FAABulous Football Week 9: Good Waiver Options Are Hard To Find
Welcome all my FAABulous people to Week 9 of the fantasy football season! I’ll admit, the waiver wire is starting to look pretty thin at this point.
Most of the obvious handcuff running backs are already rostered in competitive leagues. Any rookies who have flashed even a semblance of talent have been scooped up almost immediately. Even many players who landed on IR have remained on rosters, as managers have been willing and able to navigate around those roster spots.
At this stage of the season, most of the waiver options are deep dart throws or players who may lack the talent, but suddenly find themselves with an opportunity after several players ahead of them on the depth chart succumb to injury.
Speaking of injuries, this week we were hit with another devastating loss at quarterback. No, not Jacoby Brissett... or Daniel Jones... or Baker Mayfield. I'm talking about Lamar Jackson. The Ravens were an offense I was genuinely looking forward to watching now that Lamar was back under center, only for him to go down on his very first snap. Brutal.
As we move into Week 9, only two teams are on bye: the Steelers and Titans. That should make for a relatively uneventful week in terms of fantasy lineup impact.
If you aren't particularly interested in spending your FAAB this week on skill-position players, I can't say I blame you. You can always put that money to good use by spending up on a defense with a favorable matchup or perhaps grabbing that stud kicker someone foolishly dropped.
Alright, it's time to get down to business. Let's dig through the leftovers, find a few hidden gems, and see if we can uncover some worthwhile waiver options for y'all this week!
All stats and data for FAABulous Football are pulled from Fantasy Life, PFF, NFL Next Gen Stats, ETR, rbsdm.com, Rotoviz, and Stealing Signals.
A Look Back at Week 8: Ship Chasing Team Standings and Waiver Wire Wins
I went through team by team, listing the players we won on waivers week 8, followed by the next highest bid in our individual league, and finally what the average bid was for those players across Main Event Leagues.
I also included some of the top players that we did not win and shared the average bid those players went for in Main Event Leagues.
I will then recap our team performances of the week for better and worse.
Top Waiver Targets
Seth McGowan
Average Bid: $201
Bam Knight
Average Bid: $42
Kimani Vidal
Average Bid: $28
Sione Vaki
Average Bid: $9
Tyler Goodson
Average Bid: $8
Austin Ekeler
Average Bid: $7
Jaydon Blue
Average Bid: $18
Makai Lemon
Average Bid: $314
Caleb Douglas
Average Bid: $138
Travis Hunter
Average Bid: $25
Troy Franklin
Average Bid: $5
Savion Williams
Average Bid: $17
Brian Thomas Jr.
Average Bid: $38
A.J. Barner
Average Bid: $20
Greg Dulcich
Average Bid: $25
Eli Stowers
Average Bid: $1
Colby Parkinson
Average Bid: $17
Framemoggers (Ship Chasers Minisodes Draft)
Winning Waiver Bids:
Elijah Mitchell: $48
Next Highest Bid: $9
Average Bid: $33
Mason Taylor: $26
Next Highest Bid: $1
Average Bid: $56
WAS Team Defense: $14
Next Highest Bid: $12
Average Bid: $11
Matchup:
Loss (6-2)
1189.20 Pts. (3rd)
The Framemoggers were able to maintain their 3rd place position despite losing this week. The team placed a waiver bid on Elijah Mitchell earlier in the week to have another option at running back with Christian McCaffrey on bye, but once we got news that Saquon Barkley was playing, we were not starting Mitchell. The team scored well, as the third highest team in the league, but faced one of the two opponents who could beat them. The Framemoggers will hopefully get Christian McCaffrey and Deebo Samuel back this week, and then will only have Carnell Tate on bye this week. The team remains in great shape as long as it can keep racking up the points.
Looksmaxxers (Ship Chasers First Live Draft)
Winning Waiver Bids:
Mason Taylor: $26
Next Highest Bid: $21
Average Bid: $56
Sione Vaki: $1
Next Highest Bid: none
Average Bid: $9
LV Team Defense: $1
Next Highest Bid: none
Average Bid: $2
Brandon McManus: $1
Next Highest Bid: none
Average Bid: $1
Matchup:
Won (4-4)
1097.90 Pts. (7th)
Looksmaxxers pulled out a win on a low scoring week, but it's low point total still caused the team to fall from 4th place to 7th place in the standings... ouch! Here is how FFPC seeding works for those of you unfamiliar:
Seed 1: Best H2H matchup record
Seed 2: Highest point total team
Seed 3: Next best H2H matchup record
Seed 4: Next highest point total team
In this league a team with only 2 wins and 1109.40 points claimed the 4 seed as you can see in the standings below:
Looksmaxxer is still in the mix fighting hard to secure a top seed for a chance to compete in the league playoffs and sprint, but it is a tight race where every point matters. Luckily, the team gets back George Kittle this week and similarly to Framemoggers, it only has Carnell Tate on bye in week 9. Lets go big this week boys!
ASU Frat Leader (Ron Stewart)
Winning Waiver Bids:
Elijah Mitchell: $28
Next Highest Bid: $4
Average Bid:$33
DET Team Defense: $1
Next Highest Bid: none
Average Bid: $3
Matchup:
Won (5-3)
1066.05 Pts. (5th)
I thought this matchup was over after Lamar Jackson was injured on the first play and Jeremiyah Love hurt his other ankle in Dallas. The luck of facing the Baker Mayfield team in a game where Mayfield completed no passes still felt like a long shot to win. We entered Monday night trailing by a 30.9 point deficit with only D'Andre Swift and Jason Meyers left to play. Somehow Swift managed to rush for 3 touchdowns against one of the best ranked rush defenses in the league for a massive game, keeping ASU Frat Leader in the running for a spot in the league playoffs.
The team will have to overcome the devastating loss of Lamar who went on I.R. and could be done with the season and Jeremiyah Love also on I.R., but no other players on bye in week 9. This team could still make a comeback, and just imagine getting some potentially low owned players through to the sprint, could be really fun...
Bonesmashers (Sam Sherman)
Winning Waiver Bids:
Elijah Mitchell: $17
Next Highest Bid: $16
Average Bid: $33
Matchup:
Won (5-3)
1023.25 Pts. (5th)
The Bonesmashers had a giant gaping hole at RB2 this week and were forced to play Elijah Mitchell, who they won from waivers, even after the news that Saquon Barkley would be active.
Mitchell did not do much, aside from matching Jonathan Taylor with 7.7 points, just as we all predicted.
Thankfully, some previously underperforming wide receivers in Garrett Wilson, Rome Odunze, Jordan Addision, and Rashee Rice combined with the dependable tight end stud Trey McBride to bring home the win. The team was able to maintain a position just outside of the top 4 seeds.
Looking ahead to this week the team has no players on bye, however running back behind Jonathan Taylor, remains a big problem. Saquon returned rendering Elijah Mitchell basically useless, and the team spent a big portion of their FAAB budget on Tyrone Tracy to fix it's running back woes the previous week, who then injured his hamstring and was placed on I.R.
The Ascendants (Shawn Siegele and Ben Gretch)
Winning Waiver Bids:
Malik Willis: $27
Next Highest Bid: $23
Average Bid: $19
GB Team Defense: $3
Next Highest Bid: $1
Average Bid:
Eli Raridon: $3
Next Highest Bid: $2
Average Bid: $24
Matchup:
Loss (7-1)
1179.95 Pts. (3rd)
The Ascendants suffered their first loss of the season this week to FFPC grinder, Dreaming of Sundays, who immediately lost his quarterback, Lamar Jackson.
The Ascendents were also hit with the injury bug with Jeremiyah Love who continues to rip out the hearts of all who drafted what we thought was the most talented rookie in the class.
Tre Tucker also ran cold this week while his teammate Brock Bowers bounced back for a 31.70 point game, and was directly matched against the boys.
The Ascendants need to keep winning to maintain their position in the league as they only have the 4th highest point total, which trails the highest scoring team by 95.5 points. Luckily, this week sets up well for the boys to Ascend again with no players on bye in week 9.
Jestermaxxers (ADP Chasing)
Winning Waiver Bids:
Bill Croskey-Merritt: $26
Next Highest Bid: $12
Average Bid: $36
GB Team Defense: $1
Next Highest Bid: $1
Average Bid: $6
Matchup:
Won (7-1)
1206.10 Pts. (1st)
The Jestermaxxers are red hot right now with a 6 game win streak keeping them at the top of their league.
The Jestermaxxers show no threat of slowing down anytime soon with a monster wide receiver room, consisting of Puka Nacua, Malik Nabers, Tee Higgins, Luther Burden, and a trio of promising rookies behind them.
The biggest obstacle for this team moving forward is the second running back spot, and we were able to get Bill back on waivers last week, which feels like another high upside shot that could pay off later in the season.
Cortisol Spikers (My team)
Winning Waiver Bids:
Eli Raridon: $8
Next Highest Bid: $2
Average Bid: $24
Chad Ryland: $1
Next Highest Bid: none
Average Bid: $1
Matchup:
Won (4-4)
1058.35 Pts. (8th)
The good news is my team won it's matchup this week. The bad news is the team needs to score points and continues to disappoint.
Jeremiyah Love broke yet another heart and as luck would have it, I finally benched Josh Downs only for him to finally be the play over DK Metcalf.
The team looks fine on paper, but the players continue to have disappointing and inconsistent performances each week. I am not giving up yet, but we need a big score this week.
Crankular (CrakRok)
Winning Waiver Bids:
Elijah Mitchell: $1
Next Highest Bid: none
Average Bid: $33
Matchup:
Won (6-2)
1188.80 Pts. (2nd)
Another week, another wrong decision for which quarterback we should play between Jordan Love and Drake Maye.
The CrakRok team continues to cook and is in a pole position for a playoff run. The quarterbacks, running backs, and tight ends all feel strong on this team, with an unusual twist being the wide receivers are the weakest position on this roster. This week we will have to explore some depth options if DeVonta Smith misses again because of injury as we have DK Metcalf on bye this week.
Stat Chads (Stat Chasing)
Winning Waiver Bids:
Tank Dell: $4
Next Highest Bid: none
Average Bid: $15
Tank Bigsby: $1
Next Highest Bid: none
Average Bid: $2
Brandon McManus: $1
Next Highest Bid: none
Average Bid: $1
Matchup:
Won (4-4)
1123.00 Pts. (7th)
The Stat Chads are moving on up slowly but surely, as they put up a solid performance beginning with the Thursday night game featuring Josh Jacobs and Chuba Hubbard facing off against each other.
Unfortunately, all the wide receivers disappointed this week. This was yet another spot we moved off of Josh Downs, who would have scored the most at the position.
This week we will try again to get the start/sit decisions correct to our maximize points, which should be easier with less options to choose from since Germie Bernard and Carnell Tate both have a bye this week.
Spite Draft
Gays of Hormuz (Jakob Sanderson)
Winning Waiver Bids:
Jeremy McNichols: $1
Next Highest Bid: none
Average Bid: $7
Brandon McManus: $1
Next Highest Bid: none
Average Bid: $1
Matchup:
Loss (3-5)
976.55 Pts. (11th)
Jakob's win streak came to an end as his team plummeted into 11th place at the hands of Pat Kerrane. The return of the Seahawks running backs was a massive disappointment, as the Bears dominated the game winning 34-17.
While you might have imagined this Bears win would have been great for Caleb Williams, it was not, because it was D'Andre Swift scoring 3 rushing touchdowns that lit up the score board. At least Jakob can take solace in the fact that Coleston Loveland had another solid week and he actually started Josh Downs on the right week.
Subhuman (Pete Overzet)
Winning Waiver Bids:
Sam Darnold: $8
Next Highest Bid: $1
Average Bid: $19
Mason Taylor: $25
Next Highest Bid: $19
Average Bid: $56
Matchup:
Loss (3-5)
1026.50 Pts. (10th)
Pete had a big loss this week as the GOAT kicker, Will Reichard, had his first major dud of the season. Pete managed to start another quarterback that would be benched, a true psychic phenomenon which should be studied at this point.
Another great mystery is how most of the Spite Main teams are all performing so terrible with scores in the bottom half of the league.
Look What You Made Me Do (Davis Mattek)
Waiver Winning Bids:
Justin Herbert: $1
Next Highest Bid: none
Average Bid: $12
Elijah Mitchell: $188
Next Highest Bid: $25
Average Bid: $33
DET Team Defense: $1
Next Highest Bid: none
Average Bid: $3
Matchup:
Loss (3-5)
1060.30 Pts. (8th)
Davis's team lost as well, although he was able to put up a solid score in comparison. If only Davis had a better quarterback than Michael Penix. To be fair to Penix, he was not the lowest scoring quarterback in that game with 3.35 points, outscoring Baker Mayfield and completing more passes than Mayfield to Tampa Bay players.
Spite Chasing (Pat Kerrane)
Winning Waiver Bids:
GB Team Defense: $1
Next Highest Bid: none
Average Bid: $6
Malachi Fields: $1
Next Highest Bid: none
Average Bid: $25
Matchup:
Won (5-3)
1131.65 Pts. (4th)
Pat was the only one of the guys to walk away with a win this week and hold a top 4 seed. Pat could have had an even bigger week, but he left Harold Fannin on the bench to play Tyler Warren in his return and Makai Lemon at flex. Pat is the only team in the Spite Main I maintain any confidence about having a shot to make a playoff run.
Shark Jumping (5K Big Payback w/ Mike Leone and Ben Gretch)
Winning Waiver Bids:
Mason Taylor: $2
Next Highest Bid: none
Average Bid: $56
Tank Bigsby: $2
Next Highest Bid: none
Average Bid: $2
Malik Willis: $2
Next Highest Bid: $1
Average Bid: $19
Matchup:
Loss (3-5)
1011.80 Pts. (11th)
I told you last week Shark Jumping needed a big performance, and unfortunately they lost another one. Now Jeremiyah Love is on I.R. and running back position feels thin behind Bhayshul Tuten. The boys need to dig for some waiver gold fast. Even if they do find a waiver gem hiding, I am worried it may be too little to late.
Cos and Steph (Big Gorilla)
Winning Waiver Bids:
Devin Singletary: $39
Next Highest Bid: $38
Average Bid: $52
BAL Team Defense: $2
Next Highest Bid: none
Average Bid: $3
Matchup:
Won (6-2)
1249.05 Pts. (1st)
My Big Gorilla team had a massive week, thanks to the Bengals and Brock Bowers, despite a set of double zeros from Zay Flowers and Omar Cooper in the lineup, moving the team into first place.
Cos and my team now has the best record and leads in points with the next closest team trailing by 26.85 points.
Entering this week we have close to our full arsenal of players, with only have Tajae Spears on bye. However, losing Lamar Jackson diminishes the value of Zay Flowers and Ja'Kobi Lane going forward. I am hopeful we get to see the NFL debut for first round pick Jordyn Tyson this week and a bounce back from Omar Cooper.
Week 9 Waiver Priorities for FFPC
Below are all the players I like for week 9 for FFPC leagues. I break down all players into tiers with FAAB suggestions, followed by player analysis and a list of players to consider dropping.
This article is also intended to provide value for those of you who play in deeper league formats and dynasty leagues.
Please note that with a drop list, you do not have to drop these players and all suggestions are general as it is impossible to cover all nuances of individual leagues.
