10-Team Leagues

Josh Adams (RB – Philadelphia Eagles; FAAB Bid: 35%) – This is basically last call on Adams who has been mentioned in this article for four straight weeks now. While everyone else on the Eagles roster had a bad day on Sunday, Adams managed to turn in a decent stats line with just ten touches. He carried the ball just seven times for 53 yards and a score while adding three catches for 19 yards. Philadelphia still works out of a committee backfield, but Adams is getting a nice chunk of work. Is he startable in shallower leagues? Not as much as he is in deeper leagues, but in 10-team leagues he should gather flex consideration. Expect his ownership to spike this week so you better be paying up.

Jalen Richard (RB – Oakland Raiders; FAAB Bid: 30-40%) – Let’s stop screwing around with Richard. He obviously has a ton of PPR appeal and in deeper leagues he’s a flex option, but that doesn’t mean he shouldn’t be owned in shallower leagues. On Sunday he actually had 11 carries. He had 11 carries total in his previous six games combined. He also has eight straight games with at least three receptions with 51 total on the year. It seems like the game script for fantasy relevancy will be there for him week in and week out so in PPR formats you can really spend some coin on him.

Theo Riddick (RB – Detroit Lions; FAAB Bid: 22%) – Riddick is only appealing in PPR formats and while it’s been a very disappointing season for Matthew Stafford and the rest of the Lions, Riddick is starting to gain some flex appeal in PPR leagues. Riddick has 18 receptions over his last three games to go with 126 yards so as long as the Lions continue to fall behind, Riddick will find his way into the offensive game plan especially if Marvin Jones Jr. or Kerryon Johnson have to miss any extra time.

D.J. Moore (WR – Carolina Panthers; FAAB Bid: 18-24%) – I mentioned Moore a few weeks ago after his big game against Baltimore and he’s worth following up on after a monster game against the Lions. Moore caught seven of eight targets for 157 yards and a touchdown on Sunday. What helped his cause was that Devin Funchess looked awful. Funchess dropped a touchdown on Sunday while also failing to bring in a couple other catchable passes. Moore used this to his advantage and finished with a massive line while gaining the trust of Cam Newton . Expect Moore’s ownership to jump and expect him to be involved next week against the Seahawks.

D/ST to Stream – The easy decision in shallow leagues is to stream New England against the Jets. The over/under opened at 46.5 and the Patriots are 9.5-point favorites. They’ve had two weeks to prepare for the Jets and they’re angry over an embarrassing loss to the Titans prior to their bye. They’re angry and unfortunately for the Jets they’re heading toward a slaughter.

 

12-Team Leagues

Jameis Winston (QB – Tampa Bay Buccaneers; FAAB Bid: 20%) – Assuming you have a need for a quarterback in a 12-team league to help with your playoff push, the QB carousel in Tampa continues on its merry way as it now seems possible that Winston could be named the starter for this week’s matchup against San Francisco. In relief of Ryan Fitzpatrick , Winston threw for 199 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception to nearly rally the Bucs back to a win against the Giants this past Sunday. Over his last two games, Fitz has committed six turnovers while throwing zero touchdowns. It’ll be interesting to see what Tampa Bay does. Logic says to turn to Winston one more time. After all they drafted him to be the leader of this team and the face of the franchise and yet they seem hesitant to commit to him after the 2018 season. Winston has a fairly favorable schedule over his next three games against the 49ers, Panthers and Saints, and all those games are at home so he could help you make a late playoff push if he is named the starter.

Lamar Jackson (QB – Baltimore Ravens; FAAB Bid: 18%) – Jackson was mentioned last week as a deeper league option and he paid off if you had the guts to start him. With a matchup on the horizon against Oakland in Week 12, Jackson could be used again. He only threw the ball 19 times on Sunday for 150 yards and an interception, but most of the damage was done with his legs. He attempted a whopping 27 rush attempts which is absolutely insane for a quarterback and he turned that production into 117 yards. With a matchup at home against a West coast team travelling East, Jackson should be on the radar of owners who are desperate for quarterback help in 12-team leagues or deeper.

LeGarrette Blount (RB – Detroit Lions; FAAB Bid: 12%) – It’s painful putting Blount in this article and don’t go overboard trying to acquire him. Kerryon Johnson has clearly been the better running back all season. Blount has just 21 carries over his last four games. And in those 21 carries he’s totaled just 16 yards. He’s averaging less than a yard per carry over his last four games. So why on earth could he possibly be a waiver addition? If Kerryon Johnson ’s injury is pretty serious and he has to miss time then you almost have to add Blount by default. In the worst case scenario, maybe Blount proves to be a goal-line gem and finds the end zone once a week or so to help you get something. Don’t feel too sorry if you miss out on him too. Save your money if you’d like.

Tre’Quan Smith (WR – New Orleans Saints; FAAB Bid: 15-25%) – Here’s the deal with Smith, he’s mostly only useful when the Saints are playing at home where the Saints might find themselves in a shootout. That was the case on Sunday, albeit with no challenge from the opposition but he was still involved at home. Smith has just six catches for 62 yards and no scores on the road. Meanwhile at home he has four touchdowns and two 100-yard games under his belt. This Thursday he’ll have another home matchup against Atlanta in which he should be played and if he remains involved in the offense you may want to experiment rolling him out for road matchups. Hopefully the Saints have as much confidence in him on the road as I do.

Josh Reynolds (WR – Los Angeles Rams; FAAB Bid: 15-18%) – Reynolds was mentioned last week as a deep league addition after Cooper Kupp ’s season was cut short due to injury. At the time of this writing Reynolds has six receptions for 80 yards and a score so he’s clearly proving his worth with Kupp out of the picture. There will be plenty of opportunities with this offense for Reynolds so he’s definitely worth flexing in 12-team or deeper leagues.

Cameron Brate (TE – Tampa Bay Buccaneers; FAAB Bid: 10%) – The stars are aligning perfectly for Brate. Jameis Winston could potentially be the starting quarterback once again for the Bucs and O.J. Howard is dealing with an ankle injury. It doesn’t sound like the injury is serious for Howard, but if he is required to miss a game or two then Brate stands to benefit especially if Winston is under center for Tampa. Now this doesn’t downgrade Howard if he can play. Howard and Winston have good chemistry, but Brate’s touchdown upside goes through the roof if Winston’s the quarterback. Keep an eye on Howard’s status throughout the week to see if he suits up this coming Sunday against San Francisco.

D/ST to Stream – They may have taken advantage of favorable matchups the last two weeks, but the Saints defense has really stepped up. In their last two games against the Bengals and Eagles they have seven sacks, five interceptions, and they’ve allowed just 21 points to the opposing offenses. On paper they should have a difficult matchup, but the Falcons offense has gone back to being a bit inept and the Saints defense has gradually gotten better as the season has progressed.

 

Deeper League Options

Malcolm Brown (RB – Los Angeles Rams; FAAB Bid: 10-13%) – In a Monday Night Football game that saw an absurd amount of offensive yards and points, Gurley was relatively quiet and it looked like he was nursing a bit of an injury. Malcolm Brown hasn’t been worth owning at all in fantasy unless you owned Todd Gurley in deeper leagues. If you own Gurley and don’t own Brown be prepared to spend up for him to protect yourself. And as the Rams head into their bye week, perhaps they just want to take it easy on Gurley and not risk him getting seriously hurt heading into their bye week. Take the necessary precautions and try to get Brown just in case.

Gus Edwards (RB – Baltimore Ravens; FAAB Bid: 7%) – Who the hell is Gus Edwards and how did he out touch Alex Collins ? Fortunately for Collins owners he did find the end zone on Sunday, but magically disappeared after that. In fact, Edwards outsnapped Collins 49-17. It’s confusing and baffling, but Edwards saw a shocking amount of work yesterday. There are still way too many running backs in Baltimore so he’s a risky play. But if you need running back depth and can afford a gamble, then maybe adding Edwards and hoping for lightning in a bottle isn’t such a bad idea. He’s not the fastest guy, but he hits the gaps hard. Hell he turned 17 carries into 115 yards and a score yesterday. In deeper leagues, he gets a tempting matchup next week against Oakland.

DeAndre Washington (RB – Oakland Raidersl FAAB Bid: 5-6%) – To be honest, at this point in the season it’s difficult to find good running backs on the waiver wire especially in deeper leagues. So you’re basically just throwing darts with your claims and the Oakland backfield is crowded with Doug Martin and Jalen Richard , but DeAndre Washington came out of nowhere to lead the Oakland backfield with 12 carries. Now to be transparent, Richard had 11 and Martin had 10 so it was almost an even split in carries. And Washington wasn’t even great because he only totaled 39 yards, but if he continues to get touches he’ll be worth stashing in deeper leagues.

Marcell Ateman (WR – Oakland Raiders; FAAB Bid: 2-5%) – In a week where rookie wide receivers, Marcell Ateman flew under the radar a little bit. In his first game being active he brought in four of his five targets for 50 yards. Given that he’s available in almost every league you don’t need to spend too much on him because there are a ton of wideouts in the league and this is a position where you can target matchups. He has a pretty difficult matchup next week against Baltimore, but then gets a pair of home games against Kansas City and Pittsburgh where Oakland could be chasing points in garbage time in both contests.

Tyler Higbee and Gerald Everett (TE – Los Angeles Rams; FAAB Bid: 5-10%) – Higbee is heading into his bye week so there won’t be a ton of movement on waivers to pick him up because he’s mostly a streaming tight end, but he’s worth mentioning to at least give him consideration and don’t be surprised if you see his name pop up next week. There was some concern over who would be more involved going forward, Higbee or Gerald Everett and as of right now it looks like it’ll be Higbee. Higbee’s been much more involved in the offense over the last two games and Everett has been largely irrelevant. (Writer’s note: Of course as I finish that sentence, Everett finds the end zone) It’s understandable if you aren’t rushing out to get him, but keep him in mind a week from now with the Rams coming off bye. (Another Writer’s note: So as most of you know Gerald Everett scored a second touchdown, one that went for 40 yards to put the Rams ahead late in the fourth quarter. Given his late game involvement he’s now worth targeting as well.)