Dynasty Waiver Wire: Week Ten
I love fantasy football. I also hate fantasy football. I had Jarvis Landry locked into my starting lineup all week. Then I started thinking: “it’s about time to throw DeVante Parker in the lineup with him being a touchdown machine and Preston Williams being out for the year.” I figured he is locked in as the number one option for Ryan Fitzpatrick. What happened? Landry had his best game of the season on my bench, and Parker has an average game. I am left questioning everything I knew or thought I knew about fantasy football.
So why should you care about the idiotic moves that I have made as a fantasy owner? Because hopefully I have made enough terrible moves for all of us and you can learn from me what not to do. But even as great of an owner that you are, I am sure you have made some moves that haunt you in your sleep and make you wish you could go back in time. But guess what? You can’t. The only thing we can do is move on and try and improve your team each and every day.
As trade deadlines are starting to approach for some fantasy leagues, the waiver wire becomes more and more valuable. Whether you are adding to a deeper bench, trying to fill in for injuries, or adding anyone of significance because your team is so ugly that it fell out of the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down, all are valid reasons to add some of these players listed below to your team.
Shallow (18-22 man rosters)
Wayne Gallman, RB NYG
Almost more important than anything at this time of the year is health. You need your studs to be on the field in order to win a championship. Saquon Barkley got banged up on Sunday and had one of his worst career games. This led to Wayne Gallman seeing some action and reminding everyone that it is crucial to own valuable handcuffs at this time of the season. If you are a Barkley owner… Gallman is a must!
Taylor Gabriel, WR CHI
The Bears offense is very up and down at the moment. But Gabriel has been one of the few bright spots on the team. He caught four passes for 39 yards and a TD, and has carved out a nice role in a sub-par offense. He will likely be risky play, but one that has a shot at producing in a given week.
JD McKissic, RB DET
In another lost year for the Lions, McKissic is proving to be the running back to own in Detroit’s backfield. There is not a ton of value coming from that entire backfield, but it is clear that McKissic is the leader. Ty Johnson may have to miss time due to a concussion, and McKissic clearly out-touched him on Sunday. He was not efficient with his touches but did get the ball 16 times. He is a flex option moving forward.
Cole Beasley, WR BUF
Beasley produces solid numbers but always seems to be on the waiver wire in shallow leagues simply because he doesn’t do anything flashy and never puts up monster games. He caught four passes for 74 yards on Sunday. John Brown and Beasley have formed an odd, but productive wide receiving group for Josh Allen in Buffalo. Beasley falls into the WR3 category for most weeks.
Other “Shallow” roster players to keep an eye on:
- Tony Pollard, RB DAL
- Olabisi Johnson, WR MIN
- Ryan Finley, QB CIN
Average (23-27 man rosters)
Brian Hill, RB ATL
Ito Smith is on IR, and Devonta Freeman was knocked out of Sunday’s game with what looked like a foot or ankle injury. Freeman’s timetable is still uncertain. Hill came in and played pretty well. He was not super efficient with his touches, running the ball 20 times for 61 yards, but caught one pass for ten yards and a score to salvage a solid day. While 21 touches for 71 total yards isn’t great… 21 touches is nothing to sneeze at. Consider Hill your number one priority for week ten.
Demaryius Thomas, WR NYJ
Thomas was coming off a very pedestrian performance in week nine but came back with a strong performance in week ten. He led the Jets in receiving with 84 yards on nine targets and six receptions. The Jets are still a mess, and at times look completely lost, but Thomas has shown on any given week, he can perform as a WR3.
Bilal Powell, RB NYJ
Le’Veon Bell hurt his ribs on Sunday and was knocked out of the game. Powell came in and ran the ball seven times. Bell said that he will be fine and ready to go in week 11. But if we have learned one thing… it’s not to believe what a player says directly after the game while emotions are high. Powell is another example of owning handcuffs this late into the season. While you hope that you will never need to start Powell… things might get that bad.
Darwin Thompson, RB KC
Thompson is a very speculative add. LeSean McCoy was a healthy scratch on Sunday, which in my opinion means, he will not be on the team for much longer. I liked Thompson a lot coming out of college, and he has simply not received the opportunity to show what he can do. He is an explosive playmaker with the ball in his hands, can catch the ball out of the backfield well, and could be a great change of pace back to rotate between Damien Williams and Darrel Williams. I hope Kansas City give him a shot in the coming weeks.
Other “Average” roster players to keep an eye on:
- Rashard Higgins, WR CLE
- Chester Rogers, WR IND
- Brandon Allen, QB DEN
Deep (28+ man rosters)
Nick Boyle, TE BAL
Mark Andrews is clearly becoming a superstar, but Boyle has quietly been pretty darn good. Over the last two weeks, he has posted nine catches for 105 yards and a TD. Lamar Jackson likes to hit his tight ends, and with a position as volatile as the tight end position, you could do worse than adding Boyle as a TE2.
Darrel Williams, RB KC
As I mentioned above, McCoy was a healthy scratch on Sunday. Darrel Williams took over the number two duties and… laid a big ol’ fat egg. So why am I recommending that you pick him up…? Because, Andy Reid likes to cycle between his running backs on different weeks, and Williams has shown in the past that he can put up solid numbers. If McCoy is indeed cut, Williams will be locked in as the number two back, and on a high-powered offense, that carries some weight. Not to mention, if Damien Williams were to get injured, Darrel Williams is immediately vaulted into the RB2 range.
Russell Gage, WR ATL
In the most surprising game of the weekend, the 1-7 Falcons took on the 7-1 Saints… and it wasn’t close. The Falcons beat the Saints 26-9 as the visiting team. In the midst of that, Gage has been seeing the field more and more, and on Sunday he was second in the team in targets, and tied for the lead in catches. Hooper’s status is uncertain for the upcoming week, and Gage could benefit from even more targets being vacated. The 23-year-old has shown to be a solid complementary piece ever since Mohamed Sanu was shipped to the Patriots.
Allen Hurns, WR MIA
It pains me to recommend picking up any Miami Dolphins player, but sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do. The Dolphins surprisingly now have two wins to their record, which is two more than they should be shooting for. A breakout player for them was undrafted rookie Preston Williams. Unfortunately, he tore his ACL, and other players will need to step up. Allen Hurns has been gifted an opportunity, and Sunday was not a great day for him, but he still warrants some consideration as an add for your team. As long as Ryan Fitzpatrick is chucking the ball behind center, wide receivers could have fantasy relevance in Miami.
Other “Deep” roster players to keep an eye on:
- Keelan Cole, WR JAX
- DeAndre Carter, WR HOU
- Demetrius Harris, TE CLE
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