Deeper League Waiver Wire Pickups for Fantasy Football Week 1 (2025)

September 4, 2025

Dan's top fantasy football waiver wire pickups, sleepers, stashes for deeper leagues ahead of Week 1 in 2025. His targets include Ollie Gordon, Bryce Young, Adam Thielen more.

Welcome back to our deeper league fantasy football waiver wire pickups for Week 1. We have finally made it to Week 1 of the 2025 NFL season! It is time to stop projecting and start reacting to the weekly data points and information we receive on the field.

A lot of analysis focuses on leagues that have traditional formats (10 or 12 teams with a standard-sized lineup and bench). However, there are plenty of fantasy managers out there who play in leagues with more teams or deeper benches. This article is more for you.

Throughout the 2025 season, this article will focus on fantasy football players who are at or below a 40% roster rate on Yahoo -- and can be considered deeper-leagues waiver wire options. We'll cover a few players from QB, RB, WR, and TE. Let's get to it!

Quarterbacks Waiver Wire for Week 1

Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers - 27% rostered

Bryce Young was benched after a slow start in 2024, which seemed like it was the beginning of the end of his tenure as the Panthers’ quarterback. However, veteran Andy Dalton was in a car accident that forced Young back into the lineup.

He made the most of the opportunity.

Every Bryce Young passing attempts of 20+ yards while under pressure last season. pic.twitter.com/gMOVLu6WCw

— Nick Penticoff (@NickPenticoff) June 12, 2025

From Weeks 8 to 18, Young completed 61.8% of his passes for 2,104 yards and 15 touchdowns with six interceptions. He also added 37 carries for 223 yards and five touchdowns. He was the QB15 in fantasy (minimum five games played) during that small sample size, averaging 18.6 PPG.

Carolina added a potential alpha wide receiver in the NFL Draft (first-round pick Tetairoa McMillan) to lead a cast of complementary pass catchers. The trade of Adam Thielen (and subsequent Jalen Coker injury) isn’t great, but the Carolina pass catchers are probably still a net positive compared to 2024.

The Panthers face off against the Jaguars in Week 1, which is a secondary that allowed the third most fantasy points per game to quarterbacks in 2025 (20.1). We also don’t have any clarity on how much the team plans to play Travis Hunter on defense, which could be positive for Young in his first game.

Future matchups against the Arizona Cardinals, Atlanta Falcons, New England Patriots, and Miami Dolphins from Weeks 2 to 5 make Young even more appealing in fantasy long term.

Daniel Jones, Indianapolis Colts - 5% rostered

Daniel Jones won the starting quarterback job in Indianapolis after signing with the team this offseason on a one-year deal. Jones has never been a high-end passer (64.1% completion percentage for 2,430.3 yards, 11.7 touchdowns, and 7.8 interceptions average in six seasons). Still, he will have arguably the strongest supporting cast of his career with the Colts.

The Colts begin the season with a matchup against the Miami Dolphins, who have arguably the worst cornerback room in the NFL after trading Jalen Ramsey this offseason. The Dolphins still have enough on offense to push this game into a shootout, giving Jones a chance at a big fantasy output in his Indianapolis debut.

Jones’s Week 2 matchup against Denver is a stay away in fantasy, but future matchups against the Titans, Rams, Raiders, and Cardinals look to be plus matchups on paper.

Running Backs Waiver Wire for Week 1

Ollie Gordon II, Miami Dolphins - 34% rostered

Few rookies had a more impactful preseason than Miami Dolphins’ sixth-round running back Ollie Gordon II. Gordon handled 26 carries for 126 yards and a touchdown (4.8 yards per carry) and added three receptions for 48 yards. The rookie running back could potentially have a role in Week 1 while Jaylen Wright (multi-week leg issue) and De’Von Achane (calf) work through injuries.

no RB forced me to adjust my priors more this preseason than Ollie Gordon II

(probably his own team, too) pic.twitter.com/53T9HeReJG

— Josh Norris (@JoshNorris) August 25, 2025

Gordon showed that he can be a high-volume, early down workhorse in 2023 with Oklahoma State (285 carries for 1,732 yards and 21 touchdowns) before taking a step back in 2024 (190 carries for 880 yards and 13 touchdowns). He also had 80 receptions for 585 yards and four touchdowns in his three college seasons.

Even if Wright was healthy, Gordon likely did enough this preseason to earn a role in Miami’s backfield as a power complement to Achane. However, Wright’s injury allows the rookie to run away with the backup job as the team’s between-the-tackles runner.

Gordon should be rostered in all formats just based on the upside of his talent combined with Miami’s wide zone rushing scheme.

Chris Rodriguez Jr., Washington Commanders - 6% rostered

The trade of Brian Robinson Jr. has opened up opportunities for a new lead back to emerge in Washington. Fantasy managers were already drafting Austin Ekeler thanks to his role as the pass catcher. Others aggressively flocked to seventh-round rookie Jacory Croskey-Merritt, hoping to hit on an upside pick.

However, a third option has gone mostly unnoticed in the third year running back Chris Rodriguez Jr. Rodriguez was a sixth-round pick in 2023 but has played sparingly (86 carries for 420 yards and four touchdowns) in his first two professional seasons. By all accounts, Rodriguez has had a strong summer and earned at least a share of the short yardage carries. There is a chance he could handle even more.

Rodriguez averaged 173.0 carries for 1,022.7 yards and 8.7 touchdowns over his final three seasons at Kentucky. This backfield is wide open (contrary to the Croskey-Merritt love), giving all three backs the ability to be fantasy relevant.

Wide Receivers Waiver Wire for Week 1

Adam Thielen, Minnesota Vikings - 28% rostered

In the grand scheme of things, Adam Thielen being traded from the Panthers to the Vikings is a net negative. Thielen could have easily been second in targets in Carolina in 2025, but now finds himself competing for targets with more talented players in Minnesota.

That said, the first three weeks of the season should be excellent for the veteran slot receiver with Jordan Addison out of the lineup due to a suspension. Thielen will provide first-time starting quarterback J.J. McCarthy with a quick passing option out of the slot in the middle of the field.

Over the last two seasons, the veteran receiver averaged 7.4 targets, 5.6 receptions, and 60.3 receiving yards per game with nine touchdowns scored. It’ll be hard to hit those numbers in Minnesota with Justin Jefferson and T.J. Hockenson to start the season. But Thielen should still be a WR3/FLEX level play given his ability to get open and familiarity with the offensive scheme.

He is worth stashing on the bench in deeper leagues at least until Addison returns to the starting lineup.

Romeo Doubs, Green Bay Packers - 14% rostered

An argument can be made that Romeo Doubs has been the most consistent piece of Green Bay’s passing attack over the last three seasons. Doubs doesn’t have the deep speed of Christian Watson or the explosiveness of Jayden Reed, but he is a reliable pass catcher that Jordan Love trusts.

Since 2022, Doubs has averaged 78.3 targets, 49.0 receptions, 566.7 receiving yards, and 5.0 touchdowns. He’s posted back-to-back seasons with at least 10.0 fantasy points and a top 50 wide receiver finish in PPR scoring.

Timing beats tight coverage.
Jordan Love | Romeo Doubs pic.twitter.com/yYssBJX8CK

— JetPack Galileo (@JetPackGalileo) November 22, 2023

Matthew Golden will be one of the Packers’ outside receivers entering 2025, but the second spot was up in the air until the summer played out. Now we know that Reed is coming into the 2025 season with an injured foot, and Dontayvion Wicks missed most of the summer with a calf injury. Watson is also still recovering from a torn ACL in 2024.

Doubs will once again have an opportunity to be on the field in two receiver sets and earn consistent targets in 2025. The Packers could be pushed into pass-heavy game scripts to start the season, with matchups against the Lions, Commanders, Cowboys, and Bengals in four of the first five weeks.

Tight Ends Waiver Wire for Week 1

Chig Okonkwo, Tennessee Titans - 31% rostered

Inconsistent quarterback play has limited Chig Okonkwo in fantasy the last two seasons. The veteran tight end has averaged 73.5 targets, 53.0 receptions, 503.5 receiving yards, and 1.5 touchdowns in the previous two seasons. That was good enough for back-to-back seasons with 6.7 PPR points per game.

Cam Ward is arguably the most talented quarterback Okonkwo has played with in his career. Additionally, the passing attack has very little established talent outside of Calvin Ridley and Tyler Lockett. There is a realistic path to Okonkwo finishing second on the team in targets, which could allow him to break into the top 15 tight ends in fantasy, finally.

Ja'Tavion Sanders, Carolina Panthers - 2% rostered

Carolina trading Thielen opened an opportunity for Coker to emerge as the slot/middle of the field weapon in Carolina. Unfortunately, a quadriceps injury suffered in practice landed Coker on the injured reserve.

That allows second-year tight end Ja'Tavion Sanders to see an uptick in targets.

Sanders received rave reviews throughout the summer and is coming off a respectable rookie season (33 receptions for 342 yards and a touchdown) for a fourth-round pick. The Panthers will need somebody to step up to give Young a weapon who can win in the short-to-intermediate areas of the field to start the season. Sanders has the talent, and now the opportunity, to be that weapon.

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