The Wire - Week 10
By Levi Ellis
Week 9 was a crazy week in the NFL. We saw OBJ get released, a former 1st round WR make a terrible and inexcusable life altering mistake and drama surrounding Aaron Rodgers and his vaccination status. We also saw Adrian Peterson make yet again another debut and at the age of 36 no less. If you would have told me at the start of the year that Devonta Freeman, Le’Veon Bell, Jordan Howard and Adrian Peterson would all have crucial roles this season I would have called you insane. Now all we need is Frank Gore to fire it back up again and at this point it wouldn’t shock me.
All players are listed in priority order based on position.
Bye Weeks - Chicago Bears, Cincinnati Bengals, Houston Texans and New York Giants
(2 QB Leagues Only)
Trevor Siemian - 25/41 248 yards, 2tds - For the time being Siemian is the starter but keep a close eye on this one with Taysom Hill lurking. Siemian is worth a shot with the offensive weapons surrounding him and with Coach Payton’s play calling. 10% of your remaining faab.
Taylor Heinicke - Heinicke was on bye last week so take a look and see if he’s available. With Tampa Bay coming to town its likely that the Washington Football Team will be playing from behind which means Heinicke will be airing it out. 10% of your remaining faab.
Geno Smith - Smith was on bye last week so it’s possible that he was dropped in some leagues. The best I can say about Smith is he’s the starting QB right now...until Russ is back...and he has weapons but temper your expectations because the Packers are on tap. 5% of your remaining faab.
Phillip Rivers - You laugh, but at this point nothing would surprise me. If a contending team loses their starting QB, Rivers may be back to work. If you have a super deep league then Rivers may be worth a stash. 0% of your remaining faab.
Jordan Howard - 17 carries, 71 yards, 1td - I can’t even believe that I’m ranking Howard as the RB #1 on waivers right now but two weeks in a row he has looked like the Eagles primary ball carrier. I don’t understand why the Eagles didn’t give Miles Sanders this kind of usage but take advantage of Howard while you can. Just beware, it’s the Eagles so things could change in a hurry. 25% of your remaining faab.
Eno Benjamin - 9 carries, 39 yards, 1td - I finally feel vindicated. I have been pounding the table for Benjamin for a year and half now. All it took was Chase Edmonds to get hurt and the game script to dictate the Cardinals run the ball. In all seriousness I do like Benjamin but only if Edmonds misses time. There’s no doubt that Conner would be the RB1 in Edmonds absence. 25% of your remaining faab.
Devonta Freeman - 13 carries, 79 yards, 3 targets, 2 catches, 4 yards, 1td - Freeman is the Raven’s RB2 and he’s only #2 because Lamar Jackson appears to be the RB1. If Murray is healthy next week it will most likely limit Freeman’s ceiling however he’s currently the primary RB from what we have seen. 20% of your remaining faab.
Devin Singletary - 6 carries, 16 yards, 8 targets, 7 catches, 43 yards - Watch to see if Moss clears concussion protocols this week because if not, Singletary will be the main guy and the Jets are on tap. 15% of your remaining faab.
JJ Taylor - Taylor makes this list because both Damien Harris and Rhamondre Stevenson went down with head injuries on Sunday. If both guys miss this week then the backfield will belong to Taylor and Bolden. I would expect Taylor to be the main ball carrier while Bolden handles passing game duties. However, Taylor will only have value if one or both Harris and Stevenson miss. 10% of your remaining faab.
Jeff Wilson - I believe Wilson will see his first snaps of the season this week. We have seen that Wilson is talented but we don’t know just yet how the backfilled touches will be distributed so proceed with caution. 10% of your remaining faab.
Ty Johnson - 4 carries, 21 yards, 1 FL, 3 targets, 2 catches, 40 yards, 1td - Johnson doesn’t get a lot of opportunities and that is always a concern, however he makes the most of the opportunities that he does receive and last week was no different. If something happened to Carter then Johnson's value would skyrocket. 10% of your remaining faab.
Le’Veon Bell - 11 carries, 48 yards, 1td - Bell is worth a stash if you have the roster space. While I don’t expect much right now with both Murray and Freeman ahead of him on the depth chart, I wouldn’t bet against anything this year from everything we have seen. 10% of your remaining faab.
Brandon Bolden - 8 carries, 56 yards, 2 targets, 2 catches, 27 yards - Bolden continues to handle the passing game duties and now both Harris and Stevenson have head injuries. If either guy or both guys miss this week his touches should increase, however I fully expect JJ Taylor to be in the mix as well. 10% of your remaining faab.
Elijah Moore - 8 targets, 7 catches, 84 yards, 2tds - This guy is an absolute stud in the making. Even after his breakout performance last week, I still don’t think we’ve seen the best of Moore yet. If the Jets will keep throwing him the ball we are going to see one heck of a second half for this guy. 75% of your remaining faab.
Hunter Renfrow - 9 targets, 7 catches, 49 yards, 1td - If Renfrow isn’t owned by now you are playing in a league with a bunch of amateurs and you need to rethink your fantasy football interest. With that being said, if Renfrow is available then scoop him up and figure out later why you’ve allowed him to remain unowned for this long. 60% of your remaining faab.
Rashod Bateman - 8 targets, 5 catches, 52 yards - Bateman is receiving a nice target share although Watkins has been out recently. We should see Bateman’s performance only improve from this point forward. 30% of your remaining faab.
Donovan Peoples-Jones - 3 targets, 2 catches, 86 yards - 1 td - With OBJ gone we should see DPJ’s role increase and this offense desperately needs a big play guy like him. 15% of your remaining faab.
Tre’Quan Smith - 4 targets, 3 catches, 53 yards - If Siemian remains the QB then I like Smith’s chances to evolve in this offense; however if the Saints switch to Taysom Hill at some point they will likely be a run dominated team and Smith’s targets would likely decrease. 15% of your remaining faab.
Jamal Agnew - 5 targets, 3 catches, 27 yards, 1 carry, 11 yards - Agnew didn’t have the best week but he has received a large amount of targets since Chark has been out. Volume alone is the reason Agnew makes this list. 15% of your remaining faab.
Russell Gage - 8 targets, 7 catches, 64 yards - Gage appears to be the chain mover at WR with Ridley gone and if he remains this involved I think the scoring should come. 10% of your remaining faab.
Deonte Harris - 8 targets, 6 catches, 52 yards - Harris has quietly put together a respectable season. Much like Tre’Quan, if Siemian remains the QB then there’s hope for the passing game. 10% of your remaining faab.
Deandre Carter - Carter was on bye last week so you will most likely find him on the wire. Carter has started to flash this season and is worth a flier if you’re desperate. 5% of your remaining faab.
Olamide Zaccheaus - 3 targets, 3 catches, 2tds - I doubt we see this kind of touchdown production from Zaccheaus again but he’s worth monitoring with Ridley out indefinitely. 5% of your remaining faab.
Zach Pascal - 7 targets, 4 catches, 58 yards - Pascal is not going to get you 20 points on a consistent basis but he is a guy who can get you a solid 8-10 points a game which is a lot better than a goose egg. Are there better players to roster, sure but you could do a lot worse. 5% of your remaining faab.
Tyler Johnson - The Bucs were on bye last week so it’s likely that Tyler Johnson is available. If AB misses another game Johnson will likely have a role in the offense. 1% of your remaining faab.
Keelan Cole - 8 targets, 5 catches, 66 yards - If Corey Davis misses another game then you may want to take a look at Cole after having 8 targets last week, however keep in mind the Jets have no shortage of guys to throw the ball to right now (Moore, Crowder, Carter and Johnson). 1% of your remaining faab.
Pat Friermuth - Friermuth’s game hasn’t been played yet but this guy is a stud in the making so I don’t care if he puts up a goose egg Monday night, he’s still going to be my TE1 for waivers. 50% of your remaining faab.
Tyler Conklin - 7 targets, 5 catches, 45 yards - Conklin has quietly put together a really nice season and he deserves to be owned. 10% of your remaining faab.
Adam Trautman - 7 targets, 4 catches, 47 yards - The last two weeks there have been signs of life with Trautman in the passing game. I love the talent so I’m excited to see where this leads. 5% of your remaining faab.
Dan Arnold - 7 targets, 4 catches, 60 yards - Arnold again proves he has value in PPR leagues. While he won’t be the star of the game he’s good to get you 8-12 points a game. 5% of your remaining faab.
Albert Okwuegvunam - 5 targets, 4 catches, 25 yards - The Broncos didn’t need Albert O Sunday because they were leading the whole game against the Cowboys but if Fant misses another game he’s worth a flier with the Eagles coming to town. 1% of your remaining faab.
Dead to Me (redraft leagues only)
Sam Darnold - His supporters have ran out of excuses
All Texans RBs - Maybe if they would pick one it would help
Mike Davis - Last year was an anomaly
Jalen Reagor - Not a consistent role
Robby Anderson - Even Carolina doesn’t like him
Bryan Edwards - I hope next year’s coaching staff will actually utilize this guy
Darrius Slayton - He’s a shorter MVS
Austin Hooper - Cross your fingers that the Browns won’t keep all three TEs next year
Jonnu Smith - Something just isn’t clicking in NE
On Life Support
Kenneth Gainwell - For some reason the Eagles don’t like to use talent
Tyler Boyd - The Bengals have forgot about this guy
Laviska Shenault - He hasn’t yet evolved to the player that many thought he would be
Marvin Jones - He started the year off hot and has since disappeared
Check me out on Twitter @FFStock_Man37 or on my YouTube channel (The Locker Room)
