Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Rankings Updates Ahead of Week 1 - Tre Tucker, Mike Washington, Roschon Johnson, Braelon Allen, Chris Brooks

September 3, 2026

Nick Mariano's updated fantasy football waiver wire rankings ahead of Week 1 (2026). His top free agent options to add/stash off waivers for all league sizes.

Labor Day weekend is here, and Week 1 of the NFL season will be kicking off in a few days. While there are some fantasy football drafts going on this weekend, many have been completed, and it's time to start navigating the waiver wire to bolster your rosters. At RotoBaller HQ, we have updated our rankings to reflect the latest news and injuries with our updated fantasy football waiver wire rankings before Week 1 of 2026 to help you prioritize who to add ahead of your Week 1 matchup.

There are several players who still have low ownership percentages and could make immediate fantasy impacts in 2026. Even with Ashton Jeanty healthy, has Mike Washington Jr. carved out a bigger role in the Raiders' backfield after his impressive training camp? Is Kayshon Boutte worth adding after being acquired by the Texans and is expected to be Houston's No. 2 option behind Nico Collins? Is Roschon Johnson worth adding with injuries to backfield teammates D'Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai?

Our Week 1 fantasy football waiver wire rankings will help answer these questions and many more -- they've been a staple on RotoBaller for years, bringing readers a quick-hit list of the top 75 fantasy football player names to consider as free agent pickups. For those new to this article series, RotoBaller's lead NFL analyst Nick Mariano brings you these waiver wire rankings in priority order. Good luck on waivers!

Who To Pick Up Before Fantasy Football Week 1?

Waiver wire pickup options, including how to prioritize them for your league, depending on the league size. Quarterbacks and Defenses (D/ST) are grouped together at the bottom of the list:

Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Outlooks

Top names include Mike Washington Jr., Roschon Johnson, Tre'Harris, Kayshon Boutte, and Brenton Strange, We recap why these players rostered under 55% in Yahoo! leagues should be on your waiver wire radar before Week 1:

Mike Washington Jr., RB, Raiders

Week 1 Waiver Wire Ranking: 2

The Las Vegas Raiders are optimistic about the health of running back Ashton Jeanty (ankle), NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport reports, but that doesn't mean rookie running back Mike Washington Jr. will take a back seat this season. Rapoport says Washington "is going to be a thing this year, not just in real football, in fantasy football as well." Rapoport went on to say, "he for sure is going to be a weapon in Las Vegas." Washington stands out as a sleeper pick even if Jeanty does return to full health.

Washington finished this preseason with 168 rushing yards on 23 carries for 7.3 yards per rush. Jeanty is recovering from a low ankle sprain that looked a little bit worse to teammates at the time. But now it looks like Jeanty is considered day-to-day with the injury. He is a top-of-the-line running back, but it seems as if Washington is carving out a role for himself in Las Vegas this season.

Roschon Johnson, RB, Bears

Week 1 Waiver Wire Ranking: 10

Chicago Bears offensive coordinator Press Taylor said that running back Roschon Johnson finished training camp strong and that the team can "trust him if someone goes down with an injury," per Zack Pearson of 247 Sports. Johnson appeared in just seven games in 2025 due to injury issues and has played a limited offensive role in his NFL career to this point, recording 519 rushing yards across 36 career games.

However, he's excelled in short-yardage situations, which could lead to him stealing some touchdowns from Bears running backs D'Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai (knee). Additionally, Monangai's status for the start of the regular season is unclear as he battles a hyperextended knee. In deeper leagues, Johnson could be worth stashing in a bench spot should Monangai miss time.

Kayshon Boutte, WR, Texans

Week 1 Waiver Wire Ranking: 41

Houston Texans wide receiver Kayshon Boutte landed in a great spot for his fantasy value to potentially take off this year. Last year with the Patriots, Boutte had 33 receptions for 551 yards and six touchdowns while helping Drake Maye take the next step in his development. With the team's offseason moves, though, Boutte was in a much smaller role this season and was ultimately traded to the Texans, who have a big need for a second receiver across from Nico Collins. Second-year receiver Jayden Higgins (knee) was lost for the year to a torn ACL this preseason, opening playing time and targets across the field from Collins.

With Tank Dell (knee) on IR to start the year and Jaylin Noel (hamstring/finger) battling injury as well, Boutte should have a clear path to a significant role early in the year if he can develop good chemistry with QB C.J. Stroud right away. Boutte is currently the No. 62 WR in RotoBaller's rankings, but he brings intriguing upside in his potentially expanded role with his new team.

Tre' Harris, WR, Chargers

Week 1 Waiver Wire Ranking: 36

Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Tre' Harris (undisclosed) continues to be projected as the third option in the receiver room, despite the fact that he has missed the team's first two preseason games due to an undisclosed injury. Even for the duration of his absence, Harris has held on to the No. 3 job without any teammates threatening to take his spot. In fact, we expect him to take a step forward this year and have a much larger role than he did as a rookie in 2025.

Last year, as the Bolts' No. 4 receiver, he caught 30 passes for 324 yards and a touchdown. Now that Keenan Allen is gone, he's jumping to third in the pecking order behind just Ladd McConkey and Quentin Johnston. The 24-year-old Ole Miss product currently ranks as the WR65 in RotoBaller's latest fantasy football rankings for 2026.

George Holani, RB, Seahawks

Week 1 Waiver Wire Ranking: 39

The Athletic's Andrew Destin anticipates Seattle Seahawks running back George Holani being used on third downs and in short-yardage and goal-line situations, with rookie first-rounder Jadarian Price being featured plenty on first and second downs. Price was slowed by "upper-leg soreness" early in training camp, making it easier for Seattle to embrace more of a platoon backfield as they open the 2026 regular season without Zach Charbonnet (knee), who tore his ACL in the playoffs in January.

Free-agent signee Emanuel Wilson will occasionally mix in behind Holani and Price. When Charbonnet makes his season debut, he should pair well with Price, which "should allow Holani to slide back into a third-string role." Price has more short- and long-term fantasy appeal with more upside than Holani, which is why RotoBaller has Price ranked as the RB22 and Holani ranked at No. 75. If anything, Holani might be a thorn in Price's side early on in 2026. The 26-year-old former undrafted free agent from Boise State has seen only 25 carries for 83 yards (3.3 yards per carry) and one touchdown in 16 games (zero starts) in his first two years in the NFL in Seattle.

Running Backs - Week 1 Waiver Wire Rankings

Pickups are in priority order:

Wide Receivers - Week 1 Waiver Wire Rankings

Pickups are in priority order:

Tight Ends - Week 1 Waiver Wire Rankings

Pickups are in priority order:

Quarterbacks - Week 1 Waiver Wire Rankings

Pickups are in priority order, with emphasis on Week 1:

Defenses (D/ST) - Week 1 Waiver Wire Rankings

Pickups are in priority order, with emphasis on Week 1:

Week 1 Waiver Wire Articles

After diving into the Week 1 rankings, check out some other free waiver wire resources available at RotoBaller, including more articles which are coming soon.

Each week, our NFL team puts out a complete array of fantasy football waiver wire articles to complement our slick Who Should I Pickup? Waiver wire player comparison tool. Bookmark it!

In addition, be on the lookout for our other waiver wire articles all season long. We will be releasing weekly waiver wire articles for each position, FAAB bidding recommendations, streamers, and more. Stay tuned!

Who Should I Pickup Tool

Trying to decide who to pickup off the waiver wire? Check the Who Should I Pickup tool here:

Who Should I Pickup for Week 1?

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Who Should I Pickup? Some common 2026 fantasy football waiver wire decisions are regarding players like Mike Washington, Rocschon Johnson, Tre' Harris, Khalil Shakir, Brenton Strange, Kayshon Boutte, Dylan Sampson, Denzel Boston, Ryan Flournoy, Rashod Bateman, Caleb Douglas, Malachi Fields, Ja'Kobi Lane, Jacob Saylors, George Holani, Najee Harris, T.J. Hockenson, and Eli Raridon. But not to worry, we are here to help make these waiver wire decisions and build winning teams in 2026. Set your optimal fantasy football lineups in 2026. Our free Who Should I Pickup? tool will help make your fantasy football waiver wire decisions. Compare up to four NFL players, and we tell you who to pick up... all free! Make the right decisions.

2026 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players - Mike Washington, MarShawn Lloyd, Najee Harris, Tre Tucker, Jalen McMillan, Terrance Ferguson, Najee Harris, Ryan Flournoy, Rashod Bateman, Emmett Johnson, Caleb Douglas, Malachi Fields, Pat Bryant. These are some common searches for 2026 fantasy football waiver wire pickups.

Using The Tool. This is a simple tool but very powerful. The first step is to enter the player names that you want to compare. In the first box, search for the first player name. In the second box, search for the second player name. Compare up to four NFL players at once, and then click the Who To Pickup? button to see who the recommended waiver wire pickups are based on fantasy football rankings, projections, and more.

Recent Improvements For Who Should I Pickup? You may have noticed, our Who Should I Pickup? tool has gotten an overhaul. We've added lots of great features for you to give you as much information as possible to win on the waiver wire in 2026. You'll see NFL player tiles with headshots and bye weeks, stats, projections, strength of schedule, enhanced search results with data to compare, and a slick new interface. We hope you enjoy!

How It Works. Our RotoBaller staff puts together their weekly fantasy football waiver wire rankings and projections based on their research, and updates them constantly throughout the week. That information is the core data that is powering the decision-making in this tool. When you search for player names, you will only see those players who are ranked.

Popular Waiver Wire Searches. Curious to see some tough waiver wire decisions for 2025? Below you will find a list of some popular Who Should I Pickup? searches that RotoBaller readers are looking at. Click any of the links to see the result and recommendation.

Popular Player Comparison Searches - Who To Pickup

Below are some popular searches and comparisons from our Who To Pickup tool for 2026 for Mike Washington, MarShawn Lloyd, Najee Harris, Tre Tucker, Jalen McMillan, Terrance Ferguson, Najee Harris, Ryan Flournoy, Rashod Bateman, Emmett Johnson, Caleb Douglas, Malachi Fields, Pat Bryant: