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

Week 1 of the 2017 NFL season starts Thursday, which means the fantasy football frenzy will soon be at a fever pitch.

Leagues that had early drafts are already seeing owners scramble, as late-preseason injuries, cuts and depth-chart changes ruin the best-laid plans. Some drafters may already be having second thoughts and are looking to make some early adjustments to smooth out the back ends of their rosters.

Here's a look at the top players added and dropped in Yahoo fantasy leagues heading into Week 1.

Players owned in more than 60 percent of leagues are not included to account for the larger 12- and 14-player leagues, except for a few cases where there were noteworthy swings in ownership.

Top Yahoo Pickups
Top Yahoo Drops
Player	% Owned	No. of Monday Adds
Jacquizz Rodgers, RB, Tampa Bay	60	43,640
Phillip Dorsett, WR, New England Patriots	46	10,914
Jamaal Charles, RB, Denver Broncos	9	7,290
Matt Jones, RB, Indianapolis Colts	44	6,239
Kevin White, WR, Chicago Bears	4	5,864
Danny Amendola, WR, New England Patriots	49	5,581
Kendall Wright, WR, Chicago Bears	43	4,701
Charcandrick West, RB, Kansas City Chiefs	11	4,489
Robby Anderson, WR, New York Jets	12	4,273
Evan Engram, TE, New York Giants	20	4,019
Player	% Owned	No. of Monday Drops
Willie Snead, WR, New Orleans Saints	85	11,479
Austin Hooper, TE, Atlanta Falcons	50	7,554
Spencer Ware, RB, Kansas City Chiefs	18	7,042
Jonathan Williams, RB, Buffalo Bills	4	6,369
Cameron Meredith, WR, Chicago Bears	20	5,527
Julian Edelman, WR, New England Patriots	13	4,192
Eddie Lacy, RB, Seattle Seahawks	79	3,664
Danny Woodhead, RB, Baltimore Ravens	79	3,646

Jacquizz Rodgers, RB, Tampa Bay

Don Juan Moore/Getty Images

Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Doug Martin will be on the reserve/suspended list for the first three weeks of the season as he finishes a suspension, paving the way for Jacquizz Rodgers to step into the lead-back role for a short period of time. 

Rodgers has proved to be fairly productive when given the chance in his career, and last season, he averaged a career-best 4.3 yards per carry over 10 contests. 

He didn't feature much in the passing game with the Bucs in 2016, catching 13 passes for 98 yards, but in 2012 and 2013 with the Atlanta Falcons, he had 50-plus catches in each season. Tampa Bay head coach Dirk Koetter—who was Rodgers' offensive coordinator in Atlanta—knows just how to use him on passing downs if needed. 

SB Nation's Stephen White is predicting Rodgers will have a breakout season: 

"I mean, the more I watched his film, the more I realized Rodgers isn't just some fill-in type. That dude is nice running the rock. He has real good patience on zone plays and knows how to follow his blockers.

Rodgers definitely has quite a bit of wiggle to him and can shake a defender out of his socks in the open field. His jump cuts are also nasty and saved him many times from being tackled for a loss immediately after taking the hand off. I am pretty sure he would dust Martin in a foot race so he has plenty of speed."

Tampa Bay has plenty of weapons this season, with Jameis Winston at quarterback and Mike Evans and DeSean Jackson at wide receiver. There's a good chance Rodgers gets plenty of seven-in-the-box looks from defenses. If he makes the most of his opportunities, he could be worth keeping on fantasy rosters for more than a few weeks.

Phillip Dorsett, WR, New England Patriots

Michael Hickey/Getty Images

Head coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady seemingly have the ability to take any wide receiver—no matter his height, speed, playing experience or past production—and turn him into a viable weapon.

So, it makes sense that wideout Phillip Dorsett is getting some extra scrutiny from fantasy owners after the Indianapolis Colts traded him to the Patriots for backup quarterback Jacoby Brissett on Saturday. 

The third-year wideout has caught 51 passes for 753 yards and three touchdowns in his career, and he started seven games last season. As NESN's Zack Cox noted, defenses are going to be stretched thin with both Dorsett and wideout Brandin Cooks on the field: 

Dorsett has played both on the flank and in the slot, and that versatility will serve him well in the Patriots' multifaceted passing attack. The Boston Herald's Jeff Howe noted Dorsett has 35 catches on the flank and 15 from the slot in his career. If he is able to pick up the Patriots offense quickly, he should get plenty of field time.

With Brady having so many options to throw to, from Cooks to Chris Hogan to tight end Rob Gronkowski, it's possible Dorsett will get lost in the shuffle some weeks and disappoint. However, his speed and ability to haul in the deep ball make him a threat to rack up fantasy points off big plays. 

Jamaal Charles, RB, Denver Broncos

Justin Edmonds/Getty Images

When healthy, Jamaal Charles is one of the most effective running backs the league has ever seen, as evidenced by his career 5.5 yards per carry. Unfortunately, injuries limited him to just eight games over the past two seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs. Now he has to try to re-establish himself as a 30-year-old back on the Denver Broncos, and the team already features the likes of C.J. Anderson and Devontae Booker. 

Charles is starting the season as the No. 2 running back on the depth chart, per Andrew Mason of the team's official website. He made just one preseason appearance but flashed his ability, rushing four times for 27 yards and nabbing two receptions for 15 yards.

While acknowledging it will be a backfield by committee, Broncos head coach Vance Joseph has seemingly tipped Charles for third-down duties.

"What Jamaal brings, it's a speed element that we haven’t had in a long time," Joseph said, per ESPN.com's Jeff Legwold. "Third downs, catching the ball out of the backfield. He's an explosive receiver—I mean he's a guy that can make a big play at any moment. ... It's going to be a four- to five-man backfield that’s going to be special in my opinion."

Charles might not be all that valuable to start, but he's worth stashing, especially in larger leagues. If he can recapture any of the magic that made him one of the leagues most feared backs and a four-time Pro Bowler, he could wrestle away plenty of snaps from Anderson and Booker. 

 Austin Hooper, TE, Atlanta Falcons

TIMOTHY A. CLARY/Getty Images

Some fantasy owners are apparently not too hot on Atlanta tight end Austin Hooper. He's owned in just 50 percent of leagues, and some aren't willing to keep him on their rosters. Hooper caught just three passes for 36 yards in the preseason, all coming in the first two games.

He only reeled in 19 catches and three touchdowns as a rookie in 2016, but he's expected to have a bigger role in one of the league's best offenses this season with Jacob Tamme gone. 

The tight end position can be a difficult cypher beyond the blue-chip guys such as Gronkowski, Greg Olsen, Delanie Walker and a handful of others. Hooper should see a handful of targets each game as long as he's seeing the majority of the snaps at the position, but the Falcons offense runs through the like of Julio Jones, Devonta Freeman, Tevin Coleman and Mohamed Sanu. 

Hooper only caught six more passes than Levine Toilolo last year, and fifth-round rookie tight end Eric Saubert is also in the mix. It will take a couple of weeks to figure out what value Hooper has to offer. For now, he's worth a look in larger leagues, but there may be safer options out there to start the season.