Welcome to the first edition of Edge Sorting, where we will try to help you win your dynasty or re-draft fantasy football league. Since the season has already started and your team is already (mostly) set in stone, we will not be focusing on overall rankings or projections. There are countless sites already doing an admirable job of that. Instead, each issue will offer a brief tip that will help you pick up a small edge against your league-mates. Stack up enough of these small edges throughout the season, and the end result is hopefully a championship. Let’s get started.
Waiver wire strategy:
Don’t waste your money (FAAB) or priority on non-difference makers. But who qualifies as a difference maker? If you can’t envision starting the player in question, don’t bother picking them up. Depth is nice, but save your money for a player that can move the needle for your team. Most of the league-winning waiver moves per season will occur at the RB position. The reason is simple. On most teams, one running back gets the large majority of touches (carries + targets). If that running back gets hurt, the next man up stands to inherit a big opportunity to pile up fantasy points. It doesn’t work the same way for wide receivers. The main reason is that wide receiver targets are spread out more. The WR1 on a team might max out at a 25% target share. Additionally, if the WR1 goes down, each WR will typically just slide up one spot (from WR2 to WR1, WR3 to WR2, etc.). It’s very rare for a waiver wire wide receiver to fall into a huge fantasy opportunity. Said another way, running backs take an elevator to increased fantasy relevance, while wide receivers have to take the stairs. See below. To maximize your chances of hitting the waiver wire jackpot, save your FAAB/priority for running backs and avoid most wide receivers.
Actionable tip: If you were one of the unfortunate souls who drafted J.K. Dobbins, Gus Edwards, Raheem Mostert, or Cam Akers, your RB corps is probably very lean. Do not hesitate to unload 100% of your FAAB or burn your waiver priority on Elijah Mitchell (likely available) or Ty’Son Williams (less likely to be available). With Mostert on the shelf for 8 weeks (reportedly), Mitchell has a great opportunity in front of him. He can help your team win games now. Grab him. On the other side of the coin, confidently fade Tim Patrick and Cedrick Wilson. Yes, Jerry Jeudy is hurt and might end up on short-term IR. That’s still unlikely to help Tim Patrick’s fantasy outlook much. He will still have better options in front of him, like Courtland Sutton, Noah Fant, and two sure-handed running backs. A few more targets might head Patrick’s way, but it won’t be enough to make him a confident fantasy starter. As for Cedrick Wilson, Michael Gallup’s injury just gives Dak Prescott another excuse to throw more balls in the direction of Amari Cooper and CeeDee Lamb. Save your money.