Week Eight Waiver Wire: A Closer Look at Two Potential Adds

Brian Malone Posted On October 26, 2016

Ryan McDowell says that his biggest advantage in dynasty is being more attentive than his league mates, especially on the waiver wire. Drafting is exciting. Trading is fun. Lineups decisions will make you pull your hair out. But waivers are a bit tedious, which is why you can win them. If you’re good at the thing no one else likes, you give yourself a big advantage.

This article is one step toward winning the waiver wire. Each week, I’ll talk about two players to add — one for shallower leagues (225-250 offensive players rostered) and one for deeper leagues (275-325 offensive players rostered). In some weeks, both players I discuss will be rostered in your leagues. I get that, and I welcome feedback about whether I should be digging deeper or shallower.

As teams fight through the bye-week gauntlet, players who aren’t producing right now become expendable. To take advantage, we’re getting ready for the playoffs by stashing a pair of running backs who could give you a few weeks of production at the most important time of year.

[am4show have=’g1;’ guest_error=’sub_message’ user_error=’sub_message’ ]

Shallower Leagues — Andre Ellington

Two short years ago — in the 2014 off-season — Ellington was a top-40 dynasty startup pick. By 2015, he was relegated to third-string duty in the Cardinals backfield. Now, with Chris Johnson out for the season, Ellington is now the primary handcuff to David Johnson, who is averaging more than 25 touches per game. Which has to sting a little for Ellington, because that’s what he thought he was going to get in 2014. Kinda like when your girlfriend breaks up with you because she’s not ready to be “serious,” and then six months later you find out she’s engaged to someone else. Or, um, so I’ve heard.

Anyway, back to Ellington. He’s been productive over short stretches before. Over the final eight games of 2013, he averaged 82 yards from scrimmage and 2.4 receptions per game, though he scored only two total touchdowns. In 2014, he averaged 88 yards from scrimmage and 3.8 receptions per game, plus five total touchdowns. That was good for RB10 in points per game, but he played only 12 games.

The Cardinals have a tough matchup on the road against Seattle in week 16, but otherwise their late-season schedule is fantastic. They face Atlanta, Washington, Miami, and New Orleans in weeks 12 through 15, respectively.

With only Stepfan Taylor and Kerwynn Williams competing for opportunities, Ellington might actually get his 25 touches per game if David Johnson goes down. But even if he gets only 15 per game, he’s valuable enough in the passing game that he should approach high-end RB2 numbers in the right matchups.

Deeper Leagues — Travaris Cadet

The Saints backfield isn’t an ideal handcuff situation. If Mark Ingram misses time, Cadet will have to battle 2015 fantasy league winner Tim Hightower for opportunities. Hightower is a worthwhile add too, but if I’m grabbing one, it’ll be Cadet.

Hightower averaged 20.5 rushing attempts in his four games as the starter in 2015. But the Saints were 3-1 in those games, and they averaged 27.5 rush attempts per game, which prorates to 440 attempts over 16 games. In 2016, the Saints are 2-4, and they are averaging 22.5 rush attempts per game, which prorates to 360 attempts over 16 games.

If Ingram misses time, Cadet will be the receiving back. Cadet is already averaging more than four targets per game, while Hightower has two targets total. If Cadet captures just half of Ingram’s targets, he’ll get 6.3 targets per game, which is plenty to support RB2 value in PPR, especially if he gets a handful of carries too.

Perhaps best of all, the Saints face Detroit, Tampa Bay, Arizona, and Tampa bay again in weeks 13 to 16, respectively. At least three of those games should be high-scoring affairs, which only bodes well for Cadet.

The downside to Cadet is his lack of athletic upside. He’s not fast (4.67 forty at his 2012 pro day), but he has decent agility (6.97-second three-cone drill). But we’re not looking for a game breaker, and Cadet has shown that he will produce in PPR when he’s on the field.

[/am4show]