about did better than 63 scoreless yards. That’s because Raymond easily led the team with nine targets, eight catches, and 84 yards. Raymond set a career-high in receptions and posted his best yardage total since 2023. He did so on a pedestrian 58 percent route rate. Raymond did, however, lead the Bears with a 33 percent first read target share. It’s hard to imagine him being their top wideout going forward, but Ben Johnson clearly has a package of plays for the speedster that could make him a viable FLEX play. I wouldn’t spend any FAAB on Raymond, but he’s worth stashing in deep leagues.

▶ Tight End

Dalton Schultz, Texans

Schultz was a mainstay of last year’s waiver wire column and nothing changes one week into 2026. He tied a handful of other tight ends for the second-most targets at his position in Week 1 with eight. That was good for a 21 percent target share, which is actually a three percent increase from his 2025 mark. For the second year in a row, Schultz remains the most boring TE1 you can get off waivers.

Pat Freiermuth, Steelers

Pittsburgh hit us with the Mike McCarthy special in Week 1, logging a pass rate 10 percent above expected. Aaron Rodgers attempted to throw deep, but was once again only successful on his short tosses. He had the fifth-lowest completed air yards per attempt on the week at 3.8. This ultimately creates the perfect environment for tight end production, and McCarthy streamlined the team’s tight end rotation to just one player: Pat Freiermuth. Muth ran 73 percent of the routes in Week 1, making him a strong TE2 option in Week 2.

Mike Gesicki, Bengals

Gesicki turned in a 5/78/1 receiving line in a shootout with the Bucs. That would’ve been his second-best fantasy score of the entire 2025 season and will give him a top-12 finish in Week 1. The downside is that he ran a route on just 46 percent of Joe Burrow’s dropbacks. He led a team with Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins in targets while running fewer than half of the routes. As impressive as that is, I’m not counting on it repeating next week. Gesicki is an interesting stash but not someone who profiles as a weekly starter.

Read full story at source