KEONI'S WAIVER WIRE PICKUP - WEEK 9
Damien Harris- New England Patriots RB
We are officially in the second half of the season and the state of the waiver wire is looking pretty rough. It’s about as devastated by now as Ben Gardner’s boat but hopefully like Matt Hooper, when we investigate it, we’ll find something worthwhile. It’s my duty to try and help you find a Great White’s tooth rather than the head of the former captain, so I’m going to do my best with what’s available, which is frankly not a lot.
This week, I suggest picking up New England running back Damien Harris, who was owned in 31.3% of ESPN leagues the night before writing this article but as of right now is owned in just under half of leagues at 45.3%. If you are in desperate need of a running back, which many of us are at this point in the season, he should be picked up sooner than later given his overnight spike.
I know it is historically risky to bet on any New England running back. It’s practically a running joke among fantasy football fans, but he is the ultimate streamer this week. He is coming off his second 100-yard game of the season, a game in which he also got his first touchdown of the year against the Buffalo Bills. He plays another New York team in the Jets, who technically play in New Jersey, which is a little bit of false advertising, but I can’t blame them for not wanting to be associated with New Jersey. Although, at this point, it should be the other way around because the Jets are essentially the NFL’s version of the Washington Generals. A team comprised of the inaugural hall of fame class could probably beat the Jets today, and they’ve all been dead for at least a decade. Since that’s the case, there should be no problem for a current NFL player to steamroll them.
The Jets have allowed the eighth most points per game to running backs this season, and I think Bill Belichick will try to exploit that in his scheme this week, especially since his team basically has no passing threats. In that respect, the Patriots and Jets are fairly even, but the Patriots will probably treat the Jets as a treadmill and run, run, run. I don’t think Harris is a viable option any other week but because it’s the Jets, he is a high potential streaming flex candidate for this week if you are in desperate need for help at the position. Otherwise, stay away from him and really anybody on either team until Jamison Crowder is healthy.
