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Waivers of the future will focus on making decisions that improve our odds of our dynasty championship. The back of your dynasty roster should be flexible, with preference made for players you can use in your lineup during the season.

Quarterbacks

Among the quarterbacks, there are three types of waiver options: those moving up this week, veteran backups, and potential young players with future roles.

Moving Up this Week

Beneficiaries of the week include Cooper Rush and Joe Flacco.

• Cooper Rush, DAL

The Dak Prescott injury will loom large over this week’s waivers. Rush will warrant a big bid if you have Prescott, with 15 to 25% a reasonable allocation in Superflex or 2QB formats.

When Rush started against Minnesota in Week 8 last season, he went 24 for 40, with 325 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 1 interception in week 8 last season. The offense has downgraded across the board since then, so have tempered expectations.

If you have no other options, this might be a time to be even more aggressive. In non-premium formats, Rush does not warrant a waiver claim outside of streaming situations.

• Joe Flacco, NYJ

Joe Flacco has produced some cringeworthy performances in recent years. He was not efficient in Week 1, throwing for only 5.2 yards per attempt, but threw the ball 59 times. If you are in trouble after a Prescott injury, Flacco could be a spot start as you figure out a better solution with 5 to 10%.

Veteran Backups

As a general rule, you should have a limited amount of backup quarterbacks on your monitor list. With roster spots tight, optimized dynasty rosters under 25 spots in Superflex or quarterback premium. If you are in 25- to 35-man rosters, and have a roster spot, these quarterbacks are the premium backups:

• Case Keenum, BUF
• Teddy Bridgewater, MIA
• Tyrod Taylor, NYG
• Jimmy Garoppolo, SF
• Tyler Huntley, BAL
• Andy Dalton, NO
• Gardner Minshew, PHI

In leagues deeper than 35 spots, consider:

• Colt McCoy, ARI
• Nick Foles, IND
• Chad Henne, KC
• Chase Daniel, LAC

Younger Stashes

Stashing young quarterbacks can be tricky because it is rare quarterbacks without high draft pedigree will become fantasy starters. These options are more depth opportunities with the hope to include in a future trade than they are solutions to a quarterback issue.

• Desmond Ridder, ATL

Marcus Mariota went 20 for 33 with 215 yards. He did not score through the air but added 12 carries for 72 yards and a rushing touchdown in a near upset against New Orleans. He should hold off any Ridder speculation in the near term.

• Sam Howell, WAS

Carson Wentz had a turbulent performance in a win against the Jaguars. Wentz threw for 313 yards on 41 attempts and four touchdowns, but he threw two interceptions. Wentz is capable of high variance performances, and a couple in a row could lead to calls for Howell to get an opportunity in season.

• Jordan Love, GB

Jordan Love is a pure stash behind Rodgers heading into the offseason. He will be in the final year of his rookie contract in 2023.

• Matt Corral, CAR (IR)

If you can roster Matt Corral as an IR stash, there is no clear QB1 in front of him for 2023.

Running Backs

One of the keys to dynasty fantasy football is continuously optimizing your backup running back situation. The last five to ten roster spots on your roster should be very fluid, with little allegiance if the player does not offer the capacity to help your lineup. A constant churn on the back end of your roster is critical.

Moving Up this Week

The following running backs have improved this week and are available in more than 50% of MFL leagues.

• Rex Burkhead, HOU (54% available on Myfantastyleague.com)

Rex Burkhead was the starter in Houston in Week 1. While Dameon Pierce was a big preseason hype candidate, Burkhead saw 19 touches to Pierce’s 12 touches. Burkhead warrants an addition in the leagues he is available.

• Jaylen Warren (67% available)

Jaylen Warren played ahead of Benny Snell, signaling he is the injury-away player in the offense. Najee Harris appears to have escaped a long-term injury, but Warren warrants a waiver claim.

• Jordan Mason, SF (81% available)

Elijah Mitchell is expected to have an extended absence with a knee sprain. Jeff Wilson is the primary injury away player and should be added (46% available), but Jordan Maxon was active ahead of third-round pick Tyrion Davis-Price. Kyle Shanahan has been fickle in his roster decisions, so Mason is a cheap chip and a chair in a good backfield.

• Ty Montgomery, NEP (89% available)

Ty Montgomery stepped into the third down role in the offense and saw usage ahead of Rhamondre Stevenson in Week 1.

• Dontrell Hilliard (57% available)

Dontrell Hilliard was the backup to Derrick Henry. He had two touchdowns, but he only played 18% of snaps. He warrants an addition, but do not be fooled by a two-touchdown performance because he is still a backup.

• Zach Moss, BUF (57% available)

Zach Moss played the second most snaps in the Buffalo backfield (37%) ahead of James Cook (5%). This may not last long with Cook looming, but at present, Moss is the backup running back in an elite offense.

Other Backups

Other backups with high availability include:

• D’Onta Foreman, CAR (51% available)
• Eno Benjamin, ARI (60% available)
• Samaje Perine, CIN (65% available)
• Matt Breida, NYG (73% available)

Wide Receiver

The odds wide receivers from the waiver wire will become a big difference maker on your dynasty roster are very small. For every Tyreek Hill, there are 100 Travis Fulgham. Your strategies on the wide receiver position should be to find immediate lineup help or a flip candidate.

Early season can give a big indication of changing usages for the players below.

• Donovan Peoples-Jones, CLE (54% available)

Donovan Peoples-Jones led the Browns in targets (11) while posting six catches for 60 yards. He and Amari Cooper are the leading snap getters in receiving corps.

• Kyle Philips, TEN (78% available)

Philips played 46% of the snaps for Tennessee, ahead of first-round pick Treylon Burks, and led the team in receiving. Tennessee has a lot of questions at wide receiver, so Philips could establish himself as a top-two option in the passing game.

• Noah Brown, DAL (90% available)

Noah Brown finished second on the Dallas Cowboys with 9 targets, which he cashed in for 68 yards on 39 routes. Dallas made third-round pick Jalen Tolbert inactive in Week 1 and has one of the worst wide receiver depth charts, so Brown has a strong opportunity to consolidate a target role in the offense.

• Zay Jones, JAX (68% available)

Zay Jones was targeted nine times and had an expectation of 1.5 touchdowns in Week 1. He is in a potentially lucrative role in the Jacksonville offense.

• DeAndre Carter, LAC (93% available)

Keenan Allen is expected to miss time with a soft tissue injury, and DeAndre Carter played when Allen was out in Week 1. Allen is expected to miss Week 2 on Thursday night.

• Greg Dortch, ARI (100% available)

Greg Dortch led Arizona in receiving with seven receptions and 63 yards. Dortch played the slot with Rondale Moore out with an injury, so this is likely not a long-term solution, but could be a spot starter if Moore misses added time.

Tight End

Tight ends saw a big change in Week 1.

• Juwan Johnson, NO (93% available)

Juwan Johnson played in 74% of the snaps, ahead of Adam Trautman (41%). Notably, Johnson ran 32 routes compared to 4 for Trautman. This is a good opportunity for Johnson in an offense that looks to throw a lot more than they did last season.

• Tyler Conklin, NYJ (67% available)

Tyler Conklin and C.J. Uzomah were both free agent acquisitions by the Jets in the offseason. In Week 1, Conklin was the clear TE1, playing 92% of snaps compared to just 27% for Uzomah.

• Johnny Mundt, MIN (100% available)

Johnny Mundt played over Irv Smith Jr. in the Minnesota offense, one of the more surprising facts from Week 1. Mundt played with Kevin O’Connell in LA and is a monitor in the Minnesota offense in deeper leagues.

• O.J. Howard, HOU (79% available)

O.J. Howard played the third most snaps in the Houston offense and cashed it in for two touchdowns on six routes. Howard may get more waiver buzz, but his usage was more fluky than sustainable.