Many a fantasy football championship has been won with the waiver wire. Following Week 9 action, these are the names that should be on owners' radars going forward. And fear not if your waiver priority is low -- we have some sneaky pickups for you as well.
Ownership percentages are courtesy of Yahoo.
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Quarterbacks
Marcus Mariota, Titans (35% Owned): Mariota’s figuring stuff out. He ripped the Saints to shreds in their own house, and even though the Saints defense is bad, it was impressive to see Mariota gash it. His first TD pass to Delanie Walker was lucky, but everything else Mariota did was legit, and he did it without No. 1 WR Kendall Wright. It would be nice if Mariota ran once in a while but if he’s going to throw for 350 and four scores anyone will take it.
Jameis Winston, Buccaneers (28% Owned): Winston’s been better than his numbers suggest of late. He would have eclipsed 300 yards vs. the Giants on Sunday if not for some egregious drops by Mike Evans, and the 32-18 loss marked his second consecutive game with a rushing touchdown. He isn’t Cam Newton all of a sudden, but Winston’s starting to make defenses think about him running.
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DEEP OPTION: Brian Hoyer, Texans (11% Owned): Hoyer’s well-rested off a bye week, and has been impressive in his last three games. He’s tossed eight touchdowns vs. one interception, and he’s got arguably the league’s best receiver right now (DeAndre Hopkins) at his disposal.
Running Backs
Karlos Williams, Bills (36% Owned): Williams will be the top pickup in fantasy this week. He should be owned and started even when LeSean McCoy is healthy because right now, frankly, he’s better. With McCoy nursing a newly injured shoulder Williams is a must-start, even vs. a tough Jets run defense on short rest.
James Starks, Packers (39% Owned): Starks is another guy whose value will shoot up after Sunday. He saw 10 carries to Eddie Lacy’s five, and he also notched six receptions for 83 yards and a touchdown. Right now Lacy is unplayable, while Starks is solid. Fantasy football is weird.
Dexter McCluster, Titans (18% Owned): McCluster is a good player to own if your running back is on bye or hurt, because even though his ceiling is low, he is guaranteed 8-12 touches a game. Last week, he didn’t do a whole lot with them, but he is very fast and can score a touchdown from anywhere on the field.
DEEP OPTION: Theo Riddick, Lions (11% Owned): Riddick’s ownership should be flipped with rookie Ameer Abdullah’s (59% Owned) because Riddick is doing what everyone banked on Abdullah doing. He’s getting a similar amount of touches to McCluster, and has all the same capabilities of McCluster to go for a TD.
Wide Receivers
Marvin Jones, Bengals (48% Owned): Jones is touchdown-dependent in terms of being a major impact player, but his targets are consistent, and the Bengals have relied more on their passing game than the run this year. He has a soft matchup in Week 10 vs. the Texans, so he’ll be a fine FLEX or WR3.
Kamar Aiken, Ravens (40% Owned): Aiken is not a great receiver, but he’s good enough, and he’s the Ravens WR1. Joe Flacco loves to go deep, and even though Chris Givens has shown up to give the Baltimore passing game a little juice, Aiken is the more dependable player.
DEEP OPTION: Corey Brown, Panthers (1% Owned): Brown has scored touchdowns in back-to-back games, and even though his targets aren’t enticing, they will continue to go up. Cam Newton is looking his way more as Ted Ginn’s drops have become a problem. Ginn remains a big-play threat, but Brown is emerging as the more consistent complement to TE Greg Olsen.
Tight Ends
Richard Rodgers, Packers (24% Owned): Don’t overreact to the two touchdowns he scored last week in Aaron Rodgers’ second-half explosion. Properly react to the nine targets he saw after a few weeks of Green Bay receivers failing to get open.
Jacob Tamme, Falcons (26% Owned): The Falcons are on bye this week, but Tamme has seen double-digit targets in back-to-back weeks. When Atlanta returns for the stretch run, Tamme is becoming a must-start TE.
Eric Ebron, Lions (24% Owned): Ebron will continue to be a favorite son of the SWN waiver articles. He is a strong bet to score in every game because of his size and athletic ability. With a new offensive coordinator at the helm, and a week off to fine-tune the offense, Ebron will be featured more heavily and see Tamme-esque targets.
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