What a weird week for fantasy football waivers. Almost none of our usual suspects are on the list, as roster churn has finally settled many of this column’s mainstays at or above the 50 percent minimum. But we move forward nonetheless, with new recommendations on new frontiers, making new friends with Corey Kiner and Chig Okonkwo, who seem great and might get an invitation to my birthday party instead of frickin' Brett and Lisa. I never liked Brett and Lisa.
With the NFL trade deadline approaching like a car in the left lane and objects in mirror may be closer than they appear (it’s tomorrow), there is a chance that a great many valuable waiver wire adds come out of nowhere; say Derrick Henry gets randomly traded … well, go get Justice Hill. You’ll have to be on your toes, and maybe set up some kind of Twitter/X notification system with newsbreakers like Adam Schefter and Tom Pelissero for the next two days. There are probably no league winners on this list, but plenty of value to be found around the fringes, which is actually how you win your league. Because the real league winner is you.
Disclaimer: All roster percentages are from ESPN. Players must be available in more than 50 percent of leagues, with recommendations based on 10-team PPR formats.
Running back waiver wire targets
- Corey Kiner (Patriots)
- Audric Estime (Saints)
- Seth McGowan (Colts)*
- Justice Hill (Ravens)*
*only if Jonathan Taylor/Derrick Henry get traded (you’ll know before waivers run)
The New England Patriots are a stealth year-from-hell team, with their offense so decimated by injuries it’s starting to feel like the actual definition of “decimation,” which literally means to eliminate 9/10ths of something so that there’s only 1/10ths left (“deci” is the prefix meaning “10” … the more you know). As of this writing, TreVeyon Henderson will be out for the foreseeable future and Rhamondre Stevenson suffered an unclear knee injury that seems concerning at the very least. Enter: Corey Kiner, a player many of us in Patriots nation have actually enjoyed watching this year and someone who will be slated for much more work if he becomes the starter with both Stevenson and Henderson out. I think he’s a great pickup, and is almost certainly available in your league.
Another solid addition that came out of nowhere was Audric Estime, who could have some value “leading” the Saints backfield until Travis Etienne Jr. returns and provided CJ Donaldson remains sidelined. He didn’t actually lead the backfield, and was outsnapped 37-35 by Alvin Kamara, but we can live with that, and Estime got all the carries and looks slated for most of the goal-line work. The Saints somewhat surprisingly cut Kendre Miller on Saturday, which was a vote of confidence in Estime, at least in the short term.
Finally, I have to tell you to pick up Seth McGowan and Justice Hill, but only if Jonathan Taylor and Derrick Henry get traded. I do not believe either of those things are going to happen, and waiver run Tuesday night, which is after the 4 p.m. trade deadline. So you’ll know if either of these are necessary adds.
Wide receiver waiver wire targets
- Jordyn Tyson (Saints)
- Caleb Douglas (Dolphins)
- Tank Dell (Texans)
Yet another strange week at wide receiver. I was pretty surprised that Jordyn Tyson was under 50 percent rostered, but I guess a lot of people dropped the Saints first-round pick after he missed the first eight weeks of the season, and he’s now sitting around 39 percent rostership. The first catch of his career was a fumble on the goal line, which was sad but also not really his fault; this guy was the eighth-overall pick in the draft — we do not let top-10 draft picks just sit on the waiver wire in fantasy football, and I assure you there’s someone on your bench less valuable than the major, albeit speculative, upside of Tyson.
Meanwhile, please go pick up Caleb Douglas. He has the volume and he has the look out there, and none of his upcoming matchups are remotely difficult. The Dolphins are terrible, but that doesn’t mean Caleb Douglas can’t score some fantasy points for us. When he’s played this year, he’s been pretty darn effective. Speaking of pretty darn effective, Tank Dell! It was awesome to see him back having a good game after missing so much time with an all-time terrible injury, and he looked fast, explosive and ready to do work for you in fantasy with nine targets and a long touchdown in Week 9. There are a lot of receivers in this offense, but his snap share has already doubled since his first week back — fantasy football is supposed to be fun, so go pick up Tank Dell.
Tight end waiver wire targets
- Chig Okonkwo (Commanders)
- Eli Raridon (Patriots)
With the Washington Commanders fresh out of healthy pass catchers, it was Van Jefferson and Chig Okonkwo who backed up Stefon Diggs as Jayden Daniels’ primary options, and I see no reason why that won’t continue this Thursday night. Also fresh out of healthy pass catchers: the New England Patriots, who have slowly worked Eli Raridon more into the offense as other options drop like flies. Hunter Henry is not fully healthy even if he did play, so you can stream Raridon in a bind.
Quarterback waiver wire targets
- Jalen Milroe (Seahawks)
- Whoever is available (your waiver wire)
So, I’ve observed something about quarterback roster percentages as I’ve continued writing these columns every week in that … they aren’t really going down like I’d expect other to week over week. This leads me to believe that in many leagues, perhaps more casual teams are hoarding quarterbacks out of a belief that because they are the most important position in real football that you need a bunch of quarterback options in fantasy football. That’s … not true, but in standard one quarterback leagues, nobody is out here starting Shedeur Sanders or Michael Penix Jr., even though that is the kind of name I’d need to put on this list by our rules of <50 percent rostership. Even Bo Nix and Tyler Shough, who I might consider suggesting, are above 50 percent.
So I’m going to take a week to rethink this. For now, just take a look at your own waiver wire and see who’s available if you’re in a desperate state; I don’t think there’s a stark enough difference between the dregs of the QB market for me to be splitting hairs, and there is probably a better option who is rostered in over 50 percent of leagues but is available in your league. But I’ll toss out one name for you to consider: Jalen Milroe might wind up starting for the Seahawks in Week 10 with both Sam Darnold and Drew Lock dubious with injury, and for those unfamiliar with Milroe’s game … he’s basically a running back. He was never any kind of special passer at Alabama, he’s fine, but Milroe ran for over 1200 yards and 32 touchdowns in his last two years as the Crimson Tide QB. In fantasy football, we call that cash money. If Milroe starts, you can unironically pick up and start him in Week 10. He’s available in 99.9 percent of leagues.
Defense streaming advice
I once again suggest you look out for my colleague Jake’s weekly defense streaming column for all your fantasy defense needs, but my one passion point for this week: whoever is playing the Chargers, which this week is the Ravens D/ST. I actually cannot properly explain to you how disturbed I was by that Chargers game today; they were so bad, biblically bad, poetically bad, apocalyptically bad. I have never been so out on a team in my life. Whatever defense they’re playing, fire it up, forever, the rest of the season, maybe for the rest of your life.
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