Week 1 Waiver Wire: Examining Top Fantasy Pickups and Drops on ESPN, Yahoo

Week 1 of the 2016 NFL season hasn’t even started yet, but fantasy football owners are already scouring the waiver wire and jettisoning draftees from their rosters. Plenty can happen between a fantasy league’s draft day and the opening kickoff. Injuries, roster cuts, late free-agent signings and more can conspire to dash a sleeper pick’s opportunities, leave a veteran player without a team or open up chances for more touches for previously unsung players. Here’s a look at the top players added and dropped in Yahoo and ESPN fantasy leagues. Ownership percentages are from Yahoo Sports and ESPN.com.Players owned in more than 50 percent of leagues are excluded from these tables to account for the larger 12- and 14-player leagues, except in instances of players who had large, noteworthy surges or declines in ownership.

A Closer Look

Go Figure: Baltimore Running Backs

This running back situation has been quite the roller coaster for fantasy owners. Justin Forsett was one of the surprise cuts on Saturday when teams trimmed their rosters down to 53 players. After breaking out in 2014, Forsett picked up 794 total yards rushing and receiving and two touchdowns in an injury-shortened 2015 campaign.Baltimore initially saw fit to cut the 30-year-old, leaving thousands of fantasy owners scrambling for Terrance West. Others, hoping to be a bit more clever, added Javorius Allen or Kenneth Dixon. However, those owners ignored or simply couldn’t wait to see out the reports from Ian Rapoport and Adam Schefter suggesting Forsett could return to Baltimore.

Indeed, the team announced on Monday it re-signed Forsett, so the backfield is back to being one big happy committee again.

It would appear Forsett and West are the main backs at this point, though ESPN’s Matthew Berry suggested on Saturday that Dixon is the guy to keep for a late-season breakthrough: 

Need help now? West. Bigger upside stash for 2nd half? Dixon. Not a Buck Allen believer. https://t.co/RWpRnnEUQa

— Matthew Berry (@MatthewBerryTMR) September 3, 2016

DraftKings’ Adam Levitan, apparently anticipating Forsett’s return, sees Allen getting time in passing situations and West perhaps poaching touchdowns:

Likely outcome is 3-man committee for Ravens Week 1. Forsett/West on most early downs, Buck Allen in passing situations. West at goal-line.

— Adam Levitan (@adamlevitan) September 5, 2016

West (5’10”, 225 lbs) is a much bigger back than Forsett (5’8″, 195 lbs). If he can prove himself as a capable runner outside of the red zone and cash in when the team gets close, he could greatly cut into Forsett’s touches. 

Pro Football Focus’ John Breitenbach wrote in May that the rookie Dixon could eventually prove to …

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