Snatch ‘Em Up Now
If they weren’t already drafted in your league, these guys will be hot commodities on the wire this week.
Quarterbacks:
Tucker Gleason, Toledo – Solid performance from the Toledo QB1 with 28 fantasy points scored and three touchdowns in the win over Duquesne. The schedule is extremely attractive moving forward for the entire Toledo offense, getting UMass in Week 2. The rest of the non-con features a rebuilding Mississippi State team and Western Kentucky. Far from daunting. And then it’s MAC play.
Devon Dampier, New Mexico – When Bronco Mendenhall has a stud at QB, that player usually flourishes in college fantasy. Through two games, Mendenhall has his program building block in Dampier who scored 51 fantasy points in the loss to Arizona. Helping matters is New Mexico’s defense looking like one of the worst units in the country through two games.
Running Backs:
Desmond Reid, Pittsburgh – News came out this week that Rodney Hammond would be ineligible for the 2024 season. Reid, who came over to Pitt from Western Carolina along with the new offensive coordinator Cade Bell. 147 yards and a touchdown on the ground while also adding a special teams touchdown, showing just how explosive Reid is. Backup Derrick Davis may take away some red zone carries from Reid, but he’ll be THE guy now between the 20s now that Hammond is out of the picture.
Anthony Tyus, Ohio – This is why it was extremely risky to invest in Rickey Hunt this offseason with just one performance on his resume. We asked ourselves was that a one-off and that looks to be the case as Northwestern transfer Anthony Tyus got the bulk of the carries against Syracuse. 12.7 yards per carry with two touchdowns on 16 attempts. If that’s a sign of what’s to come, what is Tyus going to do against MAC defenses?
Wide Receivers:
Nick Nash, San Jose State – He’s just beyond the 30% threshold we look at on Fantrax to include in our WW article, but Week 1 its deserved after his 170-yard performance on 17 targets. Nash converted to wide receiver last season after playing QB earlier in his career, and now looks FULLY acclimated to the position. San Jose State might be playing catch-up in a lot of matchups this season. Teammate Justin Lockhart also deserves consideration, running just as many routes as Nash did and found the end-zone as well.
Damon Ward, North Texas – Like Nash, Ward is just above the threshold of availability on Fantrax we typically include here but deserves a huge shoutout after putting up 230 yards on 15 targets against South Alabama. We’re keeping tabs on DT Sheffield here as well, as he got 10 targets too.
Savion Williams, TCU – Most of the TCU reporting suggested Williams was far and away the best receiver on the roster. That played out on Friday as Williams was targeted 15 times for 85 yards and a score. Williams is the priority, but we’re keeping tabs on JP Richardson also who hit 100+ yards receiving yards on eight targets. Route distribution is very intriguing for TCU after one week as it was condensed between the top three options. That wasn’t the case last year.
Harrison Wallace, Penn State – The drumbeat for Wallace was steadily increasing as the offseason went along. Those reports held true as the senior receiver caught five passes for 117 yards and two scores. Two other factors working in favor of Wallace: (1) Drew Allar looks much improved, and (2) there is no true WR2 right now for the Nittany Lions. Wallace will see a ton of targets.
WR Kris Hutson, Washington State – Where in the world was Josh Meredith? The projected starting slot receiver played just half of the team’s offensive snaps against Portland State with shut out on just two targets. Meanwhile, the Oregon transfer Hutson hit the 100-yard mark with a touchdown. Hutson and Kyle Williams look to be the WRs to own after one week.
Luke Wysong, New Mexico – I personally thought Wysong’s Week 0 performance was an aberration and would not be a sign of things to come. Nope. 8-129-1 on 11 targets in the loss to Arizona. Wysong might be the next Olamide Zaccheaus or Billy Kemp under Mendenhall in this system.
Tight Ends:
Jack Bech, TCU – Dual-eligibility as a WR/TE on Fantrax. That condensed target share we mentioned above holds true with Bech who had 6-139-1 on nine targets. Assuming that keeps up, Bech has TE1 potential in CFF.
Worth A Look
If you have the roster room, these prospects are worth a look.
Quarterbacks:
Ethan Vasko, Coastal Carolina – Because there’s no Coastal Carolina coverage readily available to us, there was slight uncertainty as to who would be the QB1 for the Chants. We have that answer in Vasko who scored 31 fantasy points, getting it done on the ground and through the air, against Jacksonville State. The upcoming schedule is cake for CCU, facing William & Mary, Temple and Virginia before hitting Sun Belt play.
Kirk Francis, Tulsa – Similar to Vasko above, we didn’t know for sure who would trot out with the starters for Tulsa under center. Not only was it Kirk Francis, but no other QB on the roster threw a pass. 299 yards and four touchdowns for Francis who continued to play well after he closed last season with a string of good performances.
JC French, Georgia Southern – If GSU struggles this much defending the run in 2024, French should be in a lot of positive game scripts as he attempted 50 passes against Boise State. Now that the QB competition seems settled, French should be just as valuable as Kyle Vantrease or Davis Brin were last year.
Running Backs:
Demond Claiborne, Wake Forest – Debated as to which section I should put Claiborne under after his 100-yard rushing performance in Week 1 against North Carolina A&T. In competitive matchups, Claiborne will dominate the backfield market share, and the upcoming schedule isn’t that daunting with Virginia and Louisiana in the month of September. That said, do we truly want to invest a ton of our FAAB for a running back on an offense with plenty of unresolved question marks (QB).
Marcus Major, Minnesota – If Darius Taylor didn’t play against North Carolina – though he was on the field for warmups – then he’ll be limited at best this week against Rhode Island. Likely scenario is the staff will ramp him up for the Week 4 matchup with Iowa. Major will handle the bulk of the RB duties while Taylor is out. And that means Rhode Island and Nevada in the next two weeks.
Nate Frazier, Georgia – Frazier looked like a top two offensive player on the field Saturday against Clemson. The freshman looks to have already surpassed Branson Robinson after that performance, and we’ll see if Trevor Etienne is back from suspension next week against Tennessee Tech.
Sire Gaines, Boise State – Gaines appears to have surpassed Jambres Dubar already on the depth chart and despite Ashton Jeanty doing Ashton Jeanty things, the freshman running back still had a monster day with 107 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Two running backs have been productive in this offense in the past – ie Jeanty and George Holani.
Kalel Mullings, Michigan – This will be a hot-hand situation between Mullings and Donovan Edwards. Mullings did outperform Edwards on Saturday against Fresno State, but many of those yards weren’t until the second half as the Michigan offensive line surprisingly struggled. You probably aren’t starting either player this week against Texas, but someone in the Michigan backfield will hold value this year.
Wide Receivers:
Nik McMillan, Buffalo – Have to take the opponent into consideration, but 50% of the targets with 76 yards and a TD is worthy of a roster pickup. If the QB play can be just adequate this season, McMillan will have value as the clear-cut WR1.
Jimmy Horn Jr., Colorado – I have my reservations that Colorado will still spread the ball around more with their surplus of receivers on the roster. Not to mention the schedule gets far more difficult after this. But it’s very apparent that Shedeur Sanders has the best connection with the two receivers that were on the roster last year in Horn and Travis Hunter.
Pat Bryant, Illinois – Bryant put his best foot forward to becoming Illinois’ WR1 on Thursday with two touchdowns in the win over Eastern Illinois. Bryant also ran the most routes among Illini receivers while most others rotated. That said, tough to gauge if he’ll be a weekly starter as the targets were more spread out than they were last year when Isaiah Williams was on the roster.
Omari Hayes, Florida Atlantic – In the battle of finding out who might be the WR to own for Florida Atlantic, Hayes takes Round 1. The sophomore receiver was first in yards (74), targets (5) and second in routes run. Most importantly, he played 96% of his reps in the slot which is the coveted position under Tom Herman.
Brenan Thompson, Oklahoma – We’ll see how long Nic Anderson is out, but we do know now that Jalil Farooq will miss the next 6-8 weeks after suffering an injury vs. Temple. Routes were very condensed even in a blowout with Thompson, Deion Burks and J.J. Hester playing the majority of the contest.
Tai Felton, Maryland – Felton will not score 39 fantasy points regularly, and we want to see what the Maryland passing attack looks like against a formidable opponent (what in the world happened to UConn), but Felton looks to be the true WR1 for the Terps over Kaden Prather. Team-high seven receptions on nine targets and most routes run on the team.
De’Zhaun Stribling, Oklahoma State – This looks like the same passing attack from last season with the top three of Presley, Owens and the WR3 dominating the target share for the Cowboys. Last year it was Leon Johnson while Stribling was out due to injury. Now healthy, Stribling was target eight times, second most on the team against South Dakota St.
Coleman Owen, Ohio – Among receivers that have played just one game so far this season, Owen is tied for 5th with a whopping 14 targets and 10 receptions against Syracuse. Do we have another Sam Wiglusz on our hands?
Treon Sibley, Liberty – Sibley was listed as a starter on the opening depth chart in the same spot that CJ Daniels held a year ago. We saw some of that same production Saturday with 5-109-1 on five targets against Campbell.
Corey Rucker, Arkansas State – Is this the version of Corey Rucker we saw back in 2021? 9-179-1 on 13 targets in the win over Central Arkansas. What boosts his stock is that there seems to be a clear top two at receiver in Rucker and Courtney Jackson who accounted for over 50% of the team’s targets.
Ryan Williams, Alabama – 5-stars gunna 5-stars. Williams got the surprise starting nod over Kobe Prentice and did not disappoint with 139 yards and two scores on just two targets. Probably not sustainable if he’s getting that few of targets each week, but he’s clearly talented enough to warrant a roster spot even in a redraft format.
WR Giles Jackson, Washington – The senior slot receiver converted on all 10 of his targets for 98 yards in the win over Weber State. Denzel Boston did his thing too, but Jeremiah Hunter was practically invisible on the field with just two targets and no catches. Is Jackson the surefire WR2 behind Boston?
Tight Ends:
Bauer Sharp, Oklahoma – With the depleted wide receiver room, we could see Jackson Arnold target his tight ends earlier in the year. Bauer caught five passes and a touchdown on six targets, and this is a system under Seth Littrell that featured the position at North Texas.
Max Klare, Purdue – Klare played in just five games last season before a season-ending injury but averaged 5 targets per game in the contests he played in with an 88 percent catch rate. Through one week, he’s on the exact same pace, converting on all five of his targets for 71 yards and a score.
Grayson Barnes, Northern Illinois – Barnes is a TEITO (Tight End In Title Only) playing 27% of his reps in the slot and 18% out wide. But he’s got dual eligibility on Fantrax and is the team’s WR2 beyond Trayvon Rudolph. 95 yard and a TD on six targets in Week 1.
Longshots
Need to see more from these guys before pulling the trigger unless you are in the deepest of leagues.
Quarterbacks:
Darian Mensah, Tulane – Proficient performance from the redshirt freshman against SE Louisiana, completing 83% of his throws for 205 yards and two scores. Mild surprise that Mensah beat out Ty Thompson and Kai Horton for the starting job, but all three QBs did see some time on Thursday. Want to see a bit more here in an actual competitive game before adding to our rosters.
Diego Pavia, Vanderbilt – This offense will not be sustainable once Vanderbilt hits conference play in the SEC, but the non-con features Alcorn State and Georgia State in the next two weeks. Pavia could have some big fantasy outputs in those two matchups if he’s getting another 24 carries like he did against Virginia Tech.
Owen McCown, UTSA – Strong performance from McCown who was seemingly in a QB competition all through the fall. Sure, it’s Kennesaw State, but the schedule sets up nicely for UTSA with just the Texas matchup being the only game where McCown has to sit.
Payton Thorne, Auburn – We probably aren’t starting Payton Thorne once Auburn hits the heart of the SEC schedule, but the next two weeks feature a California team that struggled against an FCS opponent and a New Mexico defense that just allowed 300 yards to a single receiver. Thorne is a streaming option.
Hunter Watson, Sam Houston State – One of the more surprising results of the weekend was Sam Houston State not only beat Rice, but handily beating them. Watson got the nod over Jase Bauer, and that was a decision that made the head coach look brilliant, compiling nearly 300 yards of total offense and two touchdowns. Need some more evidence to fully buy in to Watson, but strong start.
Running Backs:
Ahmad Hardy, Louisiana-Monroe – Hunter Smith was listed on the team’s opening week depth chart yet mysteriously did not play against Jackson State. True freshman Ahmad Hardy got the starting nod and hit 100 yards on 19 carries in his first collegiate performance. New ULM head coach Bryant Vincent has a long-standing history of producing high-end fantasy running backs in the past, namely Spencer Brown and DeWayne McBride back at UAB. Is Hardy next in line?
Dijon Stanley, Utah – Color me skeptical that a running back scoring 33 fantasy points, most of which came through the air, will be a week-to-week factor. This looks like a full-blown committee once again for Utah, and Stanley likely won’t get carries over Micah Bernard or Mike Mitchell.
Floyd Chalk IV, San Jose State – Chalk didn’t start the game, but sure closed as the RB1, finishing with 87 yards and two scores on 18 carries. Was that a result of Jabari Bates’ fumble in the first half, or is Chalk truly the running back to own moving forward? Our interest is peaked, but San Jose State also struggled with Sacramento State. Running backs on bad teams aren’t our favorite targets.
Tawee Walker, Wisconsin – Uninspiring performance from Wisconsin on Friday, but the backfield played out exactly how we predicted with Walker and Mellusi splitting reps. That’ll be the same this week against South Dakota State. If you need a high floor option in the flex, Walker is serviceable this week.
Jam Griffin, Oregon State – The Beavers dominated on the ground against Idaho State, racking up 395 yards and four touchdowns with both Griffin and Anthony Hankerson topping 150 rushing yards. It was Griffin who got the starting nod, though, and there’s another relatively favorable matchup against San Diego State upcoming.
Wide Receivers:
Solomon Davis, Central Michigan – Davis is a 6-foot-1 Valparaiso transfer that caught 91 passes over the last seasons. While he didn’t start against Central Connecticut and was fourth on the team in routes run, he easily outproduced any other CMU wideout with 109 yards and two scores on four targets. I’d imagine Davis will be in the starting lineup next week.
Luke Grimm, Kansas – Including Grimm here because I know I’ll get yelled at if he’s not included at all after going for 100+ and a touchdown against Lindenwood. Grimm is a good receiver, but this is the same situation as last year. Next week, it’ll be Quentin Skinner. And the next it’ll be Lawrence Arnold. Don’t get fooled here and use all your budget.
Pitt Receivers – Going to keep this group down here and bunched together as I’m not sure we have clarity yet as to who is THE option to own. Sophomore Kenny Johnson is the most intriguing, converting on all seven of his targets for 105 yards and a score. Konata Mumpfield and Raphael Williams Jr. combined for three touchdowns and ran the most routes of all Pitt receivers. Censere Lee was targeted nine times and has the system experience as a Western Carolina transfer.
Luke Floriea, Kent State – Does Chrishon McCray have a running mate? The senior receiver had one of his best collegiate performances with 104 yards on 10 targets, running the most routes of any Kent State wideout.
Cade McDonald, Miami (Ohio) – Miami Ohio has produced some fantasy relevant wide receivers over the years with Gage Larvadain and Jack Sorenson. For one week, McDonald looks to be next in that line with eight receptions on nine targets. They only scored six points but having Brett Gabbert back in the lineup boosts this passing attack for the long run.
Oran Singleton Jr., Eastern Michigan – Strong debut for the Akron transfer with 8-89-1 on 10 targets. EMU should be a little more pass-happy in 2024 with no bell-cow in the backfield.
Isiah Paige, Old Dominion – Hi, it’s me the idiot who said under 48.5 receiving yards for Paige against South Carolina. Oops. 8-115-1 on 14 targets.
Kyrese White, Utah State – White got the starting nod in the slot for Utah State where most had Robert Freeman projected for a portion of the offseason. Just four targets for White, but went for 78 yards and a score on two receptions.
