CFB Waiver Wire: Players to Pick Up Week 1

Welcome back to the waiver wire watch. Throughout the college football season, I'll pick two guys from every conference who either caught my eye in the previous week or who have a favorable match-up in the near future. As always, I'll get to any questions or comments you have in the comments section below.

Slate Background: After some exciting games in Week 0, we're back to a full slate spread out throughout the week. Thursday Night is highlighted by West Virginia at Pittsburgh and Penn State at Purdue. I'll be checking out Illinois at Indiana and TCU at Colorado on Friday Night. Saturday is an absolute treat with Oregon at Georgia, Cincinnati at Arkansas, Houston at UTSA, Utah at Florida and Notre Dame at Ohio State. We'll finish off with Florida State at LSU on Sunday and Clemson at Georgia Tech on Monday.

*Fantasy Points referenced in article are DK format.
**To qualify for recommendations, players must be rostered in less than 50 percent of Fantrax Leagues

AAC Waiver Wire Pickups

Jake Bailey, WR, SMU (13 percent rostered)

Bailey isn't a well-known commodity as he served as one of Rice's top playmakers during the 2020 season. In his last five games with the Owls, he averaged 18.4 fantasy points per contest. He now joins a new-look SMU squad that is looking for a dependable pass-catcher to pair with Rashee Rice (99 percent rostered). Bailey has generated some buzz in fall camp and appears to have some early chemistry with quarterback Tanner Mordecai (93 percent rostered). SMU's week one game against North Texas should have all kinds of points too.

Gerry Bohanon, QB, USF (11 percent rostered)

Bohanon was recently named the starter for Week One against BYU and should be considered for fantasy purposes. While at Baylor in 2021, he compiled 27 total touchdowns, including nine rushing scores over 12 games. Against Big 12 competition, Bohanon averaged 21.6 fantasy points per game. While the Bulls are nowhere near as talented as his old team, that just means that the upside is higher for the dynamic signal-caller. 

ACC Waiver Wire Pickups

Tyler Hudson, WR, Louisville (21 percent rostered)

Anyone who has followed my musings this offseason knows that I absolutely love the Louisville offense. With Hudson, you're getting their top-projected receiver, a transfer from Central Arkansas who put up 62 catches for 1,242 yards and eight touchdowns a season ago. With a stud quarterback in Malik Cunningham (100 percent rostered), this is a no-brainer pick-up. Not to mention their dream schedule to start the season with Syracuse, UCF and Florida State which can all be competitive match-ups.

DJ Uiagalelei, Clemson (38 percent rostered)

Regardless of what you think about Uiagalelei as a player, Clemson is one of the best teams in the nation and this is far too low of a roster percentage with that context. The Tigers return nine offensive starters and it would be an uphill battle for five-star true freshman Cade Klubnik (30 percenter rostered) to start right away under new offensive coordinator Brandon Streeter. At the very least, Uiagalelei should be the guy for the opening slate versus Georgia Tech, Furman and Louisiana Tech.

BIG 12 Waiver Wire Pickups

SaRodorick Thompson, RB, Texas Tech (12 percent rostered)

Presumed starter, Tahj Brooks (23% rostered) is dealing with a knee injury sustained in fall camp. The Red Raiders are going to attempt to experiment with their new offense against Murray State in Week One before difficult matchups versus Houston and NC State. If you're in need of a running back for the first week alone, this could be a potential plug and play before Brooks comes back fully healthy. I would stay updated on Brooks' status leading into that matchup.

Bryce Ford-Wheaton, WR, West Virginia (31 percent rostered)

Ford-Wheaton has shown improvement in each of his three years at West Virginia and should be on pace for a huge year with quarterback JT Daniels (45 percent) transferring from Georgia to give the team an upgrade at the quarterback position. More importantly, the team also welcomes in offensive coordinator Graham Harrell who will install a pass-friendly offense right away. There's a great chance that Ford-Wheaton surpasses the 42 catches for 575 yards and three touchdowns on 68 targets that he posted a year ago. His 8.5 yards per target suggests that he could be in for a huge year of production with higher volume and better quarterback play behind one of the conference's best offensive lines.

Big Ten Waiver Wire Pickups

Erick All, TE, Michigan (38 percent rostered)

If you're still on the search of a tight end, All is a great option as he saw five or more targets in five of his last seven games. With the team announcing that they have two starting quarterbacks in Cade McNamara (eight percent rostered) and J.J. McCarthy (29 percent rostered), it bodes well for the tight end over the wide receivers. Instability at the signal-caller position will lead to more dependence on the run-game and short-to-intermediate passing game in my opinion.

Anthony Grant, RB, Nebraska (9 percent rostered)

The JUCO transfer was the primary back for the Cornhuskers with 19 carries for 101 yards and two touchdowns including a 46-yard scamper to paydirt against Northwestern in the Week 0 loss. Meanwhile, anticipated starter Rahmir Johnson (22 percent rostered) did not record any offensive touches and played primarily on special teams. The situation with coach Scott Frost is getting uglier by the week, so there's a good chance Grant keeps the job if he continues to produce on the field as he did in Ireland. 

C-USA Waiver Wire Pickups

Tyrin Smith, WR, UTEP (11 percent rostered)

Smith was targeted early and often in Week 0's 31-13 loss to North Texas. He converted 7-of-15 targets for 127 yards and a touchdown. It's clear that UTEP's defense is not very good and that quarterback Gavin Hardison (three percent rostered) is a gunslinger. The Miners' next three games are against Oklahoma, New Mexico State and New Mexico, so I expect Smith to have all kinds of fantasy opportunity in those contests.

Austin Reed, QB, Western Kentucky (41 percent rostered)

Reed had a slow first half against Austin Peay but opened it up in the second half to finish with 279 yards and four touchdowns with an interception on 20-of-34 passing. He has a couple of stud receivers in Malachi Corley (76 percent rostered) and Daewood Davis (25 percent rostered), so Reed will be locked and loaded as a fantasy option at Hawaii next week. That same Hawaii team who gave up 601 yards and 63 points to Vanderbilt in Week 0.

MAC Waiver Wire Pickups

Christian Sims, TE, Bowling Green (14 percent rostered)

It's not often that I'm going to recommend Bowling Green players; however, Sims is likely the best tight-end prospect in the MAC Conference. In his junior season with the Falcons, he averaged 6.2 targets per game which is plenty for fantasy purposes. He converted his 68 targets to 41 catches for 418 yards and two touchdowns across 11 games and even added a rushing score in Week 7 at Northern Illinois.

Quian Williams, WR, Buffalo (7 percent rostered)

Williams ranked sixth in the MAC Conference with 69.6 receiving yards per game during the 2021 season. During his first year with the Bulls, he tallied 64 receptions for 835 yards and two touchdowns. Williams' total receptions and receiving yards were almost double what the next best receiver. I worry about the skill level at quarterback, but the team does have a fun season-opener at Maryland.

Mountain West Waiver Wire Pickups

Chance Bell, RB, San Diego State (8 percent rostered)

This roster percentage is far too low for the projected starter on the Aztecs. Brady Hoke's squads love to run the ball, evident from Greg Bell's 245 carries for 1,091 yards and nine touchdowns during the 2021 season. The subject Bell was second on the team with 72 carries for 341 yards and four touchdowns. San Diego State will continue to put forth a stout defense which will entice the team to run the ball early and often in games.

Hank Bachmeier, QB, Boise State (22 percent rostered)

Bachmeier has been a solid contributor with Boise State over the last three seasons. He's an accurate passer while exceeding a 60 percent completion rate in all three of those seasons and compiling 35 touchdowns against 16b interceptions. Moreover, the Broncos should return to being one of the premier teams in the Mountain West Conference. I'm excited to see what he can do at Oregon State in late-night football to open the season in Week One. 

PAC-12 Waiver Wire Pickups

Michael Penix, QB, Washington (20 percent rostered)

Penix has officially won the starting job over Sam Huard (22 percent rostered) and Dylan Morris (three percent rostered). The senior threw for 939 yards and four touchdowns in five games during his senior year at Indiana and has much more experience than the other two quarterbacks. Washington opens the season against Kent State, so it will be interesting to see what Penix can do in that one.

R.J. Sneed, WR, Colorado (3 percent rostered)

Exercise some caution here as Sneed is reportedly dealing with an undisclosed injury; however, he could be busy this season as I expect the Buffaloes to be one of the worst teams in the conference. The senior transfer was a consistent contributor at Baylor with at least 39 catches and 64 targets in each of the last three seasons. He had 45 catches for 564 yards and two touchdowns on 65 targets last year. He's come to Colorado to be the number one receiver and will need to have an impact early, starting with an intriguing week one game against TCU.

SEC Waiver Wire Pickups

Mike Wright, Vanderbilt (2 percent rostered)

Wright was sensational against Hawaii with two touchdowns through the air and 13 carries for 163 yards and two more scores on the ground. There's no way he'll need to be rostered for the entire season, but I do like him quite a bit against Elon, Wake Forest and at Northern Illinois over the next three weeks. Any dual-threat quarterback against inferior opponents needs to be played and there's a good chance the Commodores continue to put up a ton of points to show there's progress being made at the program.

Josh Vann, WR, South Carolina (12 percent rostered)

In South Carolina's first three games in 2021, Vann averaged 18.7 fantasy points per game, including two 100-yard receiving games. He would go on to have a decent season with the Gamecocks with 43 catches for 668 yards and five touchdowns on 72 targets. I'm bullish on Vann as the team's number one wideout in 2022 because Spencer Rattler (59 percent rostered) is a huge upgrade from the quarterback mess they had a year ago.

Sun Belt Waiver Wire Pickups

Chase Brice, QB, Appalachian State (26 percent rostered)

The Mountaineers are too good of a team for Brice to not be rostered in more leagues. After disappointing stints at Clemson and Duke, Brice found his home with a single season school record 3,337 passing yards on a 62.1 completion percentage rate. For his efforts, he was named the Sun Belt's newcomer of the year. For fantasy purposes, he's worth a starting consideration against North Carolina in an underrated matchup in Week One of the season.

Jason Brownlee, WR, Southern Miss (10 percent rostered)

In the last five games of the 2021 season, Brownlee lit it up with 20.8 fantasy points per game. I'm worried about the senior being stifled by good defenses, but when the Golden Eagles hit the conference portion of their schedule, he should be rostered in far more leagues than he is right now. He reached double-digit fantasy points in seven different games last year on his way to 46 catches for 643 yards and eight touchdowns on 83 targets. That type of production deserves more roster percentage.

INDEPENDENTS

Nathan Carter, RB, Connecticut (6 percent rostered)

The Huskies under new coach Jim Mora looked feisty in their 31-20 loss at Utah State. Carter was a bright spot with 20 carries for 190 yards and a 10-yard catch. With Connecticut's soft independent schedule, he's a must-add as it appears he could be a workhorse candidate at the running back position. 

DEFENSE RECOMMENDATIONS

Auburn (vs. Mercer) - Anytime you can get a SEC defense against a FCS school, you should go for it. The Tigers are rostered in just 21 percent of leagues.

Kansas State (vs. South Dakota) - The Wildcats project to have one of the best defenses in the Big 12 and have a soft non-conference schedule with South Dakota, Missouri and Tulane.

California (vs. UC Davis) - Opening up against UC Davis and UNLV makes Cal a strong streaming play for the first two weeks. Cal's strength is with their defense.

SUMMARY & TOP RECOMMENDATIONS

Utilizing the two players for each conference above, here are my top recommendations for the week by position:

QB: WKU Austin Reed, Clemson DJ Uiagalelei, USF Gerry Bohanon

RB: UCONN Nathan Carter, SDSU Chance Bell, NEB Anthony Grant

WR: Louisville Tyler Hudson, WVU Bryce Ford-Wheaton, UTEP Tyrin Smith

TE: MICH Erick All, BGSU Christian Sims

D/ST: Auburn (vs. Mercer), Kansas State (vs. South Dakota), Cal (vs. UC Davis)

Be sure to check out our college football custom rankings and our player rankings cheat sheet for up-to-date season-long rankings, as well as our college football weekly rankings to help guide your lineup decisions. During the season, our college football DFS optimizer and value report are powerful tools to help build DFS lineups on DraftKings and FanDuel.