Fantasy Football Week 9 Waiver Wire
By Brandon Lane
QUARTERBACK
Sam Howell, Washington Commanders
*Roster Percentage: 46%
What better way to end Halloween than to HOWELL at the Moon? OK, that was a horrible way to begin this article but Sam Howell is once again my top QB waiver. He completed 39-of-52 passes for 397 yards and FOUR touchdowns. Howell is still getting sacked far too often but he is improving each week as a player. The Commanders have a lot of talented pass catchers to boost Howells production but he might struggle to repeat last weeks success with a tough match-up this week in New England.
Derek Carr, New Orleans Saints
Roster Percentage: 38%
I’ve continued to proceed with caution when it comes to Derek Carr. He continues to struggle with accuracy issues and we saw that again in Week 8 where he only completed 19 of his 27 passes for 310 yards but he did find the end-zone twice. Another concern is Taysom Hill as they continue to mix him in near the goal-line. But there is nothing spooky about the Saints match-up this week as they host a very generous Bears defense. IT’S FULL-STREAM AHEAD FOR CARR…
Will Levis, Tennessee Titans
Roster Percentage: 6%
Levis exceeded all expectations in his first NFL start completing 19-of-29 passes for 238 yards and FOUR touchdowns. In 11 games as a senior at Kentucky, Levis threw for 2416 yards, 19 TDs and a completion percentage of 65. He has prototypical size (6’4”, 229 lbs.) and is a willing runner, especially around the goal line. With NFL comps that vary in Josh Allen to Mitch Trubisky to Jay Cutler, it’ll be interesting to see if he can sustain his strong start (color me skeptical).
Gardner Minshew, Indianapolis Colts
Roster Percentage: 17%
Minshew had a mediocre day against a tough Saints defense where he completed 23-of-41 balls for 214 yards and two touchdowns. He has streaming appeal in Week 9 going up against a very beatable Panthers defense.
Joshua Dobbs, Minnesota Vikings
Roster Percentage: 14%
Just as the light turned off for Josh Dobbs it was flipped back on when news broke today that the Cardinals have traded Dobbs to the Vikings. Vikings starting QB Kirk Cousins is out for the season with a torn Achilles and while it sounds like fifth-round rookie Jaren Hall will get the start this week my belief is they brought in Dobbs to take over as the starter sooner rather than later. Dobbs should be able to maintain the productivity of the Vikings skill positions (Jordan Addison, Justin Jefferson and TJ Hockenson) in a pass heavy offense.
Others to Consider: Baker Mayfield (31% @ HOU)
RUNNING BACK
If available: Chuba Hubbard (59%)
Emari Demercado, Arizona Cardinals
Roster Percentage: 37%
It seems as though the Demercado movement is here to stay. In week 8 he carried the rock 20 carries for 78 yards. While it is be hard to trust any Cardinals for fantasy purposes right now you have to respect the usage Emari is getting. Week 9 could be tough sledding against a stout Browns defense so temper your expectations.
Darrell Henderson Jr./Royce Freeman, Los Angeles Rams
Roster Percentage: 46%/22%
Once again Henderson and Royce Freeman saw a fairly even split. That resulted in Henderson rushing the ball 15 times for 85 yards and Freeman’s gaining 44 yards on nine attempts but he was the one to find the end-zone. Both continue to be roster worthy with Henderson the preferred add.
Zach Charbonnet, Seattle Seahawks
Roster Percentage: 42%
I have to assume the surprise uptick in usage for Zach Charbonnet (56%) was due to the health of starter Ken Walker (calf) who had been questionable all week. But Charbonnet has made our list repeatedly as a stash for this very reason. He looked good in his first substation workload turning five rushes into 53 yards while also catching two balls for 11 yards. While it’s likely we see this revert backwards, Charbonnet is a very talented rookie that if given the opportunity would thrive in a starting role.
Devin Singletary Houston Texans
Roster Percentage: 20%
Singletary continues to see a split workload with Dameon Pierce but its possible he could take over a greater share of this backfield. While his Week 8 opportunities didn’t amount to much (10 attempts for 30 yards) I do think he is someone pick up as a flex consideration moving forward.
Leonard Fournette, Buffalo Bills
Roster Percentage: 5%
BIG LENNY is back Y’ALL….well sorta kinda. Fournette was signed to the Bills practice squad this week. Buffalo haven’t found much success filling their big back role so it’s possible Fournette gets called up and competes with Latavius Murray for the number two role behind James Cook. Lenny is worth rolling the dice on to see how this turns out.
Others to Consider:
Roschon Johnson (50%), Tyjae Spears (49%), Ezekiel Elliott (47%), Jeff Wilson Jr. (39%), Jamaal Williams (36%)
WIDE RECEIVER
Tank Dell, Houston Texans
Roster Percentage: 50%
Dell lead the team in snaps in Week 8 bringing in three balls three for 16 yards but also ran the ball three times 15 yards. Dell is a boom/bust style player but big games are on the horizon for the young wide-out.
Jayden Reed, Green Bay Packers
Roster Percentage: 17%
Jordan Love is struggling at quarterback but we have seen flashes of Jayden Reed this season and in Week 8 he caught four balls for 83 yards. He is still in competition for targets with Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs but I like Reed as a stash to see how things play out. And it’s possible the Rams vulnerable defense leads to another productive week for Reed.
Khalil Shakir, Buffalo Bills
Roster Percentage: 1%
Shakir had himself a day…catching six balls for 92 yards. His usage is on the rise and the Bills are looking for answers to spice up their offense. Let’s see if he keeps cookin’ on SNF against the Bengals.
Demario Douglas, New England Patriots
Roster Percentage: 3%
The Patriots lost Kendrick Bourne to a torn ACL in Week 8. That should elevate rookie Demario Douglas to see a much higher usage. In Week 8 he caught five balls for 25 yards. While its hard to depend on anyone on this Pats team for fantasy purposes I do think Douglas is worth an add in deeper leagues to see if the team gives him the WR1 treatment. It’s possible they dust off some of their veterans, DeVante Parker (head injury), JuJu Smith-Schuster (dust) but I think they see what they have in their rookie Douglas moving forward.
Others to Consider:
Brandin Cooks (41%), Rashid Shaheed (37%) Quentin Johnston (19%), Michael Wilson (15%) Jalin Hyatt (5%)
TIGHT END
If available: Dalton Kincaid (72%), David Njoku (64%)
Trey McBride, Arizona Cardinals
Roster Percentage: 22%
14 TARGETS….10 CATCHES FOR 95 YARDS AND A TD! Need I say more? Not if you are like many of us playing TE roulette this season. While those are eye-popping stats there is a new quarterback (Clayton Tune) starting for the Cardinals this week. Do I expect that to alter this shiny stat line this week? Probably, but with the Cleveland defense likely to send the house after Tune there is likely to be a lot of dump-offs coming McBride’s way.
Taysom Hill, New Orleans Saints
Roster Percentage: 37%
Because of his TE eligibility you can never count out Taysom Hill. In Week 8 he rushed the ball nine times for 63 yards scoring twice, caught a ball for 14 yards and threw two passes that went for 44 yards. It’s not an easy task to predict his weekly usage but with the lackluster TE world even a down week for Hill could land him TE12 on the week.
Logan Thomas, Washington Commanders
Roster Percentage: 45%
As long as Thomas stays healthy he is one to consider starting for your fantasy team. In Week 8 he caught six balls for 44 yards and a touchdown. I could see the Patriots getting after QB Sam Howell this week but that could turn into Thomas seeing some quick releases coming his way.
Hunter Henry, New England Patriots
Roster Percentage: 28%
As I mentioned earlier the Patriots wide-outs are dropping like flies. Perhaps we see a Hunter Henry resurgence like the one we enjoyed back at the start of the season. While he only saw three targets turn into 28 yards he should see a boost this week when the Pats take on the Commanders.
Others to Consider:
Luke Musgrave (44%), Jonnu Smith (36%), Michael Mayer (18%)
DEFENSE
New England vs WAS
Atlanta vs MIN
Las Vegas vs NYG
New York Giants @ LV
- Roster percentages based on Yahoo
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