Week 9 Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Adds

Week 9 Fantasy Waiver Wire Adds

By Craig Forrestal

As fantasy seasons slowly start to crumble and others rise from the bottom of the standings it is another edition of the weekly waiver wire adds you need to get your team over the hump. Mixed in this week’s article are some one-week plays and other longer plays that could propel you into the playoffs. 

Please note this list was completed prior to the NFL Trade Deadline.

1. Jaylen Samuels-RB-Pittsburgh Steelers: It is a game of musical chairs with Pittsburgh RBs; James Conner seems to have picked up a shoulder injury in the Monday Night game. Benny Snell exited with a knee injury which left Trey Edmunds as the only RB standing. Samuels is coming off a minor knee procedure and got a full week of practice in but was left inactive against Miami. Given the RB situation, Samuels becomes a very interesting play in Week 9. The Steelers will take on the Colts but think back to last season when Samuels was inserted into the starting role and how effective he was. In a three-week stretch as the starter last season Samuels posted the following stat lines:

Game 1: 11 carries 28 yards 7 catches 64 yards 0 TD

Game 2: 19 carries 142 yards 2 catches 30 yards 0 TD

Game 3: 12 carries 53 yards 3 catches 11 yards 1 TD

I know last season is last season and the roster featured different talent, but the volume will be there if Conner sits. Samuels is also likely to keep a firm lock as the pass-catching specialist out of the backfield.

2. Tra Carson-RB-Detroit Lions: Last week it was Ty Johnson; this week it is Tra Carson. Johnson rushed seven times for 25 yards, JD McKissic logged four touches and it was Carson with 12 carries leading the way. Carson turned those 12 carries into 34 rushing yards which is nothing to get excited about, but 12 carries is 12 carries. Carson has only been with the Lions about two weeks and one could considerably figure his workload increases as he becomes more comfortable with the system.

3. Derek Carr-QB-Oakland Raiders: Carr was mentioned in last week’s Sleepers section for the Week 8 Fantasy Rankings and he did not disappoint. Carr turned in a 285-yard performance with 3 scores against Houston last week and has thrown for multiple touchdowns in back-to-back games. He has a very beatable Detroit Lions defense this week which could be missing a couple of key components on the defensive line. And his next month is pretty juicy as far as streaming options go with games vs Detroit, vs Chargers, vs Cincinnati, @ NY Jets and @ Kansas City. Carr got Tyrell Williams back against Houston and has been locked in with the emerging star at TE Darren Waller. 

4. Ryan Tannehill-QB-Tennessee Titans: Another streaming QB alert and player mentioned in the Sleeper section like Derek Carr. For those of you fantasy players that ‘piece-it-together’ at QB by season-long streaming you may have found your second-half-of-the-season answer in Tannehill. Tannehill has an appealing schedule rest of season with a sprinkling of high upside matchups:

Week 9: @ Carolina

Week 10: vs Kansas City

Week 11: Bye

Week 12: vs Jacksonville

Week 13: @ Indianapolis

Week 14: @ Oakland

Week 15: vs Houston

Week 16:vs New Orleans

5. Darren Fells-TE-Houston Texans: Darren Fells has made a nice impact on the Texans having 5 catches and/or a TD in 4 of 8 games this season, but has seemed to have found consistency in the last four games. There are a lot of talented players offensively for Houston, but Fells has cemented himself into the gameplan.

6. Chris Conley-WR-Jacksonville Jaguars: Dede Westbrook left the game against the NY Jets with a neck/shoulder injury and did not return which opened the door for Chris Conley. Conley has 7 catches, 186 yards, 1 TD and one 2-point conversion over the last two weeks and next up is a Houston Texans defense that can be beaten through the air. With Westbrook in question for this week’s contest taking a chance on Conley could return big rewards.

7. Danny Amendola-WR-Detroit Lions: Danny Amendola has seen 19 targets over the last two games and has turned those opportunities into 16 catches for 200 yards (8 catches for 105 yards and 8 catches for 95 yards). Amendola and the Lions travel to the Raiders this week as he has the chance to replicate similar results. The Lions are without Kerryon Johnson which will naturally create more opportunities for other players. Amendola has proven to be a reliable WR over his career and that should carry on this week.

8. Dallas Goedert-TE-Philadelphia Eagles: Back-to-back weeks with a TD and there were rumors that Ertz would be part of a package to land Jalen Ramsey if the Eagles were in that market. As crazy as it is to consider Ertz getting traded it is a possibility. While Goedert is more of a speculative add at this moment but could pay off big in a few weeks.

9. Demaryius Thomas-WR- NY Jets: Is Julio Jones on bye for you this week and you need a one-week play that could pay off huge for you? If the answer is yes, let us take a quick gander at Demaryius Thomas. Thomas has 29 targets in 5 games but that includes a Week 2 game which resulted in only 1 target due to injury. So let’s do some math 29-1= 28. 28 divided by 4 is 7. So that means the mathematical average of targets Thomas should see against the Miami Dolphins is 7. What can he do with 7 targets? Diontae Johnson of the Pittsburgh Steelers had 5 catches for 84 yards and 1 TD on 7 targets against Miami in Week 8.

10. Cleveland Browns D/ST: The Browns will take on a Denver Broncos team that will feature a QB other than Joe Flacco. Most likely it will be Brandon Allen, a sixth-round draft pick in 2016 out of Arkansas. Allen has spent time with Jacksonville and the LA Rams in his career. This will be his first career start. 

11. Raheem Mostert/Jeff Wilson Jr.-RBs- San Francisco 49ers: Check out the injury/practice report when it comes around today because the 49ers play the Arizona Cardinals on Thursday Night Football this week and are in prime condition to fully control this matchup as they did with Carolina. Matt Breida left the game with an ankle injury and could potentially sit out as a precautionary move benefitting Mostert and Wilson. When Tevin Coleman was out with injury both players, Mostert and Wilson, proved they were fantasy worthy with strong performances when called upon. With a potential cupcake matchup and Breida possibly sitting out these two becomes interesting options as bye-week flex-play fill-ins.

A Look Ahead

A look ahead to Week 10 and how to replace the Patriots Defense on bye. My recommendation is to stash Indianapolis if you can. Indianapolis draws the Miami Dolphins.