Week
8 had a lot of exciting football and the bye weeks continue to hamper fantasy
teams. Week 9 will again see six teams on the bye to which we need to find the
gems to get you through. Here are the best Week 9 wavier targets. Good luck.
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Quarterbacks:
Tyrod Taylor (BUF)
Taylor
still remains one of the top streaming and bye week QBs on the market. His
ownership has increased these last few weeks, where you should find him
available in only 39% of leagues. If you’re lucky enough to find him in your
waiver wire grab him – he has a great matchup vs a Jets team which gives up the
8th most to fantasy QBs. The Bills seem to be getting things going
on offense and should provide much of the same on Thursday Night Football. The
beauty of Tyrod is he doesn’t turn the ball over, and you can expect him to get
you between 15 to 22 fantasy points per week.
Jay Cutler (MIA)
Reaching a little here, but if you are stuck at QB,
Jay might be your guy. Coach Gase already said that if Cutler can play through
the pain he will get the start. Miami looks to rebound from an embarrassing
loss to the Ravens last Thursday night with a good matchup vs the Raiders that
give up the 14th most to QBs this year. This isn’t the ideal start
you will be looking for, but it is a decent option.
Blake Bortles (JAX)
With the Jaguars coming off the bye and getting
Leonard Fournette back on the field should only help Blake going up against the
Bengals. Coach Marone has mentioned they plan to pull back the play book to
simplify the offense. Again, I can’t fully endorse Blake and his erratic play,
but the Jags seem to be getting confidence from the great play of that defense
and Bortles will eventually step his game up, at least we can hope. If you are
really stuck he is available in 15% of leagues.
Jimmy Garoppolo (SF)
News
breaking on Monday that Jimmy G has been dealt to the 49ers is very intriguing.
Garoppolo is his time in New England has had his moments. Under Coach Shanahan
(the guru), we might see the expelling of talent in Jimmy much like we have
witnessed in Jared Goff and Coach McVay. Still very early to know what
Garoppolo will be this season as he has to learn a whole new offense. If you
have the room on your bench or you’re in a very deep league, I would stash
Jimmy on my bench for the next couple weeks to see what he might be. My earlier
season advice said the same for Deshaun Watson and look how that has turned out
so far. Worth a flyer.
Running Backs:
Darren McFadden / Alfred Morris / Rod Smith (DAL)
Once
again, we have received confirmation that Zeke Elliott has been suspended 6
games, meaning he won’t return until week 15 for fantasy playoffs. There are 3
options in now a potentially crowded back-field. By default, Morris should get
the start and the lion share of the carries. McFadden, who has been a healthy
scratch this entire season (ADF believes on purpose for this such result),
gives the Cowboys a fresh runner in DMC. I believe like we have seen previously,
DMC will take over as the lead dawg. The man to keep an eye on is Rod Smith. He
is the underdog at this point to see much action but if the two in front of him
falter, he may get the call. I like DMC over the rest of the group but time
will tell.
Alex Collins (BAL)
Collins
looked fantastic last week vs the Dolphins as he scampered all over the field.
I was impressed with his ability to catch the ball out of the back field giving
him another way to generate production. Anointed the lead back in Baltimore by
Coach Harbaugh he is definitely worth a stash on the bench. Owned in only 35%
of leagues and a fantastically easy schedule coming for the Ravens, pick him up
and don’t look back.
Jonathan Stewart (CAR)
Stewart
gave us a glimmer of hope that those old legs still have some treed left on the
tires. Owned in 44% of leagues, J-Stew has a juicy matchup vs the Atlanta
Falcons who give up the 5th most to RBs. The Panthers looked a lot
better when they established some form of the run, and I see that trend
continuing against division rival in the Falcons.
Rob Kelley (WAS)
Coming
back from injury Kelley replanted himself as the primary back in the Redskins
offense. Available in 60% of leagues Kelley is a decent add if you are in need
of a RB. Chris Thompson is now a vocal piece in the offense, but there should be
room for Kelley to vulture goal-line TDs and produce 40-80 yards per week.
Worth a look here.
Kenyan Drake / Damien Williams (MIA)
With
news of the recent trade of Jay Ajayi to the Eagles, an opening for top back
has opened in Miami. This looks to be a committee approach, and it won’t be
clear to who will become the top dawg until we see performance and usage. Drake
has received the praises from Coach Gase to be the lead back to start with,
while Williams is handling 3rd down opportunities. Temper the
expectations it will be a wait and see. Drake might be the guy to target here
first.
Wide
Receivers:
JuJu Smith-Schuster (PIT)
I
think the word is finally out on JuJu even though ADF has sung the praises of
this man going back to the ADF draft kit! JuJu is looking like a special talent
in that Steelers offense which is loaded with weapons. Teams have to focus so
much attention on Brown and Bell that they don’t have enough left to handle
Smith-Schuster. He is still available in 51% of leagues and if you are so lucky,
scoop him!
Paul Richardson (SEA)
With
the exceptional play coming from Russell Wilson once again the biggest
benefactor has been Richardson. He is fully integrated into the offense and is
seeing his fair share of targets. Gaining the trust of the coaching staff will
only improve his case to continue to see those targets come his way. With that
said, he is still a better matchup player than a full-time starter, but the
time may be coming. Good pick up here.
Robby Anderson (NYJ) (PPR)
Anderson
has been getting our attention these last few weeks with the number of targets
and production he has seen. The surprising above-average play of Josh McCown
has elevated him to fantasy relevance and should be owned in all formats. He
will produce more in PPR leagues and should be used as a matchup player. Only
owned in 29% of leagues you could get a producing player down the stretch.
Jamison Crowder (WAS)
As
some began to give up on the majority of the Redskins WR core one man has
pulled himself back to be worthy of another shot at ownership. Crowder is
available in 39% of leagues and should be once again rostered based on the
production from last week. He should be a matchup player and ride the pine
until he proves he can once again be trusted. Still a good pickup if he’s
there.
TJ Jones (DET) (PPR)
The surprising thing from last week’s game vs the
Steelers was the amount of targets Jones was able to get even with the start of
Golden Tate. 8 targets to any WR is a nice day and Jones was able to turn out
some plays. You will have to temper the expectations with Jones week in week
out, but he could be valuable later in the season, more so in PPR leagues.
Dede Westbrook (JAX)
The
speculative add of the week goes to Dede Westbrook. He was placed on IR and is
set to return in week 9. With the Jags WR core very thin, Westbrook should be a
breath of fresh air as this kid has the ability to make plays. At this point he
is a true bench stash – wait and see player. If you have the room it won’t hurt
to have a potential #1/2 targeted WR on your team! Might need a little luck on
this one to pan out, good luck!
Curtis Samuel / Russell Shepard (CAR)
As
the final trades came down the pike a notable trade of Kelvin Benjamin to the
Bills opens possibilities for two Panther WRs. First, rookie spark-plug Curtis
Samuel will now have all the opportunity to showcase his abilities and take
over the slot role. Russell Shepard has out-performed Samuel thus far and
should have a sizable role to begin with. I believe in Samuel’s abilities and
feel he is the long term better pick up, however; expectations need to be toned
down as the rookie will have to show his skills to be trusted.
Tight Ends:
Jack Doyle (IND)
Coming
off a huge performance last week, Doyle is again a top add this week. Owned in
50% of leagues and have a decent matchup vs the Texans who give up the 13th
most to TEs, he might be worth a play this week.
Best Week 8 Defense Stream:
Buffalo – Playing NY Jets
Philadelphia – Playing Denver
New Orleans – Playing Tampa Bay
Arizona – Playing San Francisco
Detroit – Playing Green Bay
Cincinnati – Playing Jacksonville
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