For the third consecutive week, fantasy football managers may find themselves scouring the waiver wire on Sunday morning for some last-minute help. Whether it’s players on bye or unexpected inactives, plenty of you are starting some seriously fringe guys.
Not sure who to pick up? We’ve got you covered. Here are a handful of players available in more than 50% of Yahoo leagues who can help you this week.
JJ McCarthy, QB, Minnesota Vikings (vs. BAL)
Rostered: 54%
A little over the threshold, but we can make an exception for quarterbacks, as they are often more readily available than running backs and wide receivers. J.J. McCarthy had an impressive return after a nearly two month absence due to a high ankle sprain.
The Minnesota Vikings QB threw for just 143 yards, but he had two touchdown passes and ran in a third. Most notably, he led the Vikings to an upset road win over the Detroit Lions.
McCarthy looked the part and the only reason his volume numbers were so low is because the Vikings unexpectedly had positive game script the entire game. That is unlikely to happen a second week in a row against Lamar Jackson no less.
The Baltimore Ravens allow the 10th-most schedule adjusted fantasy points per game to quarterbacks. McCarthy should be dropping back to pass a lot more than 25 times in this one. He is a great streaming option.
Devin Singletary, RB, New York Giants
Rostered: 24%
This one certainly won’t feel good, and I hope it doesn’t come to this, but Devin Singletary is viable. Based on what we saw last week, the Giants are going with a relatively even timeshare at running back. This is not the Tyrone Tracy Jr. show.
Singletary actually out-snapped and outproduced his backfield mate with eight carries for 43 yards and two receptions for eight yards. The Bears allow the sixth-most schedule adjusted fantasy points per game to running backs. If you’re in a pinch, knowing Singletary is good for 8-10 opportunities is enough to justify starting him.
Isaiah Davis, RB, New York Jets
Rostered: 11%
This is only for you truly desperate people out there. We do not want to be starting fringe running backs against the No. 1 run defense in the NFL. But I’ll make the case for Isaiah Davis.
The Cleveland Browns allow the second-fewest schedule adjusted fantasy points per game to running backs. They’ve also surrendered a league low 8.8% of their total receiving yards allowed to running backs. It’s a lot of bad.
Here’s some good. Browns’ opponents actually target their running backs a decent amount, 18.9% of the time. The New York Jets do not have a viable second option in the passing game behind Garrett Wilson.
With the likelihood they struggle to run the ball, we could see more Davis than Breece Hall managers would care to admit. Before the bye, Davis had five receptions for 44 yards. He won’t be as efficient against the Browns, but if he can scam his way to 3-4 receptions while totaling something like 30 combined yards from scrimmage, that plays as a desperation Flex.
Darius Slayton, WR, New York Giants
Rostered: 50%
Last week, Darius Slayton caught five balls for 52 yards and it’s like no one even cares! Okay, that’s not exactly a performance that screams “Start me!” But it’s definitely useful. There are a lot of us out there who would sign for 10 fantasy points from a Flex if we could right now.
The Bears allow the fourth-most schedule adjusted fantasy points per game to wide receivers. Slayton was on the field for 90% of the snaps last week and should’ve had a long touchdown if not for a bogus penalty. I think he scores this week.
Alec Pierce, WR, Indianapolis Colts
Rostered: 41%
Ironically, I have Alec Pierce as a sit this week in my weekly start/sit column. But I could be wrong!
Pierce has hit double digit fantasy points in four games this season, including two of his last three. He’s coming off a season high 115 receiving yards on six receptions. Granted, it took 13 targets to get there, but we take the production however it comes.
The Atlanta Falcons are not a great matchup. They are a run funnel defense and the Indianapolis Colts just suffered a bad loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in a game where they probably think they didn’t feed Jonathan Taylor enough. This should be a ground heavy game plan.
With that said, Pierce has been legitimately good this year. He plays in two receiver sets ahead of Josh Downs. And there’s always the chance he catches a long one. You can certainly do worse than Pierce.
Tez Johnson, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Rostered: 32%
Why is Tez Johnson not being appreciated more? As long as Mike Evans and Chris Godwin are out, which will be for at least another several weeks, Johnson is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers WR2.
The rookie has posted at least 9.3 fantasy points in four straight games. He’s been playing around 70% of the snaps and in Week 7 before the bye, he ran a route on 92% of Baker Mayfield’s dropbacks.
This Bucs-Patriots game should have a lot of points and not ever pass can go to Emeka Egbuka. Johnson is a legitimate top 36 option this week.
Jalen Coker, WR, Carolina Panthers
Rostered: 4%
Based on his roster percentage, pretty much all of you should have Jalen Coker as an option if you need him. The floor is literally zero. So, this is as risky as it gets.
The assumption here is that Tetairoa McMillan won’t play after tweaking his hamstring at Friday’s practice. If that’s the case, Coker would elevate to a spot in two receiver sets opposite Xavier Legette.
Even though Legette is ahead of Coker on the depth chart, Coker is the more talented player. If both are on the field, the one playing better should earn the targets. I expect that to be Coker.
Tyler Shough has to throw to someone. This could be the Coker breakout performance.
Cade Otton, TE, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Rostered: 37%
It must be the bye week. That’s the only explanation for why fantasy managers suddenly forgot about Cade Otton.
From Weeks 5-8, the Bucs tight end his double digit fantasy points three times, and scored no lower than 8.0 in any contest. We can absolutely work with those numbers.
Evans is on IR and Godwin is nowhere close to a return (he should probably be on IR as well). Egbuka will continue to be Mayfield’s top target, but Otton may legitimately be second.
The New England Patriots are an average matchup for tight ends and this could end up being the highest scoring game of the weekend.
Dalton Schultz, TE, Houston Texans
Rostered: 33%
Here we have another tight end who is not getting enough respect. Dalton Schultz has at least 11.0 fantasy points in three of his last four. He’s been the most reliable option in the passing game aside from Nico Collins.
Now, Schultz gets a Jacksonville Jaguars defense allowing the second most schedule adjusted fantasy points per game to tight ends.
Davis Mills is starting in place of a concussed C.J. Stroud, which likely means more checkdowns; great news for the plodding tight end. Schultz can PPR scam his way to 10 fantasy points once again. And hey, maybe he finds the end zone for the first time all season.
Juwan Johnson, TE, New Orleans Saints
Rostered: 47%
After three weeks of the season, it looked like Juwan Johnson was an every-week must-start TE1. Then, he posted 11.0 fantasy points combined over his next three, leading to him being dropped in many leagues.
Now, Johnson appears to be back. He’s hit double digit fantasy points in three straight games. Although he only saw four targets last week, it was Shough’s first start against a very good Los Angeles Rams defense that really didn’t let the New Orleans Saints have the ball much.
This week should be easier against a middling Carolina Panthers defense. Perhaps more importantly, Johnson just moved up the target hierarchy after Rashid Shaheed was traded to the Seattle Seahawks. He projects to be the second option in the passing game behind Chris Olave, making him a very viable option in Week 10 and perhaps beyond.
Colston Loveland, TE, Chicago Bears
Rostered: 47%
Why is Colston Loveland available in more than half of Yahoo leagues? I get that he’d done absolutely nothing prior to last week’s 29.8-point explosion. The man quite literally had more yards and fantasy points in Week 9 than in Weeks 1-8 combined.
But he’s a rookie first-rounder playing a notoriously difficult position to transition to from college to the pros. Yes, Cole Kmet was out. But are the Chicago Bears really about to put the genie back in the bottle? How can they see what Loveland did last week and think, “Yeah, Kmet needs to be out there at Loveland’s expense?”
We have to gamble that this is the start of Loveland emerging into the TE1 he looked like in college.
The New York Giants have not been the greatest matchup for tight ends, but they are allowing the 11th-most schedule adjusted fantasy points per game to quarterbacks. Caleb Williams is very much capable of another big game this week. This one could be high scoring. Loveland certainly has upside if you need a tight end.
