Picking up the pieces after injuries to Devonta Freeman and Austin Hooper.
There aren’t a bounty of strong options on the waiver wire this week. Hopefully you were busy on the trade market, and hopefully there will be more movement on the wire to come. With an injuries to Detroit Lions running back Ty Johnson and Atlanta Falcons running back Devonta Freeman, there are some waiver wire options worth targeting, and they could even be viable starters for a few weeks.
There will be two situations worth monitoring for next week. San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle and Atlanta Falcons tight end Austin Hooper are both dealing with injuries. Their backups may become fill-in options.
Here are the waiver wire targets after Week 10 and for Week 11.
5. Falcons and 49ers tight ends
Two of the best tight ends in fantasy football are dealing with injuries. The Falcons’ pecking order is a puzzle. It’s entirely possible they turn to their receivers, if Hooper misses time. But maybe tight end Luke Stocker can step up.
It’s a similar story in San Francisco, with Kittle set to miss Monday night’s game in Week 10. We’ll get a chance to see if second-year pro Ross Dwelley can step out without Kittle. Dwelley might be rostering if he plays well, just in case Kittle misses additional time.
4. J.D. McKissic, RB, Detroit Lions
ESPN: 15%. Yahoo! 21%.
When Ty Johnson left the game with a concussion, McKissic took over. The Chicago Bears made life difficult for McKissic, even with an increased ownership of touches. He finished the game with 10 carries for 36 yards and six receptions for 19 yards. In PPR formats, McKissic’s value would be on the rise if Johnson misses time.
3. Brian Hill, RB, Atlanta Falcons
ESPN: .3%. Yahoo! 3%.
It’s unclear how long Devonta Freeman could be out, but he seems to be dealing with an ankle issue. That gave life to Hill, who finished with 20 carries for 61 yards and a 10-yard touchdown reception in Week 10. He may end up being the workhorse back in Atlanta for a few weeks.
2. Darius Slayton, WR, New York Giants
ESPN: 12%. Yahoo! 10%.
Slayton had been quietly putting together a solid season until the last three weeks when he’s put up four touchdowns, with two in Week 10 and two in Week 8. He’s probably not a plug-and-play starter, but has proven a reliable red-zone threat. This season, he has 45 receptions, 394 yards and five touchdowns. He could be worth a roster spot.
1. Derrius Guice, RB, Washington Redskins
ESPN: 38%. Yahoo! 37%.
Before suffering an injury, he was the team’s starting running back, with the Redskins benching Adrian Peterson. Somehow, the ageless wonder has gone on to have a productive season. But with Guice coming back, it’s easy to imagine him splitting carries, at least. The Redskins will want to see what Guice can contribute as they continue to play for the future. He should return to being a big part of their offense.
Tunnel Vision – a look back at Sunday for fantasy free agents, injuries and notable performances.
Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
SUNDAY SALUTES
Quarterbacks
Yards
TD
Lamar Jackson
223 – 63
4
Daniel Jones
308 – 20
4
Patrick Mahomes
446
3
Kyler Murray
324 – 38
3
Dak Prescott
397
3
Running Backs
Yards
TD
Derrick Henry
188 – 3
2
Aaron Jones
93
3
Christian McCaffrey
108 – 33
1
Melvin Gordon
108-25
1
Dalvin Cook
97-86
1
Wide Receivers
Yards
TD
Christian Kirk
138
3
Darius Slayton
121
2
Tyreek Hill
157
1
Golden Tate
95
2
Amari Cooper
147
1
Tight Ends
Yards
TD
Mark Andrews
53
2
Travis Kelce
75
1
O.J. Howard
47
1
Jack Doyle
44
1
Kyle Rudolph
14
2
Placekickers
XP
FG
Harrison Butker
2
4
Younghoe Koo
2
4
Matt Gay
3
3
Jason Sanders
1
3
Sam Ficken
4
2
Defense
Sck-TO
TD
Steelers
4-3
1
Ravens
2-3
2
Rams
3-2
1
Raiders
5-3
1
Jets
6-2
1
Bumps, Bruises and Bowouts
TE Trey Burton – Calf
RB Devonta Freeman – Ankle
RB Giovani Bernard – Knee
RB Ty Johnson – Concussion
RB Jordan Wilkins – Ankle
WR Ryan Switzer – Back
RB Saquon Barkley – Undisclosed
Chasing Ambulances
Devonta Freeman – This is the only injury likely to create new opportunities. The Falcons already placed Ito Smith on injured reserve last week and next up means Brian Hill. He ran for 61 yards on 20 carries mostly all after Freeman left by halftime. Hill also caught a ten-yard pass. Hill already has some value as the new No. 2 for the Falcons and will be the primary if Freeman misses any time. Next week, the Falcons play the Panthers that just let Aaron Jones score three touchdowns. At this point in the season, Hill is a worthy addition if you have the room.
Free Agents and Notable Performances
RB Melvin Gordon – Finally broke 100 yards for 2019 when he ran 22 times for 108 yards and a touchdown plus caught a pass for 25 yards. He ran for 80 yards on 20 carries in Week 9 versus the Packers. After six games back, he’s back in playing form with two straight games of 20 carries and 4.0 YPC.
RB J.D. McKissic – Ty Johnson left with a concussion so McKissic (10-36) and Paul Perkins (7-9) filled in. McKissic also caught six passes for 19 yards as the busiest receiver. He worth adding to a roster if there are reception points and the upcoming schedule (DAL, @WAS, CHI, @MIN) will need to use a running back as a receiver. That was with Jeff Driskell as the quarterback but Matt Stafford uses him a well.
TE Mark Andrews – Big game with six catches for 53 yards and two touchdowns. The notable part is that he’s only topped 50 yards in one other game since Week 2. He gained 99 yards on six catches in Week 6. Against the same Bengals team in their first meeting. They can’t always be the Bengals each week, but when they are, Andrews comes to life.
RB Joe Mixon – Okay, so he hasn’t rushed in a touchdown this year, but at least Mixon just turned in his first 100-yard rushing effort of the year. He ran for 114 yards on 30 carries and added 37 yards on two catches in the loss to the Ravens.
QB Ryan Finley – The rookie debuted with only 167 yards and one touchdown with one interception versus the Ravens which were not the best choice for a first game. Short of a catastrophic situation for your fantasy team, doesn’t look like he needs to be picked up. There is even game film on his this week.
Saints backfield – Sunday was a trash game for the Saints who never showed up. So it is hard to draw too many conclusions from what happened in the loss to the Falcons. Alvin Kamara returned from his ankle injury but only gained 24 yards on four carries. Latavius Murray ran five times for 12 yards so the Saints equally mixed the pair for at least this week. Kamara still caught eight of his targets while Murray only drew two passes. But the situation is more reminiscent of how the Saints used to mix Kamara and Mark Ingram.
WR Darius Slayton – He only caught one pass for six yards in the Week 9 loss to the Cowboys but the fifth-round rookie just turned in his first game over the century mark when he caught ten passes for 121 yards and two scores on the Jets. He has a bye this week but his fantasy playoff schedule for Weeks 14 to 16 are @PHI, MIA, and @WAS.
RB Saquon Barkley – There are missing offensive linemen and a rookie quarterback, but that still doesn’t completely explain how one of the most talented running backs on the planet just rushed for a net of one yard on 13 carries in the loss to the Jets. Barkley still caught five passes for 30 yards but the first pick in most fantasy drafts was hoped to offer more than 31 yards. Barkley was reported to have gone to the x-ray room after the game but no word as to why.
Cardinals backfield – The return of David Johnson did not change much. He only ran for two yards on five carries and caught one 8-yard pass. Kenyan Drake rushed ten times for 35 yards and caught six passes for a net six-yard gain. And that is without Chase Edmonds eventually mixed back in. For now, the backfield is split and Drake is getting the bigger share.
WR Andy Isabella – The Cardinals rookie is becoming a common deep threat lately with a 55-yard catch this week and an 88-yard reception in Week 10. His 78 total yards against the Buccaneers was second highest for the receivers.
RB Ronald Jones – He’s recently been given over ten carries per game but he had never caught more than two passes. Against the Cardinals, Jones ran for 29 yards and a score on 11 carries and added eight catches for 77 yards. The Bucs had not used running backs much as receivers, so it is worth noting since Jones’s fantasy value would be much greater if he had more than two receptions per game.
RB Damien Williams – Nice development for Williams. After sharing with LeSean McCoy, he was allowed 12 carries in Week 9 and gained 125 yards with one score. On Sunday, he ran for 77 yards on 19 carries and added five catches for 32 yards. McCoy was a healthy scratch. He lost a fumble that was returned for a touchdown which works against a running back. But at least the Chiefs turned him into a workhorse this week.
WR DeVante Parker – With Preston Williams on injured reserve, Allen Hurns filled in bot only caught two passes for 32 yards on his four targets. Parker saw more work with ten targets and five receptions for 69 yards. The Fins will need to throw and look like they only trust Parker now.
WR DJ Moore – Kyle Allen is connecting better with Moore in recent weeks and his seven-catch, 101-yard effort in Week 9 was followed up with nine receptions for 120 yards at Green Bay.
RB Aaron Jones – He ran for 93 yards on 13 carries and had no receptions. But he scored three touchdowns, giving him a total of 14 scores on the year. He’s scored in seven of his ten games and yet hasn’t rushed the ball more than 13 times in the last five weeks.
Huddle player of the week
Christian Kirk – The second-year receiver hadn’t scored a touchdown this year and was mostly held to moderate production each week while his rookie quarterback went through his learning curve. Facing the Buccaneers in Tampa Bay was a great place for a career-best game. Kirk caught six passes for 138 yards and scored three touchdowns. It probably won’t be that easy next week in San Francisco. But he led the position for Week 10.
Salute!
Drama 101 – Somebody has to laugh, somebody has to cry
