A lot of unheralded players came up big in Week 9, and that’s good news for us fantasy football managers. If you’re playing in a standard-format league, you may have your trade deadline on the horizon already.
It’s time to make some moves to add depth to your roster or to acquire some valuable trade pieces before the season reaches a boiling point. Let’s hear it from a handful of the web’s experts below as for who we should count on for Week 10’s slate and beyond.
NFL Week 10 Fantasy Experts Waiver Wire Pickups
Yahoo! Sports
Position
Pick 1
Pick 2
Pick 3
RB
Chris Ivory
DuJuan Harris
Paul Perkins
WR
Rishard Matthews
J.J. Nelson
QB
Joe Flacco
A lot of people gave up on Jacksonville’s backfield early on, but maybe it’s time we took notice at the one star from that running back corps once more.
Andy Behrens of Yahoo! Sports took note of Chris Ivory’s breakout performance on Sunday and claims that last year’s 1,000-yard rusher is back. Against a formidable Chiefs defense, Ivory gained 107 rushing yards on just 18 carries and is eating well into fellow teammate T.J. Yeldon’s share of touches of late. If Ivory was abandoned by another manager from the previous weeks, now’s the time to steal the Jags’ best hope for a decent running game.
With standout quarterbacks Matthew Stafford, Derek Carr and Andrew Luck all on bye this week, you may also need a solid flex QB for Week 11. Behrens suggests that Joe Flacco is the top pick for the week because of how the stars have aligned for his next outing.
This Thursday night, the Ravens will face a Browns team that has given up 22 passing scores to their opponents thus far. Apart from that, Flacco will have Steve Smith Sr. at full strength again, and speedy Mike Wallace just showed on Sunday with his 95-yard touchdown catch what he’s really capable of bringing to Baltimore’s aerial attack.
Bleacher Report
Position
Pick 1
Pick 2
RB
Tim Hightower
Ronnie Hillman
WR
Dontrelle Inman
Adam Humphries
QB
Joe Flacco
Jay Cutler
TE
Cameron Brate
Austin Hooper
With only about three top-tier players at the position, tight end is often a bane for plenty of managers. But fret not, as Bleacher Report‘s Kristopher Knox couldn’t be more correct in pinpointing a couple of possible game-breakers from the NFC South: Tampa Bay’s Cameron Brate and Atlanta’s Austin Hooper.
Brate benefited from the Bucs’ lack of depth at running back by being a sound target for Jameis Winston and the Buccaneers last Thursday night. He’s now hauled in two touchdowns in as many weeks and remains the team’s only true option at tight end.
As for Hooper, he’s now well in line to take over the starting job from Jacob Tamme, who was out in Week 9 with a shoulder injury. He had 46 receiving yards and found the end zone on Sunday. Knox also mentioned that 116 of Hooper’s 207 snaps came from the past three weeks, further proving that his involvement in the Falcons’ offense is on the rise.
Both tight ends take advantage from their pass-heavy offenses with reliable QBs running the show. Hooper has better potential with Matt Ryan playing like an MVP this season, but Brate has the better track record with his overall numbers for the season. Nevertheless, you can’t go wrong with either TE this week and in the long run.
Scout
Position
Pick 1
Pick 2
RB
Peyton Barber
Paul Perkins
WR
J.J. Nelson
Rishard Matthews
QB
Jay Cutler
Colin Kaepernick
TE
C.J. Fiedorowicz
Similar to Yahoo!‘s Behrens, Adam Ronis of Scout went with Arizona’s J.J. Nelson and Tennessee’s Rishard Matthews as the two best wide receiver options likely to still be available in the free agency pool.
As mentioned by Ronis, Nelson has Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians’ word that he’ll be given a starting role now given his stunning performances these past couple of games and the injury to Jaron Brown. The second-year wideout put up 82 receiving yards against a tough Seattle D in Week 7 and followed that up with a 79-yard, two-touchdown outing against the Panthers the week after.
Meanwhile, Matthews has been overlooked for much of the season as the Titans were clearly a run-first team considering how Marcus Mariota’s sophomore season was awkwardly panning out. But now, Mariota’s picking up steam and the former Dolphin has quietly gotten all the love from his QB’s resurgence.
Ronis highlighted that Matthews had six catches for 63 yards and a pair of scores on 10 targets this past Sunday, and he now has five TDs in as many weeks. For as long as the Titans can keep up their resilient form, Matthews could very well be a high- to mid-WR2 steal indeed.
