Fantasy Football: 4 Plug-and-Play Pickups for Week 1

It's late in the week, and you're in a pinch with your fantasy football team. You want to find an injury replacement or bye-week fill-in who you feel good about, right? Well, sometimes the answer to your problem is sitting out there on the waiver wire.

If you need to make a plug-and-play pickup late in the week or are playing some large-field NFL DFS tournaments on FanDuel and need to unearth an overlooked gem, this article can help you out.

Here are some readily available players who can give you some production this week.

We'll reference our fantasy football projections. All NFL odds come from FanDuel Sportsbook, and lines may change after this article is published.

Fantasy Football: Plug-and-Play Pickups for Week 1

Geno Smith, QB, Seattle Seahawks

Yahoo! Roster Percentage: 31% | FanDuel Salary: $7,000

If the quarterback you drafted has a tough matchup this week (looking at you, Brock Purdy and Dak Prescott), Geno Smith is someone available in the majority of leagues who can offer a high floor in Week 1.

This week, Smith faces a Denver Broncos defense that allowed the 10th-most passing yards (233.6) and 12th-most fantasy points (17.1) per game. They enter 2024 with the 16th-best secondary (per PFF) and 28th-ranked schedule-adjusted pass defense (per numberFire).

Last year, Geno only averaged 15.7 fantasy points per game, but he popped in plus matchups. In five games against bottom-10 pass defenses, Smith averaged 266.4 passing yards, 2.0 passing touchdowns, and 19.9 fantasy points per game.

Geno Smith's passing yards prop is set at 241.5 on FanDuel Sportsbook.

Our NFL projections project Smith for 16.8 half-PPR fantasy points.

Ty Chandler, RB, Minnesota Vikings

Yahoo! Roster Percentage: 33% | FanDuel Salary: $5,100

Though the Minnesota Vikings brought in Aaron Jones to be their starting running back this season, I don't expect Jones to see an overwhelming workload. The 29-year-old only appeared in 11 games last season, so it's fair to speculate that Minnesota will carefully manage his volume early on.

Head coach Kevin O'Connell has spoken about their desire to established the run, noting that he feels "really good about Ty Chandler."

So, while Jones is the clear Viking back to prioritize, the less-rostered Chandler could see a viable workload for fantasy in their Week 1 matchup with the New York Giants.

Last season, the Giants were bottom 10 in fantasy points allowed to running backs, rushing success rate allowed, and rushing EPA per attempt. They enter 2024 with PFF's 18th-ranked defensive line and numberFire's 22nd-ranked schedule-adjusted run defense.

It doesn't hurt that Minnesota is a 1.5-point road favorite on Sunday, which could result in Minnesota hitting the ground early and often if they get out to a lead with Sam Darnold under center.

We saw O'Connell was willing to feed Chandler touches down the stretch in 2023. From Week 10 onward, Chandler played 52% of snaps and saw 16.4 adjusted opportunities per game. That translated into 9.9 fantasy points per game.

That snap rate may dip a little with Jones in town, but I'd expect this to be more of a two-headed backfield than anticipated. In a plus matchup, that makes him a viable plug-and-play option for Week 1.

Darnell Mooney, WR, Atlanta Falcons

Yahoo! Roster Percentage: 17% | FanDuel Salary: $4,800

There's a lot of talk about how Kirk Cousins' arrival could elevate Drake London and Kyle Pitts in fantasy. And I buy it! But the Atlanta Falcons quietly added Darnell Mooney this offseason, and he opens the season as a starting wide receiver on their Week 1 depth chart.

We've seen Mooney flash fantasy relevance in the past, and that was in a less-than-ideal passing environment with the Chicago Bears. Cousins will be the best passer Mooney has played with, so I'm bullish on his chances of producing as early as Week 1.

The Pittsburgh Steelers do have a solid defense, but PFF ranked their secondary just 23rd entering the season. Second-year corner Joey Porter Jr. is a standout, but he figures to spend the bulk of his time covering London. That would put Mooney up against Donte Jackson -- a corner who posted a 66.2 PFF coverage grade and allowed a 111.1 passer rating when targeted in 2023.

It helps that Pittsburgh played man coverage at the eighth-highest rate in football last season. During Mooney's breakout 2021 campaign, he recorded 2.02 yards per route run against man -- up from 1.82 against zone.

Considering Cousins has averaged over 260 yards per game each of the last four seasons and the Steelers were league-average in passing yards allowed in 2023, there's a lot to like with Darnell Mooney as a streamer in Week 1.

Cade Otton, TE, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Yahoo! Roster Percentage: 21% | FanDuel Salary: $5,200

Tight end is still something of a wasteland outside of the top names, though there are several tight end streamers I would consider for Week 1.

Still, if you're looking for someone to plug-and-play this week, Cade Otton at least offers a sound floor of production in an S-tier matchup with the Washington Commanders

Otton led all tight ends with a 96.3% snap rate and was third with an 85% route rate in 2023, so we know he'll be on the field plenty this weekend. Granted, he only saw a 12% target share, but his 17.5% red zone target share (third on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers) at least offers some upside for a touchdown with Tampa sporting a 23.0-point implied team total.

Otton has +300 odds to score a touchdown in Week 1.

The Commanders surrendered the lowest target rate to tight ends last season, but their defense could look a lot different under new head coach Dan Quinn. As the defensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys last season, Quinn's defense allowed the seventh-most fantasy points per target to tight ends.

That gives Otton some sneaky appeal as a plug-and-play option if you're desperate for a tight end in Week 1.

Gear up for NFL season! Customers who bet $5 will get a free trial of NFL Sunday Ticket from YouTube & YouTube TV! This promo expires September 22nd. See here for full terms and conditions.

Interested in playing NFL DFS? Head over to FanDuel’s daily fantasy football lobby to see all the offerings for this week's slates.

Sign up for FanDuel Sportsbook and FanDuel Daily Fantasy today!

The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.