How did your week 9 fantasy football matchup go? I hope I was some kind of help in getting you on the winning side of things. I realized I did last week’s article before the trade deadline and that might have made a difference in some of the waiver wire additions.
Some of the additions may have played big roles in your lineup last week, or maybe in future weeks. How will Golden Tate impact the production of Alshon Jeffrey and Nelson Agholor in Philadelphia? They are coming off a bye week, so we’ll be able to see how this works out.
This week we have other teams on a bye and we’ll have to find a replacement for them. So let’s jump right in the huddle and make the big plays for the win this week.
Amongst the players on bye are QBs DeShaun Watson, Kirk Cousins, Case Keenum and Joe Flacco. This eliminates two of my regular waiver picks at QB, but let’s see who else is available.
Quarterbacks
- Alex Smith, Washington Redskins, 50.9 percent availability
- Andy Dalton, Cincinnati Bengals, 46.2 percent availability
- Marcus Mariota, Tennessee Titans, 85.3 percent availability
- Ryan Fitzpatrick, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 30.1 percent availability
- Nick Mullens/C.J. Beathard, San Francisco 49ers, 99.2/95.1 percent
Okay, Smith didn’t have as great of a game as we expected against an Atlanta defense that showed up. But against a Tampa Bay defense that is one of the worst in the league, Smith and the Redskins could get back on track. Hopefully, the receivers will actually do something more for him.
Dalton is coming off a bye and will be taking on the 7-1 New Orleans Saints. But they aren’t that good because of their defense, so Dalton should still be able to have a productive day. Regardless of WR A.J. Green possibly missing some time, Dalton will find a way to connect with other players on the team and give himself about 15 to 18 fantasy points.
Mariota has found a way to still make himself relevant. He is coming off a tough defensive game against the Dallas Cowboys, where he still managed to play his game. What is that game, you ask? Mariota has been one of the best QBs in the league when it comes to managing games. That is of course when his team is in the game and the defense holds up. With the New England Patriots the next team on Mariota’s radar, we should all pay close attention to how things went down in their AFC divisional round game. Hopefully he will connect with Corey Davis on big plays again.
“Fitzmagic” is back and was one of the top added players in last week’s waivers. We could expect to see him start weekly as long as the offense is productive. He should be added to your roster before he’s no longer available. He also has a fairly decent schedule ahead of him. Fitzpatrick could lead most of us to the playoffs.
Okay, so I totally missed on Beathard because I didn’t think he was going to miss the game. Instead, Mullens lit up the Gruden-led Raiders. That’s why I have both of them as pickups. We will need to see who is going to start before adding one over the other. I personally want to see more out of Mullens. He could very well have another great game Monday night against the New York Giants.
But like the QBs, there are important running backs who are also on a bye. It’s a tough one for me because one of those players is Phillip Lindsay.
Remember how I told you I have a team full of PAC-12 players? Well, my only running backs are Christian Mccaffery and Lindsay. I had Marshawn Lynch until his injury and it has not caught up to me yet. I also kept adding Javarious Allen and Ty Montemgy from the waivers, but they are also on a bye this week. Along with teammate Alex Collins, Houston’s Lamar Miller and Alfred Blue, and Minnesota’s Latavius Murray and Dalvin Cook.
So let’s see who is available to add this week at RB.
Running Backs
- Duke Johnson Jr., Cleveland Browns, 50.5 percent availability
- Jalen Richard/Doug Martin, Oakland Raiders, 45.8/42.9 percent availability
- Ito Smith, Atlanta Falcons, 68.3 percent availability
- Giovanni Bernard, Cincinnati Bengals, 66.9 percent availability
- Mike Davis, Seattle Seahawks, 81.5 percent availability
Okay, so I had Johnson in my ACC and then dropped him for WR Mike Williams. Hopefully I’ll be able to get him back. With the Browns making coaching changes, the offensive scheme might be changing in the favor of both RBs Nick Chubb and Johnson. It is also good for QB Baker Mayfield. So let’s add Duke back to our rosters and hope he can continue another great performance on a banged-up Atlanta defense.
For Richard and Martin, there is no clear-cut primary back. The Raiders’ offense doesn’t even look that great, but we expect them to use both running games to try to control the game on offense since their defense can’t stop nobody anyways. I personally like Richard over Martin as a pickup, especially in PPR leagues.
The Falcons have gotten themselves back to an even 4-4 record after their big win over the Redskins. Smith has been involved in a big way. He should continue to be involved with Devontae Freeman still on the injured reserved list. Adding Smith only means adding touchdowns, but isn’t that what we all need on our roster? A RB who can get us touchdowns when it matters the most is the biggest part of what we all want to do.
Bernard practiced for the first time on Monday and he could be ready to make a return to the field for the Bengals. This is coming at a good time, with Green likely to miss those two games. If Bernard does return and could play, I expect the Bengals to use him a lot on passing downs. Let’s keep an eye on him to make sure he does come back to the team, because we already know he will have a huge role in the team’s offense.
Davis has been proving himself worthy of a roster spot, not only for the Seahawks, but on our fantasy lineups too. Davis stepped in for teammate Chris Carson, who missed the second half of their loss against the Chargers this past week. Before adding Davis, let’s keep an eye on the status of Carson.
Davis has had two great games earlier this season that came off of injuries to Carson and rookie RB Rashaad Penny. With Penny struggling, Davis will continue to be on the field. I expect him to be a huge part of the Seahawks’ offense, especially when they take on the Los Angeles Rams.
Let’s also remember to find a replacement for our WRs on bye. The big receivers on bye this week are Denver’s Emmanuel Sanders and Courtland Sutton (a missed waiver add from last week), Minnesota’s Stephon Diggs and Adam Thielen, Baltimore’s John Brown and Willie Snead IV, and Houston’s DeAndre Hopkins and Demaryius Thomas.
So let’s see what receivers are available for us to add this week.
Wide Receivers
- Christain Kirk, Arizona Cardinals, 82.5 percent availability
- Mike Williams, San Diego Chargers, 72.7 percent availability
- Tre’Qaun Smith, New Orleans Saints, 83 percent availability
- Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Green Bay Packers, 79.3 percent availability
- Adam Humphries, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 97.3 percent availability
Although the Arizona Cardinals’ offense has been pretty bad, there is a lot of room for growth and chemistry between what looks to be the future of the organization. During their bye last week, the Cardinals cut QB Sam Bradford, ensuring the QB job will remain with rookie QB Josh Rosen. With Rosen at QB, that gives Kirk more opportunities as well. Kirk was drafted to be the second option behind lifelong Cardinal Larry Fitzgerald. Kirk has done a great job and he will continue to increase his stats.
Williams is also one of those receivers who has been an on and off again type of receiver. With the Chargers’ next opponent being the Oakland Raiders, we could expect to see a lot more of Williams in the end zone and maybe even getting himself some huge plays. Let’s face it, Rivers loves to throw that ball all around the offense. Everyone on the Chargers should have a good day as they look to advance to 7-2 on the season.
With no second option WR for the Saints yet, Smith is getting a lot of opportunities with this explosive Saints offense that has knocked out the undefeated Rams. As long as Brees continues to put up MVP numbers, all the players on the offense should be very much involved in their plans, so make sure you add him to your roster.
Valdes-Scantling has been a nice piece for the Packers, as they have been struggling to get the important wins. The Packers have also been without Geronimo Allison and Randall Cobb for several games. Scantling has been one of the favorite targets for QB Aaron Rodgers, but let’s see what happens when Allison does return.
Humphries might be the risky pick this week. I mean, who on the Buccaneers isn’t a risky pick? Fitzpatrick has brought the magic back to Tampa Bay. With that he has opened up a lot more opportunities in the Buccaneers offense. Humphries was the benefactor of that last week and we expect to see all the WRs get their targets, especially with the run game that has been non existent for most of the season.
How about your tight ends? Who did you have replacing Zach Ertz? I used Ed Dickson from my waiver list last week and got 0 points from him. I still managed to get win though. I wouldn’t take that risk again. In fact, the players on this week’s list should be a good addition to the team. The only major TE on bye this week is Kyle Rudolph. The way he’s been struggling, I’m sure you already have a replacement for him. If not, let’s take a look at the list.
Tight Ends
- Jack Doyle, Indianapolis Colts, 59 percent availability
- Ben Watson, New Orleans Saints, 51.9 percent availability
- Nick Vannett, Seattle Seahawks, 97.5 percent availability
- Vance McDonald, Pittsburgh Steelers, 59 percent availability
- Chris Herndon, New York Jets, 89.4 percent availability
Doyle looks healthy coming off the bye and is expected to be a TE1. That makes him a must-add. I don’t think it will effect the performance of teammate Eric Ebron either. QB Andrew Luck will be relying on Doyle and Ebron a lot, like he has been this season. Both players become red zone threats and could easily give you 15 + points this week against the Jacksonville Jaguars. I do expect the Jaguars to put pressure on Luck, which makes him drop down to the TEs a lot more, so let’s see how this goes.
Watson is benefiting by the Saints not having a true WR2. We all know the Saints love to pass the ball and are one of the most explosive offenses in the league. We expect to see Watson get his targets.
Vannett was the reason why Dickson got me no points. Vannett might have taken over the primary role has TE1 on the Seahawks’ depth chart. That makes him a big target, especially in the red zone. The Seahawks’ offense will look to bounce back against the Rams and keep their chances of the playoffs alive. Vannett could be a big factor in that game.
McDonald and Herndon will probably remain on the waivers list for the rest of the season. Neither one of them had a great week last week, but this week should be different. They have favorable matchups and could be a good roster filler for the playoffs in our leagues.
Good luck to all the fantasy football players this week! Hope you can put together the best lineup to win your matchup in Week 10!
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