Thomason: Top Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups For Week 9
By Jack Thomason--
(CBS) This is getting to be a little ridiculous.
Maybe it's because so many of these monster injuries to star players are affecting my team, but I can't remember an instance in recent memory in which we have had this type of "murderer's row" of big-name players going down. Nothing can be more frustrating than having an all-star team or a real title contender being derailed by not just one or even two injuries, but three or more studs lost for the year.
With many leagues approaching the trade deadlines in the next few weeks, now's your time to make the big splash or hope for the best with some of the waiver additions. A few of the top waiver acquisitions listed here can make an enormous difference, but the pool of impactful free agents and waiver adds is dwindling.
Here are my top 10 waiver adds for 10- and 12-man leagues.
1. DeAngelo Williams (RB, Pittsburgh Steelers) -- This is a season-changer if you can acquire him. Williams looked fantastic and was an RB1 in the first two games that Le'Veon Bell missed due to suspension. He also looked like he hadn't missed a beat this past Sunday when he took over for Bell, who's out for the year with a torn MCL. In just more than two quarters, Williams posted nine carries for 71 yards and added 39 yards on four receptions. He will be the lead horse in Pittsburgh moving forward, and the Steelers funnel their workhorse running back the ball. Williams handled 22 and 26 touches in the first two weeks of the season when he was the lead dog. Expect more of the same moving forward.
2. Jeremy Langford (RB, Chicago Bears) – Matt Forte's initial injury diagnosis is a sprained MCL. There's no timeline for his return, but some estimates have him expected to miss two weeks. With this type of injury, we've seen Ben Roethlisberger come back in five weeks and Antonio Gates play some after missing just one week. After Forte left Sunday, Langford saw all of the work. He racked up 46 yards on 12 carries and dropped his lone target, but it was clear the Bears will ride him for as long as Forte is out. There are some talks about the Bears signing free agent Montee Ball, but that shouldn't be anything more than a depth acquisition if it happens.
3. Malcolm Floyd (WR, San Diego Chargers) -- We saw Floyd turn the back the clock on us this past Sunday, as he showed he still has the ability to get behind the defense. Though the Ravens secondary is really bad, Floyd snagged four of his six targets and turned them into 92 yards and two scores. With the news breaking that Keenan Allen (second in the NFL in receptions) will be out indefinitely with a kidney injury, Floyd is the priority add at receiver.
4. Vernon Davis (TE, Denver Broncos) -- Yes, you read this right: Vernon Davis, the Denver Bronco. The Broncos made a trade Monday night for the former All-Pro tight end, sending two late-round picks to acquire his services. Let's not forget that Davis is one of the most athletic tight ends in all of football. Heck, he's one of the best athletes in the game. While he's a little long in the tooth nowadays, he still possess the necessary skills to be a mid-to-top tier TE1 on his new team. Peyton Manning and Gary Kubiak love to utilize the tight end position in their offense, and Davis is going to give this team what it has been missing since losing Julius Thomas to free agency. Davis is only a season removed from scoring 13 touchdowns.
5. Kamar Aiken (WR, Baltimore Ravens) -- Poor Steve Smith. The guy is ageless, and I hope he does come back for another year after suffering a torn Achilles. No one wants to go out on a season-ending injury, especially when they've had the career he's had. His void will have to be filled, though, and this is a sub-.500 team that's constantly trailing. Opportunities for pass catchers will be there, and Aiken will get the first crack at it. He had a season-high six receptions Sunday on six targets. Another name to keep an eye on is the recently acquired Chris Givens.
6. Nate Washington (WR, Houston Texans) -- Cecil Shorts continues to battle injuries, and Washington has secured that No. 2 receiver spot in Houston. You might say "big deal," but it is. He hasn't' had fewer than six targets in any game he's played in and has a whopping 22 targets the last two weeks, tallying 13 receptions, 201 yards and three touchdowns. Brian Hoyer's good enough to distribute the ball to DeAndre Hopkins and Washington plenty. Washington is a viable WR3 going forward.
7. Derek Carr (QB, Oakland Raiders) -- Carr has been on fire of late and what he did Sunday to one of the league's best defenses was nothing short of amazing. He threw for 333 yards and four touchdowns against Darelle Revis and the Jets, and now Carr has three or more touchdowns in three of six games (excluding Week 1, when he was injured early). Couple that with only one game of fewer than 249 yards passing, and we have ourselves the 13th-ranked quarterback in points-per-game average. Remove the game in which he was injured, and he's averaging more than 20 points and is a top-seven quarterback.
8. Robert Woods (WR, Buffalo Bills) -- We know Percy Harvin is dealing with a significant hip injury and Sammy Watkins is an unknown after reinjuring his calf in Week 6. This is where Woods comes in at. He was a second-round pick just three short years ago, so we know he's talented. When his opportunity came in Week 6, he didn't disappoint. Woods caught nine of 13 targets for 84 yards and a touchdown with EJ Manuel throwing the ball in London. Tyrod Taylor will return as the starter this week, and Woods will be the de facto WR1 if Watkins is still out. At worst, he will be the No. 2, if Watkins is healthy.
9. Heath Miller (TE, Pittsburgh Steelers) -- In Miller's full games with Roethlisberger, he has scored 12.4, 10.5 and 15.5 points in half-point PPR leagues. He's a bona fide TE1 as Roethlisberger's primary check-down receiver, especially with Bell gone for the year now. Miller saw a team-high 13 targets Sunday. If you have a tight end-needy team, Miller's a great option with Roethlisberger back.
10. Charles Sims (RB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers) -- It's more of the same as last week with Sims, who's seeing enough touches to be flex-worthy in good matchups. And if anything happens to Doug Martin, he's a rock-solid RB2. Sims has at least seven touches in every game this year and is averaging a solid 10 touches for 63 yards per game. He's more valuable in PPR leagues due to his receiving ability (averaging just under three per game) but is still a RB4 worth owning in any format.
Just missed: Tyrod Taylor (a must-add if someone has dropped him), David Cobb, Kendall Gaskins, Chris Polk, Steven Ridley, Tim Hightower, Dorial Green-Beckham, Dontrelle Inman, Reuben Randle and Crockett Gillmore.
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@jthomason77and feel free to ask fantasy questions.
