Week 1 moved quickly, and so did the waiver wire. For college fantasy managers searching for help before Week 2, Atkinson and Marshall emerged as the quarterbacks to add if they were still sitting in league pools.
Atkinson made his case with volume and efficiency against Oregon State, finishing 29 completions for 376 yards and a touchdown while scoring 23.94 fantasy points. That kind of line matters in deeper C2C and CFF formats because it shows a quarterback who can produce without needing a perfect game script. He was described as young and as having arm talent, which gives him a profile fantasy managers can stash before the market adjusts.
Marshall’s first start at Kansas was even more interesting because it came with production in two directions. He completed 14 of 19 passes for 246 yards and two touchdowns, then added 49 rushing yards on seven carries. Kansas also finished with more than 600 total yards in his debut, and that usage on the ground is the part fantasy managers should care about most. A quarterback who can score through the air and on the ground has a wider weekly floor, especially in formats that reward every yard and every touchdown.
There is still a limit to what that first look tells us. Marshall did it against LIU, and that is not enough to explain everything about him or to assume the same efficiency will follow against stronger opponents. The next test is Missouri, and that matchup will say more about whether Kansas can keep giving him the same kind of production window. Kansas has historically given its quarterbacks chances to produce in multiple ways, and the return of Andy Kotelnicki only sharpens the case that this offense can support fantasy numbers if the quarterback play holds up.
Marshall was listed at only 5% rostered, which is why his Week 1 line matters now instead of later. In waiver terms, the appeal is simple: he is available, he has already shown a passing ceiling, and Kansas used him as a runner as well. If that usage survives beyond one soft opening, he moves from a deep-league flier to a quarterback fantasy managers will have to chase before the rest of the market catches up.
