One of my favorite movie theater experiences came during my freshman year in college at my local art house cinema. I had never seen a David Lynch film before but heard good things about him. All I really knew is he made Twin Peaks, a tv show with the most nightmare inducing theme song. In hindsight, maybe Mulholland Dr. was not the best foray into his catalog. While it is now one of my favorite films, I left the theater confused and doubting my own intelligence. I went back the next night and it started to become clearer. It was the first movie where the audience stayed around after and discussed “what it all meant.” Sometimes NFL weeks can feel a mess and make absolutely no sense. They hit you like a ton of bricks and require more than the usual analysis. This past week felt like one of those weeks, but through the madness and riddles, a few bright lights shone through all the way to the waiver wire.
My goal is to keep it simple with the waiver wire recommendations in terms of layout. I will include player, team, roster percentage, free agent acquisition budget (FAAB) dollar amount (in percentage) I would use on the player, and of course a little background on why the player is suggested. The players will be listed by position in order of priority. The threshold I work with is generally less than 50% rostered in leagues. I also want to provide you something quick and easy to pull up while making your waiver claims on Tuesday or Wednesday evenings. At the bottom of every article, you will find the “waiver cheat sheet.”
QUARTERBACKS
Matt Ryan | Atlanta Falcons
55% Rostered | 5% of FAAB
Matt Ryan looked in vintage form on Sunday against the New Orleans Saints throwing for 343 yards with two touchdowns and running for an additional touchdown. Before Sunday, the Saints had allowed the sixth least amount of fantasy points to quarterbacks, which makes the performance even more impressive. Ryan is rostered in a higher percentage of leagues than is usually mentioned in this article, but if available could be an excellent streaming option for the rest of the season.
Teddy Bridgewater | Denver Broncos
26% Rostered | 4% of FAAB
It feels like the Broncos’ offense never left the field on Sunday against the Cowboys. The Broncos dominated time of possession by an over two to one margin. Teddy Bridgewater played in his usual conservative manner, but it was enough for him to throw for 249 yards with two total touchdowns. I liked Bridgewater heading into his bye as a one-week replacement. Denver has a meeting against a Jets team who had been tough against the pass this season, but just allowed Carson Wentz to throw 272 yards and three touchdowns. If you are the Burrow manager and your wire looks thin, Bridgewater should be a fine fill-in.
Taylor Heinicke | Washington Football Team
9% Rostered | 3% of FAAB
Ryan Fitzpatrick | Washington Football Team
3% Rostered | 3% of FAAB
The only quarterback rostered in more than fifty percent of leagues on bye this week is Joe Burrow. If you are looking for a one-week fill-in, whoever is behind center for Washington has a superb home matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. We should have a good feel about who will be starting by the time you need to make your waiver claims on Tuesday night. It does look like it will be Heinicke, but before processing your claim check on the statuses. Tampa Bay has allowed the tenth most fantasy points per game to the quarterback position.
Taysom Hill | New Orleans Saints
17% Rostered | 3% of FAAB
Trevor Siemian | New Orleans Saints
5% Rostered | 3% of FAAB
Just a footnote to keep an eye on the New Orleans Saints quarterback situation. Trevor Siemian’s performance against the Atlanta Falcons left a lot to be desired. I would not be surprised to see a shift to Taysom Hill as soon as Week Eleven when the Saints play the Detroit Lions. It is a matchup eerily like a gamescript Hill flourished in last season against, oddly enough, the Atlanta Falcons. Usually by early November, all the quarterback battles have been settled, but this one may have just begun.
RUNNING BACKS
Devonta Freeman | Baltimore Ravens
20% Rostered | 10% of FAAB
Le’Veon Bell | Baltimore Ravens
5% Rostered | 6% of FAAB
Try as he might, Lamar Jackson cannot take every carry for the Baltimore Ravens this season. Luckily, there is work to go around to everyone as both Devonta Freeman and Le’Veon Bell had good workloads in Sunday’s nail biter against the Minnesota Vikings. Freeman had fifteen total touches for eighty-three yards and a touchdown. While Bell turned eleven carries into forty-eight yards and a touchdown. The good news for them both was the seemingly absent Ty’Son Williams, who was on the field for fifteen snaps but did not log a single carry. The Ravens have a Thursday night trip to Miami in Week Ten. Look for Freeman and Bell to see similar workloads.
Jordan Howard | Philadelphia Eagles
13% Rostered | 8% of FAAB
Much like the situation in Baltimore is the timeshare in Philadelphia. Although, it appears Jordan Howard may be breaking away from Boston Scott. On Sunday, Howard out carried Scott 17-10. Howard also had a rushing touchdown to go along with his seventy-one rushing yards. Miles Sanders was placed on the injured reserve last week and cannot return to the team until Week Twelve. The Eagles next two matchups are against two of the toughest run defenses in the league, but Howard should still see a workload worthy of an RB2/Flex start.
Carlos Hyde | Jacksonville Jaguars
34% Rostered | 6% of FAAB
As many expected, James Robinson was inactive on Sunday leading the way for the first start of the season for Carlos Hyde. It was an ugly 9-6 victory for the Jaguars in what was surely the upset of the season. Hyde had twenty-one carries in the game for a very disappointing sixty-seven yards. However, it did come against the best run defense in the league. If Robinson is out, Hyde is a start. In Week Ten, the Jaguars face another tough run defense away from home against the Indianapolis Colts.
Rhamondre Stevenson | New England Patriots
6% Rostered | 5% of FAAB
I referenced Back to the Future last week, but honestly if I could get Biff’s Sports Almanac and be able to predict anything week to week it would be, “What Patriots running back is going to have the most fantasy points this week?” In Week Nine the honor belonged to Rhamondre Stevenson who turned twelve total touches into 106 total yards. Harris did have to leave the game halfway through the fourth quarter as did Stevenson with a possible concussion. It is anyone’s guess how next week against the Browns will turn out, but there is no denying how good Stevenson looked carrying the ball. He is behind Harris for now, but his workload could increase if he continues to produce like he did on Sunday.
WIDE RECEIVER
Donovan Peoples-Jones | Cleveland Browns
13% Rostered | 9% of FAAB
Exit Odell Beckham. Enter Donovan Peoples-Jones. On Sunday the second-year receiver out of Michigan led the Browns in receiving yardage thanks to a sixty-yard touchdown in the second quarter. Peoples-Jones was only targeted three times in the game, but I expect his workload to increase. I do believe he is second in the pecking order now behind Jarvis Landry, who did lead the team with five targets. Two of the Browns’ next three matchups have been kind to receivers. Look for Peoples-Jones to increase his snap percentage of just under 60% starting in Week Ten against the Patriots.
Elijah Moore | New York Jets
27% Rostered | 9% of FAAB
Remember Thursday night? Well, hopefully your league mates have forgotten about it at least. It does feel like forever since Elijah Moore broke out with seven receptions for eighty-four yards and two touchdowns against the Colts. Moore led the team in both yardage and fantasy points. Fellow wide receiver Corey Davis is expected back this week, but Moore should see plenty of work going ahead with the Jets needing to play from behind it seems every week.
Tim Patrick | Denver Broncos
25% Rostered | 7% of FAAB
Tim Patrick has been a frequent member of this column but his on-again/off-again play has found his roster percentage fluctuate from week to week. He was definitely on in Week Nine against the Dallas Cowboys to the tune of eighty-five yards and a touchdown. His performance came at the cost of Courtland Sutton who only had one reception for nine yards. When Jerry Jeudy returned last week, many thought it would be Patrick who took a backseat. However, it has been Sutton who has trailed the trio in targets. The Broncos face the Eagles and then head into their bye over the next two weeks.
Wide Receiver is always deep, so here are a few more players rostered in less than 25% I would recommend rostering on your bench:
Olamide Zaccheaus
DeAndre Carter
Russell Gage
Mack Hollins
Jamison Crowder
Malik Turner
Keelan Cole
Kenny Stills
TIGHT ENDS
Dan Arnold | Jacksonville Jaguars
27% Rostered | 8% of FAAB
Even though the score may have been low on Sunday between the Jaguars and Bills, Dan Arnold’s usage was not. He caught four of his seven targets for sixty yards against a Bills defense who was allowing less than ten points to the position per game. Arnold’s usage since he arrived in Jacksonville has been outstanding and he does not show any signs of slowing down.
Tyler Conklin | Minnesota Vikings
38% Rostered | 4% of FAAB
Tyler Conklin has averaged just over ten PPR fantasy points per game in his last three games. He has had at least five targets in each of the games. Even more encouraging, he has produced without any touchdowns giving fantasy managers a pretty trustworthy floor. Conklin’s lone receiving touchdown came against the Seahawks in Week Three where he had a season-high eight targets. The work has been there for Conklin all season. Managers with Noah Fant or Tyler Higbee on bye in Week Eleven may look to secure Conklin now before it is too late.
Geoff Swaim | Tennessee Titans
1% Rostered | 2% of FAAB
Geoff Swaim has been a favorite target of Ryan Tannehill the past two weeks with a total of nine targets and two touchdowns. The yardage has been admittedly low, but the touchdown production more than makes up for it. Anthony Firkser was the presumed best tight end option in the Tennessee passing game when Jonnu Smith headed for New England, but he has been overshadowed by both Swaim and teammate MyCole Pruitt. I expect Swaim to remain the best tight end in Tennesee, who is looking to make a deep run into the playoffs. Look for Swaim to stay involved weekly.
DEFENSE/SPECIAL TEAMS
Denver Broncos
47% Rostered | 4% of FAAB
Dallas who? The Denver Broncos held the Dallas Cowboys to just 290 total yards of offense on Sunday including only seventy-eight yards rushing. Denver faces the Philadelphia Eagles this Sunday who rank around the middle of the league in most statistical categories. They have been very efficient with not turning over the ball. Still the Broncos defense is coming in hot after shutting down one of the NFL’s highest-powered offenses.
Tennessee Titans
9% Rostered | 2% of FAAB
I like the Tennessee Titans this week against the New Orleans Saints for the sheer fact I do not trust Trevor Siemian if he does indeed start. It is a great matchup against a team who just turned MVP candidate Matthew Stafford over twice as well as sacked him five times. The Chicago Bears and Cincinnati Bengals are both on bye this week. The Titans are an excellent plug-and-play for those managers needing a replacement.
