I will begin this week’s waiver wire columns with information that most fantasy analysts probably would not divulge: while I’m technically “in three leagues” I literally could not care less about two of them, nobody sets their lineups and I’m pretty sure most people aren’t even logged into the app. But my one league … the one league to rule them all, that one I care about a lot. And it’s going horribly.
All my predraft and in-season advice that I have published — big boards, positional strategy, waiver wire columns like this — I have followed to the letter. These are legitimately the moves I am making to try to win my league, transposed of course to imagine that I was every team in my league and that my league could be some different formats rather than, ya know, just my actual team … otherwise you’d have a lot of start/sit columns about whether or not to play Denzel Boston and Dak Prescott.
But full disclosure: it’s going horribly. I’m 2-5, despite having the second-most points scored in my league. If you followed my advice, have my exact team and have been making my exact start/sit decisions every week, chances are you’re like, 4-3, because if you use this fun website to import your league and check what your record would be against every other team’s schedule … My average record coming into this week was 3.33-2.67, despite my actual 2-4 (now 2-5) record. Like Kenny Atkinson said: analytically, I’m doing great. Please use this evidence to trust the following waiver additions completely, because there are several very super duper excellent important adds this week. And I’m clearly the guy to tell you about them.
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
- Jonah Coleman (Broncos)
- Kaelon Black (49ers)
- Bam Knight (Cardinals)
“It is possible that we are in a completely fraudulent system,” or how Christian Bale’s Michael Burry felt about the housing market before the 2008 Financial Crisis, is essentially where I’m at with running backs after Week 7. The New York Giants hit the “lol you thought” on all of us with Cam Skattebo and I guess he’s just the starter again, and the RJ Harvey Ponzi Scheme continues as he looks like a playable Broncos running back despite Jonah Coleman obviously being a better pick and is a must-must-must-must add for Week 8; Harvey played 26 percent of snaps and had three carries for six yards, with a random 52 yard catch-and-run touchdown to salvage his day. J.K. Dobbins played 23 percent of snaps and always nabbed a cheap touchdown. Coleman, meanwhile, got real volume, played by far the most snaps and and may just be the starter going forward. I can’t believe I’m endorsing a development in the Broncos backfield, but here we are. Go get Jonah Coleman.
Otherwise, it continues to be bleak, confusing and scary at RB. If you did not take my preseason advice and go 1-2 at RB with your first two picks (or if one of those guys got injured … or was Omarion Hampton), chances are you’ve been having problems at RB2 all year; I therefore suggest you shore up your assets akin to an unsexy insurance policy through Kaelon Black and Bam Knight, two backups who hold standalone value in a pinch and but for different reasons. Black would become uber-valuable if Christian McCaffrey, who briefly left Sunday’s game but returned, missed any time with injury, and Knight has been getting major passing-down usage (most of the usage for the Cardinals) while Jeremiyah Love misses more and more time. If Love returns at any point, Knight probably becomes droppable, but Black should be rostered in all leagues.
Wide receiver waiver wire targets
- Omar Cooper Jr. (Jets)
- Caleb Douglas (Dolphins)
- KC Concepcion (Browns)
Now this is what I am talking about! This is a tremendous group of waiver wire options, this is why we get up in the morning and fire up the old fingers to tick-tack-type away at the waiver-wire column each week and endure hundreds of garbage tight ends and Kendre Miller four weeks in a row and wondering if I should tell you to pick up Laquon Treadwell … this is why we deal with all of that.
I could be ahead of my skis, actively falling over my skis or have already fallen off a cliff and crashed into an ice shelf, but I am all the way in on Omar Cooper Jr. as a potential league-winning add in fantasy football. He looks every bit the kind of rookie wide receiver breakout we always talk about every year. He’s explosive, getting downfield looks and has rapidly integrated himself into an offense that is going to be trailing all the time and chucking bombs for the foreseeable future. He’s available in over 65 percent of league — my god guys go get Omar Cooper Jr. Please.
We also have the return of my first-ever waiver wire headline of the season in Caleb Douglas, who had a rather hilarious statline of two catches for two touchdowns. He just returned from an extended injury absence, so this is more speculative, but I believed in the talent coming into the year and after Week 1, so he’s certainly worth investigating.
Finally, KC Concepcion has fallen below my 50 percent rostership after being above it for most of the season because 1. he hasn’t been good this year and 2. Denzel Boston looked like the number one receiver. Not on Sunday, he didn’t! Conception had eight catches for 129 yards and should definitely definitely definitely be on a team in your league. Make it your team.
Tight end waiver wire targets
- Colby Parkinson (Rams)
- AJ Barner (Seahawks)
- Hunter Henry (Patriots)
After experiencing a moderate crash out in last week’s waiver column about how boring tight ends had become (I believe I just repeated the words “they’re all the same” over and over like some sort of crazy person), I have stabilized my mental state and have actual recommendations this week. Sorry about that. Colby Parkinson looks to be one of the primary beneficiaries of Davante Adams’ absence, which looks like it may last the rest of the fantasy football regular season, though the Rams utilize so many tight ends you’re going to be dealing with a lot of Davis Allen/Tyler Higbee/some other guy you’ve never heard of churn that might be annoying. Otherwise, I’m intrigued by AJ Barner as one of the only other competent pass catchers in this Seahawks offense, which seems to be more and more just the “get the ball to Jaxson Smith-Njigba show.”
Also, can we please get Hunter Henry off my damn waiver wire column by getting him above 50 percent rostership? He’s scored double digits in four straight weeks, 13+ in the last three and I don’t know what bro has to do to get added and started in fantasy football when he’s the TE9 with the next three weeks against the MIAMI DOLPHINS, Green Bay Packers and DETROIT LIONS. He’s at 48 percent, and I better not see Hunter Henry here this time next week or I’ll be profoundly disappointed in you all.
Quarterback waiver wire targets
- Michael Penix Jr. (Falcons)
- Jacoby Brissett (Cardinals)
- Tyler Huntley (Ravens)
Yeesh. We have, uh, we have run out of real estate in the quarterback waiver wire streets. After weeks and weeks of suggesting Jordan Love and Aaron Rodgers and C. J. Stroud, all three have finally made their way above 50 percent rostership and now I am left with some serious issues. I have done my best to engineer a solution, but you should also just go check your own waiver wire to see if anyone better is for some reason available — there’s always chance with QBs.
Michael Penix Jr. probably has the largest gulf between the visual perception of his abilities and his actual statistical performance that I can remember, but the man is shockingly playable in fantasy if you have no other options. Jacoby Brissett fits that same definition; if nothing else, he throws the ball a lot, and throwing the ball is better than handing it off when our QB is trying to score fantasy points. If you are somehow in a super-ultra-mega pinch, I grant emergency authorization to add Tyler Huntley if Lamar Jackson keeps missing games, but I would try to avoid that.
Defense streaming advice
I will offer a pair of options that I like in the Jaguars D/ST and the Patriots D/ST as I usually do, but I would also like to suggest you check out my colleague Jake Beckman’s weekly defense streaming column which does a monumentally better job at this than I do. Defenses and kickers are my least favorite part of fantasy football, but there are those out there that love them.
Add us as a preferred source on Google