Of course the weekend I visit Philadelphia is the weekend the worst storm to venture north of Carolina decides to run rampant through the northeast. I’ve managed to weather the storm just fine, but this waiver wire piece was delayed due to intermittent internet and power. Thank you for your patience and stay safe if you’re still being affected by the storm.
QUARTERBACKS
Nick Foles, PHI – I can run through the reasons I don’t believe Foles will replace Michael Vick this week, but it doesn’t really matter what I think. If Vick struggles at all this week against the Saints, Foles will be the starter heading into Week 10. By then, it will be too late to buy because someone in your league is going to invest in a Foles this week. Ask yourself how valuable that Foles lottery ticket is and set your waiver wire claims accordingly.
Matt Moore, MIA – Ryan Tannehill injured his knee on Sunday and Moore played well in relief with 131 yards and TD. If Tannehill can’t play in Week 9, Moore will be a decent option against the Colts for managers in 2-QB leagues.
RUNNING BACKS
Donald Brown, IND – Brown returned to action on Sunday and out-rushed Vick Ballard by 25 yards. Ballard saved his fantasy day with a game-winning touchdown catch in the fourth quarter, but Brown figures to return to the starting role for the Colts in Week 9.
Daryl Richardson, STL – The ever present thorn in the side of Steven Jackson owners, Richardson lengthened his string of productive games with 53 yards on a lean 7 carries. There’s a non-zero chance Steven Jackson gets traded before the deadline and that would certainly send Richardson’s value through the roof, but D-Rich should be owned in most leagues, regardless.
Daniel Thomas, MIA – Thomas continues to get work alongside Reggie Bush. Bush had 19 more yards on Sunday, but Thomas scored a TD to lead the Dolphins running back corps in fantasy points.
Joique Bell & Kevin Smith, DET – LeShoure was a no-show in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game against the Seahawks. Bell will be the primary beneficiary if LeShoure misses Week 9, but Kevin Smith could also rise from the fantasy grave and get some carries.
Ronnie Hillman, DEN – Willis McGahee had a fine game on Sunday, but Hillman got his too, finishing with 86 yards on 14 rushes. Keep in mind that this outburst of rushing yards came against the Saints before you go crazy for Hillman. Still with a nice match-up on deck against the Bengals, he should see another healthy dose of carries this week.
Shane Vereen, NE – Vereen vultured another Stevan Ridley TD on Sunday. Now that he’s healthy, Vereen is a passable fantasy option in deeper leagues.
Beanie Wells, ARI – The Cardinals are falling apart in front of our eyes. Wells won’t necessarily be the team’s savior when he returns from injured reserve, but he certainly won’t make the team any worse. Stash him now if you have roster space.
WIDE RECEIVERS
Titus Young & Ryan Broyles, DET – I talked about these two last week. Since then, Broyles had a nice game (3 rec/37 yds/1 TD) and Young had league-leading 22 fantasy points (9/100/2). Calvin Johnson admitted after the game that he was hampered at least somewhat by injury, but played because the Lions were thin at WR. Young is a must-add if he’s still available in your league and Broyles is a fine upside add.
Brandon LaFell, CAR – LaFell awakes from his Chicago Bears match-up nightmare to the aroma of freshly brewed coffee and a warm stack of Washington DB flapjacks on which to feast. If you missed out on Titus Young, LaFell is a decent fallback.
Cecil Shorts, JAC – Apparently, Blaine Gabbert lives to salute his Shorts. Meanwhile, Justin Blackmon remains a disappointment. In redraft leagues, drop Blackmon for Shorts if you haven’t already.
Chris Givens & Danny Amendola, STL – The Adam Dunn of fake football, Chris Givens, hit another 50+ yard “homer” on Sunday. In the meantime, Amendola could return to action this week thanks to his Wolverine-like healing factor.
TIGHT ENDS
Brent Celek, PHI – As the tight end carousel goes round and round, there’s a slight chance Celek is available in your league. If Nick Foles takes over at QB for the Eagles, Celek could see some extra check-down targets, but with a juicy match-up against the Saints looming, it shouldn’t matter who the quarterback is in Philly for Celek to be productive.
Brandon Myers, OAK – Myers continues to be a target-sink for Carson Palmer. The window to buy him in PPR leagues has likely closed, but non-PPR managers should take notice too. With such high usage, Myers is a lock for at least 4 to 6 fantasy points each week.
Dwayne Allen & Coby Fleener, IND – It was a quiet week overall for tight ends, but that didn’t stop Dwayne Allen from out-producing Coby Fleener yet again. These two have been close in value all season, but Allen is the one I want right now. With that said, Fleener still has value in keeper leagues. He might just need a little more seasoning in the NFL before he’s ready to deliver on his 2nd-round draft pedigree and surpass Allen.
Rudolph.
trade Torrey/dwill for decker/hillis? 16tm non ppr. thx
I’d make that deal. I’d rather have Decker than Torrey Smith and D-Will/Hillis feels like a wash.
I was offered Cruz for my McGahee in an overall points league with 3 WR, 2RB, 1 TE and no flex spot. What do you think, good trade for my teams needs?
I feel like I need to shore up my WR core, but here is my team;
QB – Luck, Rivers
RB – Run DMC, McGahee, Woodhead, Stephens-Howling
WR – Harvin, Maclin, K Wright, LaFell, G Jennings
TE – Gresham, Finley
Forgot to add that I have A Boldin at WR also.
While I like that trade in a vacuum, I don’t like it for your team because you’d wind up starting Woodhead or LSH at running back. I think you have to pass.
14 Team PPR: 1-6 here’s my lineup, please help!
Stafford, Mega, Decker, Britt, Martin, Alex Green, Bennett, Crabtree, Alex Smith, Andre Brown, Hunter, Janikowski, Det D, SF D
THANKS!
I don’t know how exactly you want me to help, but you could start by only carrying one defense. If you only have the Lions for the 49ers bye, that’s okay, just make sure you drop the Lions next week. Otherwise, it looks like you need to trade a WR for a RB. Shop Megatron, Decker, Britt, and Crabtree around to see if you can upgrade at running back.
Sorry for being so vague, I have Det strictly for SF’s bye. Who do you recommend trading & what kind of rb trade should I aim for.
Maybe try to trade Megatron for a top-flight RB, perhaps someone who has underachieved a little like LeSean McCoy or Darren McFadden. You could also try to trade Decker, Britt, or Crabtree for an RB2-type or sever underachiever like Ryan Mathews or Jonathan Stewart.
Do you guys have the pickups in order of best pickup and/or start? I grabbed Shorts because of his multitude of targets but LaFell is available and I need one of them to start alongside DHB and Britt for my W/T spot in a PPR League for Week 9. Should I ditch Shorts for LaFell or stay pat?
I typically list them in the order I would add them, but every league has different settings and a lot of the waiver rankings are pretty close. I would add LaFell over Shorts based on this week’s matchups.
Hey Greg. With all kinds of bye week chaos for my RBs (Ridley, Gore, SJax all out), and uncertainty with what I have left on the roster (Leshoure and Felix Jones), should I go for Joique Bell in case Leshoure is out, or go for Daniel Thomas in case DeMarco Murray comes back this week? Thanks!
I’d protect your Lions RB investment with Bell instead of going with Thomas.
Hey Greg, your views on best, rest of the year QB2 in fantasy.
Ponder(bad schedule)
A. Smith
Fitzpatrick
Wilson
Hasslebeck/Locker
Cutler
Rivers
ROS: Rivers, Smith, Fitzpatrick, Ponder, Cutler, Wilson, Hasselbeck/Locker; although I admit that I have the Titans QBs ranked last because I wouldn’t want to carry both of them on my roster simultaneously.
1 pt PPR:
How would you set this lineup. I need 2RB, 2WR and a FLEX from these guys. Mathews, Martin, Morris, James Jones, Colston, V. Jackson. I need to sit one. I made the mistake and benched Martin last week.
I have tried to obtain Megatron over the last week and was turned down. I offered Jones and Morris. Should I go back and offer that deal or is that too much for Megatron. I hate giving up Jones right now. Thank you!
Unless Greg Jennings plays, I’d bench Vincent Jackson. Your other options are all more consistent. As for the trade, I wouldn’t deal Jones and Morris for Megatron. Morris is creeping into must-start territory and Johnson is a little banged up.
Drop Britt or Tate for Shorts ?! Dont have anyone to drop
Mendy/Dweyr/MJD/49rs are burning my slots :-\
Thinking about drop Tate due all his injuries… (Foster owner)
You should drop Tate if you need the WR help.
12 man PPR Flex league:
Do I trade T-Richardson for DMC?
Love the Wolverine/X-Men shout out.
That seems like a lateral move to me. Each player has his pros and cons. I’d probably rather have DMC for the rest of the season, but it’s for very nit-picky reasons (already had his bye, slightly easier schedule, gets a little more work in the passing game, etc.).
With Nicks on IR, is it smart to trade Doug Martin coming off his break out game. I have Forte and Charles so he is my RB3. I am rotating Finley, Celek, and Olsen at TE. Is Martin’s value right now more than Jimmy Graham in a .5PPR?
Where are you seeing this news about Nicks being on the IR? Regardless, I don’t know if I’d be selling Doug Martin right now. He had a huge game in what was supposed to be a bad match-up, which makes me believe he’s simply very good. He probably does have more value than a dinged-up Jimmy Graham, but I would keep Martin. Maybe try to trade Charles? His usage has been very sporadic.
Adam Schefter@AdamSchefter
Bucs announced Pro Bowl G Carl Nicks is headed to injured reserve with a toe injury.
My apologies, I thought you meant Hakeem Nicks.
no worries Greg, so did the rest of the world.
Homie had me nervous for a moment….
14 Team PPR: Do you think Santana Moss is worth rostering instead of Andre Brown?
Depends on what your bobsled team needs more. Would you ever start Moss over your primary wide receivers?
My bobsled team needs a WR, I have: Mega (also staff), Decker, Britt, Crabtree. RBs: Martin, Alex Green, Kendall Hunter & Andre Brown. Trying to trade Mega for DMC, however, I doubt it will go down.
I’d hold onto Brown. If Bradshaw gets hurt, Brown would immediately become your RB2. Meanwhile, he’s still the goal line back for the Giants and should average 5-8 fantasy points per game.
12 Team PPR, 6-2, my team: Brees, Cruz, Dez, Martin, JStew, Graham, J Jones, Rudolph, Freeman, Hawkins, Garcon (I know I should’ve already dropped him!), P Thomas, Vereen, Crosby, GB D. His team, 1-7: Vick, Harvin, Hartline, Morris, Forte, Daniels, R Jennings, Welker, Pettigrew, L Moore, D Richardson, Wright, Dalton, Gostkowski, AZ D.
Thinking about trading Dez for Welker or Dez & J Jones for ???
What do you think?
Dez for Welker would be a nice move, especially in PPR. You could also try to deal one of your many WR for another RB. In general, though, if you’re 6-2, the “not broke — don’t fix it” adage may apply to your team.
16-team, 0.5PPR. Need a TE for the rest of the season.
Dennis Pitta (rostered), Brandon Myers, Scott Chandler, Marcedes Lewis, Lance Kendricks, Tony Moeaki, Ben Watson, Chris cooley, Zach Miller.
Thanks!
I’d rank them Pitta, Myers, Chandler, then everyone else in that format.
Would trading my Marshall for his Graham be a good move? I have Cruz, Percy, and Marshall as my starters. Antonio Brown would replace Marshall. My current TE are Finley and Pitta.
With Graham’s injury concerns, I’d hold onto Marshall.
would you trade cj2k/harvin/d.brown/jennings/freeman for mccoy/s.smith/roethlisberger?
Yeah, McCoy and Roethlisberger are big upgrades. It’s rough to give up Harvin, but you get Smith and 2 extra roster spots in the deal.
Hey Nice article,
what do you think about this trade in a .5 for ppr league…I get Marshall, Ridley and C. Shorts and i trade J. Charles, Lloyd, and P. Thomas… Currently my rb are charles, mccoy, mcgahee at flex and wr green and wayne
thanks for the help.
Seems like a pretty fair deal. I’d probably do it. Charles has been so inconsistent that I would be willing to give him up for Ridley and an upgrade at WR.
Hey whatsup greg, who do i start at TE Brandon pettigrew vs jags or celek vs saints?
Celek.
In a PPR league, would you drop Hernandez, Pettigrew, and/or Rudolph to pick up more RBs? We start only 1 TE, and I’m waiting on.
If you already had 3 top 12 RBs, would you like the upside of Joique Bell or Beanie Wells more?
I’d drop Pettigrew. I like Wells upside more after he’s eligible to return from IR, but Bell has a lot more value right now.
[...] Myers (OAK) & Dwayne Allen, IND – Consider my own horn tooted, but these guys were in the Week 9 Waiver Wire. Send in the Swedes! About gregsauceGreg Smith writes for TheFakeFootball.com and [...]
1:08:10 pm
stay patient with K-Rudy or pick up Olsen off the wire for this week? 0.5 ppr. thanks.