Thomason: Top Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups For Week 9
By Jack Thomason--
(CBS) It's Week 9 of the fantasy football season. Here are my top 10 waiver adds for 10- and 12-member leagues.
1. Derrick Henry (RB, Tennessee Titans) – If you own DeMarco Murray and you aren't carrying Henry, you're playing with fire. If you don't own Murray, you should still be set on getting Henry, because he will be a league winner if anything happens to Murray. We saw Henry's snaps increase to 48 percent last Thursday, and we saw what he can do with those extra touches, totaling a touchdown and 97 yards on 20 touches. The offense runs through the ground game, and Murray is already being monitored with a foot injury. His MRI came back negative, but you can't find a higher-upside back up than Henry.
2. Tim Hightower (RB, New Orleans Saints) – Last year's fantasy hero is back! Hightower took over for Mark Ingram after another costly fumble, and he didn't look back. Hightower rumbled his way to a 102-yard effort on 26 carries and did it against the top-five run defense of the Seahawks. He played 62 percent of the snaps, and while the Saints are saying Ingram will still play a "key" role in their backfield, Hightower is a must-have. We saw last year what Hightower could do as the feature back in a premier offense. If Ingram is phased out, his upside is a weekly top-10 option at running back. Next up? The 49ers.
3. Antone Smith/Peyton Barber (RB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers) – So the Buccaneers re-signed Mike James on Monday and are now down Doug Martin and Jacquizz Rodgers going into this Thursday's tilt with the Falcons. Barber is also likely to be involved, but Smith spent time with coach Dirk Koetter in Atlanta and out snapped (31 percent to 4 percent) and out-touched (5-1) Barber in Sunday's game. Again, if you're in need of running back help during a tough week with six teams on bye, you could do worse than Smith in a great spot against the soft Falcons run defense.
4. Charcandrick West (RB, Kansas City Chiefs) – With Spencer Ware suffering a concussion last week and Jamaal Charles set to see Dr. Andrews for his knee, West is last man standing in a valuable fantasy backfield. At this point, we aren't sure if Ware will be cleared in time for the Chiefs' game in Week 9, so it's better to be proactive than reactive. Using a claim on West this high means you likely own Ware or are desperate for running back help in a tough bye week spot. He only managed 60 yards on 16 touches against the cupcake run defense of the Colts.
5. Jamison Crowder (WR, Washington Redskins) – I'm not quite sure what more Crowder needs to do to get well above 50 percent ownership in fantasy leagues. He's been a top-20 receiver in points per game, yet he continues to be underappreciated and ignored. DeSean Jackson continues to get banged up, and Jordan Reed has been in and out of the lineup as well. Meanwhile, Crowder has become a constant and a familiar target for Kirk Cousins. He's averaging five receptions, 62 yards and 0.5 touchdowns per game and consistently playing over 70 percent of the snaps the last three weeks.
6. J.J. Nelson (WR, Arizona Cardinals) – With all the injuries Mike Floyd and John Brown have traded off, Nelson has taken advantage over the last two weeks. He's played the second-most snaps at receiver (87 percent) to Larry Fitzgerald and has racked up 167 yards and two touchdowns on 11 receptions and one rush over that span. Right now, the Cardinals are in need of someone to step up consistently outside of David Johnson and Fitzgerald. Maybe Nelson is emerging? We know this: He has serious deep speed.
7. Mike Gillislee (RB, Buffalo Bills) – Gillislee led the Bills in touches (15) and snaps (55 percent) out of the backfield with LeSean McCoy on the mend. He produced 94 yards on those touches and scored as well. While the Bills hope McCoy is back next week, they foolishly played him back in Week 10, and there's a good possibility Gillislee will see another start before the team's Week 10 bye. You might as well grab him now if he is still available.
8. Rob Kelley (RB, Washington Redskins) – Matt Jones hasn't been running with the type of power between the tackles that the Redskins coaches have wanted to see. That's exactly what Kelley did, though, taking 21 carries for 87 yards and a score against a hard-hitting Bengals defense. We don't know long Jones will be out with the knee injury, and the Redskins have a bye this week, but it wouldn't surprise me if Kelley's role continues to grow or if he unseats Jones as the starter in the next few weeks.
9. Ladarius Green (TE, Pittsburgh Steelers) – Green is practicing this week and seeing some first-team reps. He could be a legitimate difference-maker at the tight end position with Ben Roethlisberger slinging him the rock. The Steelers offense could use another threat outside Antonio Brown and Le'Veon Bell, and Green would offer big-time play making ability, stretching the seam and taxing the middle of opposing defenses.
10. Kendall Wright (WR, Tennessee Titans) – I don't love Wright here, but in two of the last three weeks, he's topped 80 yards and had a touchdown. The problem is he's seeing 50 percent or fewer of the offensive snaps, and it's really hard to trust any player not seeing the field consistently. In a week with six teams on bye, he could still be a perfect "what the heck" flex play or a dart WR3 in a nice matchup against the Chargers. Wright is averaging six targets per game over the last three weeks.
Just missed: All stud running back handcuffs, Kapri Bibbs, Tyreek Hill, Seth Roberts, Quincy Enunwa, Chris Hogan, Cameron Brate and Eric Ebron.
Jack Thomason is 670 The Score's fantasy football expert and co-host of "Chicago's Fantasy Football Today," which can be heard every Sunday during football season from 8-9 a.m. CT on WSCR-670 and 670thescore.com/listen. Follow him on Twitter @jthomason77 and feel free to ask fantasy questions.