Many a fantasy football championship has been won with the waiver wire. Following Week 1 action, these are the names that should be on owners' radars going forward.
Quarterbacks
Jake Locker, Tennessee Titans
Owners tend to be set at this position in most leagues, but in the off chance your aren't, or your league is particularly deep, Locker is your add. The 22-of-33 performance against the Chiefs came complete with 266 yards and two touchdowns, but that is just a plus.
Locker's value at quarterback is his rushing ability, which wasn't even on display vs. the Chiefs. He's averaged 223 yards and two touchdowns on the ground over the past two seasons, so if his passing can be even above average, that's a reliable option.
DEEP OPTION: Geno Smith, New York Jets
When you've finished laughing, note that beyond the interception and lost fumble Smith had vs. the Raiders in Week 1 he completed 82 percent of his passes, and had a touchdown dropped by Greg Salas in the first quarter.
He absolutely must figure out how to take better care of the football, but he ran the ball 10 times and some of those rushes were designed. Fantasy owners who are looking at deep options at QB aren't going to find a golden armed gem too often. They are better off picking up quarterbacks that have chances to score rushing touchdowns that can offset low yardage. That's Geno.
Running Backs
Terrance West, Cleveland Browns
Ben Tate is an injury-prone lead back, and it only took a few snaps for him to leave Cleveland's Week 1 matchup. Yes Isaiah Crowell vulture two touchdowns away from West on Sunday, but West was the man they relied upon. He carried 16 times for 100 yards, and applied pressure to Tate before the year even began. He's the top add if he wasn't already drafted.
Justin Forsett, Baltimore Ravens
Ray Rice was released from the team this week after more footage of his domestic violence incident with his then-fiancee has been released, and Bernard Pierce fumbled early in Baltimore's loss to the Bengals.
That opened the door for Justin Forsett, a speedy rusher who hasn't been able to crack some deep RB rotation in his previous NFL stops. Without any resume of a heavy workload, he's averaged almost five yards per rush in his career and appears to have stolen the job from Pierce with an 11-carry, 70-yard, one-touchdown performance.
Pierce is owned in just 59 percent of Yahoo! leagues, and he will factor into the running game, but Forsett is the superior option.
DEEP OPTION: C.J. Anderson, Denver Broncos
Anderson only got four carries in Week 1 vs. the Colts, but he picked up 27 yards with them, and profiles as a higher-upside player than Ronnie Hillman. He may not pay dividends early on, but in the event of a Montee Ball injury or bout with fumbles, Anderson's role as a Peyton Manning RB is juicy.
DEEP OPTION: Bobby Rainey, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Rainey was on the field a the end of Tampa Bay's Week 1 loss to Carolina, and while he only got four carries and two targets in the passing game, he scored a touchdown. Compared to Doug Martin's nine-carry performance that wasn't half bad.
After a down 2013 before hurting his shoulder, Martin's start to 2014 was horrific. Martin owners should scramble to add Rainey, who is owned in just five percent of Yahoo! leagues.
Wide Receivers
Andrew Hawkins, Cleveland Browns
Hawkins entered the season as the most lightly regarded No. 1 WR in the NFL, and made people pay for ignoring him. Once TE Jordan Cameron got hurt, Hawkins soaked up all the targets. He had 10-the next highest-targeted WRs were Travis Benjamin and Miles Austin, who got three each.
Hawkins isn't likely to give owners 25-point performances, but he will be thrown to consistently, whether Cameron's there or not. His eight-catch, 87-yard performance may be the norm going forward.
Allen Hurns, Jacksonville Jaguars
Be careful! Cecil Shorts III missed this game with a bum hammy and he's expected to be ready to roll in Week 2. Also, Chad Henne throwing 43 passes is almost definitely not the Jaguars' ideal blueprint on offense.
That said, Hurns did look very good in Week 1 and appeared to have synergy with Henne, whom Gus Bradley and the team are assuring everyone is firmly entrenched as the starter.
DEEP OPTION: Rod Streater, Oakland Raiders
The Raiders struggled against a Jets secondary that doesn't project to be very good, but someone has to catch a few passes. Streater was targeted most by rookie QB Derek Carr, and that should continue to be the case. Streater's a definite bye week option, with WR2 upside because of his talent.
Tight Ends
Jermaine Gresham, Cincinnati Bengals
Tyler Eifert is the superior pass-catcher of the Bengals' two tight ends, but he's going to be out for quite a while after hurting his elbow. Gresham's a very capable option, and his blocking ability means he won't be coming off the field unless Cincy's going to a spread.
As the lone TE previously he's been a four-catch per game guy who scores in about half his games. Owners can do worse.
DEEP OPTION: Larry Donnell, New York Giants
The Giants are going to be punching bags after a nightmare Monday Night Football matchup vs. the Detroit Lions, but Eli Manning's history with unheralded tight ends shouldn't be ignored.
He made fantasy options out of the likes of Kevin Boss and Jake Ballard, and Donnell looks to be a much better athlete than either of them. This year Eli doesn't have the luxury of tossing it up to a big receiver like Hakeem Nicks, so Donnell's going to be in line for touchdown chances on a weekly basis.
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