What counts as available?

Rostered in half of leagues or fewer, measured daily. That is the honest line for a 12-team league: above it he is somebody’s bench player almost everywhere and you cannot claim him; below it he is on the wire often enough that the list is worth acting on. The deeper your league, the further down the list you will need to go. A player we have no roster data for is left off rather than listed as free.

Where do “trending adds” come from?

It is a 24-hour count of how many fantasy managers added that player across fantasy platforms. It measures what the crowd is doing, not what we think — which is why it has its own view. A player can be added by a hundred thousand managers and still carry a Sit verdict here; the “Everyone’s adding” list shows both facts on the row so you can weigh them yourself, and “Our picks” lists only the claims we back.

Why might a player on this list already be gone?

Most leagues process waivers Tuesday night or Wednesday morning, and the roster percentages here are measured once a day. A player claimed in your league overnight can still show as widely available for a few hours, and a name breaking Sunday morning may already be gone by Tuesday. Check the wire before you plan around a claim.

When does the list update?

It is carved from the same board that builds Tuesday morning, fills out Wednesday once practice reports and waivers clear, and re-checks daily through Sunday, with a final inactives sweep Sunday morning. Roster percentages refresh daily and the add counts every few minutes. A player ruled out drops off immediately.

Week 1 Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups

Everyone here is rostered in half of leagues or fewer, so you can actually claim him in a 12-team league. “Our picks” are the claims our Start/Sit evidence backs. “Everyone’s adding” is who the crowd grabbed in the last 24 hours, with our verdict on each name, and that verdict is not always a Start.

Tight Ends

Pat FreiermuthTE24PITvs ATL
14.6% rosteredProps
Start — TE24 consensus, projects TE17 this week: 12% target share in 2025, 8.4 PPR projected vs ATL.
Start4.96.78.4pts
Dalton SchultzTE21HOUvs BUF
20% rosteredProps
Start — TE21 consensus, projects TE19 this week: 19% target share in 2025, 8.4 PPR projected vs BUF.
Start4.76.58.4pts
AJ BarnerTE25SEAvs NE
7% rosteredProps
Start — TE25 by consensus and projection: NE is the 1st-toughest matchup vs TEs, 24.0 implied team total.
Start4.45.87.2pts

Kickers

Chris BoswellK12PITvs ATL
39% rostered
Boswell is K12 at 9.0 projected with calm weather, a 22.8 implied total and 1.2 red-zone stalls per game feeding 2.1 FG tries.
Start· medium9.09.09.0pts
Jake ElliottK20PHIvs WSH
8.7% rostered
26.0 implied total and calm, open-roof conditions are ideal, but K20 consensus and 74% accuracy leave him outside the 12-team starter tier.
Toss-Up· medium8.58.58.5pts
Evan McPhersonK13CINvs TB
21.5% rostered
27.0 implied total, calm open-roof conditions and an 89% (25/28) leg make McPherson a clean K13 play with 1.7 FGs and 2.7 XPs projected.
Start· medium8.58.58.5pts

Team Defense

Raiders D/STProj. DST18LVvs MIA
2.1% rostered↑ 14k adds
Miami's 19.3 implied total and 2.9 sacks allowed make Vegas the draw, but 4.8 projected points and a DST18 rank keep this a matchup-only stream.
Toss-Up· medium4.84.84.8pts
Titans D/STProj. DST6TENvs NYJ
10.8% rostered
Jets project for just 18.3 implied points while allowing 3.8 sacks and 1.4 turnovers per game — Titans are a DST6 home favorite started in only 10% of leagues.
Start· high6.96.96.9pts
Jets D/STProj. DST8NYJvs TEN
5% rostered
Titans give up 3.5 sacks a game with a 21.3 implied total — DST8 projection at 4% started is the week's best streaming value.
Start· medium6.56.56.5pts

Most added, last 24 hours

What the crowd is doing, sorted by adds. The verdict on each row is ours — a player can be everyone’s pickup and still be a Sit here.

Michael MayerTELVvs MIA
24.5% rostered↑ 256k addsCrowd pickProps
Locked-in starting TE with 9.3 projected PPR, but a 13% target share and modest 22.3 implied total cap the ceiling — a TD-or-bust streamer.
Toss-Up· medium5.47.39.3pts
Tre TuckerWR60LVvs MIA
31.1% rostered↑ 36k addsProps
95% snaps and a 19% target share give Tucker a real floor, but WR50 consensus and a 10.0-point projection make him a flex-only dart in 12-team PPR.
Toss-Up· medium6.88.410.0pts
Alvin KamaraRB48NOvs DET
Q
36.2% rostered↑ 25k addsCrowd pickProps
Sit — bench-tier RB at consensus RB48: 11% target share in 2025, Questionable on the latest report.
Sit4.15.16.0pts
Keaton MitchellRB49LACvs ARI
21.6% rostered↑ 22k addsCrowd pickProps
Sit — bench-tier RB at consensus RB49: 28.5 implied team total, 4% target share in 2025.
Sit5.15.66.2pts
Justice HillRB51BALvs IND
18.5% rostered↑ 17k addsCrowd pickProps
Sit — bench-tier RB at consensus RB51: 26.5 implied team total, 11% target share in 2025.
Sit4.86.07.2pts
Raiders D/STProj. DST18LVvs MIA
2.1% rostered↑ 14k adds
Miami's 19.3 implied total and 2.9 sacks allowed make Vegas the draw, but 4.8 projected points and a DST18 rank keep this a matchup-only stream.
Toss-Up· medium4.84.84.8pts
Samaje PerineRB51CINvs TB
12.2% rostered↑ 14k addsCrowd pickProps
Sit — bench-tier RB at consensus RB51: 27.0 implied team total, 4% target share in 2025.
Sit4.85.45.9pts
Tank BigsbyRB51PHIvs WSH
19.1% rostered↑ 9k addsCrowd pickProps
Sit — bench-tier RB at consensus RB51: 26.0 implied team total, 1% target share in 2025.
Sit4.04.14.2pts
Tyler ShoughQB18NOvs DET
47.1% rostered↑ 9k addsCrowd pickProps
QB18 with a 14.2 projection and a 20.8 implied total as a 7-point underdog — replacement-level in 12-team leagues.
Sit· medium14.314.314.3pts
Malik WillisQB21MIAvs LV
21.1% rostered↑ 7k addsCrowd pickProps
Sit — bench-tier QB at consensus QB21: 42% snap share in 2025, 15.1 PPR projected vs LV.
Sit15.115.115.1pts
49ers D/STProj. DST32SFvs LAR
7.1% rostered↑ 6k addsCrowd pick
Sit — a bottom-tier defensive matchup this week (No. 32): LAR protects the ball (0.9 turnovers a game), and Vegas has them at 25.8 points.
Sit2.52.52.5pts

Updated today 12:55 PM ET

Verdicts based on PPR scoring. Projections shown are consensus projections; the verdict is our judgment layer on top of them. Verdicts are informational, not betting advice.

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Week 1 Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups

Quarterbacks

Wide Receivers

Tight Ends

Kickers

Team Defense

Most added, last 24 hours

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