College Fantasy Football 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. We start off with a banger on Thursday Night with Florida at Utah in the ESPN Primetime Slot. On Friday Night, soak in Lousiville at Georgia Tech and if you want to watch some football after dark, go with Stanford at Hawaii (11 PM ET Kickoff). I'll likely be going to sleep, so I can rest for the full slate on Saturday. For CFF purposes, I love USF at Western Kentucky (OU 70.5), Louisiana Tech at SMU (65.5) and Coastal Carolina at UCLA (OU 65.5) as the best games to target for the waiver wire!

*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

Gerry Bohanon, QB, USF  

For Week 1 purposes, USF at Western Kentucky has the highest over/under at 70.5 points. While most of the Western Kentucky players have been drafted and our rostered, virtually none of the USF players are rostered. Here's an excellent spot to grab a dual-threat quarterback in Bohanon (or Byrum Brown if he surprisingly is named the starter) and utilize him against Western Kentucky and potentially Florida A&M in Week 2 before the Bulls host Alabama. Senior RB Kelley Joiner is also an intriguing play here as this upcoming game should be a barnburner.

Tejhaun Palmer, WR, UAB

The Blazers are a bit of a wildcard in the AAC this year. They'll roll out QB Jacob Zeno as their starter and the expected number one receiver is Palmer who had 30 catches (on 52 targets) for 479 yards and two touchdowns during the 2022 season. It's the first year for HC Trent Dilfer and this team historically has relied on the run. I expect that to change this year and we should get a nice preview of that against North Carolina A&T on Thursday Night.

ACC Waiver Wire Pickups

Jaylin Lane, WR, Virginia Tech  

True CFF players will remember Lane as he was a standout at Middle Tennessee in 2022 with 69 catches (on 99 targets) for 940 yards and five touchdowns. He was able to upgrade his squad in the transfer portal and now projects to be one of the Hokies' top weapons. Although Virginia Tech will be one of the worst teams in the conference, they have a manageable non-conference slate with Old Dominion, Purdue and Rutgers. Expect Lane to garner some confidence during that part of the slate and he's still going to be utilized quite a bit as Virginia Tech struggles against conference opponents.

Phil Mafah, RB, Clemson  

There exists a scenario where Mafah is Clemson's most productive running back and it could happen in a multitude of ways. We all know Will Shipley is a top-notch talent, however, I think Clemson will need to lean more on their run-game with new QB Cade Klubnik and unproven wide receivers. That means Mafah could get more carries than what some experts are projecting him at whether that's in a blowout game or because they are going with run-heavy packages on the offensive end. It will be very interesting to watch the carry distribution at Duke in Week 1.

BIG 12 Waiver Wire Pickups

Dominic Richardson, RB, Baylor  

Baylor has the best running back duo in the conference and only one of those backs was drafted in most fantasy leagues. Richard Reese was amazing during his freshman season, however, he did slow down at the end of the year and that's exactly why they went out and got Richardson, a transfer from Oklahoma State. I expect Richardson to get just as many carries as Reese, so he should be rostered in just as many leagues as Baylor will have a better than average run-game during the 2023 season.

Drae McCray, WR, Texas Tech

The Red Raiders have a stacked WR room for QB Tyler Shough this year and McCray actually comes in as the most productive in the class with 1,893 career receiving yards at Austin Peay. While Jerand Bradley will be Shough's top target on the outside, McCray could really develop into the team's top slot target which means he should be rostered in all leagues. I can't wait to watch Texas Tech at Wyoming to begin the season because this could be a sneaky grab which pays off quite a bit later down the road if it looks like McCray has a grasp of the offense right away.

Big Ten Waiver Wire Pickups

Brevyn Spann-Ford, TE, Minnesota

The shoulder surgery in the off-season must have scared off fantasy players because Spann-Ford is available in a ton of leagues. He has the upside to be one of the best tight ends in the country and we'll get a preview of that against Nebraska in a primetime showdown Thursday Night. I love this recommendation because he's flying under the radar and could be a roster lock at a tough position for the rest of the year. I fully expect Spann-Ford to be playing on Sundays after a huge year in 2023.

KeAndre Lambert-Smith, WR, Penn State  

With all the drama surrounding Ohio State, Michigan, and conference realignment to begin the season, Penn State has been just lurking as a potential giant in the Big Ten East. QB Drew Allar could be a superstar and Lambert-Smith projects to be the top receiver for the Nittany Lions. Because Penn State has a couple of studs in Nicholas Singlton and Kaytron Allen in the backfield, I could see Lambert-Smith having a breakout year from a production standpoint. They'll have an excellent chance to start that right away while hosting West Virignia. 

C-USA Waiver Wire Pickups

Shomari Lawrence, RB, FIU

Lawrence was masterful against Louisiana Tech with 15 carries for 139 yards and a touchdown. The South Dakota State transfer took full advantage of the primary role in the backfield with 9.3 yards per carry, including a 67-yard house call on the first drive of the game. No other offensive player was close to effective for the Panthers, so this lower-level team could depend on Lawrence quite a bit this season.

Kaidon Salter, QB, Liberty

The Flames are playing their first season in C-USA and they legitimately have a shot at winning this conference. Salter is a talented signal caller who can use both is arm and his legs to beat opponents. With LIberty being relatively unknown since Malik Willis left for the NFL, this is an opportunity to roster a quarterback who should have a decent amount of volume. HC Jamey Chadwell comes over from Coastal Carolina where there was no shortage of great QB play.

MAC Waiver Wire Pickups

Tanner Knue, WR, Eastern Michigan

Knue averaged 13.9 fantasy points per game during the 2022 season, so he's a great candidate to be one of the top receivers for the conference this year. The Eagles are also sneaky good and could be a dark horse in the conference as all the chatter has been about Toledo and Ohio this offseason. Eastern Michigan was 9-4 last year, including a non-conference win at Arizona State which was the highlight of an impressive 5-1 record on the road.

Lorenzo Lingard, RB, Akron  

Lingard played sparingly at Florida over the last three years, so the transfer to Akron made a lot of sense to see if he can dominate in the MAC, a conference known to feature the running back. Akron has a couple of talented stars in QB DJ Irons and WR Alex Adams, so I really like the concept of zagging with Lingard for fantasy purposes as opposing defenses gameplan against the stars in most weeks. If the Zips can have success against Temple in the first week, all of these guys are a play against Morgan Sate in Week 2.

Mountain West Waiver Wire Pickups

Brayden Schager, QB, Hawaii

The Rainbow Warriors held their own at Vanderbilt in Saturday's close 35-28 loss. Schager looked encouraging with 25.6 fantasy points and his second-career 300-yard passing game. While he did have a pair of interceptions, the 77.1 percent completion percentage and three touchdowns will be plenty enough against lesser competition. If Schager and the Warriors can compete with Stanford on Friday Night, Schager will be one of the top signal callers in the Mountain West this year.

Mark Redman, TE, San Diego State

Redman made Rotowire's Second-Team All-Mountain West and he showed why in a successful season debut against Ohio. The senior tight end compiled 23.3 fantasy points with five catches for 62 yards and two touchdowns. Redman had four targets in the red zone which could be an early sign of a breakout year, he's already matched his career total for scores in one game. Go out and get Redman at a position that has historically been shallow in college football fantasy leagues.

PAC-12 Waiver Wire Pickups

Zachariah Branch, WR, USC

Although the Trojan's season-opener agains San Jose State was on the Pac-12 Network and only a handful of people could actually watch that game, it was still evident that this true freshman could be Reggie Bush reincarnated. Branch electrified while catching all four of his targets for 58 yards and a score to go along with an eye-popping kickoff return touchdown. With QB Caleb Williams, USC has perhaps the best offense in the country, so go out and get this guy.

Dillon Johnson, RB, Washington

Teammate Cameron Davis sustained a season-ending injury, thus Johnson is thrust into the likely starting spot for one of the best teams in the country. Johnson is a transfer from Mississippi State and is more than capable of taking on a full workload as he had double-digit touches in seven of ten games during the 2022 season. Johnson is as versatile as they come as a talented pass-catcher with 149 catches for 864 yards in 33 games. He wasn't drafted in a ton of fantasy leagues, so he could be available for your roster.

SEC Waiver Wire Pickups

Mason Taylor, TE, LSU  

It's always slim pickings in the nation's premier conference for the first few weeks as we do have unbelievable coverage and most of these players are rostered. With that said, Taylor is available in most leagues and was effective in the Tigers' debut agianst Florida State last year. He pulled down 4-of-5 targets for 34 yards and could play an even bigger role this year as this game is expected to have some fireworks. 

Ja'Corey Brooks, WR, Alabama  

It appears that teammate Jermaine Burton is going ahead of Brooks in most drafts and I'm not sure that's quite right. They both struggled with drops during the 2022 season and I believe Brooks has just as good a chance to emerge as the top receiver in what should be a great offense once again. Both players should ball out to begin the season against Middle Tennesse and Alabama absolutely needs to have their pass-game in good shape if they're going to take on the best teams in the SEC. I like Kobe Prentice as well if both of these guys are gone in your leagues.

Sun Belt Waiver Wire Pickups

Jared Brown, WR, Coastal Carolina  

The Chanticleers will travel to UCLA this weekend in a fascinating game that includes an appetizing over/under of 65.5 points. QB Grayson McCall and fellow wideout Sam Pinckney are rostered in pretty much all leagues, but you can potentially get Brown who is just as talented at Pinckney. Brown had five or more catches in six different games during the 2022 season and I expect Coastal Carolina to be throwing the ball a bunch if they want to compete with the Bruins.

Tyrone Howell, WR, ULM  

Howell had a couple of all-time fantasy games in 2022 when he went for 54.4 points at South Alabama and 44.6 points two weeks later against Texas State. The Warhawks remain one of the worst teams in the conference so they're going to have to throw the ball a lot. That will definitely be the case when they host Army in Week 1 and will continue against Lamar the following week. If you're in a pinch at the wide receiver position, Howell can help your roster in the interim.

INDEPENDENTS

Jaden Greathouse & Jayden Thomas, WR, Notre Dame  

Both Thomas and Greathouse are available in a ton of fantasy leagues as most people didn't really know what to expect from Notre Dame's new-look offense. After their demolition of Navy, it's clear QB Sam Hartman is going to make a run at the Heisman Trophy as he was brilliant while completing 82.6 percent of his passes for 251 yards and four touchdowns. He completed all seven of his targets to Greathouse and Thomas for a combined 131 yards and three touchdowns. I believe Thomas is the true number one receiver and Greathouse is a talented true freshman who will get better each and every week. 

DEFENSE RECOMMENDATIONS

Air Force (vs. Robert Morris) - One of the top projected units is available in a bunch of leagues, they're a play most weeks.

Oklahoma (vs. Arkansas State) - The difference in competition should be fairly noticeable in this match-up which means the Sooners should roll.

San Diego State (vs. Idaho State) - The Aztecs looked explosive on the defensive end against a good Ohio squad and were able to force multiple turnovers.

SUMMARY & TOP RECOMMENDATIONS

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

QB: Liberty Kaidon Salter, Hawaii Brayden Schager, USF Gerry Bohanon (OR Byrum Brown)

RB: Washington Dillon Johnson, Clemson Phil Mafah, FIU Shomari Lawrence

WR: Alabama Ja'Corey Brooks, USC Zachariah Branch, Notre Dame Jayden Thomas

TE: Minnesota Brevyn Spann-Ford, San Diego State Mark Redman, LSU Mason Taylor

D/ST: Air Force (vs. Robert Morris), San Digo State (vs. Idaho State), Oklahoma (vs. Arkansas State)

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.