Week 8 of the NFL saw a lot of high-scoring games go down, making plenty of fantasy team owners very happy. However, not everyone is in on the scoring spree, especially with a pair of top-tier feature backs gone for the rest of the season due to serious injuries.
First of all, we just had Jamaal Charles’ season come to an end a few weeks back. Now, even Pittsburgh’s Le’Veon Bell is forced to sit out the remainder of his campaign, and Chicago’s Matt Forte is also expected to miss quite a lot of time with his own MCL injury. What a tough break it is indeed for owners who selected any of these three elite RBs with their first pick of the draft…
While the damage done by the loss of these three fantasy studs cannot be ignored, it’s also best to just move on from such misfortune and press forward with some quality waiver wire pickups that shouldn’t be ignored themselves. But who exactly are these players that are worth picking up in Week 9? Let’s see what the fantasy gurus around the web have to say.
And if the pundits’ inputs below aren’t enough for you and your ailing team, check out our very own fantasy sleeper picks for the coming week of NFL action after this for more insights.
[sc:Football ]
Fantasy Football Expert Guide Pickups for Week 9 of the 2015 NFL Season
FantasyPros
Position
Pick
Quarterback
Jameis Winston
Running Back
Jeremy Langford
Wide Receiver
Nate Washington
Tight End
Jacob Tamme
[sc:NFL240banner ]With Matt Forte out for an indefinite but presumably long period of time, now’s Bears running back Jeremy Langford’s opportunity to fill the void left by Chicago’s reliable workhorse and become a fantasy stud in his own right.
Owned in less than five percent of most fantasy football sites, the fourth-round pick out of Michigan State could very well follow Kansas City’s Charcandrick West’s suit as a solid replacement for a star running back, as Nathaniel Reeves of FantasyPros attests. Langford’s stats don’t really pop out (27 carries, 80 yards, two TDs in his rookie campaign), but like the Chiefs, the Bears love to run the ball on offense, which Forte benefitted from throughout his career in the Windy City.
However, recent sources have cited that Chicago plans to sign Montee Ball, who has had previous experience with head coach John Fox and offensive coordinator Adam Gase back in their time with the Denver Broncos. Still, Ball in on the real NFL market for a reason (see: not a very good runner), and Langford remains a hot ticket on most fantasy free agency pools as we speak.
Reeves is also high on claiming Bucs QB Jameis Winston if you’re in need of a solid play-caller this week. The former Heisman Trophy winner has seen his game vastly improve over the past couple of weeks in spite of not having Tampa Bay’s receiving corps at full strength, and he also has a favorable matchup against the Giants up next, who just surrendered 500-plus passing yards and 52 points to Drew Brees and the Saints this past Sunday.
Scout
Position
Pick 1
Pick 2
Pick 3
Quarterback
Alex Smith
Running Back
DeAngelo Williams
CJ Spiller
Wide Receiver
Nate Washington
Malcom Floyd
Andre Holmes
Tight End
Heath Miller
To address the needs of Le’Veon Bell’s owners, Scout’s Jimmy Dinsmore suggested to claim Bell’s backup DeAngelo Williams right away. In Pittsburgh’s first two games of the season that he started in place of then-suspended Bell, Williams rushed for over 200 yards combined to go with three touchdowns.
Furthermore, Dinsmore also stated that after Bell left Week 8’s game against the Bengals, Williams then managed to rack up 110 all-purpose yards – with 39 of them via the passing game. Not only does the former Carolina Panther star look to have good value in PPR leagues with his catching ability, but quite frankly, he’s the only true option in the Steelers’ backfield right now.
Dinsmore also recommended picking up two players on byes right now in Kansas City QB Alex Smith and Houston WR Nate Washington. He complemented Smith for his smart yet relatively tame decision-making and recent signs of better mobility on the ground (a career-high 78 rushing yards and a TD in Week 8).
Meanwhile, Washington is a must-add given how the Texans resort to the passing game with the team’s propensity to get buried early on by the opposition. Also, he now has back-to-back games with a receiving touchdown with fellow wideout Cecil Shorts still recovering from an injury on the sidelines.
Bleacher Report
Position
Pick
Quarterback
Jameis Winston
Running Back
Jeremy Langford
Wide Receiver
Malcom Floyd
Tight End
Heath Miller
No surprises here with Bleacher Report’s Steven Cook’s picks, who also suggested picking up Winston and Langford. But cook also placed votes of confidence in a couple of players already cited in the two lists above that are just as pivotal for those owners on the hunt for some breakout performers.
If Pittsburgh’s Heath Miller is somehow still available on your waiver wire, pick him up… now. Miller proved just how vital he is to the Steelers’ passing game with Big Ben at the helm, catching 10 passes on 13 targets this past week for 105 yards in Roethlisberger’s first game back from injury. And again, with Le’Veon Bell out for the rest of the season, Pittsburgh’s passing game could once again soar to ridiculous levels like what we saw from the team last year.
Then there’s San Diego’s Malcom Floyd, who Cook stated as nothing more than a deep-ball threat in the Chargers passing game prior to Week 8. However, Floyd’s team-high of six targets for four catches, 92 yards and two TDs last Sunday is more than enough proof that Philip Rivers now has a new viable option downfield, especially with Keenan Allen also having to bow out of this season with a lacerated kidney.
Create a betting account now to cash in on the real-time NFL action with your solid predictions for Week 9 and beyond.
