Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups

How are you fantasy football owners feeling after Week 9? Better get ready because we have another week to hit these waivers hard as the fantasy football playoffs come closer.

We saw a ton of action Week 9 and saw some productive fantasy outings from last week’s article that included Dion Lewis, Elijah McGuire, Devontae Booker, Jordan Thomas, and Tre’Quan Smith. I was on also on the C.J. Beathard train, but really should have been on the Nick Mullens hype train!

Key Tips:

Stay ahead of your bye weeks. In Week 10, Baltimore, Denver, Houston, and Minnesota are on bye weeks. The Bye-Pocalypse is over…for now. It’s coming back in Week 11.

Make trades with bye weeks in mind. Trade for players that already had their bye weeks. Be aggressive as we approach the fantasy football deadline.

In Week 11, Buffalo, Cleveland, Miami, New England, New York Jets, San Francisco are all on byes.

Without further ado, here are your waiver wire targets for Week 10!

Week 10 Waiver Wire QB Pickups

Alex Smith

ESPN: Less than 50% owned

Smith has been a disappointment thus far in 2018, but things are looking up in Week 10. The Redskins will be going to Tampa Bay to play the single worst defense in the NFL. Tampa Bay gives up the most fantasy points to the QB position. There has only been one quarterback that has yet to score 20 plus fantasy points against the Buccaneers this season. Smith is actually coming off his best yardage total of the season throwing for 306 yards on a tied season-high 46 passing attempts. The way that injuries have plagued the Redskins especially at the offensive line position will make it very difficult for the Redskins to run the ball effectively. It’s no coincidence that after the injuries were sustained in Atlanta, that Smith throws for a season-high in passing yards.

Nick Mullens

ESPN: Less than 1% owned

Can he do it again? Now that is the million dollar question entering Week 10. Well, the first question really is will Mullens be the starter in Week 1o for the San Franciso 49ers? For me, it matters little about which 49ers quarterback starts because even though Mullens looked great last Thursday night. But the reason Mullens looked so good was that he was under absolutely zero pressure against the Oakland Raiders. He was sacked zero times and saw pressure on just 13.6% his dropbacks via Pro Football Focus. Then queue in the New York Giants who rank 28th in the NFL via PFF, make Mullens a great add and start this week with four teams on bye.

Marcus Mariota

ESPN: Less than 14% owned

I had a feeling that the Tennesse offense who look much better coming out after their bye week here in Week 9 against the Cowboys. Mariota ended up finishing as the QB7 overall on the week and had his second-best fantasy performance of the season. The Titans finally got away from using Derrick Henry and fed Dion Lewis to a total of 19 carries to help move the offense against a stout Dallas defense. Mariota completed 21 of 29 passes for 240 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed 10 times for 32 yards and another score but lost two fumbles. With the Titans welcoming the Patriots in Week 10, I like the matchup for Mariota a ton. New England gives up the 8th most fantasy points to the QB position. The Patriots defense is much more inferior on the road then there are at home. While on the road this season the Patriots have allowed every quarterback not named Derek Anderson to at least 250 passing yards and two passing touchdowns. The Patriots also rank third to last in rushing yards allowed to the quarterback position, creating a nice baseline for a one Marcus Mariota.

*Priority Order* FAAB Spend: Smith, Mariota, Mullens 5% of the total budget

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Week 10 Waiver Wire RB Pickups

Duke Johnson Jr.

ESPN: Less than .4% owned

Duke Johnson Jr, finally had his breakout game in 2018, that we have been waiting for. Guy had nine receptions on nine targets for 70 yards and two touchdowns. Played a season-high in offensive snaps. In any full point or half point per reception leagues, you need to add the Duke. The Falcons are visiting the Browns next week and they can’t stop pass-catching backs. No team has allowed more receptions, targets, or red zone targets to the RB position. The new coaches in Cleveland said they wanted to get Duke Johnson more involved and they did just that.

FAAB Spend: 10%

Josh Adams

ESPN: Less than 3% owned

He’s looked the best as the early-down runner. Corey Clement just got four touches the last time we saw the Eagles, and Wendell Smallwood continued to be worked mostly in the passing game. Adams looks like the best to come out of the bye week as the primary ball-carrier. The Eagles did not trade for a running back before the deadline so that should bode well for Adams. Over the past two weeks, Adams has averaged 6.0 yards per carry, versus Smallwood’s 3.3 and Clement’s 1.0. Eagles have the Cowboys in Week 10. Both Derrick Henry and Dion Lewis had nice stat line against the Cowboys in Week 9.

FAAB Spend: 5%

Mike Davis

ESPN: Less than 19% owned

Volume is what you are going to chase with Davis. With Chris Carson sidelined Davis rushed 15 times for 62 yards in Sunday’s 25-17 loss to the Chargers. He also caught seven of eight targets for 45 yards. The Seahawks trust Davis more than Rashaad Penny so Davis is an easy plugin play at the running back position if Carson misses time. It’s very encouraging that Davis was heavily involved in the passing game as they could be approaching a shootout against the Rams in Week 10.

FAAB Spend: 5%

Elijah McGuire

ESPN: Less than 10% owned

He’s back! Elijah McGuire returned in Week 9 and led the Jets’ backfield in snaps. As projected McGuire slid right into the Bilal Powell role. He out-snapped Isaiah Crowell and Trenton Cannon in Week 9. McGuire carried six times for 23 yards and caught three of five targets for 37 yards in Week 9. He was actually second on the team in receiving yards. Again, don’t invest too much to a running back on a poor offense, but buy his upside as a weapon in the receiving game.

FAAB Spend: 3%

Honorable Mentions: Doug Martin OAK, Alfred Morris SF, D’Onta Foreman HOU, Nyheim Hines IND, Chris Thompson WAS, Theo Riddick DET

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Week 10 Waiver Wire WR Pickups

Adam Humphries

ESPN: Less than 3% owned

FAAB Spend: 5%

He has 31 targets over the last three weeks and seems like one of the more consistent receivers in Tampa Bay regardless of whoever is playing under center. He finished Week 9 as the number two wide receiver on the week and that is why he needs to be added across all fantasy PPR formats. Since Week 4 in PPR leagues, Humphries has not scored less than 7.7 fantasy points. The touchdowns are going to be volatile for sure, but if this season has taught us anything is slot receivers seem to always get a bump in fantasy production.

Christian Kirk

ESPN: Less than 18% owned

FAAB Spend: 3%

Christian Kirk has to be Josh Rosen’s favorite target. The rookie wide receiver caught three of seven targets for 42 yards and a touchdown in Week 8 against the 49ers. Kirk after eight weeks has the second most targets on Arizona. Coming out of the bye week coming I think Kirk should be available and added. We saw improvements in the offense in the post-McCoy offense so Kirk is somebody that needs to be on your radar. The Cardinals will take on the Chiefs in Week 10, where they will need all the offense they can get. Kansas City gives up the 14th most fantasy points to the WR position.

Tre’Quan Smith

ESPN: Less than 9% owned

FAAB Spend: 5%

In Week 9, Tre’Quan Smith played (68 percent) against the Rams. The biggest win from Week 9 from Smith may not have been his output, but again output by Cameron Meredith. Meredith played just 18.31% of snaps. Smith had two catches on three targets for 23 yards, including a four-yard touchdown He was targeted four times. Smith’s schedule rest of season is also extremely good. Cincinnati, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Dallas, Tampa Bay, Carolina, and Pittsburgh. Majority of these teams rank in the top ten of fantasy points allowed to the WR position. The one thing to note as reported on Monday late is that the Saints were bringing in free agent wide receivers for workouts including Dez Bryant.

Keke Coutee ESPN: Less than 20% owned The Houston Texans traded for Demaryius Thomas and Coutee missed Week 9 due to his hamstring injury. Coutee said he won’t return until he is 100 percent healthy, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reports. I do expect that once Coutee returns though that he will have a role on the offense as he showed when he was healthy. He is actually more likely to play the Will Fuller role more than Thomas, who just does not have that down the field speed that Coutee possesses. The Texans are on a bye this week, so keep your eyes peeled to add this guy to your roster. FAAB Spend: 7% Marquez Valdes-Scantling ESPN: Less than 21% owned The new number two wide receiver on the Green Bay Packers, MVS has looked great in his time on the field with Aaron Rodgers and the rest of the Packers’ offense. He was second in the team in routes run and tied Cobb for second on the team with six total targets. The biggest difference though are Valdes Scantlings’ targets are down the field while Cobb’s are short quick passes near the line of scrimmage. MVS has now put up at least 12 fantasy points in four straight games and looks locked in as the Green Bay number two receiver moving forward. The Packers have Miami in Week 10. FAAB Spend: 7% Maurice Harris ESPN: Less than .1% owned Ten receptions for 124 yards on 12 targets. The Redskins’ are depleted across the board and with Paul Richardson Jr. being placed on injured reserve, that opens up more targets for Harris. Especially if Jamison Crowder continues to miss time. He has an absolute great matchup as well against Tampa Bay in Week 10. FAAB Spend: 7% Tyrell Williams ESPN: Less than 32% owned Tyrell Williams has now scored a touchdown in three consecutive games. The Chargers get the tanking Raiders in Week 10 so literally, start every single Charger. Williams went 3-3 for 66 yards in the first matchup with Oakland. And for two consecutive years, he has scored against the Raiders. The planets are aligning for him Tyrell Williams to score in this contest. Add him for an upside play at the wide receiver position. FAAB Spend: 7% John Ross ESPN: Less than 9% owned With A.J. Green out, that opens up some opportunities for the former first-round pick John Ross to step up. A boom-bust guy, Ross needs to step up for the Bengals with Green on the shelf for the foreseeable future. Ross practiced on Monday and appears to be healthy, so it would make sense that he would see the biggest bump in workload with Green out. FAAB Spend: 7%

Honorable Mentions: Rashard Higgins CLE, Brandon LaFell OAK, Anthony Miller CHI, David Moore SEA, Josh Doctson WAS, Josh Malone CIN, Cordarrelle Patterson NE, Kendrick Bourne SF



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Week 10Waiver Wire TE Pickups

Jack Doyle

ESPN: Less than 40% owned

FAAB Spend: 10%

Still available in 60% of ESPN leagues Jack Doyle is a must add to any fantasy lineup. He finally returned to the lineup before the bye week after a hip injury kept him out since Week 2. In his return, he caught six of seven targets for 70 yards and a touchdown. Andrew Luck absolutely loves to target his tight ends and that is why there is optimism surrounding him for the rest of the fantasy football season. The team returns from the bye week in Week 10, so there’s a chance that Doyle was overlooked on waivers in your league. Do not overlook him. Add him and have a tight end you can confidently start the rest of the season. Doyle dominated the snaps over Eric Ebron 75% to 18%. in their last game. According to Graham Barfield of NFL.com in three games where Doyle has played this year, Ebron’s snap rates are 45% (Week 1), 26% (W2), 18% (W8). Doyle out-targeting Ebron 22 to 11.

Chris Herndon

ESPN: Less than 13% owned

FAAB Spend: 1%

Herndon did not catch a touchdown but still had a productive day. Herndon caught all four of his targets for a team-high 62 yards. The Jets continue to be banged up at the wide receiver position so Herndon has emerged as a favorite target for the Sam Darnold. He is 7th in fantasy scoring over the past month. He has the Bills in Week 10, who have not allowed any tight end to surpass 55 receiving yards on the season. Ben Watson ESPN: Less than 49% owned FAAB Spend: 1% Ben Watson caught 3-of-4 targets for 62 yards and a touchdown in the Week 9 win over the Rams. Watson put up a dud in Week 8 against Minnesota but now has scored 13 plus fantasy points in two of is last three games. Obviously, Watson is not a featured part of the Saints’ offense, but because the offense scores so many points, his chances of scoring or just having one big play make him a viable fantasy option. The matchup is also very good in Week 1o because the Bengals have given up the 3rd most fantasy points to tight ends this season. Vance McDonald ESPN: Less than 58% owned FAAB Spend: 5% Vance McDonald had just three catches for 25 yards on six targets in Week 9. McDonald has been disappointing but he continues to see the majority of snaps at the tight end position. He also saw twice as many targets as Jesse James. Hopefully, someone in your league drops him out of frustration as McDonald has only surpassed 10 fantasy points once in his last five games. You will want to start him this week because the Carolina Panthers allow the most fantasy points per game to the tight end position. All “good” tight ends have scored at double-digit fantasy points against them this season.

Honorable Mentions: Jeff Heuerman DEN, Nick Vannett SEA, Jonnu Smith TEN, Logan Thomas BUF

Defense/Special Teams Week 10 Waiver Wire Pickups

Green Bay DST vs Dolphins

Miami has given up the 11th most fantasy points to Team Defenses this season.

ESPN: Less than 16% owned

Jets DST vs Bills

Buffalo has given up the most fantasy points to Team Defenses this season.

ESPN: Less than 38% owned

Bills DST vs Jets

New York has given up the 12th most fantasy points to Team Defenses this season.

ESPN: Less than 12% owned

– Andrew Erickson is a fantasy writer for Gridiron Experts. Follow me and vote in my twitter poll!

Hottest waiver wire player this week? #waiverwire — Andrew Erickson™ (@AndrewErickson_) November 6, 2018

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