We’ve made it through another off-season and boy did College Fantasy kick off with an absolute bang! My friends over at College Fantasy Football Lists (@CFFLists on Twitter/X) combined some bonkers stats from this weekend. We saw 23 quarterbacks hit 30+ points, 22 RBs hit 25+ points, 31 WRs with 25+ points, and 14 TEs with 15+ points. As such, this might be the highest scoring overall weekend I can remember from CFF in some time.
The high scoring, plus it being Week 1 of the season, make the waiver wire appear to be filled with fantastic options! So how does one know which players to prioritize? I will not lie, this week is difficult. But the options below, I believe, have the best staying power for rest of season value and aren’t just products of cupcake matchups in Week 1! Take a look below! All players mentioned (except one) are sub 30% rostered in Fantrax CFF leagues.
Quarterbacks
Devon Dampier – New Mexico – Ros: 19%
New Mexico is one of the few teams we’ve gotten to see twice so far this season, with them getting a Week 0 matchup. The offense showed flashes against Montana State, but ultimately faded as the game went on. This had CFF players thinking this offense had promise but may we wait another year.
Then Week 1 happened. It looks as though Bronco Mendenhall has quickly fixed some of the things that fell apart for the Lobos in Week 0. Against a Power 4 opponent, the Lobos were able to put up 39 points of offense and Devon Dampier finished the week as the QB1 with 47.4 points in 4pt passing formats. Dampier threw the ball 42 times, which is exciting in and of itself, for 260 yards and 3 TDs.
What is even more exciting is that unlike last week, Mendenhall unleashed Dampier’s legs, allowing Dampier to rack up 130 yards and 2 TDs on the ground with 15 carries. Dampier is quickly becoming a quintessential Mendenhall QB in the image of Bryce Perkins and Brennan Armstrong. With a Mountain West conference schedule coming up after a bye in Week 2 and a date with Auburn, New Mexico has plenty of shootouts to be had, making Dampier is a must add in all formats.
Behren Morton – Texas Tech – Ros: 24%
Is it finally the year for Behren Morton? CFF players are certainly tired of waiting, with Morton going undrafted in most leagues despite captaining what was believed to be a powerhouse CFF system with Zach Kittley.
However, albeit against an FCS defense, Morton looked great, throwing for 378 yards and 5 TDs on 42 attempts. Morton didn’t even utilize his legs much in the matchup, which we know he can. With some consistency at receiver, and some luck with health, we could be seeing a true post-hype resurgence for Morton.
What is even better is that Texas Tech’s defense is pitiful at the moment, allowing 45 points from Abilene Christian. That spells great news for Texas Tech’s CFF options down the line as it looks as if they’ll be forced to score in bunches to stay in games. If Morton can stay healthy, there’s no reason he should be floating out there on waivers.
JC French – Georgia Southern – Ros: 7%
After some rumors that another would take his place atop the QB depth chart for Georgia Southern, JC French showed on Saturday why he’s the most interesting quarterback we’ve seen under Clay Helton at Georgia Southern. Helton’s Air Raid system has provided a safe floor with the likes of Kyle Vantrease and Davis Brin the past couple of years. However, French has something neither of those guys had, a true dual threat ability.
In Saturday’s game against Boise State, French had to play hero-ball in order to keep up with the one-man wrecking crew also known as Ashton Jeanty. French ended the day with 50 passing attempts, totaling 322 yards and 2 TDs, along with 16 carries for 39 yards and another TD on the ground.
While French couldn’t will his team to a win, his usage and volume is a big plus moving forward as Georgia Southern prepares for a sunbelt conference schedule that should provide plenty of solid matchups going forward.
Honorable Mentions
- Owen McCown – UTSA – 8%
- Brendan Sorsby – Cincinnati – 25%
- Ethan Vasko – Coastal Carolina – 23%
- Blake Shapen – Mississippi State – 23%
- Jake Garcia – East Carolina – 4%
Running Backs
Anthony Tyus – Ohio – Ros: 6%
Sometimes in the CFF industry, we just have to admit when we got one wrong. Rickey Hunt was touted as the next Ohio running back after his 5-TD game as a true freshman against an inebriated Georgia Southern team.
Well, we as an industry didn’t give enough credence to Anthony Tyus transferring in by way of Northwestern. Power 4 backs transferring to the MAC tend to go one of two ways: either they disappear into the aether or they become absolute monsters. Tyus looks like he’ll be taking the latter route and showed why he’s the clear top back for the Bobcats.
Against Syracuse, who admittedly has some clear defensive problems under first year head coach Fran Brown, Tyus racked up 203 yards and 2 TDs on 16 carries. He also grabbed two receptions for three yards. With Hunt only getting six carries and averaging less than 3.5 yards per carry, I can’t imagine the staff won’t be giving Tyus more run as the season goes along. He’s a must grab for any Hunt drafters and could be an absolute force to be reckoned with in MACtion.
Floyd Chalk – San Jose State – Ros: 12%
Despite some SJSU beat reporters insisting Jabari Bates would get plenty of run, Floyd Chalk IV is clearly the top back in this Spartan backfield.
After a sluggish start on offense, the Spartans found their groove in the second half, much of which was reliant on Chalk salting the game away. Chalk finished the game with 18 carries for 87 yards and 2 TDs. Craig Stutzmann has shown to be willing to feed one running back during his time with Utah Tech and saw much of the same during his stint as WR coach at Texas State.
Chalk should be rostered in all leagues and will provide some solid matchups down the line against other Mountain West competition. One downside of Chalk so far is his receiving involvement seems to be limited and that could spell trouble in games where the Spartans fall behind. After all, he didn’t get most of his load this game until after the Spartans had retaken the lead.
Desmond Reid – Pittsburgh – Ros: 6%
The news that Rodney Hammond has been deemed eligible for the 2024 season took many by surprise earlier this week. It had been expected that the Pitt Panthers would be employing another committee running back split, with Hammond leading.
However, with Hammond out, it appears that Desmond Reid, a Western Carolina transfer, might run away with the backfield lead. On just 14 carries, Reid accumulated 145 yards and a TD on the ground, with 3 receptions for 11 yards.
Normally, I’d like to see a higher volume, but Reid only played a portion of the game since it was a blowout. Plus Reid was clearly the most explosive and effective back on the field, averaging 10.4 yards per carry. If he isn’t given more opportunities going forward, Pat Narduzi should be arrested for coaching incompetence.
Honorable Mentions
- Jamious Griffin – Oregon State – 11%
- Anthony Hankerson – Oregon State – 20%
- Justin Marshall – Colorado State – 28%
- Marcus Major – Minnesota – 4% (Must grab for Darius Taylor managers)
- Sire Gaines – Boise State – 14% (Must grab for Ashton Jeanty managers)
Wide Receivers
Nick Nash – San Jose State – Ros: 32%
We already talked about the Spartans’ top running back option, but let’s discuss the arguably more important addition here: Stat WR Nick Nash. I normally keep to under 30% roster ship for these articles, but the fact I’ve included Nash should tell you how much importance I think he has the rest of the season.
Nash is a former QB turned WR for the Spartans (a trend I’ve noticed in recent years is that former QBs make really good WRs) and is now clearly the top option for offense. Actually, top option doesn’t even seem to do him justice.
In Week 1, Nash was second in the nation in targets at 17 (!) only behind Pofele Ashlock (who had 19 vs UCLA). Nash has been moved to the slot after playing outside in previous years. That is huge news (not reported by any beat reporters I found) and only solidifies Nash’s value going forward. Stuzmann has favored the slot at Utah Tech and looks to be doing so again. Nash might be the #1 priority add this week, except for maybe this next guy…
Damon Ward – North Texas – Ros: 29%
I’m so happy that Damon Ward is sub 29% so that I can gloat…I mean…remind everyone of his value going forward. If you can’t tell, Ward has been one of my favorite off-season values in drafts. Eric Morris, as a head coach, has always favored his outside wide receivers. With Jay Maclin transferring out, North Texas was left with a hole to fill and only Ward had any extensive experience on the outside among the remaining wide receivers.
While Landon Sides and DT Sheffield are intriguing options (Sheffield had a nice day yesterday too), Ward has solidified his status as the top dawg in this receiving game. Ward finished the day with 12 receptions, 230 yards and 2 TDs on 15 targets against South Alabama. While obviously we can’t expect that every week, this is another example of system winning out in CFF and Ward is must add in all formats.
Luke Wysong – New Mexico – Ros: 6%
I could have gone with any number of WRs for my third breakdown here (check out the honorable mentions below for more), but I’ve settled on Luke Wysong of New Mexico. As I mentioned with Devon Dampier, we’ve seen two games out of Wysong and the Lobos and what we’re seeing is some consistency early on.
In two games against two levels of competition, Wysong has been the go-to option for New Mexico’s passing attack. In both games, he’s eclipsed 95 yards and 7+ targets. In fact, against Arizona, he was targeted 11 times for 8 catches, 129 yards and a TD. Mendenhall is known for locking in a receiver for 100 targets any given year his offense is up and running, and currently, Wysong is on track for 108 targets in the regular season. He should be relevant no matter what game script New Mexico finds itself in, making him an excellent addition to a team needing to find a safe floor option at WR each week.
Honorable Mentions
- Savion Williams – TCU – 17%
- Coleman Own – Ohio – 1%
- Tai Felton – Maryland – 7%
- Corey Rucker – Arkansas State – 12%
- Kam Thomas – UTEP – 1%
Tight Ends
Jack Bech – TCU – Ros: 10%
Everyone hide your spouse and kids, because there’s potentially a new TE cheat code in town. Jack Bech has had the eye of the CFF world on him since his days at LSU. While he was labeled a TE, it was clear from his game and build that Bech was more WR than TE.
While he didn’t do anything at LSU and was mostly kept on the back burner last year for TCU, it appears that TCU is ready to give Bech a major roll in this passing game going forward. In Friday’s game against Stanford, Bech was second on the team in targets, with 9, and brought in 6 catches for 139 yards and 1 TD. Nine targets for any TE should send a massive flag up, let alone one who clearly is meant to have a receiving role.
TCU is going to pass a lot so long as Josh Hoover continues to play well and that defense continues to bend and break at every opportunity. Bech makes all the sense in the world as a TE add and could very well be locked in for a top 5 finish as the position.
Honorable Mentions
- Grayson Barnes – NIU – 14%
- Joe Royer – Cincinnati – 2%
- Max Klare – Purdue – 18%
