The waiver wire in my main dynasty league opened this morning, and the one-per-team adds were fast and furious. Thought I'd recap the ones that were added, in case others are mulling current or future pickups in their own dynasty leagues.
In this league tight ends get 1.5 points per catch, and with two flex spots, you could theoretically start three of them. Worth mentioning when you see who some of the adds were.
Dawson Knox, TE, Buffalo. This was my add (pictured). Buffalo selected him in the third round, and the players nominally in front of him are Tyler Kroft, Jason Croom and former Cubs and Red Sox closer Lee Smith. OK, different Lee Smith. Point is there's nobody really in front of him, at least not long-term. Knox, out of Mississippi, is not what you call polished; he caught only 39 passes in college. But he had strong 3-cone and 20-yard shuttle times at the combine; a lot of of athletic upside. This is also a bet on Josh Allen.
Drew Sample, TE, Cincinnati. Had I not got Knox, I might have picked up Sample. The Bengals have indicated he'll be their blocking tight end, while Tyler Eifert and C.J. Uzomah are in the receiving role. But we'll see. Eifert is obviously going to get hurt. Sample has some receiving ability, catching 25 passes and 3 TDs last year. Either the Bengals really view him only as a blocker, which makes a second-round pick look...steep....or they think he can develop as a receiver, too.
Gary Jennings, WR, Seattle. DK Metcalf is the more dynamic prospect, but let's not forget about the Seahawks fourth-rounder. Jennings caught 97 passes (but only 1 TD) at West Virginia two years ago, then changed that up as a senior: just 54 catches, but 13 of them went for touchdowns. All eyes are going to be on Metcalf in the preseason, but Jennings also bears watching.
Benny Snell, RB, Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh's fourth-rounder might start out behind James Conner and Jaylen Samuels, but should Conner get hurt (Steelers like to run their backs into the ground, dontcha know), it's possible Snell and Samuels would play in a committee. Snell wouldn't do much as a receiver but might be a better inside runner. If I had Conner, I'd want Snell, too.
Riley Ridley, WR, Chicago. I was intrigued by Ridley predraft. He caught 9 TDs last year, a productive scorer (like his brother Calvin for Atlanta). But even in dynasty it can be hard to be patient, and Chicago has a lot of wide receivers in front of Ridley right now.
Jason Witten, TE, Dallas. Rookies aren't the only ones available now. Witten is crumbling into dust as we speak, perhaps, but he could be also be valuable for a year in a TE-friendly scoring system like ours.
Trey Quinn, WR, Washington. Washington has hinted that Quinn could be their slot receiver this season; certainly someone has to be, and there's not a lot of sure things on this roster. In his two healthy starts last year Quinn caught 9 passes for 75 yards and a touchdown.
Drew Lock, QB, Denver. Hard for me to get past Lock not being selected by any team in the first round last month. But teams do miss on quarterbacks on occasion, as Russell Wilson and Dak Prescott show. When Joe Flacco's back flares up or Denver loses a bunch of games, Lock will get his chance to make it look like John Elway has any idea what he's doing. Lock had his moments in college; the arm strength and aggressiveness throwing downfield are there.
Every so often I'll check in with the other youngsters who got picked up. A year or two from now, maybe we'll see if one of us added the next franchise guy today, or just our next wave of cuts.