Wide Receiver Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 1: Top Free Agent Adds Include Marvin Mims Jr., Romeo Doubs, more

September 5, 2023

Justin Carter's fantasy football wide receiver waiver wire pickups for Week 1 of the 2023 NFL season. His free agent WRs to add, stream and stash off waivers.

The NFL season is finally almost here. On Thursday night, the Chiefs and Lions will get the action going to begin the 2023 season. That means you only have a few more days to get your rosters in order for the season. Maybe you drafted a few weeks back and already need to make some moves, so let's talk about some potential moves you can make at wideout.

Below, you'll find some wide receivers that you should be targeting on the fantasy football waiver wire ahead of Week 1. Not all of these waiver wire options are the same. Some players may be better in PPR or deeper leagues, so it’s not a one-size-fits-all comparison. Use your best judgment when deciding which of these players is the right fit for your roster.

Be sure to also check out our Waiver Wire Adds for Week 1 for help at all the skill positions. All players on this list are around 50% rostered or below.

Wide Receiver Waiver Wire Pickups For Week 1

Marvin Mims Jr., Denver Broncos - 34% rostered

Marvin Mims Jr.'s upside is somewhat dependent on Jerry Jeudy's hamstring injury and how long that lingers, but I don't think his upside is fully dependent on it. By that, I mean that even when Jeudy's back, Mims should be a factor in this passing game.

Last season at Oklahoma, Mims caught 54 passes for 1,083 yards. He can produce all over the field, but I think he'll be especially dangerous out of the slot. He has a big-play upside and is my candidate to be the breakout rookie wide receiver of 2023. He should see a good number of targets early on, and his talent will keep him in the mix even when the Broncos are healthy.

Tyler Boyd, Cincinnati Bengals - 46% rostered

Tyler Boyd feels like the forgotten man. Last season was his worst year since 2017, but he still had 58 catches for 762 yards and five touchdowns. He isn't going to deliver exciting results, but he'll catch 70% of his targets and is worth a roster spot because he's a good option as an injury replacement or if you're looking ahead to bye weeks.

Van Jefferson, Los Angeles Rams - 14% rostered

The Rams' offense is going to be a mess this year, and Cooper Kupp's uncertain status definitely won't help that. But if this Kupp thing lingers for a bit, Van Jefferson's likely going to be peppered with targets. In the eight games he played without Kupp last season, he averaged 42.75 receiving yards per game. He averaged just nine per game in three games where he and Kupp both played.

Rashee Rice, Kansas City Chiefs - 45% rostered

I'm torn on Rashee Rice. I think the rookie out of SMU is really talented and can be productive when he's on the field, but I also know that the Chiefs' receiving room is a bit of a mystery. If he can quickly develop a rapport with quarterback Patrick Mahomes, he has WR3 upside. But he also has plenty of bust potential. He's worth a roster spot early on to see which way things go.

Jameson Williams, Detroit Lions - 35% rostered

Jameson Williams has a six-game suspension to serve, but he's still worth stashing until after that suspension ends. Williams, a stud in college, only saw nine targets in six games last season, catching just one pass. I can see a healthy Williams breaking out once he returns. The Lions were sixth in the NFL in passing yards last season. If Williams can get out there on the field once he returns, he'll have plenty of upside.

Romeo Doubs, Green Bay Packers - 31% rostered

Romeo Doubs is likely the No. 2 option in the Green Bay passing game, but he's not being treated like a No. 2 option in fantasy. The biggest part of that is because people are concerned about the offense with Jordan Love at quarterback, which is fair.

But I'm not saying you need to play Doubs this week. In fact, you definitely should not play him in Week 1, as he's been dealing with a hamstring injury. But if it turns out Love's for real, Doubs suddenly has a lot of value because of his projected role.

Wide Receiver Deeper League Waiver Wire Pickups For Week 1

Marvin Jones Jr., Detroit Lions - 2% rostered

I think Marvin Jones Jr. has a chance to be a really solid deep-league relief pitcher kind of option for the six weeks that Jameson Williams is suspended. Someone who you can plug in to fill holes. He might not have any explosive outings, but he can provide a good floor for you as he'll be on the field often in three-receiver sets with Amon-Ra St. Brown and Josh Reynolds.

The veteran receiver caught 46 passes for 529 yards and three touchdowns for the Jaguars last year. Moving back into a more prolific passing attack should help him bounce back -- at least for the first month and a half of the season.

K.J. Osborn, Minnesota Vikings - 10% rostered

The consensus when it comes to who takes the vacated Adam Thielen targets seems to be rookie Jordan Addison, but I don't know -- there's a steep learning curve in the NFL, and K.J. Osborn has experience playing with quarterback Kirk Cousins. Last season, Osborn saw 90 targets in this offense, catching 60 of them for 650 yards and five touchdowns. I think he can give the Vikings 750 yards or more this year.

Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Kansas City Chiefs - 8% rostered

It's well within the realm of possibilities for Marquez Valdes-Scantling to wind up as the Chiefs' top wide receiver this season. He has a year of experience in this offense and will be competing for targets with the oft-injured Kadarius Toney, second-year player Skyy Moore, and rookie Rashee Rice. I think all of those players have better upside than MVS, but they also possess lower floors. Valdes-Scantling was third on the team in targets last season, and one of the players ahead of him is no longer in KC.

Joshua Palmer, Los Angeles Chargers - 2% rostered

It sounds like Joshua Palmer's set to begin the season ahead of Quentin Johnston on the Chargers' depth chart. I'm not sure how long that will last, but it gives Palmer some upside at the beginning of the season at least. Last season, he was targeted 107 times, catching 72 passes for 769 yards and three touchdowns. Of course, Mike Williams missed four games and Keenan Allen missed seven, which contributed to that. Still, with Justin Herbert throwing the ball, yards will happen in Los Angeles and Palmer should get some of those.

Tank Dell, Houston Texans - 6% rostered

The Texans' passing game might be the hardest to project in the NFL. Nico Collins is 51% rostered, while no one else is more than 6% rostered. The fact that the team's starting quarterback is a rookie contributes to that because there's a chance the team struggles to move the ball through the air.

Tank Dell is extremely fast but also extremely undersized. He had an impressive preseason and can make a lot of things happen when he gets the ball in space or in the deep passing game. With the Texans lacking in quality receiving options, Dell could be asked to do a ton even though he's a rookie.

Puka Nacua, Los Angeles Rams - 1% rostered

How risky are you feeling? I detailed above why the Rams passing game is a mess, but Puka Nacua has some deep-league appeal simply because of how few weapons this team has. If Kupp misses extended time, this passing attack is Van Jefferson, Tyler Higbee, and then...Nacua, the team's fifth-round pick. The BYU product had 48 catches for 625 yards and five touchdowns for the Cougars last season.

More Waiver Wire Pickups and Advice