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Welcome to this week’s fantasy football waiver wire!
A tip of the hat to anyone who started the Cardinals’ passing game this week and had either Christian Kirk or Kyler Murray on their fantasy team. A sombrero tip to those to stacked the offense and had BOTH Kirk and Murray. For those who didn’t have either of those guys on their team, or any of the week’s top performers, never fear! The waiver wire is always here!
Here are 8 players you should be targeting and working hard to get onto your fantasy team this week (percent owned in Yahoo).
RB Kalen Ballage, Miami Dolphins (37% owned)
Even if the team sucks and the player is right around average, you can’t argue with getting a starting running back off waivers and Ballage is clearly the starting back in Miami. With Mark Walton suspended and Kenyan Drake replacing David Johnson in Arizona, Ballage saw 24 touches for 45 total yards. Again, production isn’t great but that workload is hard to look past. He also has a favorable matchup next week against a struggling Bills run defense that just gave up 146 rushing yards to the Browns Sunday.
RB Derrius Guice, Washington (36% owned)
Remember how hyped I was about Guice this offseason? You don’t? That’s fair, it was a while ago. Well, I was very hyped about Guice this offseason. He’s 2019 season has been delayed, spending time on IR but now he’s back and ready to kick butts and take names. What exactly his role will be is up in the air but you can’t say no to games against the Jets, Lions and Panthers next on the schedule.
RB Brian Hill, Atlanta Falcons (2% owned)
With Ito Smith out, Brian Hill was ushered into the Falcons’ RB2 spot. Then Devonta Freeman left the game with a foot injury and Hill flourished with 20 carries for 61 yards and a touchdown catch against the Saints. If Freeman is set to miss serious time—or really any time —Hill is a great add as he has the inside track to the starting gig. Playing the Panthers’ terrible run defense next week is also a nice bonus.
WR Darius Slayton, New York Giants (10% owned)
It’s time to take Slayton seriously. He’s now gone over 19 PPR points and caught two touchdowns in two of his last three games. The Giants are heading into their bye this week but Slayton is a worthy name to snag this week, especially in deeper leagues with big benches. He’s still boom-or-bust but we’ve seen his booms to be big and with the Eagles, Dolphins and Washington still on the schedule, he has a chance for more big games down the stretch.
WR Demaryius Thomas, New York Jets (8% owned)
While the Jets seem determined to show why they were shopping Robby Anderson at the deadline by just simply ignoring him, Thomas has been benefiting nicely, going over 11 PPR points in two of his last three games. The Jets schedule is a cake walk from this point onwards so if Thomas continues to be a part of the Jets passing game, he’s a must add.
WR Taylor Gabriel, Chicago Bears (6% owned)
You guys, Gabriel has either caught a touchdown or gone over 53 yards in his last three games, even with the Bears passing game looking like a kindergartner working their way through ‘Hop on Pop’. He’s also seen six targets in two of those games, meaning Mitchell Trubisky has been looking to get the ball to him. He really only should be added in deep leagues but a great name to target.
WR James Washington, Pittsburgh Steelers (6% owned)
The Oklahoma State connection was strong Sunday as Mason Rudolph targeted his college buddy seven times with Washington catching six of them for 90 yards and a touchdown. This is now the second game that Washington has gone over 10 PPR points and it seems he’s blossoming into a vital part of the Rudolph led offense.
TE Tyler Eifert, Cincinnati Bengals (8% owned)
TYLER EIFERT IS BACK BABY!! With a touchdown Sunday against the Ravens, Eifert has now scored double digit PPR points in his last two games as well as seeing 13 targets in that span. If you find yourself very tight end needy, you could do worse than adding Eifert onto your squad.