It occurred to me this week that I have a lot of players who started on the lowest percentage lists continuously graduate until they are rostered to a point they no longer appear on the column. I’m not sure why that is, but I think it’s because there are players that are emerging, but don’t have a breakout, 2 TD performance. Once that happens, they start to fly off the shelves.
This week, I feel better about the WRs. You can find some end-of-season contributors there. Same with defense and while the TEs are a bit harder to come by, there are diamonds in the rough. Because there is depth at all of those positions, I’d make a point to put in a strong claim for Keaton Mitchell. RBs are much harder to come by this week.
On to the waiver picks…
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Top Overall Players Available to most of you:
- Quarterback: Kyler Murray, Joshua Dobbs (same as last week)
- Running Back: Keaton Mitchell
- Wide Receiver: Quentin Johnston, Tank Dell
- Tight End: Trey McBride(!!)
- Defense: Minnesota Vikings
Should Be Gone (available between 15-30% of leagues):
Quarterbacks:
- Justin Fields – he’s worth owning for the rushing yardage alone. He’s likely not going to be Chicago’s QB anymore, so he is incentivized to play great this year in the hopes of earning a chance at a starting role somewhere else next year.
- Jared Goff – I love his weapons and his coaching staff. He’ll be stable for you moving forward.
- Sam Howell – I don’t think he’s the long term answer at Washington, but he’s putting up a nice points per game average
Running Backs:
- Dameon Pierce – I think Singletary finally stole that job based on yesterday’s performance, but the last time I said that, Pierce out-carried Singletary in consecutive weeks. Bottom line, Pierce should be rostered.
- Jerome Ford – he’s getting quality touches. He should be rostered in all formats.
Wide Receivers:
- Tank Dell – yet another Houston receiver advances up my weekly waiver column until he’s no longer eligible.
- Courtland Sutton – I can’t figure out why he’s not rostered more. Pick him up!
Tight Ends:
- Jason Ferguson – he’s not my favorite, but these are the options we’re left with in this category. I still would rather have Taysom Hill (below).
Defense/Special Teams:
- Cleveland – there’s no question to me that the Browns should be your top pickup in a percentage group that has a lot of available defenses.
Could Be Available (available between 31-50% of leagues):
Quarterbacks:
- Kyler Murray – he had a very nice game considering he’s missed a full year of play.
- Russell Wilson – we’ll see what happens in the Bills game tonight, but I still like his consistency in this offense.
- Deshaun Watson – he finally looked like a playmaker vs a very tough Ravens defense.
Running Backs:
- Jaylen Warren – he’s been slowly climbing the rostered percentages. He won’t qualify for these lists much longer. You should grab him if he’s still available.
- Khalil Herbert – I thought he’d play on Thursday, but I’m very confident he’ll pay next week. I’m not as confident in the type of role he’ll have. The last time we saw him, he looked great.
- Kareem Hunt – he continues to find the end zone and I think the Browns offense might have turned a corner this past weekend.
- D’Onta Foreman – hedge your bets. I think you would do well to grab both Herbert and Foreman.
- Devin Singletary – and yep… you should also hedge Pierce with Singletary if you can afford the roster space.
Wide Receivers:
- Tyler Boyd – he dropped a game-winning TD pass. Other than that, I like everything about Boyd.
- Rashee Rice – he should only get better after a bye week.
Tight Ends:
- Trey McBride – he has emerged. I hope you grabbed him last week, but he’s still around for nearly half the league.
- Taysom Hill – he had a down game vs the Vikings because they got off their run-heavy game plan too early in the game. Hill will be fine. He’s still a better power back at this point than Jamaal Williams (and I like Williams, so that’s a compliment)
- Logan Thomas – he continues to draw a lot of targets and Sam Howell is getting better in terms of TD production so he’s worth having for sure.
Defense/Special Teams:
- Kansas City – I don’t love their matchup against Philly, but they are through their bye week and you can ride them for the rest of the season.
Probably Available (available between 51% and 70% of leagues):
Quarterbacks:
- Josh Dobbs – he’s running a lot and he’s about to have a full stable of WRs to throw to when Jefferson is back. He had a great fantasy week last week.
Running Backs:
- Zach Charbonnet – he’s running well, but I’d only grab him if you’re desperate.
Wide Receivers:
- Josh Downs – he’s been banged up, but he’s a very quality rookie and Minshew throws to him often.
- Quentin Johnston – There are a lot of injuries on the Chargers. I know the reports on him are not favorable from the coaching staff, but they also don’t have much of a choice but to use him (similar to Christian Watson last season). I think he’s worth having.
- Rondale Moore – I’ve been leaving him off my waiver list for weeks, but Murray is back and he went to his slot receiver often. It looked a lot like last year.
- Elijah Moore – I’ve been down on him, but I wanted to note he had a nice week (the week after Cleveland traded away Donovan Peoples-Jones). Let’s see if he can make it two in a row.
Tight Ends:
- Tyler Higbee – I’m not that high on him, but he’s the best left in this availability zone. Juwan Johnson would give you better value (lower)
Defense/Special Teams:
- Miami – I was high on them before the season started. They have Jalen Ramsey back now. I suspect the D will get better as the season moves along, though I’d still rather have Minnesota (lower).
Sleeper Grabs (available in more than 70% of leagues):
Quarterbacks:
- Aidan O’Connell – I’m not worried about what the Jets did to him on Sunday night football. He’s the best of what’s left in my opinion. He still has a very talented group of pass catches to throw to.
Running Backs:
- Keaton Mitchell – the only thing keeping him from being a standout star at this point is the coaching staff and player utilization. I think he officially slungshot past Justice Hill this weekend. Snap him up.
- Jaleel McLaughlin – I’m writing this before the Buffalo game on MNF. I am eager to see if his workshare increases after the bye week. Fingers crossed.
- Ty Chandler – with Cam Akers out, Chandler could get a very nice opportunity for Minnesota
Wide Receivers:
- Noah Brown – Woods came back, but Collins was out so Brown blew up again. I think at this point, he needs to be on everyone’s team. He will outduel Robert Woods for reps moving forward.
- Michael Wilson – did you hear Kyler Murray is back? Wilson was about 1 inch away from scoring this past weekend. That means he will still be off the radar for a lot of folks out there. Grab him. He will flourish the rest of this season.
- Jalen Guyton – I think he’s probably ahead of Quentin Johnston on the depth chart, so he’s worth a look due to the Chargers WR injury issues.
- Demario Douglas – he’s the only Patriots receiver that can get open. He’s played well since Bourne went down with injury. He’s worth the roster spot.
- Jayden Reed – as much as it pains me to say it, he’s more consistent than Christian Watson. I’d pick up Reed if available.
- Noah Brown and Robert Woods – if you missed out on Schultz, Nico Collins and Tank Dell, Noah Brown and Robert Woods are your chance to get on the high flying Texans passing game. Woods was the starter before injury, but Brown has looked really good subbing in. You can spot-start either.
Tight Ends
- Juwan Johnson – he’ll continue to score well moving forward.
- Tyler Conklin – he’s been drawing more targets lately
- Tanner Hudson – he’s popped up the last two weeks and looks to be ahead of Irv Smith on the Bengals target list.
Defense/Special Teams:
- Minnesota – I like the coaching staff for the Vikings defense and they’ve been improving incrementally throughout the year. They should be a solid group the rest of the way.