Every week, I try to find players who could be sitting on the waiver wire and are worth picking up for this week based on their matchups. With bye weeks here and so many injuries, finding streaming options has become even more important! Here’s what I have for week nine:
Teams on a bye: Steelers and 49ers
Bo Nix, Denver Broncos
He has been excellent since the start of week 5, and although I don’t think anyone expects him and the Broncos to go into Baltimore and win this weekend, he should be able to put up a solid game for fantasy football purposes. The Ravens are one of the best offenses in the NFL, so you know they are going to score points. This means that the Broncos will either have to keep pace or, at the very least, will have garbage time to work with. The Ravens defense hasn’t been good this season, for what it’s worth. They rank 30th in fantasy football against the QB and worst in the NFL against the pass.
Joe Flacco, Indianapolis Colts
Flacco has thrown for at least 2 TD passes in all of his starts this season. Overall, he has a 7-1 TD-INT ratio, and the Colts offense is simply better with him than it is with Richardson. I like Flacco in general, but his matchup this week is why I think he should be used in 12, 14, and 16-team leagues. The Colts face the Vikings, who rank 25th in fantasy football against the QB position this season, and they rank 30th in the NFL against the pass. The Vikings have been good against the run this season, which is a big reason why they aren’t good against the pass; teams are throwing the ball against them often.
Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams
Stafford faces the Seahawks this weekend. They started the season strong defensively but haven’t been good lately. He is also widely available in leagues because prior to week 8, he had just 3 TD passes. He threw for 4 TDs in week 8, though, against the Vikings, and a lot of his success had to do with the return of Kupp and Nacua. The Rams are right in the thick of the NFC West division race, and if they are going to make a move toward the playoffs, it’s going to be because Stafford, Kupp, and Nacua are going to all be great in the second half of the season.
Tyler Allgeier, Atlanta Falcons
He is rarely going to have a game like in week 6 where he had close to the same amount of touches as Bijan Robinson did. Still, Allgeier continues to see a steady dose of opportunity in the Falcons offense, especially when they are playing with a lead. You should expect that to be the case this weekend, as they host the 3-4 Dallas Cowboys, who have looked terrible all season long defensively, particularly against the run. They rank 31st in the NFL in rush yards allowed per game and 29th in fantasy football against the RB position.
Roschon Johnson, Chicago Bears
This is more of a deep league-only move. If you have a 49ers or Steelers RB this week, you might be looking for a cheap replacement. Johnson is a good RB, but he is available in most leagues since Swift finally emerged as the lead guy in the offense a few weeks ago. Still, Johnson sees red zone, and specifically, goal line touches. He and the Bears face the Cardinals this weekend, who rank 26th in the NFL against the run and 26th in fantasy against RBs.
Xavier Legette, Carolina Panthers
He had a tough matchup last week against a good Broncos pass defense, and although he only ended the day with 34 yards, he did catch 4 passes and find the endzone. It was the 7 targets that stood out to me, though, and with Diontae Johnson traded to the Ravens, the target share for Legette is only expected to grow. That, coupled with the fact that he has a great matchup vs. the Saints this week, has me feeling good about him. The Saints rank 28th in the NFL against the pass and 26th against WRs in fantasy.
Josh Downs, Indianapolis Colts
Downs saw a team-high nine targets in week 8, and although he only caught 4 of them, he ended up with 109 yards and a TD. If he had a more accurate QB throwing him the football, he might have had a much bigger game. The good news here is that Joe Flacco was named the starter in week 9 against the Vikings, which means that Downs and all of the Colts pass catchers will get a big boost this weekend. All of the biggest games we have seen from Downs prior to week 8 came with Flacco as his QB. He saw at least 9 targets in all of those games and made at least 7 catches, too. The matchup is superb, too. The Vikings rank 32nd in fantasy football against the WR position.
Jalen McMillan, Tampa Bay Bucs
The matchup is tough this week, so in shallower leagues, I would look to go with Downs or Legette over him easily. However, McMillan has seen 15 targets in the past 2 weeks after seeing just 7 targets in his first 4 games. With Godwin and Evans out, he is the WR seeing more opportunity, and at some point, the Bucs will be losing this game to the defending champion Chiefs, so they will have to air it out.
Tyler Boyd, Tennessee Titans
Although Nick Westbrook-Ikhine caught the TD pass last week and has now scored a TD in three consecutive games, Boyd saw more targets and is the more reliable player in PPR. This is a 14 or 16-team league type of streaming option, but it’s worth noting that the Patriots defense has been bad this season against the pass, ranking 23rd in the NFL and 25th against WRs in fantasy.
Taysom Hill, New Orleans Saints
Other than Alvin Kamara, there is no other Saints player with a better chance to score a TD in a game than Taysom Hill. He can throw for it, run for it, or make a TD catch. His versatility always makes him an interesting play, but this week, I think he needs to be in your lineups. The Saints are facing the Panthers, who rank last in the NFL in points allowed per game, last in the NFL against the run, and 25th against the pass. As bad as the Saints offense has been lately, this weekend, it is going to score points.
Noah Fant, Seattle Seahawks
If D.K. Metcalf misses another game, then I love this play, even in the shallower leagues. If Metcalf does play, I still think Fant is in a good spot this week. The Seahawks will host the Rams in a crucial divisional showdown, and the Rams have been dreadful against the TE position this season. They rank 30th against the position coming into week 9, and the Seahawks, being a pass-first team, will almost assuredly look to exploit it.
Tennessee Titans
I am streaming the Titans this week in 2 of my leagues. Their defense isn’t why they are bad this season. Their offense stinks, but I like their defense this weekend because they are at home against the Patriots.
