WEEK 7: WAIVER WIRE
Every Tuesday, I will be bringing to light the best potential waiver wire additions across fantasy football. Let’s begin with some basic principles for each article and some of the qualifiers that will be used each week. First off, the minimum rostered percentage threshold that I will be using is 33.3%, so any player that is rostered in ESPN leagues above that percentage will not be written about (until near the end of the season when it gets harder to wade through the constantly thinning waiver wire.) Second, not all waiver wire additions are created equal and all are dependent on the roster you have. Each week I will be writing about players and the potential they bring to your fantasy roster, but I obviously don’t know who is on your team or what you may need in terms of roster construction. If I say a quarterback is the top waiver wire addition for the week, and you have Patrick Mahomes, that doesn’t mean you need to add that player to your team while dropping a potentially valuable player in order to do so. Third, I will frequently be using the abbreviation FAB, which refers to Free Agent Budget. This refers to the potential amount you might spend to acquire someone off the waiver wire if your league has that as a part of their system.
This is the part we of the season that will truly test every fantasy football manager, the bye-pocalyspe. Six teams are on bye this week: the Buffalo Bills, Dallas Cowboys, Minnesota Vikings, Pittsburgh Steelers, Los Angeles Chargers and the Jacksonville Jaguars. All six of these teams have fantasy superstars on them across all positions, making this the most crucial week for waiver wire additions. In addition to the waiver wire additions, pay attention to who is dropped in your leagues. You may have managers that are forced to drop fantasy relevant players, and if you have the ability to weather this bye week nightmare, you could add some fantasy gold.
Demetric Felton- Running Back, CLE
ESPN Roster Percentage- 2.9%
With two injured running backs and a short week, the Browns may be down to their 3rd string option, Demetric Felton. Kareem Hunt has been placed on IR and will be out a minimum of three weeks, while the usual starter, Nick Chubb, is hoping to return from a calf injury himself. The Browns play Thursday night against the Broncos, which makes the Chubb recovery a risky proposition at best. If Chubb is active, it would be tough not to start him, especially with the combo of all the other injuries and bye weeks. However, if he doesn’t suit up, Felton is a smash play for an injury riddled team. He isn’t worth a high waiver priority or a FAB bid due to the uncertainty of his game usage, but be aware if he makes it through waivers or if Nick Chubb is ruled out.
Matt Ryan- Quarterback, ATL
ESPN Roster Percentage- 29.1%
I know this is an ugly add, but hear me out. Matt Ryan has been a top-12 quarterback over his last two games, and he gets to face a Miami Dolphins team that has been on the downhill defensively. In addition, this week we are missing Josh Allen, Dak Prescott, Kirk Cousins and Justin Herbert, all top-10 quarterbacks, making the quarterback streaming market a little more dire. This is another plug them into your lineup and don’t watch the game type of add, but he could be an extremely important piece for your roster this week. Ryan is a one-week only add, but he could easily end up as a top-10 QB this week. Hopefully, you have prepared for your usual quarterback’s bye week, but if not, this is the guy I’m targeting as my fill-in. He is worth a low-end waiver add and a small FAB bid.
