I swear, with college football, it’s always the weekends where you look at the slate of games and say, “This looks like a boring weekend,” that the sport we love delivers at the highest level. What looked like a weekend primed to be full of blowouts from teams playing lower competition turned into anything but, as there were a ton of surprisingly closer games and even some massive upsets sprinkled in, like USF’s takedown of Florida in the swamp.
While that is great and all, you all are here to figure out what players you need to be scouring the waiver wire for. We’ve certainly got our fair share of pickups to discuss. The quarterback situation on the waiver wire continues to be a strange one. With so many known commodities coming into this year, most of the QBs who will go on to be league winners are already drafted. The ones that are leftover on the wire and free agency often feel like floor plays rather than guys who could single-handedly carry you to the playoffs. That is fine, though, and certainly good if you missed on QB in your draft. For many years, championship rosters have been filled with QBs who may not get you 35-40 pts any given week, but they can certainly get you 20-25 consistently.
Today’s picks very much fall into that category. Today’s running backs I’ll fully admit I don’t trust very much, despite their recent good performances. At least, I don’t trust them as much as I did last week’s crop. At WR, we continue to be spoiled with tons of great options to pick up and see how they perform as the weeks go on. If your team is struggling at WR, this waiver market might be the best you could possibly hope for.
With all that being said, let’s look at who you could be grabbing off the waiver wire to enhance your playoff runs! With Fantrax’s rostership metric experiencing some issues, I’ve made my best estimate of players who have a rostership of under 30% this week.
Quarterbacks
Bishop Davenport – South Alabama
I had said before the weekend that Tulane-South Alabama was a CFF-friendly matchup that I had my eye on. Davenport had a weak Week 1, only putting up 13.54 fpts with 14 throws and only three rushing attempts. That was against an FCS opponent, and I wanted to see what Davenport looked like when the competition was on a more even playing field.
That is what we got on Saturday vs. the Green Wave, and it did not disappoint. While Davenport didn’t see any sort of crazy volume (24 pass attempts, 12 rush attempts), he performed well enough for CFF players to be excited about him once he enters Sun Belt play. He finished the day with 231 yards and 2 TDs passing, along with 63 yards and a TD rushing.
The hope is that Davenport can continue to look like this. Major Applewhite’s system has been up and down for quarterbacks over the seasons, but his most recent endeavor with Gio Lopez made Lopez a top 30 QB for CFF 2024. Davenport, so far, appears to be a plug-and-play solution. Obviously, if you pick Davenport up this weekend, you’re not going to start him against Auburn. After that, no more P4 opponents and nary a defense you wouldn’t feel comfortable starting him against.
Robby Ashford – Wake Forest
I’ve made my feelings about Robby Ashford well-known in the past. Phrases like “not a real quarterback” have been thrown around liberally, and I was actively rooting for DeShawn Purdie to win this job during the off-season. Well, that didn’t happen, and Ashford won the job by default. I still didn’t expect much out of him.
However, through the first two weeks of the season, while I’m not blown away, I am pleasantly surprised with how he has performed so far. Granted, his competition has been an FCS school and a squeaking win over Kennesaw State. Still, if you were to tell me that Ashford could be looking at a season where he averages 200 yards passing a game (2400 yard regular season) and 50 yards on the ground per game (600 yards season-long), then I’d tell you you’re looking at a CFF-relevant QB in your future.
Ashford will get a major test this week, going up against NC State. Ashford and this Wake Forest offense must perform better than the ten points they put up against Kennesaw State, and this is their chance to show their improvement. NC State gave up 31 points to Virginia last week. The defense is very much a work in progress without Tony Gibson to lead them. If Wake Forest shows they can score, whether in a win or a loss in a shootout, then CFF players will love the rest of their schedule. Outside of a date with Florida State, the Demon Deacons draw a favorable schedule in the ACC.
Darian Mensah – Duke
Another ACC QB? That’s been one of the themes of this week. Investing in QBs in conferences that seem like they’ll be shootout central. Based on what we’ve seen of the ACC so far this season, defense appears to be optional, which means offenses should flourish. One QB I have my eye on is Darian Mensah. Yes, the $8 million man himself. Many of the things that apply to Ashford also apply here, particularly regarding Duke’s schedule moving forward. However, there are some key differences.
Mensah is nowhere close to the dual-threat QB Ashford is. The good news is he doesn’t have to be. Mensah’s passing is off to a very hot start this season. So far, in two games, he has passed for 300+ yards in both, and that is against two very different levels of competition. He’s currently on pace for a whopping 4,338 passing yards and 30 TDs. The coaching staff knows how much they invested in him and how relatively weak their running game his, so they will continue to let Mensah drive the offense. I question if Mensah’s efficiency will keep up as he enters ACC play (he is currently throwing at a fantastic 10.6 yards per attempt), but as of now, I see Mensah as a must-add in 6-point passing leagues.
Honorable Mentions
- Dylan Lonergan – Boston College
- Ethan Vasko – Liberty
- Chase Hellums – Army
- Brad Jackson – Texas State
- Anthony Colandrea – UNLV
Running Backs
J’Mari Taylor – Virginia
I mentioned at the start of the article that the running backs this week feel weaker compared to last week. Most of it has to do with me liking what the player has done so far, but I’m unsure if they’ll take the next step to become the workhorse player we want in CFF.
Case in point is J’Mari Taylor of Virginia. Taylor came into Charlottesville during the off-season and was one of three major backs vying to lead this backfield, the other two being program veteran Xavier Brown and Wyoming transfer Harrison Waylee. Tony Eliot and this staff’s tendency over the last few seasons has been to have a committee approach at running back. Given that there seemed to be three decent options for the Cavs, it was assumed by most of the CFF community that no one would emerge.
Well, emerge, Taylor has. This past week, Taylor looked fantastic, going 150 yards and 3 TDs on the ground on just 17 carries. He was a major reason why UVA got the lead they did in this game. A performance like this should make Taylor a committee buster from now on, at least on paper. I still hesitate to say Elliot and staff move off their rotation presence at the position.
Despite Taylor’s performance, he has only had 36% of the team’s rushing attempts to this point in the season. It would be very easy for the staff to relegate him back to limited touches, especially if they opt for the even more dreaded “hot hand approach” and Taylor can’t get it going early in some games. Despite my negativiity, CFF players must be willing to take risks on guys like this early in the season, as we’ve seen it time and time again over the years, guys earn their workhorse statuses as the year goes. Taylor, in that department, seems to be off to a great start.
Mahki Frazier – Michigan State
Another potential committee buster might be coming in Makhi Frazier of Michigan State. While many in the CFF Dynasty and C2C communities were eyeing true freshman Jace Clarizio to have a shot at this job in year one, Frazier has so far denied that claim. This is a big deal, as Jonathan Smith, especially during his days at Oregon State, is not afraid to utilize a workhorse back. As of now, Frazier has gotten 54.4% of non-QB rushing attempts with the Spartans this season.
Despite getting minimal run as a freshman, Frazier looks as if he’s made a big jump from last season. He’s currently averaging almost 6 yards a carry. While neither of his performances would win you your weekly matchup, he seems like a perfect floor play running back, who averages 80-100 yards a game and, on average, falls into the endzone at least once.
The ultimate hope is that Frazier can shake the likes of Brandon Tullis off of his back, so that he can monopolize more carries in the future and potentially get into the 20 touches per game range. As of now, tho, Frazier feels like a player you could feel comfortable plugging into your lineup during bye weeks, but know his upside is limited by playing in the typically low-scoring Big Ten.
Tae Meadows – Troy
I left off Tae Meadows as an official waiver play last week, primarily due to his date with Clemson in week 2. Well, he proceeded to perform in that game in a way that makes me even more comfortable recommending him this week. With Trey Cooley unfortunately out for the season and John Lovett experiencing a case of suck-itis, the path was open for Meadows, who has been with the Trojans for the last three seasons and is now getting his chance.
And take that chance he did. He was already impressive in the opening game against Nichols, ripping off 186 yards and a TD. What really impressed me was his statline against Clemson. To be clear, this wasn’t a week-winning stat statline or anything, but if you tell me that a first-year starting running back for a Sun Belt team can run for 76 yards against Clemson on the road, consider me impressed.
Meadows is going to be the Volume Pig (TM) for Troy this season. That much is very clear. He’s currently averaging 19 carries a game and has almost 70% of all non-QB rush attempts for the Trojans. Lovett is an afterthought with only 12 carries to this point, and a liability averaging less than 3 YPC. Meadows is prepared to run wild in the Sun Belt, and I would consider him the safest investment among the three in-depth RBs I’m recommending today.
Honorable Mentions
- Jevon Jackson – UAB
- Sam Scott – Wyoming
- Dominic Richardson – Tulsa
- Cam Edwards – UConn
- Bill Davis – Louisiana
- Rashod Dubinion – App State
- Lucky Sutton – San Diego State
Wide Receivers
Hank Beatty – Illinois
I love playing Wack-a-Mole while trying to figure out which WR to draft/pickup in a system we know likes to produce them. With Illinois, we were in on West Virginia transfer Hudson Clement most of the off-season. Then, as the season got closer, it was said that Clement may not start, so we pivoted to Collin Dixon, who had some hype and played on the outside, where Barry Lunney Jr. typically prefers his WR1. So, of course, now that the season is here, it is slot WR Hank Beatty that is emerging as the favorite in this group.
I admittedly wrote off Beatty at first despite his big Week 1 performance. As I mentioned, a slot WR doesn’t typically see WR1 treatment in Lunney Jr.’s system. In addition, Beatty was a full-time starter last season and only saw 29 targets. I figured he was in for that treatment again. Instead, he’s taking full advantage as the veteran of this squad.
Beatty is the opposite of what you’d typically see in a slot WR. Usually, they’re high-volume, low-efficiency plays, perfect for PPR formats. However, Beatty is currently averaging only seven targets per game (a good, but not great volume), but he’s averaging 18.2 yards per catch. Given how good Illinois looks so far, it’s very easy to see Beatty becoming a weekly option for CFF leagues, much in the same way Pat Bryant was last season.
Kenny Odom – UTEP
We probably should’ve been paying more attention to Kenny Odom this offseason. The Miner WR got off to a strong start in 2024, briefly ranking as one of the top 20 WRs in fantasy points per game. However, nagging injuries caused him to miss entire games or be extremely limited in others, leading to a pedestrian WR66 finish. Within those performances were two top ten weekly finishes at the WR position, hinting at Odom’s upside in this offense. Based on what we’ve seen through two weeks, Odom is well on his way to reaching that potential this year.
In two games, Odom has put up two great performances, totaling 23 targets, 14 catches, 221 yards, and 2 TDs. Both weeks, he hit above 20 fpts in 0.5 PPR formats. With Malachi Nelson at the helm, who, side note, looks the healthiest he’s been in college, Odom has the distributor to keep him fed most weeks. UTEP has a rough date with Texas this week, so don’t expect immediate help from Odom, but after that, he has a smooth schedule filled with CUSA defenses and soft out-of-conference matchups as far as the eye can see.
Brenen Thompson – Mississippi State
I feel like I was spending more time looking at this Mississippi State WR room for CFF production than anyone else this off-season, as I knew Lebby could produce top 25 WRs like Drake Stoops and Kevin Coleman. It was agonizing trying to figure out which piece was worth grabbing between Oklahoma transfer Brenen Thompson and Georgia transfer Anthony Evans.
Thompson was the hype candidate, having received numerous positive practice reports, familiarity with the system from both his and Lebby’s days at Oklahoma, as well as an invitation to SEC Media Days. Evans, meanwhile, was the system play. Lebby has favored the slot in recent years, and add in that Lebby was Evans’ favorite coach coming out of high school, there was reason to believe in him too. The good news for me and everyone else is that we got the best answer: both.
This section is mainly dedicated to Brenen Thompson, who has been the more productive of the two, but both are worth pickups in all leagues. Thompson has looked great, scoring 225 yards and 2 TDs on 17 targets in his first two games. Thompson is a high-efficiency deep threat in this offense and doesn’t require elite volume to have great days, which is very valuable in standard formats. If you could only have one guy on this offense, it’s currently him you should target.
Evans was a little slow coming out of the gate against Southern Miss, but saw 14 targets for nine recs, 108 yards, and a TD against Arizona State. It’s clear that when the going gets tough, Blake Shapen will be looking for one of two (maybe three if you count Traore) guys downfield, which is fantastic for CFF when an offense throws this much. Mississippi State isn’t done playing in shootouts or playing from behind, so expect these two to get work down the stretch and become weekly starters continuously.
Honorable Mentions
- Donovon Faupel – New Mexico State
- Miles Davis – Utah State – Can be played in the WR slot
- Beau Sparks – Texas State
- Lewis Bond – Boston College
- Mario Craver – Texas A&M
- Romello Brinson – SMU
- Corri Milliner – UAB
- Skyler Bell – UConn
- Carl Chester – Southern Miss
Tight Ends
Dan Villari – Syracuse
Oronde Gadsden was such a fun deal for us in college fantasy because he was very much a TEITO (tight end in title only, an Eric Froton special). This led us to believe that Gadsden was a unique piece of this Orange offense the last couple of years and that replacing him would not only not come easily, but many expected Syracuse not to even try. Well, Dan Villari, the former QB turned TE, has made us eat our preconceptions these first few weeks.
While many of us were debating which WR to draft for the Orange this year, Villari flew under the radar. Now? Through two games, he leads the Orange in targets, receptions, and yards. The only thing he needs is TDs, which you have to imagine will come. I’m not sure how long he’ll lead those categories for the Orange, especially with Justus Ross-Simmons emerging. Still, it is crystal clear that Villari is an athlete that Syracuse wants to utilize repeatedly across the middle of the field. As of now, Villari is a top 12 TE for CFF 2025 through two weeks, but unlike many of the people currently holding that high a ranking among the TEs, we believe Villari has the weekly volume and role in the offense to not only stay there, but potentially ascend into elite CFF TE territory.
Honorable Mentions
- Jeremiah Franklin – Boston College
- Jaren Kanak – Oklahoma
