GO GET ‘EM! | 2026 Week 1 Last-Minute Waivers

by Wolf Trelles-Heard · Featured
2026 Week 1 Waivers

Each week throughout the 2026 season, Wolf Trelles-Heard brings you the waiver wire’s “must-adds” every Tuesday. In this week’s special pre-Week 1 edition, he highlights players who often slipped through your drafts and are worth rostering if you’ve got the room.

We made it. Rejoice, folks; football is finally upon us.

The traditional waiver wire/FAAB article starts next week, after we have some real football to react to.

In the meantime, I wanted to highlight a few players managers should know before Week 1 kicks off. If you want to get ahead of any potential waiver wire rush, these are a few guys I think could be worth stashing right now.

One or two of them have appealing Week 1 matchups and can be used if you’re desperate. Otherwise, scoop up one of these upside options if you have the bench spots and see if they develop into useful fantasy options once the games begin.

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Week 1 Waiver Wire Pickups

Kaelon Black | RB, San Francisco 49ers

When healthy, Christian McCaffrey rarely leaves the huddle. He’s so dynamic and dominant that it’s hard to take him off the field. That said, he’s been in and out of practice leading up to Week 1, is now 30 years old, and is coming off a 450-touch campaign. The previous two times McCaffrey led the league in touches, he barely played the following season.

That’s why I’ve been urging fantasy managers to take shots on the players behind McCaffrey on the depth chart. In a battle between Jordan James and Kaelon Black, it appears the latter has won the backup job in San Francisco after rushing for 61 yards on 12 carries in the preseason.

2026 Week 1 Waivers

Kaelon Black‘s Advanced Metrics

McCaffrey managers should absolutely have Black stashed at the end of their bench. Everyone else should consider adding him, too. Given McCaffrey’s workload and injury history, Black is closer to becoming a league winner than most players sitting on the waiver wire.

Jalen McMillan | WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Jalen McMillan returned to practice this week and appears ready to go for the season opener. The third-year pro out of Washington has a chance to carve out a significant role on offense, whether it’s playing in 11 personnel or subbing in when guys like Emeka Egbuka or Chris Godwin need a break.

Don’t let last year’s lost season — McMillan only played in the final four games because of a preseason neck injury — make you forget how solid he was as a rookie in 2024. That year, McMillan averaged an absurd 2.33 fantasy points per target (WR6) and produced five consecutive top-20 finishes from Week 14 on. In that span, he averaged 19.8 fantasy points per game (FPPG) and found pay dirt seven times.

While McMillan isn’t a Week 1 FLEX play, you should think about grabbing him and keeping him on the end of your bench. Tampa Bay lists him as a starter ahead of rookie Ted Hurst, so he’ll be playable at times this year in what should be a high-powered passing attack.

Malik Willis | QB, Miami Dolphins

The Malik Willis era opens with one of the very few winnable games on Miami’s schedule. His first contest as a full-starter is against the Raiders, who were bottom-10 in points allowed (25.4 per game) in 2025.

If you’re not thrilled with your starting signal-caller’s Week 1 matchup, Willis is a viable plug-and-play option thanks to his mobility. In six career starts, he’s averaged over 44.8 rushing yards per game; that rushing gives Willis a decent fantasy floor.

Willis has also been insanely efficient in spot duty recently. He ranked first in fantasy points per dropback (1.35) in 2025, and second (0.84) in 2024, behind only Lamar Jackson.

I understand it can be a little frightening to trust a guy like Willis in your first fantasy matchup of the season. Just remember: running quarterbacks are a cheat code, and he has a chance to rack up big numbers on the ground against a middling defense.

Ja’Kobi Lane | WR, Baltimore Ravens

Training camp reports were glowing for Ja’Kobi Lane, the Ravens’ third-round selection in April. He supposedly looked sharp, with one beat writer claiming Lane had the best rookie camp he’d ever seen in 27 years of covering the team.

Lane backed up the hype immediately. In his first preseason action, the rookie looked the part. He caught all three of his targets for 38 yards, including a 16-yarder where he broke a few tackles and stretched into the end zone for six points.

2026 Week 1 Waivers

Ja’Kobi Lane’s Athleticism Score

Standing at 6-foot-4, Lane figures to be an immediate red-zone weapon for Baltimore after scoring 18 touchdowns on only 99 career collegiate catches. But Lane could be more than a situational player and emerge as the team’s starting X receiver.

With two-time MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson slinging the rock, Lane is a player you want to have on your roster for the touchdown potential alone, and if he ends up being the one playing in two-receiver sets opposite Zay Flowers, even better.

Najee Harris | RB, New York Giants

Not a sexy name, but Najee Harris is a player worth monitoring. The veteran signed late in the process after recovering from a torn Achilles, but it already looks like he’s New York’s RB2.

The 28-year-old Harris looked good — and healthy — in his only exhibition action, racking up 39 yards on 11 carries and catching a screen pass for 20 yards against the Jets.

Don’t forget: Harris has a connection with Greg Roman from their time together with the Chargers in Los Angeles last year. My guess is that Roman views Harris as a trusted option who can spell Cam Skattebo at times and handle third downs because of his top-notch pass-blocking skills.

Scoop Harris up and see how much playing time he gets over the first couple of weeks. If he’s nothing more than a handcuff, you can always cut him. However, he could also provide standalone value in standard and half-PPR formats if he mixes in for Skattebo more than expected.

Dalton Schultz | TE, Houston Texans

Don’t sleep on Dalton Schultz. Every year, he’s buried in the rankings, and every year, he finishes the season inside the top 10 in total fantasy points. He’s now accomplished that in five of the past six seasons.

C.J. Stroud‘s safety blanket should flirt with TE1 numbers once more in 2026. With Jayden Higgins (ACL) out for the season, Schultz will be second in targets behind Nico Collins again.

Dalton Schultz‘s Advanced Metrics

That happened last year, with Schultz reeling in a personal-best 82 receptions for 777 yards and three scores. He finished TE10 in full-PPR formats and TE11 in half-PPR.

If you waited on tight end and aren’t happy with who you ended up with — or maybe you’re a George Kittle manager who wants to wait and see how he looks before putting him in your lineup — Schultz is an uninspiring yet productive option you can use when the matchup looks positive.

Wolf Trelles-Heard is a fantasy football analyst for PlayerProfiler.

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