A look at the top fantasy football waiver wire pickups for Week 9.
Week 8 of the NFL season is in the books, and we had another wild weekend of fantasy football action. DeShaun Watson shredded the vaunted Seattle defense. Russell Wilson passed for more than 450 yards. Ezekiel Elliott and LeSean McCoy showed why their preseason stock was so high with monster rushing performances.
However, it’s not just the star players that make for a championship-caliber fantasy football team. The waiver wire is where the best owners go to fill the holes in their roster, and it’s these moves that can end up making or breaking a fantasy season.
Once again, there were some impressive performances put up by players likely to be available in the majority of fantasy football leagues. While some of these guys may be flashes in the pan, some could be showing signs of things to come. While all of these players won’t have sustainable value from week to week, they’re all worth a flyer pickup at the very least.
These are the Top 10 waiver wire pickups heading into Week 9:
10. Tyler Kroft
Kroft was a relative no-name heading into the season, and it seems most owners have still not caught on to his steady production since Week 4. It was all the way back in early October that Kroft tattooed the Cleveland Browns for six catches, 68 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Former fantasy darling Tyler Eifert is out of the season after undergoing back surgery, so don’t expect a threat to Kroft’s job as the Cincinnati Bengals’ starting tight end to emerge anytime soon.
Owners can’t expect the touchdown-filled production that Eifert once provided in this offense from Kroft, but he is proving to be a reliable source of points at a position that is somewhat shallow this season. More and more tight end options appear to be emerging as the season wears on, but Kroft is still available in a good number of leagues.
His five-catch, 46-yard effort against Indianapolis in Week 8 isn’t going to knock anyone’s socks off, but in PPR (point per reception) scoring that amounts to nearly 10 points, which isn’t too bad from the tight end spot. Kroft plays in an offense that has focused on the tight end in the past, and quarterback Andy Dalton has shown a propensity for looking towards big targets in the red zone. At a whopping 6’6” and 260 pounds, Kroft certainly qualifies.
Kroft is best-suited for teams looking for a solid backup tight end, and owners can do a lot worse when seeking a bye week fill-in. Kroft isn’t going to become the next Antonio Gates, but he’s worth a pickup for tight end-needy squads.