The NFL trade deadline has come and gone, and there were some moves made that will affect your fantasy team. In addition to the movement we saw across the league via trade, week 8 also brought us some key injuries that will leave some fantasy managers scrambling for replacements.
As always we’ll run through the NFL position by position and try to weed out the top waiver pickups from the rest of the fodder, all of whom are rostered in less than 40% of leagues on Yahoo. Note that we are back to bye’s this week, with the Lions, Broncos, Jaguars and 49ers all off this coming weekend.
Quarterbacks
If you’re the unlucky Kirk Cousins owner, you need to immediately check your waiver wire and see if Commanders QB Sam Howell is still available. While we try to limit the waiver article to players who are rostered below 40% on Yahoo, Howell needs to be added in most leagues with the chaos that is the quarterback position this year. He’s now the QB8 on the year after finishing week 8 as the QB1 and looked much improved against a tough Eagles defense. He’s still only rostered in 46% of leagues, so if you need a quick replacement with massive upside, this is who you should be spending your FAAB on.
Kyler Murray is still only sitting at 56%, and while it appears that the Cardinals are ready to start rookie Clayton Tune on Sunday, Murray is just a couple weeks away from a potential return. With the Cardinals trading current starter Dobbs to the Vikings, it seems as though they’re preparing for Murray to finish off the season. This is likely your last opportunity to grab a potential elite fantasy quarterback to end the year.
Tier 1
Joshua Dobbs – Minnesota Vikings – Week 9 @ Cle – 14% Rostered
After exploding through weeks 2-4, Dobbs cooled off before putting together another impressive performance against the Ravens on Sunday. Dobbs is now in line to be the new starter for the Minnesota Vikings after a Monday afternoon trade. The Vikings are still in the midst of a playoff hunt, and we’re witnessing a rookie coming into his own as wide receiver Jordan Addison improves game after game.
With Justin Jefferson eligible to return in week 10, Dobbs is set to be surrounded by the two best receivers he’s ever worked with in the NFL, not to mention an elite tight end in TJ Hockenson. He’ll continue to be a threat on the ground, and there’s a path to him being a top 8 QB rest of the season in Minnesota. Early reports after the trade seem to indicate that rookie Jaren Hall will get the start in week 9 against the Browns as Dobbs acclimates himself in Minnesota, but it’s hard to believe he won’t be the starter going forward.
Will Levis – Tennessee Titans – Week 9 @ Pit – 6% Rostered
Like everyone predicted, Will Levis showed out in his NFL debut with 4 touchdowns, 3 to DeAndre Hopkins, doubling Ryan Tannehill’s season total of 2… Right?
The 33rd overall pick in last year’s draft had been acting as the Titans 3rd stringer until getting the start in week 8 against the Falcons, and he performed better than anyone could have imagined. Granted, it’s likely that the Falcons were expecting a short yard passing gimmick offense with some sort of combination of Malik Willis and Levis, but to his credit, Levis looked poised in the pocket and made the throws he needed to. With the Titans playing in the Thursday nighter in Pittsburgh, Levis has already been named the starter against a Steelers defense that will be without Minkah Fitzpatrick. He’ll likely come back down to earth sooner rather than later, but this is the week to ride the momentum and play him against the Steelers.
Tier 2
Baker Mayfield – Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Week 9 @ Hou – 31% Rostered
If you’re desperate at quarterback, Mayfield is one of the few waiver wire quarterbacks with a decent ceiling, surpassing 23 points twice already this season. Granted, he’s also been below 12 points twice – so there’s definitely a degree of risk with the Buc’s signal caller. Houston’s pass defense has been middle of the pack this season, so Mayfield has a chance to be a one week starter before he faces the Titans (11th fewest fantasy points to QBs) and the 49ers (4th fewest fantasy points to Qbs).
Derek Carr – New Orleans Saints – Week 9 vs Chi – 38% Rostered
Derek “Checkdown” Carr has been at the helm of one of the most painful offenses to watch all season. But the reality is that after a horrendous start to the season, he’s been fairly consistent from weeks 5-8. He has a good thing going with Alvin Kamara, and, when the Saints decide to utilize him, Rashid Shaheed is a big play waiting to happen. Carr is also facing the Bears defense this week, which is a big reason why he’s included on this list.
Deep Stashes
Bryce Young – Carolina Panthers – Week 9 vs Ind – 12% Rostered
For a number 1 pick, Young has had a disappointing start to his career. To be fair, he isn’t surrounded by the most talented offense, but Young’s numbers have slowly been improving over the past few weeks. Coming off of a week 7 bye, Young’s 7.6 YPA in week 8 was the highest of his career, and he seems to be starting to go through his progressions and not solely focussing on Adam Thielen as rookie Jonathan Mingo also had the best game of his young career. With offensive coordinator Thomas Brown taking over the play calling duties, we could see a different looking Panthers offense for the rest of the season. Keep in mind they do not have their first round pick, so they have no reason to call it quits on this season, no matter how poor their record is.
Taylor Heinicke – Atlanta Falcons – Week 9 vs Min – 1% Rostered
While people tried to claim that Desmond Ridder was taking the next step in his development, his propensity for turnovers were bound to force him off of the field sooner or later. Ridder left the week 8 matchup to be evaluated for a concussion, but didn’t return to the game despite clearing protocol. In his place, Taylor Heinicke stepped in and threw for 175 yards and a touchdown despite losing Drake London to a groin injury. I have zero faith in Arthur Smith as an offensive play caller, and there’s a good chance that the Falcons go back to Ridder in what could be a shootout in week 9 against the Vikings. But with so many pass catching weapons on this offense, Heinicke is worth a deep league stash to see if he can wrestle the starting job away from Ridder.
Running Backs
There’s no doubt that the running back position has been stripped to the bone. Darrell Henderson is at 46% rostered but after putting up 24 points over his first 2 games with the Rams, his ownership will jump up aggressively this week in a plus matchup against the Packers. Chuba Hubbard looks to be the new lead back in Carolina. Sure, he isn’t a sexy pick up, but entering week 9 if you’re in one of the 41% of leagues where he’s still available, snagging a starting running back is worth the FAAB bid. Zach Charbonnet also barely missed the 40% rostered cutline, coming in at 42% but he actually out-snapped Kenneth Walker in week 8 as Walker is dealing with a calf injury. Charbonnet is someone I am sold on talent wise, so if Walker, who has a lengthy injury history, starts to wear down, Charbonnet is someone I want to stash on my roster as a potential late season breakout.
Tyjae Spears (50% rostered) could potentially take over as the lead back in Tennessee, and while Roschon Johnson (50% rostered) has big play potential, Khalil Herbert is closer to returning to the lineup and will likely retake the lion’s share of the backfield work in Chicago. If you’re still desperately looking for a running back at this point in the season, the trade market is still open.
Tier 1
Emari Demercado – Arizona Cardinals – Week 9 @ Cle – 37% Rostered
After being the top waiver wire pickup 2 weeks ago, Demarco was immediately sent back to waivers after barely being utilized in what was looking like his first week as a true starter. The Cardinals then seemingly remembered that Keaontay Ingram is an awful running back, and have gone back to Demercado, at least for the time being. Demarcado had 18 touches in week 7 against the Seahawks, and upped that to 21 in week 8 against the Ravens. He faces another tough defense in the Browns in week 9, but with starter James Connor out at least one more week, Demarcado will get the touches to make him a high potential flex play for at least one more week.
Tier 2
Justice Hill – Baltimore Ravens – Week 9 vs Sea – 39% Rostered
Hill might have to be relegated to just PPR leagues as Gus Edwards has seemingly taken control of the rushing attempts in Baltimore. Surprisingly the Ravens didn’t make a move for a big name running back despite being tied to every available back ahead of the deadline, so it appears as they’ll run with the Edwards/Hill tandem going forward. Hill is being used in passing down situations and is on the field during the two minute drill. He can provide your flex position with a solid floor with some big play upside, but is on the verge of being rosterable.
Royce Freeman – Los Angeles Rams – Week 9 @ GB – 22% Rostered
Freeman is currently behind Darrell Henderson on the Rams depth chart despite being on the team for longer, but he has actually been more efficient with his limited touches. He looks like the more explosive back between the two, and while Henderson is definitely in Sean McVay’s circle of trust, Freeman is looking like he is ready to take on a larger role. With rookie Zach Evans not even getting a chance in the team’s offense, Kyren Williams out until at least week 12, and no updates on Ronnie Rivers, Freeman can play his way to fantasy relevance to get you through a couple bye weeks.
Deep Stashes
Leonard Fournette – Buffalo Bills – Week 9 @ Hou – 5% Rostered
Playoff Lenny, who just signed a contract with the Bills, has potential to be an absolute fantasy menace. Entering the season, there were concerns surrounding James Cook’s usage with the Bills signing Latavious Murray and Damien Harris to soak up the tough red zone runs. Harris has been injured for most of the season, and Murray is showing that he’s the oldest running back in the league. The Bills brought in a proven playoff veteran who will probably start poaching goal line touches from Cook within a couple weeks. Fournette hasn’t played all season, so it’s unrealistic to expect him to come in and make an immediate impact – but if you have an extra roster spot, he’s the type of player that will pop in and put up strong rushing numbers as the weather gets colder in Buffalo.
Wide Receivers
We’re now reaching the point of the season where most teams have had or are reaching their byes, and for fantasy managers, this is the time where your investments in rookie wide receivers really come through. Unless a receiver is an anomaly like Justin Jefferson or Ja’Marr Chase, they usually take a few weeks to acclimate to all that is asked of a receiver in the NFL. But time and time again, once they get through their bye week, the breakouts truly begin to take place. All of those players that teams drafted with such fervour in the summer and have since dropped are now completely viable waiver wire pickups to help you down the stretch.
Tier 1
Rashid Shaheed – New Orleans Saints – Week 9 vs Chi – 36% Rostered
We know what Shaheed is at this point, but is it ever fun when he hits. He has hit 7 points or fewer in ½ PPR four times this season, but has also been over 17 points three times. He can win you a week as your flex play with just 3 catches, or can be a wasted roster spot. He’s facing a completely burnable defense in the Bears this week, and after their week 8 game Saints head coach Dennis Allen admitted that while Shaheed is still a work in progress, he’s an exciting weapon to have. I think his usage will increase as the season goes on, and at the end of the day, it’s more fun to have someone this explosive on your fantasy roster than to play against them.
Khalil Shakir – Buffalo Bills – Week 9 @ Cin – 1% Rostered
The Bills have seemingly been looking for a slot receiver for years now, but it took an injury to TE Dawson Knox for them to finally start playing 11 personnel on a consistent basis and use their slot receiver position. Shakir (obviously as well as Dalton Kincaid) was the major benefactor in the first week without Knox, snagging all 6 of his targets for 92 yards against the Bucs on Thursday night. Shakir only had 9 receptions on the entire season up until that game. But without Knox, who is out at least 3 more weeks, Shakir’s snap percentage almost doubled. Josh Allen and the Bills offense is just starting to warm up, and snagging Shakir who could potentially be a major factor is a huge gain this late in the season.
Demario Douglas – New England Patriots – vs Was – 3% Rostered
Pop Douglas has already passed the eye test. He, along with Kendrick Bourne, are the only receivers on the roster who can create their own separation against man coverage. With Bourne lost for the rest of the season, Douglas will have to step up and be a WR1, albeit in a poor offense. The Pats are highly unlikely to make the playoffs this season, but I cannot see a world where Bill Belichick embraces a losing season. He will try to keep his team in every game for the rest of the year and Douglas will be a big fantasy weapon for the rest of the season.
Tier 2
Brandin Cooks – Dallas Cowboys – @ Phi – 41% Rostered
After a disappointing start to the season, Cooks has shown signs of life over the past two weeks in Dallas. He finally found pay dirt in week 6, and, coming off of the Cowboys week 7 bye, he reeled in 3 catches for 49 yards and another score in week 8. He’s facing the Eagles in week 9 – a team that just let WR2 Jahan Dotson tear them apart for over 100 yards and a touchdown. The Cowboys offense seems to be coming to life, and with a plus matchup this week, Cooks is definitely a flex option.
Deep Stashes
Jayden Reed – Green Bay Packers – vs LAR – 17% Owned
Jonathan Mingo – Carolina Panthers – vs Ind – 6% Rostered
Quentin Johnston – Minnesota Vikings – @ NYJ – 19% Rostered
Jake Bobo – Seattle Seahawks – @ Bal – 1% Rostered
These 4 are the below 40% rostered rookies that are in line for the post bye breakout.
Reed has already worked his way into becoming a key part of the Packers offense with his deep threat ability. He’s had over 10 points in ½ PPR each of the past 2 weeks. Although he isn’t a target monster, he led the team in terms of yardage in week 8. After seeing what the Cowboys did to the Rams defense in week 8, Reed is an intriguing option as early as this week.
Mingo is a highly touted rookie who had his best game in a week 8 defensive battle coming off of his bye. He’s showing signs of progress and could be a real fantasy asset late in the season if the Panthers continue to look to the future and feature their young explosive rookie.
I was never a fan of the Chargers taking Johnson in the NFL draft, but with Mike Williams being out for the season and Joshua Palmer clearly dealing with some lingering knee injury, Johnston has a clear path to getting 90% of offensive snaps across from Keenan Allen on a consistent basis. Once Herbert’s finger heals, that offense should get back to the high scoring unit we all expected and Johnson will be getting plenty of looks.
Bobo might be a long shot, but he’s clearly earned the respect of Pete Carrol in the first 6 weeks with his blocking, and is now being worked into the offense on a consistent basis. With touchdowns in back to back weeks, he is someone to keep an eye on in the deeper leagues.
Tight Ends
After starting the season as a dead roster spot for fantasy, the tight ends have really stepped up as of late. We had one of the deepest tight end classes in the history of the NFL in this past rookie draft highlighted by Sam Laporta and Dalton Kincaid. This group as a whole now seems to be ready to take the next step. With Mark Andrews, Travis Kelce and TJ Hockenson leading the way at the position, it actually feels like tight ends won’t be a complete black hole in fantasy redraft leagues for next season after all. There are still some emerging tight ends worth picking up this week. As always with tight ends, most of these players have extremely low floors but the weekly touchdown potential makes them worth taking a flier on.
Tier 1
Trey McBride – Arizona Cardinals – Week 9 @ Cle – 22% Rostered
McBride was the tight end pick up of the week last week with Zach Ertz being placed on IR, but facing the Ravens defense probably turned managers off of picking up the 2nd year pass catcher. He responded with a 10 catch, 95 yard performance with a touchdown on 14 targets. McBride was the top tight end drafted in his class in 2022, and put up insane numbers as his college career was wrapping up as he was essentially the only offensive weapon at Colorado State. But has yet to get an opportunity to be a focal part of an NFL offense. Despite the fact that the Cardinals are likely to start Clayton Tune at quarterback this week against the Browns, McBride looks to be a massive pickup at tight end, even if you have to keep him on the bench this week. It looks like the Cards are hoping to start Kyler Murray in week 10, and if McBride has earned the trust of the coaching staff by then, he could easily be a top 8 TE rest of season.
Taysom Hill – New Orleans Saints – Week 9 vs Chi – 36% Rostered
It used to be that Taysom Hill was just Sean Payton’s pet project that he loved to keep on the field. Now, one massive contract and multiple seasons later, Hill is still being utilized in every key situation imaginable and needs to be picked up. He’s essentially the goal line quarterback for the Saints – as their offense was dead in the red zone before Hill started taking snaps. Hill has rushed for 3 touchdowns and 81 yards in the past 2 games, adding 6 catches for 64 yards, and has accumulated over 10 touches in 2 of his past 3 games. It’s that time of year where Hill earns his pay cheque (remember, there was a point where he was making more than Travis Kelce as a tight end), so take advantage of it while you can.
Deep Stashes
Michael Mayer – Las Vegas Raiders – Week 9 vs NYG – 18% Rostered
Luke Musgrave – Green Bay packers – Week 9 vs LAR – 22% Rostered
Like the wide receivers, these two rookie tight ends need to be grouped together. They both pass the eye test – Musgrave has looked decent at the TE1 since week 1 for the Pacers, and Mayer has started to bully people in the NFL after the catch like he used to do in college. Unfortunately for both of them, they play on anemic offenses so their upside is limited.
They’re both on the verge of having that breakout game that puts the rest of the NFL on notice, but with each of their respective teams fading out of the playoff picture, they’ll be very matchup dependent going forward. Musgrave has an easier schedule for tight ends the rest of the way, but until one of these guys truly establish themselves and their team’s offenses improve, they’re long shots in redraft leagues.
-Devon Gallant
Twitter: @DevGallant
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