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Weekend Waiver Wire Stashes (Week 9 Fantasy Football)

Weekend Waiver Wire Stashes (Week 9 Fantasy Football)

Streaming has become an integral part of fantasy football over the last few years. Whether it be quarterbacks, tight ends, defenses, or heck, even running backs and wide receivers at times. If you don’t know what streaming means, it’s where you’ll play a different player at that position each and every week. While it may sound nuts, it works if you know how to approach the waiver wire.

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How many times have you watched your fantasy matchup on Sunday/Monday, only to go search the waiver wire for your streamer next week and see a player available who has a premier matchup that everyone will attempt to pick up? Not anymore. This article is designed to give you a leg-up on your competition. That’s right, we’ll be adding the players before they’re able to. With that being said, here’s the players you should be adding to your fantasy roster on Sunday morning. I’m going to be using Yahoo as the gauge for ownership, and we’ll stick to players who are less than 40 percent owned.

Quarterbacks

Alex Smith (WAS) at TB
If you’ve watched the Bucs play defense, you know why Smith is here. Not that Smith has been great himself, but he has shown the ability to deliver competent streaming performances, finishing with at least 15.8 points on three occasions. The Bucs, however, have allowed at least 20 fantasy points to all but one quarterback this year, and that was Nick Foles, who still posted 334 yards and a touchdown against them (18.2 fantasy points). If you’ve simply plugged-and-played quarterbacks against the Bucs, you haven’t had any issues.

Baker Mayfield (CLE) vs ATL
There’s a lot of questions about the Browns offense with Hue Jackson and Todd Haley gone, but if there’s one thing we know, it’s that they cannot become ‘less’ efficient without them. Mayfield has thrown at least 34 passes in each of the last five games, which should help against a Falcons defense that’s allowed 8.05 yards per attempt (7th-highest mark), a 70.4 percent completion rate (3rd-highest), and a 6.14 percent touchdown rate (5th-highest) to opposing quarterbacks. Since Week 1 when they lost Keanu Neal and Deion Jones, no quarterback has finished outside the top-10 against them.

Last ditch option: Blake Bortles (JAX) at IND

Running Backs

Elijah McGuire (NYJ) vs BUF
We haven’t seen him play just yet, but he’ll make his debut and knock the rust off against the Dolphins this week. The Jets running backs have averaged 27.1 touches per game, with Bilal Powell seeing 13.0 per game in his role, which is what McGuire is going to walk into. The Jets were very high on him before injuring his foot this preseason, and though foot problems can linger, he’s been practicing for two weeks. The Bills have been somewhat of a hit-or-miss defense against opposing running backs this year, though we know one thing… running backs get plenty of opportunities against them.

Ito Smith (ATL) at CLE
I was surprised to see Smith as low owned as he is, as it seems like many have simply moved on after a few weak performances. He’s still totaled 22 touches over the last two games, so it’s not as if he’s been phased out or anything. The Browns have been one of the league’s worst run defenses over the last four weeks, allowing 503 yards and six touchdowns on the ground with another 189 yards through the air. He’s not going to win you your fantasy week, but it’s not likely any running back on the waiver wire will.

Nyheim Hines (IND) vs JAX
We’ve seen Hines take somewhat of a backseat to Marlon Mack over the last two weeks, but they’ll likely need to rely on him once again come Week 10 against the Jaguars. They’ve allowed just 3.83 yards per carry on the ground, which should limit Mack’s impact there. They’ve got two of the best perimeter cornerbacks in football, so that should limit T.Y. Hilton and Ryan Grant/Dontrelle Inman. They’ve been a top-10 defense against tight ends the last two seasons, so that could limit the production of Eric Ebron and Jack Doyle. That leaves us with Hines and Chester Rogers (listed below) as the safety blankets. He should provide a solid floor in this matchup, especially in PPR formats.

Jamaal Williams (GB) vs MIA
Yes, Aaron Jones is the starting running back moving forward. No, that doesn’t mean that Williams is worthless, even if his ownership says he is. Between Jones, Williams, and Ty Montgomery, the Packers running backs have averaged 23.1 touches per game, which isn’t all that much when you have to split it three ways, but the Packers trading away Montgomery opens things up a bit. Keep in mind that the Dolphins opponents have averaged 30.9 rushing attempts per game, so there could be enough for Williams to produce this week. He did see the only red zone carry for the Packers last week, and scored on it.

Last ditch options: Giovani Bernard (CIN) vs NO, Josh Adams (PHI) vs DAL

Wide Receivers

Marquez Valdes-Scantling (GB) vs MIA
He seemed to be just a guy replacing Geronimo Allison and Randall Cobb while they were out with injuries, but he may be more than that. He ran just one fewer route than Allison against the Rams and ran five more routes than Cobb. He may have turned this into a three-man rotation behind Davante Adams, but knowing he’s posted 216 yards and two touchdowns over the last three weeks, he may be the best play of the trio. The Dolphins will surely have Xavien Howard on Adams in this game, so it’s possible we see this Valdes-Scantling train keep rolling.

Rashard Higgins (CLE) vs ATL
We don’t know if Higgins will return in Week 9, but if he does, we’d have more faith starting him the following week against the Falcons. Since Baker Mayfield took over as the starter, here’s his QB Rating when targeting each of the wide receivers: Higgins 116.2, Jarvis Landry 72.1, Damion Ratley 64.9, and Antonio Callaway 46.0. Once Higgins comes back, he’ll be the No. 2 behind Landry. The Falcons have allowed the second-most fantasy points to wide receivers this year and that’s despite seeing the 15th-most targets.

Paul Richardson (WAS) at TB
Look, I know it’s not the best situation in Washington, but Richardson has now seen at least five targets in 5-of-6 games this year. He’s been trying to play through a few injures the last few weeks, which may have limited his efficiency, but against the Bucs as the clear top-option in their passing-game, he’s going to be on the streaming radar. They’ve allowed 10 wide receivers finish as top-24 options against them, and this is your reminder that they’ve played just seven games to this point. The only wide receiver to see six or more targets against them and not finish with at least 17 PPR points was Kamar Aiken.

Jamison Crowder (WAS) at TB
We know Crowder won’t play in Week 9, but we really want him to be ready for the Week 10 matchup against the Bucs, who have allowed the third-most fantasy points to wide receivers this year. Slot cornerback M.J. Stewart has been continually picked-on by opposing offenses, leading to these totals over the last three weeks: Tyler Boyd 9/138/1, Jarvis Landry 10/97/1, and Mohamed Sanu 2/46/1. With the lack of options in the passing-game, Crowder should be involved as soon as he returns.

Last ditch options: Tre’Quan Smith (NO) at CIN, Chester Rogers (IND) vs JAX, John Ross (CIN) vs NO, Cole Beasley (DAL) at PHI

Tight Ends

Jack Doyle (IND) vs JAX
Let me make this clear, Doyle isn’t a great streamer in Week 10. However, he is an addition for the rest of the season. The Jaguars have allowed just one tight end more than 32 yards this year (Travis Kelce), so you’ll have to suck it up for a week, but he’s still going to have a higher floor than any streamer you can find on the waiver wire. Seriously, stop reading, and grab him now if he’s available.

Ricky Seals-Jones (ARI) at KC
The Chiefs have been a team who’s struggled against tight ends all year, as they’ve really missed Eric Berry who hasn’t played a single game. Through seven games, they’ve allowed 5-of-7 starting tight ends finish with at least 57 yards and one of the two who didn’t (Jeff Heuerman) scored a touchdown. Seals-Jones ran a team-high 36 routes in Week 8, so it’s clear that new offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich will keep him in the receiving role, and it led to four targets, though the production was lackluster. He should bounce-back in this game.

Last ditch option: Vernon Davis (WAS) at TB

D/ST

Green Bay Packers vs MIA
When looking for a streaming defense, you ideally have a home team who is a big favorite and offer a high floor with sacks. The Packers defense checks every box against the Dolphins in Week 10. They’ve generated 17 sacks over their last four games and it’s not as if the Dolphins offensive line is one of the better ones in the NFL. The Dolphins will be forced to try and keep pace with the Packers, which could lead to some pick-six potential.

New York Jets vs BUF
We’ve done it every week possible, and the strategy hasn’t let us down yet. Start the defense who’s playing against the Bills. After posting 14 sacks in a four-game stretch from Week 2-5, the Jets pass-rush has slacked over the last three weeks, posting just three sacks. The Bills may be their cure, though, as they’ve allowed 29 sacks through eight games. We don’t know who will be under center for that game, but knowing their bye is in Week 11, they likely won’t push Josh Allen back, meaning we get Derek Anderson or Nathan Peterman. It’s a win-win scenario.

Last ditch option: Indianapolis Colts vs JAX


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Mike Tagliere is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him @MikeTagliereNFL.

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