RADIO
Who Should I Pickup for Week 1? Fantasy Football waiver wire outlooks for Kaelon Black, Jalen Coker, Tre Tucker, Tyler Allgeier, Dontayvion Wicks, Tank Bigsby, Kaleb Johnson, Ryan Flournoy, Keaton Mitchell
Who Should I Pickup? Some of the most common Week 1 fantasy football waiver wire decisions involve players like Kaelon Black, Jalen Coker, Tre Tucker, Tyler Allgeier, Dontayvion Wicks, Tank Bigsby, Kaleb Johnson, Ryan Flournoy, and Keaton Mitchell. 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.
Compare up to four players and we'll tell you who to pickup...
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:
Keaton Mitchell, RB, Los Angeles Chargers
Los Angeles Chargers running back Keaton Mitchell remains available in roughly 83% of fantasy football leagues. He's not going to be a workhorse running back this season, but his incredible explosiveness gives him a very high ceiling for 2026. Mitchell is coming off a three-year stint with the Baltimore Ravens that was riddled with injuries. When he was healthy, though, he was somewhat unstoppable.
So far in his career, he's averaging a whopping 6.3 yards per carry. He doesn't usually have a huge role in the receiving game, but his speed and athleticism translate very nicely to the running game. The most encouraging part about rostering Mitchell is that the Chargers went out and made a concerted effort to sign him in free agency. In other words, they wouldn't have spent money to sign him if they didn't plan to get him involved.
He's now paired up with offensive mastermind Mike McDaniel, who extracted elite fantasy value from a similar-profile running back, De'Von Achane. Mitchell will be the No. 2 running back in Los Angeles as long as Omarion Hampton is healthy, but that doesn't mean he can't carve out fantasy relevance in deeper leagues.
Mitchell is a high-upside waiver wire target in 12+ team leagues. He should open the year on your bench, but he could quickly earn a lineup spot if he racks up big yardage early in the season.
Tank Bigsby, RB, Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia Eagles running back Tank Bigsby is a handcuff to target on the waiver wire as the 2026 regular season gets underway. Managers in 10+ team leagues who already have Saquon Barkley on their roster should make it a priority to add Bigsby off the waiver wire. Losing Barkley, a fantasy RB1, to an injury would be brutal, but being able to plug-and-play Bigsby as a solid RB2 would take away a lot of the sting of losing Barkley.
Managers in 12+ team leagues who don't even have Barkley on their roster should consider adding Bigsby, too. There's not a ton of standalone value here week after week, but he does get into the mix when the Eagles are leading by a lot. Plus, he'd jump to the RB2 tier if Barkley missed any time. With all that being said, he's a bench stash as long as Barkley is healthy, which means he's not worth starting in Week 1 against the Washington Commanders.
Jalen Coker, WR, Carolina Panthers
Carolina Panthers wide receiver Jalen Coker enters the 2026 season as the undisputed No. 2 target for quarterback Bryce Young. Coker is behind Tetairoa McMillan on the depth chart, but other than that, he faces no real competition for volume. The 24-year-old is coming off his second pro season, during which he played 11 games and tallied 33 catches, 394 yards, and three touchdowns.
With decent quarterback play, a clearly defined role with little competition for targets, and an offense that could throw the ball a lot, Coker is emerging as a priority waiver wire target in 12+ team leagues, especially for managers in half-PPR or full-PPR formats. He has a chance to produce right away, as he faces off in Week 1 against the Chicago Bears, who allowed the third-most fantasy points to wide receivers last season.
Kaelon Black, RB, San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers rookie running back Kaelon Black is a priority addition off the waiver wire, as Christian McCaffrey (undisclosed) did not participate in the team's first practice in Australia ahead of the Week 1 contest on Thursday against the division-rival Los Angeles Rams. Black emerged as the clear backup to McCaffrey late in training camp, despite an adductor injury early in the summer.
In his only preseason action, Black had four carries for 28 yards and played every snap with the offense, with Jordan James coming in afterward. With McCaffrey not participating in team drills on Monday, Black could be in line for a heavy workload if McCaffrey is unable to play on Thursday against the Los Angeles Rams. While he will still face one of the NFL's best run defenses, Black is a priority waiver-wire addition because any injury to McCaffrey would make him the starter.
Tyler Allgeier, RB, Arizona Cardinals
Arizona Cardinals running back Tyler Allgeier could see a substantial workload in Week 1 against the Los Angeles Chargers. In 2025, Allgeier had 157 attempts for 610 yards and eight touchdowns with the Atlanta Falcons. Now in Arizona, Allgeier is expected to split carries with sensational rookie Jeremiyah Love, the third-overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
However, with Love dealing with a high-ankle sprain from the opening preseason game and reportedly 50/50 to play in Week 1, Allgeier could see a workhorse role with James Conner (ankle) on injured reserve. He faces a tough Chargers defense, which ranked sixth-best against running backs last season. Workhorse running backs on the waiver wire should be added immediately, and Allgeier should be rostered in all formats.
Kaleb Johnson, RB, Green Bay Packers
Iowa Hawkeyes offensive coordinator Tim Lester spent the 2023 season with the Green Bay Packers as an analyst and was named offensive coordinator at Iowa in 2024, where he inherited new Packers running back Kaleb Johnson and brought along head coach Matt LaFleur's offense, according to Bill Huber of Sports Illustrated.
"He should have unbelievable familiarity with the system, that's for sure, because that's exactly what we ran his senior year of college, which is good," Lester said. "And so I've been excited for him to get his shot and kind of get settled. The NFL normally takes a little bit of time to get adjusted, but definitely a talented kid." It should help Johnson, a third-rounder by the Pittsburgh Steelers last year, get up to speed much faster after recently being acquired in a trade from Pittsburgh to help the Packers with RB depth now that Josh Jacobs will not be with the team to begin the 2026 season.
Johnson had 1,537 rushing yards and 21 touchdowns at Iowa in 2024, with 4.4 yards on average coming after contact. The 23-year-old excels at breaking tackles, although he only had 28 carries for 69 yards (2.5 yards per carry) in 10 games with the Steelers as a rookie. Johnson's rookie season was forgettable, but he could quickly turn things around in Green Bay in an offense he is much more familiar with.
MarShawn Lloyd is expected to get the first crack at RB1 duties with Jacobs out, but Johnson should not be ignored as a late-round handcuff with rising value because of Jacobs' status.
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 - Kaelon Black, Jalen Coker, Tre Tucker, Tyler Allgeier, Dontayvion Wicks, Tank Bigsby, Kaleb Johnson, Ryan Flournoy, Keaton Mitchell. 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 Kaelon Black, Jalen Coker, Tre Tucker, Tyler Allgeier, Dontayvion Wicks, Tank Bigsby, Kaleb Johnson, Ryan Flournoy, Keaton Mitchell:
More Waiver Wire Analysis
Download Our Free News & Alerts Mobile App
Like what you see? Download our updated fantasy football app for iPhone and Android with 24x7 player news, injury alerts, rankings, starts/sits & more. All free!
