How do the Chiefs keep getting away with it? The reigning Super Bowl Champs somehow pulled another win out of the bag against Tampa Bay on Monday Night Football – winning 30-24 in Overtime thanks to a Kareem Hunt plunge. Week 9 of the NFL season saw Seattle’s Jaxon-Smith Njigba go absolutely nuclear, Garrett Wilson haul in one of the catches of the decade, and Saquon Barkley reverse jump over Jarrian Jones like something out of Super Mario Bros. There are injury concerns for the Falcons and Saints as wide receivers Drake London and Chris Olave both left their respective matchups early – but the biggest news coming out of the weekend is undoubtedly the Dallas Cowboys QB Dak Prescott looking set for a prolonged stint on the sidelines after suffering a reported hand and hamstring injury. Are the replacements for the above guys worth picking up, or are there more valuable assets on the waiver wire…let’s take a look!
Rules for Selection & Order Priority
For a player to be considered to be added, they have to:
- Have an rostered % of 50% or under on ESPN
- Players below are listed by their roster %, not priority. Know your league settings. If there is a high-priority add, you’ll know.
Justin Herbert (LAC) 48.0% rostered
Through the first four weeks of the season, Justin Herbert had attempted only 91 total passes…the lowest of any starting NFL quarterback who had played in all four games. Since the Chargers bye in week 5 – Herbert has seen his average attempts per game skyrocket from 22 to 33, with his yardage total jumping from 144 YPG to almost 290. The High-T, run-heavy offensive game plan under Jim Harbaugh seems to have been put to bed for now in favour of a more balanced attack, with Herbert getting the chance to air it out to his receivers a little more. Whatever they are doing…it’s working. The Bolts are sitting at 5-3 and 2nd in the AFC West – Herbert should be given plenty more chances to put up big numbers in the coming weeks with three home games in a row against the Titans and Bengals, as well as the league’s worst pass defense – the Baltimore Ravens.
Aaron Rodgers (NYJ) 47.3% rostered
This feels gross, and a recommendation I really don’t want to make, but Aaron Rodgers has started to look pretty good these last few weeks, undoubtedly due to his reunion with long-term bestie Davante Adams. Rodgers and the Jets blew away the toothless Texans on Thursday Night Football last week, with the 40-year-old passing for 211-yards and 3 touchdowns. With Adams and third-year wideout Garrett Wilson starting to find their groove with the former Super Bowl MVP – the Jets’ season could be starting to take off at just the right time for a playoff push. Personally, I think they’ve left it too late – but with back-to-back matchups against the Cardinals and Seahawks, Rodgers should be a stellar performer in fantasy before the Jets’ week-12 bye.
Also Consider – Matthew Stafford (48.8%) & Bo Nix (45.1%) rostered
This is arguably one of the worst weeks for waiver pickups at the running back position – with no clear adds for immediate impact. The names below are more speculative “wait and see” type of selections.
Tyler Allgeier (ATL) 40.8% rostered
The Falcons are starting to emerge as one of the dark horses of the league this season, at 6-3, they sit top of the NFC South, and now travel to a New Orleans team who just lost to the Panthers…resulting in the firing of their head coach. Tyler Allgeier is currently the RB38 in Half-PPR formats; hardly a week winner – however, Atlanta appear to favour resting their No.1 back Bijan Robsinson every second week, with Allgeier seeing double-digit opportunities in alternate games all year long. If these trends continue, we can forecast the former fifth-rounder to once again be a usable FLEX option in Louisiana on Sunday. However, Allgeier’s appeal doesn’t come from his value as a RB3/4 – rather his potential should Bijan Robinson go down at any point. Bijan is currently the RB5 on the season, and in this very efficient offense – his handcuff is one of the most valuable in the league. If you are a Bijan manager, Allgeier is a must add – but even if you’re not, he is most certainly worth a gamble if you have the roster spot.
Ray Davis (BUF) 19.9% rostered
If you want to take the above and replace Bijan Robinson with James Cook, and Tyler Allgeier with Ray Davis, it will save you a few seconds of reading. Davis doesn’t have the same stand alone value that Allgeier has in Atlanta, but James Cook is no Bijan Robinson and there certainly exists a world where the rookie starts to play himself into a larger role in the coming weeks. The fourth-round pick out of Kentucky has finished as an RB2 for fantasy in three of his last four games…even with Cook on the field for three of those. He is another high-value handcuff that could be worth flexing through the bye weeks, and if Cook were to go down – you may just have an RB1 on your hands.
Also Consider – Justice Hill (22.9%), Blake Corum (18.6%) & Trey Benson (17.9%) rostered
Xavier Legette (CAR) 35.8% rostered
How can you not love Xavier Legette? The rookie wide receiver for the Carolina Panthers – who we found out just this week is allergic to seafood – is really starting to come into his own as the main focal point of this passing offense. With Diontae Johnson out of the picture, there were questions whether it would be Legette, or fellow rookie Jalen Coker – the UDFA out of Holy Cross – that would step up to fill his shoes. It certainly seems as if the draft pedigree is shining through, with the 32nd overall pick Legette scoring in back-to-back games and finishing as a WR3 despite being subjected to Bryce Young as his QB. Legette is a FLEX-worthy play as it stands, but when Andy Dalton returns under center – the South Carolina native should continue to blossom and be a borderline WR2.
Quentin Johnston (LAC) 33.3% rostered
This is almost as painful as the Aaron Rodgers take…but is Quentin Johnston actually good? The former first-round pick was heavily criticised for his performances during his rookie season…and rightly so. Only 3 top-36 performances on the year is hardly what we had hoped for as fantasy managers – and with the addition of Ladd McConkey, it looked as if QJ’s potential at the Chargers had sparked out before it had ever truly begun. Well, after returning from a two-week absence due to an ankle injury, Johnston had his second WR1 week of the season so far, as he exploded for his first 100-yard game as a professional, hauling in 5-of-4 targets for 118-yards and a touchdown. Maybe we were all wrong on Johnston, maybe we weren’t – but if the Chargers continue to allow Justin Herbert to pass at the rate he currently is – Johnston could be a potential league winner down the stretch.
Also Consider – Ricky Pearsall (30.9%), DeMarcus Robinson (25.5%) & DeMario Douglas (21.2%) rostered.
Taysom Hill (NO) 31.1% rostered
Here we are again. Another week, another Taysom Hill appearance in this column. The 34-year old scored his 3rd rushing touchdown on the year in the Saints’ 23-22 defeat in Carolina over the weekend – breaking the hearts of Alvin Kamara managers everywhere Hill saw his usual workload out of the backfield, but was also used effectively in the passing game with the return of Derek Carr. Taysom brought in 4-of-5 targets for 41-yards – his highest total for almost a year. He is most certainly not your conventional tight end…but he scores fantasy points. Unless you have one of the “set it and forget it” guys, he is worth a flyer every week.
Mike Gesicki (CIN) 14.9% rostered
Have a day Mike Gesicki! Now in his second year in Ohio, the former Miami Dolphin and one-year Patriot had a career-day in the Bengals 41-24 blowout victory over the Las Vegas Raider on Sunday night. Gesicki’s 24.5 points in Half-PPR formats was enough to see him finish the week as the overall TE1 for fantasy, after hauling in 5-of-6 targets from Joe Burrow for 100-yards and 2 TDs. The veteran tight end’s big day came largely in the absence of Tee Higgins…but with the Bengal’s WR2 boasting a very spotty injury history – we can speculate that the 6’6” former Nittany Lion will be heavily involved moving forward. Cincinnati now travels to division rivals Baltimore in week 10.
Also Consider – Hunter Henry (40.6%) & Juwan Johnson (4.8%) rostered
There you have it! Any questions, or want some more specific help for your league on who to drop, just reach out. Reach out on social media, you can find us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Or jump into our Discord server. And checkout out rankings for each Week.
