Is it hard for you to turn on your fantasy football apps? Yeah, samezys. Last week both my teams were riddled with bye weeks and injuries. It was too much to overcome. Maybe if I would have read a Waiver Wire article I could’ve prevented some dead points in my lineup and picked up highlight reel players on the waiver wire. As they say, tomorrow is a new day, so without further ado:
Waiver Wire Wonders Week 9
I would like to note that all of the information listed will be from the ESPN Fantasy Football App for a 12-Man, Standard League.
Quarterbacks
Week 8 began with Jameis Winston starting the game, but Fitzpatrick concluding it. Furthermore, with his limited time in the game, he scored 22 points throwing for 194 yards and a couple of TDs. Last week the Bucs had a potential shootout game at Cincinnati, this week will be another road game at Carolina. Currently, he is only 6.3% owned so if you have Andrew Luck or Carson Wentz riding the bye, Fitzpatrick might be a value pick off the wire.
Smith has had a fairly quiet 2018-2019 NFL Season. Fortunately for us coaches, the Atlanta Falcons are a-comin’ to town. Matt Ryan and the explosive offense come into Washington putting up an average of 317.7 passing yards per game. Not only that, the Falcons are ranked 11th on average points per week (27.7), while Washington is 25th. Look to Smith for a nice pick up on this week’s wire.
Other QBs
Joe Flacco Vs. Pittsburgh Steelers, Baker Mayfield Vs. Kansas City Chiefs
Running Backs
Bilal Powell was placed on the injury reserved, so Cannon is the next man up on the depth chart. Granted, the start is behind Isaiah Crowell, but the Jets do love to play their change of pace back. Powell got plenty of snaps so Cannon could see a wider range of plays himself. Currently, Cannon is owned in less than 8% of leagues. It is fair to say that Cannon might be a deep sleeper, but possibly worth a look at if you need an additional player.
From Week 6 to 8, Barber has averaged 11 points. As mentioned before, the Bucs have some changes coming at quarterback and with Barber coming in hot, more changes could be coming to the Bucs strategy. Of course, this is just one man’s opinion but if the guy has been putting up numbers, you have to feed him the ball. Barber is more effective when given the ball on both rush and pass plays, but being the starting back pushes you behind on the receptions. Carolina is currently ranked 8th against running backs, so Barber will have a good challenge ahead of him.
Other RBs
Alfred Morris @ Oakland Raiders
Barber is more effective when given the ball on both rush and pass plays
Wide Receivers
Coutee is recovering from a hamstring injury but fellow receiver Will Fuller just went down with a season-ending injury. Fuller was a major part of the Houston offense and a sweet balance from Deandre Hopkins. Coutee has already made some waves with only 4 weeks under his belt. Expect his relevance to continue as the Texans hot streak rolls on. Coutee is currently owned in 20% of leagues. With a new addition to the team, Coutee might remain at his same WR spot.
Demaryius Thomas was traded to the Houston Texans, more than likely filling the Fuller Hole, but this opens the floodgates for Courtland Sutton. I should retract a little, that makes Emmanuel Sanders the deserved number one. But it leaves the number two spot wide open. Sutton is in the right position to take the spot, all he needs to do is execute.
With Torrey Smith sidelined, Moore made a big splash on the Carolina receiving corps. We’ve heard Moore’s name before, but that was only for a few points here, a couple points there. He’s only scored in the double-digits once this season, Week 2, against the Cardinals. Last week he received double digits again, but this time getting some yardage in rushes and receiving. Moore has had consistent looks this season, just no luck finding the end zone or big yardage. His production will hopefully increase with the remainder of the season since he is showing his stuff, thus making him waiver wire material.
Other WRs
Kenny Stills Vs. New York Jets, Michael Crabtree Vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
Tight Ends
I don’t know about you coaches at home, but the tight end pool nowadays is pretty dark. Dickson might be the only glimmer of hope off the wire for double-digit points in Week 8. He had 2 targets and 2 receptions for 54 yards and a TD against the Lions. This week, the Seahawks are up against the high-powered Chargers, led by Philip Rivers and his cannon for an arm. This spells a high scoring game to come, making Dickson a must add this week.
Defenses
Kansas City Chiefs
It’s time for everyone’s favorite gamble, the defensive play of the week. Who better than KC against the Brownies? They have the tasty Baker Mayfield and all the offensive studs that can make a winning team, but they’ve fallen short. Kansas City could have some major upside with Cleveland’s non-high-scoring offense, making them the play of the week.