Each week I’ll provide you with a rundown by position of key
waiver wire adds. We’ll evaluate not just breakouts based
on past performance, but also who could deliver this week based
on a soft matchup. Stats will be provided based on a 12-team PPR
league, with players less than 75% (preferably less than 50%) ownership
being considered.
Note: This column will be updated tomorrow at the conclusion
of Week 8.
Week 9 Byes: Denver, Detroit, Jacksonville, San Francisco
Levis started for an injured Ryan Tannehill, and looked the part
of an NFL quarterback as the rookie threw for 238-4-0, while also
rushing 7 times for 11 yards. With the Titans playing on a short
week, Levis is expected to get the nod again as Tannehill works
his way back from an ankle injury. The Steelers are a middle-of-the-pack
defense against QBs, but so were his Week 8 opponent, Atlanta.
Carr had a nice stat line in a shootout against the Colts, throwing
for 310-2-0. Up next, he faces the Bears, who have allowed the
4th-most yards and 2nd-most passing TDs.
Jones has shaken off his rough Week 4-6 performances and has
back-to-back games with 2 TD passes. Up next is the forgiving
Commanders pass defense, that has allowed the most passing TDs
and 3rd-most passing yards to opposing QBs.
Sam Howell, WAS vs PHI: Howell had his best game of the season,
throwing for 397-4-1 and rushing for 3-11 against the porous Philadelphia
secondary. Howell has shown he can produce against weaker defenses,
but Week 9 against the Patriots is not one of those cases.
Kyler Murray, ARI vs BAL: Kyler did not play (as expected), and
it looks like he won’t play in Week 9 either. However, he
is still eligible for an add if your league has IR slots.
Demercado again was the lead back against the Ravens, going 20-78-0
on the ground combined with 1-1-1-0 receiving. He gets a tough
matchup against the Browns in Week 9, but the Cardinals have shown
a willingness to ride their lead runner. With a combined 38 touches
over the last two weeks, Demercado would make a fine fill-in for
teams with RBs on a bye.
Henderson was on this list last week, but since he was relegated
to the practice squad and only added back to the active roster
on Saturday, he is still available in over half of Yahoo leagues.
He ended up producing 12-31-0 on the ground and 3-3-54-0 through
the air against a tough Cowboys defense. Up next, he gets a favorable
game against the Packers (allowing the 7th-most points to RBs)
before a Week 10 bye. Kyren Williams is not slated to return until
at least Week 12 from IR.
Chuba Hubbard,
CAR vs HOU: Hubbard was the clear lead back even though Miles
Sanders returned from injury, out-touching Sanders 17-2. Hubbard
produced 15-28-0 rushing and chipped in 2-2-26-0 receiving; poor
efficiency, to be sure, but it looks as though he has taken control
of this backfield and that should translate to low end RB3 numbers
for the foreseeable future.
D’Onta Foreman,
CHI @ LAC: Foreman led the Bears backfield in rushes for Week
9, but with Roschon Johnson returning from a multi-week concussion
absence, it was largely a RBBC as Johnson saw 9 touches and even
Darrynton Evans got 7 (turning one into a TD). With the Bears
playing catch-up, Foreman’s 9-34-0 rushing line and only 1 reception
for 2 yards is going to be typical for as long as Justin Fields
is out.
Pierre Strong
Jr. CLE @ SEA: While Jerome Ford was doubtful early in the
week, he ended up playing and getting 9 carries. Strong delivered
10-41-0 rushing and had a nice catch and run for 41 yards, but
with Kareem Hunt also getting 14 carries this was another full-blown
RBBC that ended up eroding value for everyone. If Ford is ready
to roll for Week 9, Strong can be dropped.
Cooks grabbed a touchdown to go 4-3-49-1 receiving against a
stingy Rams secondary. Up next, he gets the Eagles, who have allowed
the most fantasy points to WRs in the league. CeeDee Lamb will
obviously have a big game, but the Eagles have shown the WR2 can
have a nice day against them too.
Douglas led New England WRs in snaps and targets in Week 8 en
route to a 7-5-25-0 line against the Dolphins. With Kendrick Bourne
out with a torn ACL, Douglas could be the WR1 for NE going forward.
This couldn’t happen at a better time, as Week 9 he faces the
Commanders, who have been torched by WRs for the most yards and
TDs in the NFL.
Otton had a solid day (for a TE), going 6-4-27-0 against the
top-10 Bills defense in Week 8. In Week 9, he gets a much more
favorable draw against the Texans, who have allowed the 2nd-most
receptions and 6th-most yards to the position. With a tough bye
week for tight ends (Kittle, LaPorta, Engram), Otton could be
worth streaming.
Everett was ruled out against the Bears in Week 8, but he practiced
in full on Friday so he should be good to go on MNF. The Jets
have allowed the most TDs to the position, and Everett has scored
in his last two games. Look for him to find paydirt again in Week
9 as Justin Herbert has thrown 6 of 13 TDs to the position.
Josh Palmer,
LAC vs CHI: Palmer was bothered by a knee injury all week, and
appeared to have the same knee looked at during the game. He ended
up with a 4-3-24-0 receiving line as rookie Quentin Johnston saw
his best game of the season. It will be interesting to see how
Palmer practices this week, but a tough matchup against the Jets
is not a great Week 9 matchup.
Josh Downs, IND vs NO: Downs delivered again against the Saints,
going 9-7-72-0 as the clear No.2 option behind Michael Pittman
Jr. Up next is a stingy Panthers defense coming off their first
win of the season.
Kendrick
Bourne, NE @ MIA: Bourne spiked a TD to save his fantasy owners’
day after catching only 3 passes for 36 yards. Unfortunately,
Bourne looks to be done for the year with a torn ACL.
Curtis Samuel
and Jahan Dotson,
WAS vs PHI: As expected, the Eagles were going to be very forgiving
through the air, as Sam Howell had his best day of the year, throwing
for 4 TDs and nearly 400 yards. Dotson was the biggest beneficiary,
as his 10-8-108-1 line topped the Commanders in yards and receptions.
Samuel had a relatively quiet 4-4-22-0 as Jamison Crowder had
a nice day as the #3 WR.
Jake Ferguson, DAL vs LAR: Ferguson ended up having a nice day
against the Rams, going 4-4-47-1 in Week 8. Targets were tough
to come by as Dak spread the ball around to nine different receivers.
Taysom Hill, NO @ IND: Hill wasn’t very productive catching
the ball against the Colts, but fantasy managers won’t complain
after he went 9-63-2 rushing and even threw a 44-yard pass. In
the barren TE wasteland, even though New Orleans doesn’t
throw to TEs much, Hill’s activity in the red zone makes
him a good option for managers that don’t have a top 5 option
at the position.
Trey McBride, ARI @ BAL: McBride’s snaps had started to
grow over the last few weeks, and with Zach Ertz headed to IR,
McBride was expected to see even more looks. However, no one could
have expected him to go nuclear against a brutal Ravens defense,
as he blew up for 14-10-95-1, leading the team in targets, receptions,
and yards. While this can’t be expected every week, Ertz’s
target totals indicate that if McBride can continue to get looks,
he could be a solid fantasy asset down the stretch.
Defense/ Special Teams
Patriots vs WAS
The Patriots have created 2 turnovers each of the last two games
against dangerous offenses (Bills, Dolphins). In Week 9 they get
a much easier task against a Sam Howell-led Commanders offense
that has allowed the most sacks and 5th-most INTs to opposing
defenses.
Raiders vs NYG
The Raiders have yet to play on MNF against the Lions in Week
8, but next week they’ll face the hapless Giants that have
tied the Commanders for most sacks allowed and have scored the
fewest points so far this season (11.9 points per game, next-worst
is the Raiders at 16.0). With Tyrod Taylor spending Sunday night
in the hospital, the Giants may be forced to start undrafted rookie
Tommy DeVito, who took over for Taylor against the Jets or Daniel
Jones (neck).
Giants vs Raiders
The Giants have strung together three solid defensive games out
of their last four. They forced 4 sacks and 2 turnovers while
holding the Jets to 13 points. In Week 9 they face a Las Vegas
team that has scored the 2nd-fewest points and has given up the
most INTs.
Last week’s waiver adds:
Dolphins vs NE: New England did a nice job overall of limiting
mistakes, only allowing 3 sacks and 1 INT against the Dolphins.
Miami allowed only 17 points to the Patriots for the 2nd time
this season.
Jets @ NYG: The Jets allowed only 10 points and generated 4 sacks
against backup QB Tyrod Taylor as they took the Giants to the
wire to eke out a win.
Chargers vs CHI: Los Angeles produced 2 INTs and allowed only
13 points against the Tyson Bagent-led Bears at home, a solid
outing overall.
