NFL Waiver Wire: Preseason Pickups

Welcome back to another season of the NFL Waiver Wire! The preseason version of this column serves two purposes: one is for fantasy managers who have already drafted and need waiver ideas; the other is for those who haven't drafted yet and are looking for late-round flyers. Let's see who might be available and can help your team this season.

This column is geared toward "standard" 12-team leagues and based upon a $100 free-agent budget. Please adjust for your league based on both the number of teams (I'm in a 24-team league, for example) and remaining budget.

QUARTERBACK

SECONDARY TARGETS

Jordan Love, GB - The end of the Aaron Rodgers era means the beginning of the Jordan Love era and there's a lot to like (notice I refrained using "love"). Green Bay has one of the best tandems at running back in Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon, which will ensure defenses look to stop the run and force Love to pass. The NFC North sets up nicely for Love as most of the defenses aren't elite while the offenses linked to those defenses are capable of a shootout with Green Bay any Sunday. Unlike the rookie quarterback class, Love has two seasons under his belt. Although he basically held the clipboard the whole time, he had ample time to learn the offense and work with his receivers. Speaking of his receivers, he boasts one of the better young duos in Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs, both of whom have upside for 1,000-plus yards in their second season. The Packers also spent second-round picks on Luke Musgrave and Jayden Reed, giving Love two more weapons to use in the passing attack. Perhaps don't count on Love to produce for fantasy right away, but he has good upside as a backup if you wait on drafting a starting quarterback. FAAB: $3-$6

HAIL MARY

Sam Howell, WAS -  Howell salvaged a decent fantasy day Week 18 last season, throwing for only 169 yard but scrambling for 35 yards and a touchdown en route to 22 fantasy points in standard formats. He has decent weapons at his disposal as Terry McLaurin, Jahan Dotson and Curtis Samuel form a solid trio of receivers to target. The sell here may be in the new offensive coordinator. Eric Bieniemy comes from the Andy Reid coaching tree and helped orchestrate the development of Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City offense. Howell doesn't have a great pedigree as a fifth-round pick, but he isn't a rookie being exposed to professional football for the first time and could surprise in a division that has a lot of high-scoring offenses. FAAB: $1-$2

RUNNING BACK

SECONDARY TARGETS

Raheem Mostert, MIA - The Dolphins likely will utilize both Mostert and Jeff Wilson out of the backfield and as a running back tandem. Both are familiar with the Mike McDaniel offense, and Moster averaged 4.9 yards per carry last season and Wilson had 5.1. Mostert gets the nudge for me over Wilson considering his rushing average was a career-low and Wilson is suddenly dealing with an undisclosed injury.  Tua Tagovailoa and the Dolphins receivers should allow Mostert to work effectively between the tackles and get a lot of chunk plays on early downs. Bump Mostert up even more if Wilson's injury proves more serious than a minor setback. FAAB: $4-$8

Kendre Miller, NO - Alvin Kamara is suspended the first three games of the season, meaning Jamaal Williams will be the lead back while Miller likely fills the "change-of-pace" and third-down roles. While he probably won't get the goal-line work, Miller should be in line for 10-plus touches per game and will have more value in PPR formats catching passes out of the backfield. There has also been word that Kamara is being shopped around the league and it's possible Miller carves out a role for longer than just the first three games of the season. At 5-foot-11, 215. Miller is capable of handling early down work in case Williams goes down to an injury. FAAB: $3-$6

Kenneth Gainwell, PHI - It appears Gainwell is earning touches in camp, though he'll remain the third option behind Rashaad Penny and D'Andre Swift. Gainwell had a respectable 4.5 yards per carry last season and Penny and Swift both have questionable injury histories (Penny's being worse). Gainwell has a slight advantage with his knowledge of the offense and could easily find fantasy relevance if given work right out of the gate. The Eagles' backfield isn't crystal clear about who is starting and will get touches, so this is one of the better position battles to keep tabs on the next few weeks. FAAB: $3-$6

WIDE RECEIVER

SECONDARY TARGETS

Nico Collins, HOU - Collins has had time to get in plenty of work with C.J. Stroud and appears to be the top wide receiver target for the rookie signal caller. Collins had two touchdowns in his final four games last season and in that span got a whopping 36 targets. He should take over the top role with Brandin Cooks gone and heads into his third season with a lot of upside. The Texans could be playing from behind a lot, and someone has to catch passes besides Dalton Schultz. It's conceivable Collins gets 60-plus catches for more than 700 yards and 6-8 touchdowns if he can take the next step in his third season. Robert Woods as a teammate should also help if Woods works with him on some of the nuances of playing receiver. FAAB: $2-$4

HAIL MARY

Jason Brownlee, NYJ - This is a real "Hail Mary" as there's a possibility Brownlee might not even make the Jets' roster. However, he's turned heads in camp and has been singled out by more than one Jets' beat writer about his play during camp. Brownlee was an undrafted free agent out of Southern Miss and while he appears buried on the depth chart, Randall Cobb is way past his prime and both Mecole Hardman and Corey Davis have had their injury concerns in recent seasons. At the very least Brownlee should be on the fantasy radar and could easily end up in this column later on this season. FAAB: FCFS or $1

TIGHT END

SECONDARY TARGETS

Michael Mayer, LV - Austin Hooper technically sits atop the depth chart for the Raiders, but it's pretty easy to see Mayer having a better fantasy season. Mayer had more than 1,600 receiving yards his last two seasons at Notre Dame and did this despite attracting a lot of attention from defenses. Hooper likely will end up more as a blocker leaving Mayer an opportunity to become the main pass-catcher. The downside is it's typically rare for a rookie tight end to make a big fantasy impact in their first season. However, Jimmy Garoppolo could end up looking for Mayer over the middle with Davante Adams attracting a lot of attention on the outside. FAAB: $1-$2