We were lucky in week 8, with no teams on bye weeks. However, as we move closer to the fantasy playoffs, many teams will be on bye weeks. Don’t be caught off guard and have to scramble to find fill-ins. I will list out future bye weeks so you can use your waivers ahead of time to make the necessary moves to survive the bye week. I will be giving potential sleepers and waiver wire pickups (roster percentage from sleeper) to help you with those bye-week fill-ins.
In Dynasty leagues, the waivers do not have a ton to pick from. I did find some players rostered under 50% on Sleeper Dynasty Leagues who could be spot starters.
Players To Add (Roster Space Permitting)
Joe Flacco QB, IND 49.6 % Rostered
Now that the Colts have opted to bench Anthony Richardson, Flacco becomes a premium add, despite his age.
Boutte has finally started to see more playing time and has over 80% snap share in the last three games. Drake Maye has been looking for him and has 11 targets in the last three games.
With Stefon Diggs ruled out for the season with a torn ACL, John Metchie might finally get his chance. In Week 8, Metchie caught three passes for 29 yards and could be in three wide receiver sets even when Nico Collins returns.
Christian Kirk is out for the season and last season Parker Washington took over that role when Kirk was injured. Against Green Bay, he had three catches on four targets for 45 yards.
Jameson Williams is out because of suspension and it looks like Khalif Raymond could take some of those touches. He has finished as a top 35 receiver in PPR the last three weeks. The offense is so efficient he does not need to have a high target volume to be effective.
I had written off Westbrook-Ikhine but he has a touchdown in the last three games and had a spike in snaps in Week 8. Deandre Hopkins is gone and he had a 92% snap share with four targets against the Lions.
Will Dissly TE, LAC 26.8 % Rostered
Dissly has come on strong as of late with 23 targets in the last three games. His snap share has gone above 67% in the last three games. In the first four games, he never got over 51% of the snaps.
This may be a long shot because of who Trautman was playing. The Panthers are the second-worst team in giving up fantasy points to tight ends. He did have four catches for 85 yards and a touchdown. Trautman also has ties to Sean Payton in New Orleans and may become more involved moving forward.
Now let’s look at all the teams that have bye weeks and some starters or flex plays that you may be without. I also give one player from each position that could have a big week based on matchups.
Week 9 Byes
Luckily this week there are only two teams on byes and these players have not been overly consistent week to week. Still George Kittle, Deebo Samuel, and Brock Purdy could all leave big holes. Here are some players that could be sleepers to fill in and waivers to pick up.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Starters: Najee Harris, George Pickens, Pat Freiermuth
Flex Plays: Jaylen Warren, Russell Wilson
San Francisco 49ers
Starters: Brock Purdy, Jordan Mason, Deebo Samuel, George Kittle
Flex Plays: Ricky Pearsall
Week 9 Sleepers with Starting Potential
Juwan Johnson TE, NOS vs Carolina Panthers (31st in points to Tight Ends)
Troy Franklin WR, DEN vs Baltimore Ravens (32nd in points to Wide Receivers)
Tyler Allgeier RB, ATL vs Dallas Cowboys (30th in points to Running Backs)
Gardner Minshew QB, LVR vs Cincinnati Bengals (28th in points to Quarterbacks)
