It is that time of year! The NFL season is finally upon us, and with that comes fantasy football season. 

In my weekly column, “Shop and Drop with Rob”, I’ll give my advice on who to pick up and drop every week, allowing you to put together the best roster and eventually win your league. 

But first, it is vital to know some of the fantasy football lingo in order to dominate your league. Here is some helpful fantasy football terms and their meanings.

Terminology to Know

Handcuff – Having your running back’s backup on your bench, just in case the starting back gets injured.

Drop – To remove a player from your roster.

Flex – A spot in your starting lineup that allows you to start either a running back, wide receiver or tight end.

Stream – Not having a dedicated starter week-to-week and switching players based on matchups.  For example, I may stream the Baltimore Ravens’ defense this week because they have a favorable matchup against a poor New York Jets offense. Then, after the week is over, I will drop the Ravens and pick up another defense.

Waiver Wire – A pool of free agents available to add to your team.  Usually there is an order to the waiver wire, meaning you may not be able to pick up every player that you want. Another member of the league may be ahead of you in the order; therefore, they get the rights to that player.

Waiver Wire additions

Jeff Wilson – RB – San Francisco 49ers – 18% rostered via Yahoo! Sports

Starting halfback Elijah Mitchell went down on Sunday against the Chicago Bears with an MCL injury. Mitchell will be sidelined for two months, meaning Jeff Wilson will be the next man up. With Trey Lance still trying to get settled in this offense, look for the 49ers to try and get the run game going against a Seattle Seahawks defense who gave up over 100 rushing yards this past Monday night.

Robbie Anderson – WR – Carolina Panthers – 11% rostered via Yahoo! Sports

Robbie Anderson has played with below average quarterbacks his whole career, but somehow he still manages to put up nice stat lines. Now with Baker Mayfield, who might be the best quarterback he has played with, Anderson caught five balls for 102 yards and a touchdown.  He could be a solid flex option in the weeks to come.

Marcus Mariota – QB – Atlanta Falcons – 9% rostered via Yahoo! Sports

The Falcons came out firing in their week one matchup against the New Orleans Saints. Atlanta then squandered a 16-point lead going into the fourth quarter, resulting in a 27-26 loss. 

Even with the loss, Mariota showed some promise. Mariota makes this list because he has once again shown the league that he is a dual threat. The mobile QB may not throw for four touchdowns a game, but the use of his legs will rack him up a respectable amount of fantasy points every week.

Geno Smith – QB – Seattle Seahawks – 4% rostered via Yahoo! Sports

Yes, you read that right. Geno Smith had maybe one of the best games of his career this past Monday night against the Denver Broncos. He was 23 for 28 with 195 passing yards, two touchdowns, and ran 16 total yards. This was also against a highly praised Denver defense coming into the 2022-2023 season. 

I wouldn’t say Smith is a starting caliber fantasy quarterback just yet, but it’s a nice guy to keep on the bench.

Gerald Everett – TE – Los Angeles Chargers – 28% rostered via Yahoo! Sports

Stud tight ends are hard to come by in fantasy football.  Travis Kelce, Mark Andrews, Darren Waller, and even George Kittle and Kyle Pitts are the cream of the crop.  There is a hard drop in talent after these athletes. 

With this being the case, if you need a serviceable tight end, Gerald Everett is a nice pick up.  Honestly, anyone catching passes from Justin Herbert is a nice pick up, and with Kennan Allen dealing with a hamstring injury, this opens more opportunities for Everett. He had an 18-yard touchdown reception and finished with 54 yards.

Jarvis Landry – WR – New Orleans Saints – 48% rostered via Yahoo! Sports

Jarvis Landry, who is approaching 30 years of age, let the football world know that he still has something left in the tank.  He caught seven passes on nine targets for 114 yards. With the attention drawn to Michael Thomas, Landry should see many opportunities in this offense.

Jamaal Williams – RB – Detroit Lions – 48% rostered via Yahoo! Sports

Even with the dominance of D’Andre Swift, Jamaal Williams found the endzone twice this past weekend.  He isn’t quite starting material just yet, but if Swift were to ever be sidelined, Williams would be a great handcuff option.

Players to drop

Mike Gesicki – TE – Miami Dolphins

I am a huge Gesicki fan, but his fantasy value has decreased over the years.  After catching only one pass in week one, you can free up a spot on your roster and pick up a guy like Gerald Everett or Hayden Hurst.

Mark Ingram – RB – New Orleans Saints

The only reason Ingram is on your roster is in hopes for an Alvin Kamara suspension.  Now that there is no suspension in sight, dump Ingram and pick up a Khalil Herbert or Dontrell Hillard.

Kenny Golladay – WR – New York Giants

Golladay continues to struggle in New York, as he was only looked at twice during the season opener.  Unfortunately, Golladay has not turned out to be that number one receiver that the Giants expected him to be when they signed him a season ago. It may be tempting to drop his teammate, Kadarius Toney, but hold onto him for now.

If you see some of these guys on your waiver wire, try and scoop them up.  Although some players may not have a spot on your starting roster at the moment, injuries are bound to happen. When everyone else in your league is scrambling around looking for replacements, you will remember that you read “Shop and Drop with Rob”, and everything will be just fine.

For comments/questions about this story tweet @TheWhitSports.