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Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups: Week 9

Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups: Week 9

On first notice, there are a couple of things that stand out about Week 9. First is just how fast this season has gone by. It really feels like it was just a week or two ago that we were preparing for our upcoming drafts and wondering where the rookies would fit in. Now, the season is well into the second half, and the real playoff push has begun.

Also, Week 9 is going to be a brutal bye week. Arizona, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Philadelphia, and the New York Giants are all off. This week is tied with Week 11 as the biggest bye week on the schedule, and that’s going to lead to an added emphasis on the waiver wire.

Using ownership data from our friends at Yahoo, there are free agent and streaming options to consider for Week 9.

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Quarterbacks

Ryan Fitzpatrick (TB) 6% owned (8% FAAB)
The “Fitzmagic” was one of the most engaging stories of September, only to predictably go down in flames. But on Sunday, Jameis Winston’s four interceptions caused Dirk Koetter to go back to Fitzpatrick, who rekindled the magic to produce 18 points in 25 snaps.

Of course, we don’t even know for sure that Koetter is going to bench Winston and go back to Fitzpatrick, but it seems pretty obvious that it is what the Bucs should do. Not only can Tampa Bay get out of Winston’s contract in the offseason, but Fitzpatrick has simply been the better player this season.

Koetter has handled his signal-callers like a fantasy owner who waited too long to take his starter and tries to pick the right option to start each week, only to have it backfire. That makes Fitzpatrick a fun, but risky pickup, so proceed with caution.

Case Keenum (DEN) 24% owned (3% FAAB)
Keenum has emerged from a rough stretch to be decent over the past four games, where he’s averaged 281 passing yards per game and tossed multiple touchdown strikes in three out of four games. Overall, he’s been a middling fantasy option, but on a week with six starters out, there are worse options.

The Broncos host a solid Houston squad this week, adding a revenge game narrative for Keenum. The Texans have allowed 13 touchdown passes so far this season, but nine of those have come away from NRG Stadium.

Derek Carr (OAK) 26% owned (2% FAAB)
On paper, this looks like a very appealing week to stream Carr, who just had a four-score game against the Colts and gets an excellent matchup again in Week 9 facing a 49ers secondary that has surrendered 18 touchdown passes, the second-most in football.

While the matchup is fine, Oakland just suffered another tough loss at home coming off their bye and have to quickly turn around to play in San Francisco four days later.

Even without the quick turnaround, Carr has struggled on the road this season. In three away games, Carr has tossed a total of three touchdowns, and the Raiders have gone 0-3 while progressively getting worse with each game. If you’re going to stream Carr in this slate, just make sure you don’t bid much of your budget.

Running Backs

Jacquizz Rodgers (TB) 0% owned (6% FAAB)
Peyton Barber (46% owned) would ideally be the top free agent add this week, but he’s owned in just under half of leagues. Ronald Jones left Week 8 with a hamstring injury and could be slated to miss some time. Jones has been one of the most disappointing players of the season, and this latest setback could cause his fantasy owners to finally pull the plug on the freshman runner.

After Jones left the Bengals’ game, Rodgers produced 29 yards on five touches, which included four receptions. Rodgers has been a proven pass-catching option who has a pair of 50-plus reception seasons on his resume. If Jones is slated to miss time, Rodgers could get about one-third of Tampa’s snaps and be a decent add in PPR formats.

Devontae Booker (DEN)  5% owned (2% FAAB)
Booker was already playing about one-third of Denver’s offensive snaps, mostly in a passing-down role. With Royce Freeman missing in Week 8, Booker took advantage of extra playing time and a solid matchup to produce 101 yards of offense on 13 touches.

Unfortunately, Freeman’s injury isn’t expected to linger, so he should return against the Texans, which will cause Booker to be relegated back to being an RB3. He can still be a decent pass-catching specialist, but Booker will have a hard time earning enough weekly touches to be much more than a handcuff/insurance add.

Josh Adams (PHI) 1% owned (1% FAAB)
Since losing Jay Ajayi, the Eagles have embraced a committee backfield. Wendell Smallwood looks like the player to own out of the rotation, but if Philly’s Week 8 trip to London tells us anything, Adams could play his way into a larger role.

Adams out-snapped Corey Clement 18-13 and led the Eagles with 61 rushing yards. At 6-foot-2, 225, Adams also has the size to potentially be a strong short-yardage option. Doug Pederson will likely stick with a rotation, but Adams seems to be trending in the right direction and could emerge from a week off with a larger role. Philadephia is on bye this week, so Adams is only worth a minimum bid for fantasy footballers who want to be proactive and have a spare roster spot.

Wide Receivers 

DeVante Parker (MIA) 13% owned (20% FAAB)
After playing only 37 snaps in Miami’s first seven games, injuries to Kenny Stills and Albert Wilson forced the Dolphins to play Parker in 100% of their Week 8 snaps at Houston and Parker set a career-high with 134 receiving yards. Wilson is on IR and Stills is battling a groin injury. The path for Parker to remain in the lineup and continue to command a high-target role is now wide open. We can’t expect him to repeat last week’s gaudy numbers, but Parker should be in a position to post weekly WR3/4 value.

But don’t forget how frustrating Parker has been throughout his NFL career. He’s been wildly erratic and never quite seems to deliver when fantasy expectations are at their highest. After a huge game, Parker’s value is at its highest point this season, so proceed with caution.

Keke Coutee (HOU) 20% owned (12% FAAB)
If it weren’t for a troublesome hamstring, Coutee would be the premier free agent add of Week 9. With Will Fuller (knee) now out for the remainder of the season, Coutee will see an increase in targets for a surging Houston team that sits alone atop the AFC South.

The problem is that Coutee sat out last week and missed the first three weeks of the season with that hamstring ailment. The injury isn’t deemed serious, but these types of setbacks tend to reoccur when not given the proper time off to heal and Coutee has been particularly susceptible. If news breaks that Coutee is cleared for the Denver game, boost your bid for him since he could see eight-to-10 weekly targets opposite of DeAndre Hopkins.

David Moore (SEA) 3% owned (11% FAAB)
Sophomore wideout David Moore has seemingly come out of nowhere to become a solid fantasy option over the past month, where he’s scored four touchdowns in Seattle’s past three games. Since replacing Brandon Marshall as Seattle’s third wideout, Moore has recorded multiple receptions in each game and has become a legitimate red zone scorer.

After playing 65% of Seattle’s snaps in the team’s previous three games, Moore jumped up to 71% in Detroit and produced a career-best 97 receiving yards. He has become a legitimate weekly fantasy scorer, but is owned in less than half of the leagues as Dez Bryant.

D.J. Moore (CAR) 15% owned (10% FAAB)
Moore got the start for Torrey Smith (knee) against the Ravens and impressed, producing 129 yards of offense on seven touches. Moore was playing about half of Carolina’s snaps before last week, but could now be promoted into the starting lineup after his strong showing.

Even as the Panthers’ third option, Moore has caught three-plus balls in the past four games and has rushed for 85 yards on the season. He’s flashed some big-play ability and should only get better as his role grows in the second half of the season.

This week, the Panthers have the best possible matchup, playing at home against a Tampa Bay defense that has allowed the most fantasy points and touchdown receptions (20) to opposing wide receivers so far in 2018. If Smith misses another start, Moore has WR2/3 upside but could still be a solid PPR flex play even as Carolina’s third wideout.

Brandon LaFell (OAK) 2% owned (1% FAAB)
LaFell got his first chance at extensive playing time with the Raiders after Amari Cooper was shipped off to Dallas. He ended up playing 46 out of Oakland’s 50 snaps after logging all of 40 snaps all season before Week 8 kicked off. LaFell lined up outside or from the slot and is worth a look in really deep leagues.

Tight Ends

Jack Doyle (IND) 25% owned (20% FAAB)
After missing six weeks, Doyle returned to Indy’s lineup and looked much like the star player he was last season. Doyle played 73% of the Colts’ snaps in Week 8 and caught six-of-seven targets for 90 yards and a touchdown.

In 2017, Indianapolis ran the second-highest rate of ’12’ sets with two tight ends. That percentage is likely to grow as Doyle is now fully healthy and looked like Andrew Luck’s favorite target. Interestingly, Eric Ebron, who has scored seven touchdowns and played a ton while Doyle was sidelined, only played 18% of the Colts snaps in Oakland.

Doyle is going to be the top tight end on the Colts and is worth an aggressive free agent bid as a potential top-10 option down the stretch for a position that has been a disaster for most of the 2018 season.

Chris Herndon (NYJ) 6% owned (4% FAAB)
New York’s offense leaves a lot to be desired, but Herndon has scored in three consecutive games and has a solid Week 9 matchup against a Dolphins defense that has allowed a league-high five touchdown receptions to tight ends so far in 2018.

Ed Dickson (SEA) 0% owned (1% FAAB)
Don’t read too much into Dickson’s debut, which included a touchdown. The Seahawks will continue to trot out a rotation at tight end, making Dickson and Nick Vannett unpredictable from week-to-week.

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Jody Smith is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Jody, check out his archive and follow him @JodySmithNFL.

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