Waiver Wire Wonders: Week 9
Another week of the NFL season has come and gone. Now, we’re starting to learn a lot about these teams and our fantasy teams. Maybe you’re 0–8 and just trying to play spoiler at this point. Maybe you’re 8–0 and could use a high upside bench stash. Or more likely, you’re somewhere in the middle at 6–2, 5–3, 4–4, or 3–5, where you need to keep winning to make the playoffs. There’s plenty of potential flexes out on the waiver wire this week, so let’s make sure you grab the right ones.
As always, every week I will be listing my favorite waiver acquisitions. There will be multiple sections to these articles with the main parts including: Standard League Adds (owned in 50 percent or less) and Deep League Adds (<25 percent). Furthermore, there will be mini-sections that include players that you shouldn’t drop just yet (Don’t Stop Believin’) and guys you can let go of (The Droppables). So, without further ado, let’s get to it.
Standard League Adds
RB Aaron Jones — GB (48.2 percent owned)
Hey! Look who’s starting to see more usage! Jones carried the ball 12 times this past Sunday against the Rams. Despite his incredible yards per carry average, that was the most carries he has received in a game this season. As to no surprise, Jones was efficient with his 12 carries, rumbling for 86 yards and a touchdown, while adding on two receptions for zero yards. With the news of Ty Montgomery getting traded to the Baltimore Ravens, Jamaal Williams is the only man left in Jones’ way. I fully expect Jones to get almost all the early down work from now on, with Williams spelling him and getting third down work. Maybe Mike McCarthy finally noticed Jones who has YPC averages of 7.0, 5.9, 5.7, 5.1 and 7.2 over his past five games. I loved Jones at the beginning of the year but I’m ALL in now.
WR Courtland Sutton — DEN (12.3 percent owned)
Oh, would you look at that? Is that another beneficiary of the big trades that went down today? It certainly is. Demaryius Thomas has been traded to the Houston Texans, meaning Sutton is likely now the WR2 for Denver. Sutton has slowly started to show flashes of greatness, as he had three receptions for 78 yards last week and had scored twice in the previous three games before that. Thomas had 56 targets through the first eight games with Denver (seven per game). All of those targets have to go somewhere, right? I expect Sutton to be a high upside receiver the rest of the year and should see a lot more volume. He’s a must-add at this point and teammate DaeSean Hamilton is an interesting sleeper as well.
WR DJ Moore — CAR (10.4 percent owned)
Another attractive receiver I’d target in your waiver wire is Moore. Moore has seen continually increasing targets since getting more usage with the Panthers. I know that Torrey Smith was injured this week and didn’t play, but it’s hard to ignore the fact that Moore had a 71 percent snap count and led the team in targets, receptions and receiving yards. He has looked explosive and. Carolina didn’t spend a first round pick on him just to sit the bench. I think he’s a very strong pickup for any league and I have him very close with Sutton.
TE Jack Doyle — IND (32.0 percent owned)
In case you didn’t already know, Andrew Luck loves his tight ends. Way back in Week 1, Luck hit Doyle seven times for 60 yards. This past week, with Doyle finally healthy again, they connected six times for 70 yards and found the end zone. I don’t love the fact that Eric Ebron is in the way a little bit, but I’ve said it all year and I’ll say it again: the tight end position is BRUTAL. If by chance Doyle is out on your waiver wire and you need tight end help, he needs to be your top waiver add, provided there isn’t a better one out there for some reason.
WR Danny Amendola — MIA (46.1 percent owned)
As fantasy analysts, there’s only so much we can do. It’s hard to predict the big explosive weeks from players, but we can predict fairly accurately is volume and targets. Amendola has seen plenty of it, too. Despite kind of a quiet day receiving on Thursday night, Amendola still finished with five receptions for 43 yards and added in a 28 yard touchdown pass (yes, Brock Lobster is that bad that they resorted to that). The two weeks prior, Amendola tallied a total of 14 receptions for 143 yards and a touchdown for Miami. With Albert Wilson possibly done for the year and Kenny Stills banged up, Amendola and DeVante Parker are going to see a lot of work. I prefer Amendola over Parker, especially because of Parker’s fluky long catch, but I believe both are worthy pickups.
Deep League Adds
WR Keke Coutee — HOU (18.6 percent owned)
Coutee has found himself on my Waiver Wire article multiple times now, but for good reason. Originally, with Will Fuller out for the season with a torn ACL, I was all in on Keke. However, the addition of Thomas complicates things a little bit for him. Nonetheless, I still think Coutee sees a generous amount of targets because Watson loves checking down to him, as evidenced by his 11-reception, 109 yard game and 6–51–1 game a few weeks ago. Keep in mind that Coutee is banged up, but he still makes a for a great deep league pickup and is usable in most leagues.
RB Josh Adams — PHI (0.4 percent owned)
We’re digging a little deeper here at RB, but the Eagles can’t throw the ball all the time, can they? Well, maybe they can. But if they don’t, I think Adams will be the best runner out of all of them. Corey Clement and Wendell Smallwood have both been very unimpressive in the running game thus far, but have been decent pass catchers. However, Adams has shown some glimpses of quality running as he had nine carries for 61 yards against a strong Jaguars’ defense. If Adams continues to get more work, he could eventually become a solid flex play. The Fighting Irish product is certainly worth a bench stash.
WR Christian Kirk — ARI (20.4 percent owned)
Let’s face it. The Cardinals are a dumpster fire. However, there’s still some fantasy value to extract out of Arizona. Beside David Johnson and Larry Fitzgerald, I’m a fan of Kirk. Kirk has gotten plenty of run lately and he recorded three receptions for 42 yards and a touchdown on the seven targets he received. Kirk has consistently been first or second on the team in targets. Here’s what his last four games looks like: 3–42–1, 3–57, 6–77, 3–85–1. Not too shabby huh? I think there’s a few receivers I’d pickup before him, but Kirk certainly warrants attention in deep leagues and in some standard leagues as well.
RB Devontae Booker — DEN (11.6 percent owned)
I swear I’ve told everyone in the world this, but I don’t think Booker is any good. So, you’re probably thinking why the heck is he on this list then? Well, the injury to Royce Freeman, that’s why. Freeman went down with an ankle injury, leaving Philip Lindsay and Booker in the backfield. Lindsay performed admirably, while Booker showed some flashes of decency as well. He ran nine times for 78 yards and also added four receptions for 23 yards in the passing game. Booker has never been much of a runner, but he warrants consideration in PPR leagues because he’s a solid pass-catcher. Don’t expect those rushing numbers in the future, but he could be startable in PPR leagues.
WR TJ Jones — DET (0 percent owned)
So, as you can see, nobody jumped on the Jones bandwagon yet. However, with Golden Tate out of the picture. An opportunity has risen for Jones. We don’t have a whole lot to go off of here, but he should see a fair amount of playing time in the slot for Detroit. Jones is a super sneaky sleeper that should only be considered a very deep league bench stash.
The Droppables
QB Jameis Winston: He just got benched for Fitzmagic and has to fight to win his job back again, there’s probably better QB streamers out there.
RB Isaiah Crowell: His inconsistency is mind-blowing and the Jets offense is a train wreck.
RB Chris Thompson: His injuries are piling up and now he has re-injured his ribs. This is AP’s backfield.
WR Tre’Quan Smith: The incredible upside is there, but there’s way too many mouths to feed in this run-heavy offense.
TE Ricky Seals-Jones: The Cardinals are slowly improving, but Fitzgerald and Kirk are the beneficiaries. There’s probably a better TE out there.
Don’t Stop Believin’
RB Nick Chubb: I’m not sure what his snap count was on Sunday, but he was out there way more than Duke Johnson and will continue to see a ton of work.
WR Demaryius Thomas: I had written about Thomas prior to today’s trade. But, with Watson throwing him the ball now, he’s definitely worth holding on to.
WR Jordy Nelson: Somebody other than Jared Cook and Jalen Richard has to catch passes right? He’s the No. 1 receiver in an offense that will have to throw a ton.
WR Kenny Golladay: Frustrated with his lack of targets? Well, Tate is now out of the picture, so Golladay’s numbers should flourish.
TE David Njoku: Forget about this complete dud against Pittsburgh. He’s a Top 10 tight end going forward.
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