Well that was certainly an interesting week. Right now you might be taking a hard look in the mirror after losing Derrick Henry, or you’re wondering what is going on with Travis Kelce, or you’re looking for another streamer since Jameis Winston’s season is over. Week 8 was a little rough. Fortunately, we have waivers to consider and we also have the NFL Trade Deadline today at 4:00pm ET. We will have clarity come later this evening as we look to place our waiver claims. 

As always I’ll bounce in and out of the NFL Seasonal Discord throughout the day. I may not be in the Discord as late tonight as I normally am because I have an early commit tomorrow morning that I need to be up early for. Check out the best options available on waivers ahead of Week 9!

Quarterbacks

Carson Wentz (IND; FAAB Bid: 6-8%) Wentz is looking better and better with each passing week. He’s thrown multiple touchdowns five straight weeks and he has a pair of very friendly matchups on the horizon against the Jets and Jaguars. Plus, those games are at home. Wentz has arguably been a QB1 the past couple weeks. He’s only thrown for over 270 yards once this season. So the passing volume isn’t necessarily there in terms of yardage. But he’s finding the end zone and developing great chemistry with Michael Pittman and has a nice floor going forward if you’re still waiting out Russell Wilson’s return or if you have Tom Brady on Bye this week.

Taysom Hill (NO; FAAB Bid: 5-7%) Jameis Winston’s season is over so naturally we look to the replacement. Really assess how much you need a quarterback because we at least know what we get with Taysom Hill. He won’t throw it 30 times every week, he’ll probably run the ball a good amount on his own and vulture some touchdowns. Hill’s presence is a downgrade to everyone in this offense except him. We know he’s not afraid to call his own number when the Saints gets inside the five-yard line. It looks like Hill will be cleared from the concussion protocol in time to play this week and you have to assume he gets the start.

Justin Fields (CHI; FAAB Bid: 5%) Without Matt Nagy running the show this past week, the training wheels seemingly came off for Justin Fields. The passing volume still wasn’t there for him (and he threw an interception), but he rushed for over 100 yards and found the end zone. Could this have just been lightning in a bottle? Sure. Week 9 will be a good test for Fields and this offense. They go on the road to Pittsburgh Monday night and there’s a decent floor in fantasy for Fields if Chicago continues to let him run.

Mike White (NYJ; FAAB Bid: 2-4%) Is there anything Mike White can’t do? Writer of School of Rock, contestant on Survivor, and now in the record books as a 400-yard passer in his first career start? I may be getting my Mike White’s mixed up but the point remains, White could be a streamer this week against a weak Colts secondary. The Colts defense has been awful against opposing quarterbacks. They’ve allowed 19 passing touchdowns in eight games this season. The only two games where quarterbacks struggled were when the Colts went up against Davis Mills and Trey Lance. He’s a borderline QB2 or Supeflex play this week that can hopefully land you 18-20 fantasy points.

Running Backs

Adrian Peterson (TEN; FAAB Bid: 15-20%) It sucks to spend so much money on a 36-year-old running back, but he could potentially find himself getting 12-15 touches as long as he stays healthy. We don’t know the shape or condition he’s in but the Titans signed him immediately after his workout so we can assume he’s still in freakishly good shape. Last year with the Lions he did manage to score seven touchdowns and he has 19 scores in the last three seasons. Once he’s up to speed with the offense he’ll likely get the early down and goal line work for the Lions.

Mark Ingram (NO; FAAB Bid: 10-13%) In his first game back with the Saints, Ingram wasted no time re-introducing himself to New Orleans. Four days after being acquired by the Saints, Ingram played 22-of-76 snaps and commanded a decent portion of the running back workload. His presence is a bit of a hit to Alvin Kamara, but with Taysom Hill under center as the potential starting quarterback for New Orleans, that’s a knock to just about everyone’s value. But you have to assume Ingram’s role only increases from here so he’s worth adding.

Boston Scott (PHI; FAAB Bid: 10-12%) It’s important to remember that the Eagles are still a bad team that simply beat a worse team on Sunday. While the Eagles dropping 44 points was impressive, there wasn’t much fantasy production for the usual suspects. But Boston Scott and Jordan Howard both scored twice on Sunday. What’s shocking was that Kenneth Gainwell didn’t get involved until the second half with the game in hand. This situation could change on a weekly basis, but Scott looks like the running back to grab for now. He was used early on in the running and passing game and he looks like he could be a flex worthy play in PPR formats. Jordan Howard can be considered in deeper leagues, but I’m not as optimistic about his usage/involvement going forward.

Jaret Patterson (WFT; FAAB Bid: 10%) Well it’s been a concern for a few weeks now, but Antonio Gibson’ shin injury has become too much to handle it would appear. Washington seemed content to let him play on it, but this week saw Patterson handle most of the workload. And it could be a trend we see moving forward. Playing on the shin injury will only limit Gibson more going forward. He should probably not play until he’s 100%, but that’s just one man’s opinion. J.D. McKissic will still play a role in the passing game, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Patterson’s role slowly grows going forward.

Jeremy McNichols (TEN; FAAB Bid: 6-8%) If the Titans didn’t go out and sign Adrian Peterson, McNichols would have been the running back to grab. And who knows, he could very well get more early down work. But he could have some use as the pass-catching running back in this offense. McNichols leads all Tennessee running backs in receptions, targets, and receiving yards and Ryan Tannehill could be called upon to check down to his running back a little more. We’ll get some clarity later this week, but his value has certainly gone up.

Carlos Hyde (JAC; FAAB Bid: 3-4%) I feel like I’m writing a waiver wire article from yesteryear. Most of these names are a blast from the past, but with injury comes opportunity. James Robinson had to exit Sunday’s game in Seattle with an ankle injury. If Robinson has to miss any time, then Hyde’s in line for an okay workload. But we still have to keep in mind this offense isn’t good. But a lot of success for running backs is simply predicated on opportunity. The schedule is difficult against the Bills next week and James Robinson is day-to-day, not week-to-week with his injury. There are certainly other running backs worth spending up for this week.

Derrick Gore (KC; FAAB Bid: 1%) The fantasy community did a collective double take when they saw Gore scoring a touchdown last night. Alas, it was not Frank Gore and I know I’m bound to get questions regarding Derrick Gore so let’s break down what happened Monday night. Derrick Gore had ZERO carries in his career entering Monday night. On the Chiefs second touchdown drive he managed seven carries for 41 yards and the score to the chagrin of Darrel Williams’ managers. Gore’s been in the league a couple years now and has been on the practice squad with four different teams. He’s 26 years old and we need to be a little objective with acquiring him. In a deeper league he warrants a look, but I’m not rushing to the waiver wire to prioritize him just yet.

Wide Receivers

DeVante Parker (MIA; FAAB Bid: 10-15%) My concern isn’t necessarily with Parker or his talent, I am still a bit skeptical of Tua Tagovailoa at times, but he’s been slowly proving me wrong. In Parker’s first game back following a three-game absence he caught 8-of-11 targets for 85 yards. He now has 43 targets in five games and he’s had at least seven targets in every game. So the workload/involvement is at least consistent enough for us to trust him as an option off the waiver wire. He’s available in slightly less than half of all leagues on ESPN, CBS Sports, and Yahoo! but he’s too good and too involved to be floating around on waivers.

Jamison Crowder (NYJ; FAAB Bid: 7-8%) Crowder could be a nice flex option in PPR formats regardless of who is under center for the Jets. So far in four games he has 23 receptions on 30 targets and you have to assume he’s in line for seven or eight targets Thursday night against the Colts. The Colts secondary is very friendly to opposing wide receivers as they’ve allowed 13 touchdowns to the position on the season. He could be the number one option Thursday night if Corey Davis misses time, but also keep an eye on Elijah Moore as well. He looked to come on pretty strong in Sunday’s contest and could be worth a look with back-to-back games seeing six targets.

Darius Slayton (NYG; FAAB Bid: 6%) Slayton won’t be the last Giants pass catcher we touch on today. With the Giants once again being dealt injuries on Monday night, we might be turning to Slayton in Week 9 in deeper leagues. This isn’t anything new for the Giants as they haven’t been at full health all year. Slayton looked absolutely lost Monday night. He only had two targets and put up a goose egg in fantasy. But in Week 7 he did have five catches for 63 yards on nine targets. If the Giants are once again missing some weapons due to injuries then Slayton is a borderline flex play.

Brandon Aiyuk (SF; FAAB Bid: 5-6%) Do you like gambling on 2021 fantasy football busts? Boy do I have the player for you! Aiyuk has been awful this year. It’s actually stunning how bad he’s been whether he’s in Kyle Shanahan’s doghouse or not. But he did catch 4-of-7 targets this past week for 45 yards. That’s not all that great, but he led the team in snaps and routes run on Sunday. I’m hopeful this is a sign of things to come and that he’s progressed back into Shanahan’s good graces.

Jamal Agnew (JAC; FAAB Bid: 2-3%) It’s incredibly impressive what Agnew has been able to do since D.J. Chark went down for the season. It’s even more impressive when you consider he’s a former defensive back, but the Jaguars have made him a featured part of the passing attack. It does help that Jacksonville tends to play from behind but over his last three games he has 25 targets and he found the end zone on Sunday. He’s better suited in PPR formats because the yardage total hasn’t been great, but the volume of potential receptions bumps his value in PPR formats.

Tight Ends

Pat Freiermuth (PIT; FAAB Bid: 8-10%) For the third straight week, Pat Freiermuth makes the waiver wire article. We liked Freiermuth as an option once JuJu Smith-Schuster went down for the year and the fact that Eric Ebron was out on Sunday only helped Freiermuth’s involvement. Freiermuth was on the field for 72% of the team’s offensive snaps and he would catch four passes on seven targets while finding the end zone. He’s not a top 12 tight end yet, but as his role in the offense grows, which it should, then we can find more confidence in him.

Dawson Knox (BUF; FAAB Bid: 5-7%) Knox still has the lingering hand injury hanging over his head, but on Monday Sean McDermott acknowledged that Knox’s injury was getting better and he’s now viewed as day-to-day as opposed to week-to-week. He’s gradually been dropped in a handful of leagues across the industry and it’s not a guarantee he plays this week. He likely needs to log a couple practice sessions later this week. Even if he’s out he’s trending in the right direction to potentially be ready for Buffalo’s Week 10 matchup against the Jets. You can get him for cheap right now, but the price likely goes back up next week.

Evan Engram/Kyle Rudolph (NYG; FAAB Bid: 2%) Stop me if you heard this one before, but the Giants were bit by the injury bug Monday night. Sterling Shepard and Kadarius Toney were questionable coming into Monday’s game and both left with their own injuries and it looked like Dante Pettis was injured as well. Both Engram and Rudolph found the end zone Monday night, but the Chiefs have been allowing plenty of tight ends to score of late. Truthfully, neither of these options are great as streamers because they’re so touchdown dependent. But if the Giants are once again without an abundance of offensive weapons, they’ll have to throw to someone even if we’re looking to go incredibly cheap with Engram or Rudolph.

Defense/Special Teams

Pittsburgh Steelers – In shallow leagues the Steelers might still be out there on waivers. The Bears offense showed signs of life on Sunday despite the fact the team lost its third straight game. Fields accumulated 100 rushing yards and found the end zone with his legs while adding some numbers through the air. But the Bears have to go on the road in primetime next Monday night into Pittsburgh, which is a tough environment to play in. While Pittsburgh’s offense is a concern, the defense is still solid and should disrupt any momentum this offense thinks they gained in Week 8. The Steelers are favored by 6.5 points and this game features the lowest over/under at just 40 points as of Monday night.

Indianapolis Colts – If the Colts are still out here on waivers, it would be a great time to go grab them. Don’t spend a ton of FAAB on a defense. I know someone in your league will bid a buck or two but we can’t be wasting FAAB on streaming a D/ST. As always the decision is yours though. The Colts are a valuable streamer for the next two weeks as they host the Jets and the Jaguars. The Colts have a relatively safe floor, but we can’t assume the Jets are a doormat every week after what they did last week and the emergence of Michael Carter in recent weeks. Either way, they should be able to return six-to-eight fantasy points.

New Orleans Saints – If the Saints are floating around on waivers they deserve some consideration. They will host the Falcons on Sunday and the Birds will still likely be without Calvin Ridley as he steps away from the team to address some personal issues. The Saints are currently six-point favorites and the over/under is sitting at 43 points. The Saints D/ST had a very strong week against the Bucs and now get an easier matchup against Atlanta. The Falcons’ offensive line is terrible and the Saints should be able to get ample press