Waiver Wired: Waiver Wired: Week 8
Welcome to the eighth edition of Waiver Wired for the 2015 season. As is always the case, this column is your guide to the best players available in at least 50 percent of Yahoo fantasy leagues. Some of these players are plug-and-play options who can help this week while others are stashes who may become useful in the future.
Each profiled player comes with a recommendation of what size league they should be owned. This does not mean they cannot be owned in shallower leagues, but they are not must-adds in the smaller formats. Also, a watch list will follow every position group. These are players who could be useful in deeper formats, but they are not yet must-own players in shallower leagues. Finally, the deep cuts section highlights running backs and wide receivers who are owned in less than five percent of Yahoo leagues. Now that the explanation is out of the way, let’s move on to the action.
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The Drop List
QB: Peyton Manning, Colin Kaepernick
RB: C.J. Anderson, C.J. Spiller, Alfred Morris
WR: Pierre Garcon, Andre Johnson, Torrey Smith
TE: Owen Daniels, Larry Donnell
My desire to kick Peyton Manning to the curb is not as strong now that his bye week has passed, but he still is not someone I expect to develop into a serviceable starter this season. Ditto on C.J. Anderson with the added caveat that he has likely fallen well behind Ronnie Hillman on the depth chart. Alfred Morris played 10 snaps against the Bucs, Pierre Garcon is averaging 9.5 yards a catch, and Larry Donnell has less than 40 yards receiving in every game. All three are touchdown-or-bust options, and those do not need to be owned in 10-team leagues.
Quarterbacks
1. Tyrod Taylor
2. Derek Carr
3. Marcus Mariota
4. Jay Cutler
Running backs
*James Starks owned in 52 percent of Yahoo leagues. No. 4 add if available.
1. Darren McFadden
2. Ryan Mathews
3. Duke Johnson
4. Alfred Blue
5. Chris Polk
6. Christine Michael
7. Branden Oliver
Wide receivers
*Stefon Diggs owned in 60 percent of Yahoo leagues. No. 1 add if available.
1. Marvin Jones
2. Michael Floyd
3. Stevie Johnson
4. Danny Amendola
5. Eddie Royal
6. Roddy White
7. Tavon Austin
Tight ends
*Jordan Reed owned in 59 percent of Yahoo leagues. No. 1 add if available.
1. Ladarius Green
2. Eric Ebron
3. Benjamin Watson
Defense/Special Teams
1. Dallas Cowboys
2. Tennessee Titans
Looking Ahead: Cincinnati Bengals
Kickers
1. Cairo Santos
2. Nick Folk
3. Phil Dawson
Looking Ahead: Chris Boswell
QUARTERBACKS
1. Tyrod Taylor, Bills – Owned in 42 percent of Yahoo leagues
Tyrod Taylor is fully expected to return after the bye week, and he will at least be usable against the Dolphins Week 9 and the Patriots Week 11. He will not be a recommended option against the Jets Week 10, but two out of three ain’t bad. Taylor is the fifth-highest scoring quarterback per game this season. He needs to be owned in most formats.
Recommendation: Should be owned in 12-team leagues.
2. Derek Carr, Raiders – Owned In 35 percent of Yahoo leagues
I absolutely whiffed on Derek Carr last week. He completely obliterated a Chargers’ secondary which had shut down Aaron Rodgers the week before. Carr now has multiple touchdowns in four of his last five games, has not thrown more than one interception in a game all season, and is averaging almost 280 yards in the five games he has completed. It will be difficult to trust Carr this week against the Jets, but he has several great matchups including two against the Chiefs over the final 10 weeks of the year.
Recommendation: Should be owned in 12-team leagues.
3. Marcus Mariota, Titans – Owned in 38 percent of Yahoo leagues
Marcus Mariota is expected to return this week from a sprained MCL, and though he was not playing well before the injury, he is an interesting spot start against the Texans. The rookie has struggled to push downfield, connecting on just 3-of-21 targets of 20-plus yards according to Pro Football Focus. That means Mariota needs his receivers to create big yards after the catch, and the Texans are coming off a game where they gave up 256 yards after the catch to the Dolphins. As long as he is healthy enough to play, Mariota is worth a look as a streamer in deeper formats.
Recommendation: Should be owned in 14-team leagues.
4. Jay Cutler, Bears – Owned in 30 percent of Yahoo leagues
Like Carr, Jay Cutler is a quarterback who has played well as of late, but also like Carr, the schedule is not kind to him the next several weeks. Cutler will be usable against the Chargers Week 9, but he will be almost impossible to trust this week against the Vikings – who have not given up more than 20 fantasy points to a quarterback this season – Week 10 against the Rams, Week 11 against the Broncos or on Thanksgiving day against Green Bay, who always have his number. The schedule lightens up after that, but that many bad matchups in a row make him nothing more than a stash in deeper leagues despite the health of Alshon Jeffery.
Recommendation: Should be owned in 14-team leagues.
Watch List: Teddy Bridgewater is in a great spot this week against the Bears, but volume and touchdowns could be a concern. He has attempted more than 35 passes once this season and thrown for multiple touchdowns in a game in just 5-of-18 career starts. With the running game likely to work against Chicago, Teddy may put up a 250-1-1 line even in a good matchup. … Ryan Fitzpatrick has two touchdown passes in every game this season and is averaging 245 yards a contest. His ceiling is not high, but he is about as rock steady as QB2s get. … It sounds like Josh McCown (shoulder) could miss this week, leaving Johnny Manziel as the starter. Manziel attempted just 15 passes in his only other start this season. … Brian Hoyer did not play well, but he poured on the garbage time scoring. He now has six touchdowns total the last two weeks, but Tennessee’s secondary has actually been solid this season even through injuries. … Jameis Winston actually was not terrible against Washington, but Winston not being terrible has equated with him not throwing the ball much so far in his career.
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