Working the Waiver Wire: Week 9 Free Agent Pickup Advice
Here is some advice on working the waiver wire in your fantasy league (for personal advice email larry at larrybrownsports.com):
Matchups to Avoid (at your discretion): Steelers defense, Ravens defense, Giants pass defense, Chargers pass defense.
Matchups to Exploit (at your discretion): Houston, Buffalo, Jacksonville, and New England’s secondary. Buffalo, Arizona, Tampa Bay, Detroit, Denver, and Indy’s run defense. Start a defense playing Carolina, Arizona, Cleveland, San Francisco, and Seattle.
Hopefully you acted last week to pick up some of the players we recommended because you’ll have a lot of competition working the waiver wire this week. Here are some players to keep in mind when you submit your claims:
MUST-HAVE
LeGarrette Blount, RB, Bucs – He was one of our players to watch last week and blew up with two touchdowns and over 100 yards. He’s no secret anymore so just make sure he’s on your team instead of one of your rivals.
Mike Hart, RB, Colts – Hopefully you listened to us when we told you he was a must-have last week. He looked really good on Monday night running for 84 yards. He’s a nice fill-in while Joseph Addai is out.
Jacob Tamme, TE, Colts – Like Hart, we recommended Tamme last week and hope you picked him up. He dropped a pass early but picked it up with six catches for 64 yards and a touchdown. He can keep it up.
Paul Posluszny, LB, Bills – Someone may have dropped him after their bye two weeks ago. Whether Buffalo plays a 3-4 or 4-3 defense doesn’t matter — Posluszny racks up the tackles.
Desmond Bishop, LB, Packers – He’s had double-digit tackle totals each week since gaining the starting job because of injury. As we saw against the Vikings, he’s also good in coverage.
*Make sure they’re not still available: Matthew Stafford, BenJarvus Green-Ellis
Mark Sanchez, QB, Jets – The Jets’ offense didn’t do anything against Green Bay getting shutout at home. I’m not worried; I’m banking on a bounceback in Detroit and would not be afraid to start Sanchez in a pinch.
Seyi Ajirotutu, WR, Chargers – Buster Davis was placed on IR leaving Ajirotutu as the number two receiver. He’s capable of having a big game against Houston’s weak secondary and was the team’s second leading receiver last week.
Saints Defense – You have to like any defense going up against Carolina, and New Orleans looked pretty good against the Steelers. Other good defenses have good matchups but they’re all on the road too. I like the Saints defense as one of my top plays.
Jon Kitna, QB, Cowboys – The four picks were ugly but the 379 passing yards weren’t. Most of the picks weren’t his fault. In that offense, he can put up some stats.
Nate Washington, WR, Titans – He could become their top receiving option with Kenny Britt out because of a hamstring injury. He’s a deep threat, so you have to be patient and realize he won’t get many catches.
Danny Woodhead, RB, Patriots – He gets a few carries and catches some passes. Can get 60 yards a game and will give you a few more points than that in PPR leagues.
Kerry Rhodes, S, Cardinals – He’s been making plays all year and consistently gets at least a handful of tackles. He’s a good bet for at least 5-6 points per week.
Eric Berry, S, Chiefs – The first-round pick is intercepting passes, forcing fumbles, recording tackles and deflecting passes. He’s starting to feel comfortable in the NFL and make the kind of plays we saw at Tennessee.
Zac Diles, LB, Texans – He’ll get plenty of tackles with DeMeco Ryans out. In fact, he has three double-digit tackle games on the season and will likely have more moving forward.
*Make sure they’re not still available: Danny Amendola, Mike Tolbert
Jason Campbell, QB, Raiders – Two straight two touchdown games plus 310 yards last weekend. Let someone else get carried away with performance. Don’t be the fool.
Darrius Heyward-Bey, WR, Raiders – Had his first career 100-yard game and second career touchdown catch. You know what that means? Not that he’s coming around, but that he’s still a disappointment.
Steve Breaston, WR, Cardinals – He had a career-high 147 yards in his first game back from a knee injury. Going back to Derek Anderson will help his stats but not by too much.
Brandon LaFell, WR, Panthers – Followed up a 91-yard game last week with a touchdown this week. Carolina’s offense stinks so I’m still not buying it.
Keiland Williams, RB, Redskins – They’re on the bye week so don’t get carried away, but he’ll be in the mix with Ryan Torain who hurt his hamstring and Clinton Portis who’s recovering from a groin injury. Keep your eye on him.
Kevin Smith, RB, Lions – Had 12 carries for 51 yards in win over Redskins and tied Jahvid Best for the most carries in the game with 12 carries apiece. He’s not a bad backup option especially with Best dealing with a toe injury.
Delanie Walker, TE, 49ers – Vernon Davis hurt his ankle in London against the Broncos but has the bye week to recover. If he’s not looking good, adding Walker is a decent option for Davis owners.