Week 1 Waiver Wire: Highlighting Top Pickups from 2016 Preseason

Many fantasy football owners probably sit satisfied with their rosters after a successful draft, awaiting the start to the season.

The eventual league winners, though, are hard at work.

Other than pulling off the ripoff trade with the guy who doesn't know what he's doing that everyone will veto, the best owners have been wading through the waters of the waiver wire for talent.

Believe it or not, plenty has slipped through the cracks before the season has even started. Said talent won't start right away or have an immediate impact, but owners will be happy to have them sooner or later. Let's take a look.

Week 1 Waiver-Wire Pickup Targets 

Name	Pos.	Team
Dak Prescott	QB	DAL
Sam Bradford	QB	MIN
DeAndre Washington	RB	OAK
Bilal Powell	RB	NYJ
Paul Richardson	WR	SEA
Chris Hogan	WR	NE
Tajae Sharpe	WR	TEN
Tyler Higbee	TE	LA
Clive Walford	TE	OAK

Paul Richardson, WR, SEA

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Some won't remember Paul Richardson, but the speedy second-round pick by the Seattle Seahawks in 2014 is a high-upside stash.

Long story short, injury ruined Richardson's sophomore campaign. But he worked with Russell Wilson over the offseason, and while he's behind Jermaine Kearse and Doug Baldwin on the depth chart, he might find his way into some action alongside Tyler Lockett before long.

Richardson had plenty of hype coming out of college. In his final year at Colorado, he posted 1,343 yards and 10 touchdowns on a 16.2 yards-per-catch average. Given his ability deep down the field, it would take one big play for an owner to get a nice day out of Richardson.

Should an injury occur or Richardson outplays Lockett, he'll sit in the driver's seat for impressive production each week.

Chris Hogan, WR, NE

Bill Kostroun/Associated Press

Owners might not want to hear it, but the Patriots continue to look like a fantasy gold mine. 

It should have caught the attention of many owners when the Patriots went out of their way this past offseason to nab restricted free agent Chris Hogan from the Buffalo Bills.

The surprising move has already paid off, to say the least:

It's easy to think Hogan will fall behind big names such as Julian Edelman, Rob Gronkowski and Martellus Bennett, if not more, in the pecking order.

But then again, head coach Bill Belichick wouldn't go out and get a restricted player for no reason. Hogan might not show it with a backup under center for the first four games, but he's quietly a major stash asset.

Tyler Higbee, TE, LA (1.0 Percent Owned)

Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports

As a whole, tight end is a fickle position, so owners shouldn't get too worried about gambling on a rookie at the spot.

Really, the Los Angeles Rams are fickle as well, which is what makes Tyler Higbee such an interesting add.

The fourth-round pick isn't the biggest name around, but he's big at 6'6" and 250 pounds. With the Rams trotting out either journeyman Case Keenum or rookie Jared Goff under center, there are going to be a lot of tight end targets to go around this season.

Higbee, as big as he is (6'4", 243 lbs) and as crisp and reliable as his routes are, will be a sleeper hit right out of the gates. If he's there on the waiver, it's time to roster him.

All scoring info and statistics courtesy of ESPN.com standard leagues, as are points-against info and ownership stats. Average draft position (ADP) courtesy of Fantasy Football Calculator.