Week #10 Waiver Watch Of Truth
Welcome back to The Waiver Watch Of Truth!
The wire keeps getting thinner and thinner as the season progresses so let’s take a look at what may still be available.
Quarterbacks
Daniel Jones, New York Giants – Jones has been classically hot and cold this season, most recently burning fantasy managers in Week 8 with only 9 points, coming off his best game of the season the week prior. You never know which Daniel Jones you’re going to get on a given week, but his upcoming schedule makes him an attractive streaming option, hosting Houston and Detroit in Weeks 10 and 11. The Texans and Lions have shown at least adequate offenses to possibly force Jones to throw a bit more and he’s always a threat with his legs. If you’re in desperate need of a QB Jones provides somewhat of a floor with his rushing ability and we’ve seen a few spike weeks already this season.
Jimmy Garoppolo, San Francisco 49ers – Another solid starter who might have gotten dropped during his bye week, Jimmy G has been over 17 fantasy points in each of his last 4 games. He’s highest output of the season so far is 18.9 which demonstrates he most likely won’t give you a high ceiling, but he’s a reliable option that most likely won’t sink your team for the week. The 49ers are loaded with weapons at every position making life easier for Jimmy and we know guys like Deebo, Aiyuk, Kittle or CMC can take a pass to the house from anywhere on the field.
Jared Goff, Detroit Lions – Goff has come back down to earth a bit after his hot start to the season, hitting a tough stretch of games the last few weeks, taking on Dallas, New England and Green Bay recently. Up next he gets Chicago who’s offense has been resurging, but the defense has been bleeding points, and shouldn’t be expected to get better since trading away their two best players, Roquan Smith and Robert Quinn. Detroit’s defense is bottom of the league and this game has real high shoot out potential with an Over/Under of 48.5 points. I like Goff as a Top 12 option this week so worth a stream if you’re looking for options.
Running Backs
Jeff Wilson, Miami Dolphins – One of the names included in the wild NFL trade deadline was Jeff Wilson reuniting with Mike McDaniel in Miami. We didn’t know how much Wilson would be used in his first week on a new team, but he was heavily involved right out of the gate for Miami. Wilson saw 49% of the snaps and got 12 opportunities in the game which he turned into 16.2 PPR points. His day was helped by a receiving touchdown which isn’t bankable every week, but Wilson looks to be a decent FLEX option in Miami’s high powered offense. I imagine the split will continue to be close to 50/50 each week which limits the ceiling of both Wilson and Mostert, and the guy who scores will most likely have the better fantasy day week to week, something which is very unpredictable. The way Miami is rolling, there’s a good chance at a TD and 12+ opportunities can give you usable FLEX weeks from here on out.
Isaiah Pacheco, Kansas City Chiefs – It’s weird to put Pacheco here after he was only on the field for 22% of snaps and turned in 1.9 fantasy points. But this was a weird game script for Kansas City, seeing them trail most of the game which is foreign territory for the Chiefs. I think that’s the reason we saw Jerick McKinnon receive such a high snap count (66%) and in usual weeks when the Chiefs are rolling, as they usually do, we’ll see more of Pacheco on the ground game. He was again the starter this week and while he only saw 6 opportunities, I think his usage rises the next few weeks as the Chiefs take on the Jaguars and Chargers, two teams with struggling defenses. If Pacheco earns double digit opportunities in those games he could be a decent spot start in your FLEX position.
Chuba Hubbard, Carolina Panthers – Hubbard has missed the last two weeks with an ankle injury and we’ll have to wait and see how the practice reports turn out this week if he’ll even be back on the field. However, after the stinker Carolina dropped this past week, it might be worth stashing Hubbard on the back of the bench to see if he gets some extra run when he comes back. After a monster game in Week 8, Donta Foreman was terrible and was ceding work to Raheem Blackshear. The Panthers are most likely going to trail in most of their games from here on out, and Hubbard was operating as the passing downs back before he got hurt.
Wide Receivers
Terrace Marshall, Carolina Panthers – After being nearly invisible to start the season, it seems Marshall has been coming along, earning more playing time recently and fantasy production to go with it. The last 3 weeks his snap share has been 86% or higher, and he’s gone over double digit PPR points in each of the last 2 weeks. Marshall has been a fixture on the field since the Panthers traded away Robby Anderson and Christian McCaffrey, and with Carolina figuring to be in negative game scripts all year, there’s opportunity for Marshall to continue to receive 5-6 targets a game. 5-6 targets isn’t anything to drool over and this is one of the league’s worst offenses, however he could provide a solid PPR floor option in your FLEX if you’re hurting from injury or bye weeks.
Darius Slayton, New York Giants – There’s a good chance Slayton is on your waiver wire since the Giants were on bye this past week, along with 5 other teams, and owners needed to fill rosters with available bodies. Slayton hasn’t lit the world on fire, but we’ve seen a connection with Daniel Jones for a few years now and he’s been over double digit PPR points in 3 of his last 4 games. In his other 2 starts he was around 2 points, so he’s a very boom/bust option that can literally give you nothing in a given week, but 6+ target sin 3 of the last 4 games is worth adding to the bench. Coming out of the bye the Giants take on Houston and Detroit upcoming, so two very soft matchups for Slayton.
Treylon Burks, Tennessee Titans – This is nothing but pure speculation given the state of the Titans’ passing game. With Malik Willis under center, the Titan’s passing offense has been anemic and there isn’t much opportunity to go around – Willis only has 26 pass attempts in the last 2 games combined. Tannehill should be back soon, as well as Burks, and the Titans desperately need a playmaker. Robert Woods and company haven’t been getting it done this season, so by default Burks should at least be on the field a ton when he gets healthy. He’s by far the most talented WR Tennessee has so you have to imagine he gets plenty of looks in the passing game, albeit a very limited one.
Tight Ends
Cade Otton, Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Cameron Brate missed another week which gave Otton another opportunity to shine. This time he came through big with 17.8 PPR points, part of which included the game winning TD over the Rams. Otton has been on the field for 81% of snaps or more the last three weeks, and has gotten 5+ targets in each. Without a TD he’s most likely an 8-10 points per week player, which falls right in line with the majority of TEs out there. But a TE getting 5+ targets a week from Tom Brady is worth the gamble given the state of the position.
Greg Dulcich, Denver Broncos – I’ve highlighted Dulcich a bunch this week and he’s probably owned already, but definitely check on this one since Denver was on bye last week, owners may have been forced to drop him. Dulcich has been coming along nicely, surpassing double digit points in each of his last 3 games and seeing his highest snap share in Week 8 at 80%. He’s young and super athletic and it isn’t like Denver has several options around him commanding high targets. The Broncos’ offense is off this year, but Dulcich seems to be a surprising bright spot.
Cole Kmet, Chicago Bears – One of my personal favorites in the off-season, I expected big things from Kmet this year given his high target volume to end the season in 2021. Kmet had been extremely quiet during the first half of the season, but the last two weeks he’s found the end zone and been usable in fantasy. It’s tough to bank on a TD each week, and without it, Kmet probably provides you 5 or so points like he had the first 7 weeks, but the Bears’ offense has been rolling lately putting up impressive numbers, at least giving Kmet a better chance at a TD than most.
Good luck on the wire all and as always, stay true!