Once again, those leaning on the early games for fantasy production were left by-and-large out in the cold while anyone who rostered players from Houston, Seattle, or JuJu Smith-Schuster may very well have clinched a victory by default. Alex Collins (34% owned) also appears to be running away with Baltimore’s backfield after an impressive Thursday night showing but will need to deal with the return of Danny Woodhead soon. More on that later. Teams on bye for Week 9 include the Bears, Browns, Chargers, Patriots, Steelers, and Vikings.
Darren McFadden (35% owned) and Alfred Morris (38% owned) are once again on the menu as Ezekiel Elliott‘s six-game suspension has been placed on the table — for now. At this point, we have to figure there’s another plot twist coming, but all we can do is prepare. Calvin Johnson is also being forced into the Yahoo player pool with many rumors swirling, which is neat and all, but I’m using my bench slots for other fliers.
Let it be known that Greg Olsen (42% owned) could begin practicing this week and is eligible to return in Week 12. That’s several weeks off, but Olsen is a true TE1 when healthy even with this iteration of Cam Newton taking snaps, and once he hits the practice field that waiver-wire price is going to soar. As usual, ownership levels discussed here are taken from Yahoo leagues.
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Priority Pickups – <30% Owned
Paul Richardson (SEA – WR) 32% owned (10% FAAB)
We’ll bend ownership a bit here to include Richardson, who was at 30% when I started drafting this post. P-Rich is an incredible talent who has been known for making big catches that show off his strong hands and great timing, but injuries have really held him back from making consistent impact. Well, he’s been healthy this season — no more so than this past Sunday when he hauled in six-of-seven targets for 105 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
After only eight of his first 19 targets this season turned into catches, he and Russell Wilson appear to be getting their rhythm down with 14 catches on his last 17 looks. With the Seahawks unlikely to establish a running game soon, Richardson and the passing game should be able to flourish in the second half of the season. That said, he’ll likely draw Josh Norman’s coverage next week and Patrick Peterson’s the week after that, so set expectations wisely.
Corey Davis (TEN – WR) 27% owned (8% FAAB)
I don’t really have much more to say about Davis. For everyone that missed out on the many JuJu Smith-Schuster warnings we’ve issued, Davis stands as your next best bet as a guy ready to assert himself as a top-36 WR. The rookie played just 42-of-64 snaps in Week 1, yet commanded 10 targets from Marcus Mariota for a nifty six receptions and 69 yards. This Titans offense has many weapons in place, but they’ve struggled with consistent health as well as overall WR production. Now that health is falling into place, the WR production may soon follow.
Danny Woodhead (BAL – RB) 17% owned (6% FAAB)
Woodhead could begin practicing again and the buzz will start firing up around him with all sights set on a Week 11 return date. Now you’d be right to continue throwing some healthy FAAB dollars at Alex Collins if he’s available, but Woodhead should be a stash in PPR formats. Baltimore’s passing game is in shambles and Joe Flacco should love to have a quick outlet guy again, which should also help mask the offensive line’s deficiencies with screen passes. He’s unlikely to take over the backfield but should provide value in many more leagues than he’s currently owned in.
Robby Anderson (WR – NYJ) 28% owned (5% FAAB)
It’s pretty wild that one can cite Josh McCown being a steady hand for the Jets as a reason for Anderson’s stock rising, but here we are. Anderson led the Jets’ WRs in snaps with 54 (out of 61 total) and caught all six of his targets for 104 yards and a score. That touchdown was a 32-yard strike on which Anderson shook none other than Desmond Trufant, if you needed another little nudge to feel confident enough about the potential here. He’s now scored or topped 75 yards in each of his last three games and seems like a lock for roughly six targets heading into a Week 9 date with the Bills.
Vernon Davis (WSH – TE) 12% owned (3% FAAB)
While Davis’ 2-20-0 line on four targets was a letdown what with Jordan Reed succumbing to a hamstring injury, Davis hadn’t posted a yardage total lower than 58 in his previous four games so we won’t read too much into one. The bigger picture here, of course, is that Reed is once again hurt with a Week 9 date against the Seahawks in Seattle on tap. The Seahawks limited an unassuming Ryan Griffin this past week (1-10-0) but had allowed big games to Evan Engram (6-60-1) and Tyler Higbee (4-98-0) in the previous two contests. With none of Washington’s wide receivers willing to step up and be a consistent target for Kirk Cousins, Davis could stand alongside Chris Thompson to be a catalyst in Week 9.
Charles Clay (BUF – TE) 14% owned (2% FAAB)
Clay went down with a knee injury in Week 5 and now it looks like he could return in Week 10 on Nov. 12 against the Saints at home. Nothing has changed with Buffalo’s offense — LeSean McCoy is amazing and there are no real threats outside of him. Tyrod Taylor needs Clay in the worst way out there and will surely get him back toward his 6-7 targets-per-game ways in no time. Well, it may take a week to get back to playing his full snap count, but you get the point. Clay should be a TE1 down the stretch and has been dropped in many leagues with the bye weeks hitting.
C.J. Fiedorowicz (HOU – TE) 10% owned (2% FAAB)
I doubt you’ll need to spend much to acquire his services at this point, but Fiedorowicz will be eligible to return off of the Injured Reserve in Week 10 and will find himself surrounded by a rejuvenated passing attack. Deshaun Watson‘s Adjusted Net Yards per pass attempt (ANY/A) — a strong metric for fantasy relevance — is 7.19, the seventh-best mark in the league. Ryan Griffin has does nothing special and will surely cede TE duties back to Fiedorowicz, who will offer Watson a large target over the middle with offenses having to respect DeAndre Hopkins and Will Fuller. For those reasons, I’d feel comfortable throwing more than just a standard dollar at him if you’re in more competitive waters.
Dede Westbrook (JAC – WR) 10% owned (1% FAAB)
Westbrook officially hit the practice field on Monday and has taken an important step toward hitting the game field for the first time in his career. Keelan Cole is currently serving as Jacksonville’s No. 3 receiver and has only caught eight balls all season, so Westbrook should easily leapfrog him into the starting ranks. The true test will be how he looks with Blake Bortles and where he falls on the totem pole with Marqise Lee and Allen Hurns doing some things, but nothing outstanding that couldn’t be overtaken.
Leonard Fournette and the Jags’ defense will remain the top two fantasy commodities on this squad, but Westbrook has an outside shot at being No. 3. Given the recent waiver wire landscape, an outside shot at a solid ceiling is pretty good. Not to mention one great game would likely make him a great trade chip for the more reactionary owners.
Deep League Targets – <10% owned
Rex Burkhead (NE – RB) 8% owned (1% FAAB)
Burkhead isn’t likely to trigger much movement on the waiver wire with New England on a bye, but owners should be aware that his 27 snaps trailed Dion Lewis‘ count by just three. That put him well ahead of James White (20) and Mike Gillislee (13), as he caught seven balls for 68 yards and rushed the rock four times for 15 more yards. The Pats aren’t afraid to use their best players in different ways, so Burkhead being more of a hybrid RB/WR isn’t surprising. They’ll take on Denver in Week 10, which should call for more passing work for this RB stable rather than a north-south attack.
Marquise Goodwin (SF – WR) 5% owned (1% FAAB)
Keep Goodwin’s name stashed away for later in the season should Jimmy Garappolo make something of this offense. It’s becoming rather clear that C.J. Beathard is in over his head right now and will render most of this offense useless in fantasy, but Monday night’s trade for Jimmy G does offer some hope. Goodwin had collected a combined 222 yards on just 11 catches (24 targets) over his three games prior to Sunday’s goose-egg against the Eagles. He’s no priority add, but could be a difference-maker down the stretch should this offense find its legs.
Mack Hollins (PHI – WR) 0% owned (1% FAAB)
Hollins logged a season-high 18 snaps in Week 8 after catching a beautiful 64-yard touchdown in Week 7, and while he would only post a 2-30-0 line against the 49ers, this is a stock trending in the right direction on an offense whose passing game is also on the “Excelsior” path. Recommending a guy who has to square off with Denver’s DBs before a Week 10 bye is rough, I know, but he looks to be overtaking Torrey Smith in Philadelphia. Hollins stands at six-foot-four and offers plus speed for his frame, as evidenced on that deep bomb in Week 7, so those looking for a late-season speculation stock should buy in now.
Tre McBride (CHI – WR) 0% owned (1% FAAB)
While it was actually Tanner Gentry‘s 32 snaps that would pace all Bears WRs, he would see just one target on the day (and didn’t catch it). McBride would finish second in snaps with 23 but caught three-of-five targets for 92 yards and a touchdown. While many would rather step on hot coals then dip into this Chicago WR pool, McBride looks to be the option with the most potential right now given how much the pass-catchers need to do on their own to generate value in this limited offense. In other words, Kendall Wright is unlikely to move the needle. With Zach Miller done for the year (and perhaps his career, sadly enough) after a gruesome knee injury, there will be some targets vacated for the likes of McBride and…
Dion Sims (CHI – TE) 0% owned (1% FAAB)
Sims is now the starting tight end for Chicago with Miller out and had already taken on more route-running lately on top of his normal blocking duties. Sims also saw five targets from Mitch Trubisky in Chicago’s Week 8 loss to the Saints, though he totaled only 15 yards on his three catches. This is for the truly desperate only, but Sims did find paydirt in Week 6 (2-42-1) and his six-foot-four frame should be a welcome sight for Trubs in the red zone.
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Nick Mariano is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Nick, check out his archive and follow him @NMariano53.
