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Who Should I Pickup for Week 1? Fantasy Football waiver wire outlooks for Kayshon Boutte, Roschon Johnson, Jalen McMillan, Adonai Mitchell, Michael Mayer, Chris Brooks, Brian Robinson Jr., Pat Bryant, Cyrus Allen.
Who Should I Pickup? Some of the most common Week 1 fantasy football waiver wire decisions involve players like Kayshon Boutte, Roschon Johnson, Jalen McMillan, Adonai Mitchell, Michael Mayer, Chris Brooks, Brian Robinson Jr., Pat Bryant, and Cyrus Allen. However, don't worry, we are here to help you make these waiver wire decisions and make winning moves for Week 1. Add your optimal fantasy football pickups for Week 1 of the 2026 NFL season. 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 add... all free! Get your winning waiver wire pickups set.
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Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Outlooks
Below are some fantasy football waiver wire outlooks written by our NFL team here at RotoBaller, bringing you their fantasy football analysis and advice on which players to consider adding off waivers in Week 1:
Michael Mayer, TE, Las Vegas Raiders
Las Vegas Raiders tight end Michael Mayer's pass-catching production has been limited over the past two seasons thanks to the presence of superstar Raiders tight end Brock Bowers (knee). However, the Raiders announced on Wednesday that Bowers recently had a meniscus trim and is now expected to miss the first one or two games of 2026. As a result, Mayer should operate as the Raiders' TE1 to begin the year.
Across the four games he played in 2025 when Bowers was sidelined by injury, Mayer recorded 18 catches for 196 yards and a touchdown on 24 targets. The Raiders should have a more stable offensive environment in 2026 with Kirk Cousins at quarterback and Klint Kubiak calling plays. Ahead of a relatively favorable matchup against the Miami Dolphins in Week 1, Mayer could be a worthy tight end streamer for fantasy managers to target on the waiver wire.
Roschon Johnson, RB, Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears running back Roschon Johnson could have a larger role as a backup to D'Andre Swift because of an injury to Kyle Monangai (knee). Johnson has been impressive in camp amidst Monangai's injury struggles and even earned the eye of new offensive coordinator Press Taylor. Ariana Pensy of the Bears Wire wrote about Taylor's praise of Johnson this off-season, writing, "As Kyle goes down and Roschon's numbers increase and he got more opportunities, he proved to us that he's trustworthy.
He can be in those situations if it comes down to it where we need him to carry a heavier load than we expected while being involved in special teams. That's something he's done well." Monangai reportedly returned to practice on Monday but is dealing with a hyperextension of his right knee. Should Monangai miss time, the Bears have faith in Johnson as a backup.
Adonai Mitchell, WR, New York Jets
New York Jets wide receiver Adonai Mitchell has the potential to post a breakout season in his first full year with the Jets if he can build on a strong training camp. The speedy receiver has the raw tools to make him relevant in all formats, but he has struggled to be consistent throughout his NFL career.
The Colts drafted Mitchell in the second round out of Texas, but he never earned consistent playing time before being traded to the Jets as part of the Sauce Gardner deal. With New York, he averaged over seven targets per game and finished the year with 24 catches for 301 yards and two touchdowns in eight games.
None of those games were with top receiver Garrett Wilson in the mix, so his target share could drop with Wilson's return and the additions of rookie pass-catchers Omar Cooper Jr. and tight end Kenyon Sadiq. Even with a slightly smaller workload, though, Mitchell still has upside after receiving praise for his work in training camp to develop his connection with new QB Geno Smith.
He appears set to open the year as the WR2 in New York, and he is the WR62 in RotoBaller's Week 1 rankings against the Titans. While he doesn't look like a Week 1 starter in most formats, he does make sense as a stash in deep leagues due to his long-term potential and solid role.
Chris Brooks, RB, Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers running back Chris Brooks could open the regular season as the No. 2 option on the depth chart. The Packers' backfield is suddenly reeling after Josh Jacobs (personal) was arrested, charged with battery and criminal destruction of property, and placed on the commissioner's exempt list. There's no timetable for his return, and even though his court date was moved up to Sept. 10, that doesn't mean he'll get back on the field sooner.
A suspension seems inevitable, and now the big question is whether he'll be suspended for games in 2026 or 2027. Regardless of how much time Jacobs misses, all signs point to Brooks stepping up as the Packers' No. 2 running back while MarShawn Lloyd fills the lead role. Brooks was quiet to the tune of 106 rushing yards and 91 receiving yards last year, but he showed in Week 17 (13 carries for 61 yards) that he's capable of stepping into a larger role.
For now, he's more of a speculative stash in deeper leagues, but he could absolutely carve out standalone value as a low-end RB3/flex early in the season.
Brian Robinson Jr., RB, Atlanta Falcons
Entering 2026, Atlanta Falcons running back Brian Robinson appears unlikely to be a consistent fantasy producer as long as star Falcons running back Bijan Robinson stays healthy. Playing a similar role behind Christian McCaffrey for the San Francisco 49ers in 2025, Robinson Jr. recorded 92 carries for 400 yards and two touchdowns across 17 games.
However, Robinson Jr. has clear handcuff appeal as the obvious go-to option in Atlanta should Bijan Robinson suffer an injury. He may also see a bit more goal-line work this year, as former Falcons back Tyler Allgeier recorded eight rushing touchdowns in 2025 while playing a supporting role in the Atlanta backfield.
In leagues where Robinson Jr. is available on the waiver wire ahead of Week 1, he may be worth stashing in a bench spot as a high-end handcuff running back.
Pat Bryant, WR, Denver Broncos
Denver Broncos wide receiver Pat Bryant turned plenty of heads during training camp and could be in line for more work in Year 2. According to Parker Gabriel of the Denver Post, Sean Payton keeps coming back to one fairly simple trait when talking about Bryant: he rarely has to leave his feet to make a clean catch. That allows him to stay in stride and create more after the catch.
Payton has also praised Bryant's strong hands, intelligence, size and consistency after what he called a "heck of a camp." Bryant caught 31 passes for 378 yards and one touchdown across 15 games as a rookie, starting seven of them. Denver still has Courtland Sutton, Jaylen Waddle and Marvin Mims Jr. ahead of him on the current depth chart, but Bryant can work outside or from the slot.
After the summer he just put together, finding him more snaps shouldn't be difficult.
Who Should I Pickup Tool
Trying to decide who to pick up off the waiver wire? Check the Who Should I Pickup tool here.
2026 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players - Kayshon Boutte, Roschon Johnson, Jalen McMillan, Adonai Mitchell, Michael Mayer, Chris Brooks, Brian Robinson Jr., Pat Bryant, Cyrus Allen. 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's name. In the second box, search for the second player's 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.
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 Player Comparison Searches - Who To Pickup
Below are some popular searches and comparisons from our Who To Pickup tool for 2026 for Kayshon Boutte, Roschon Johnson, Jalen McMillan, Adonai Mitchell, Michael Mayer, Chris Brooks, Brian Robinson Jr., Pat Bryant, Cyrus Allen:
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