Anthony Miller (WR, CHI) - Week 9 Waiver Wire Pickups

Chicago wide receiver (WR) Anthony Miller is a waiver wire pickup and add target in leagues for Week 9 of the 2018 NFL season. Brady Grove recommends the Bears rookie for the connection he is building with Mitch Trubinsky, particularly when near the end-zone.

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14-Team Leagues

OWNED IN: 9% of Leagues

ANALYSIS: As a rookie out of the University of Memphis, Anthony Miller got off to a slow start with the Chicago Bears, accruing just 25 receiving yards off of four receptions from six targets (with the first TD of his career) through the first two weeks of the season. This year, Mitch Trubisky has elevated the level of play of the Chicago pass attack to the tune of 259.1 passing yards per contest with a passer-rating of 97.8. Thankfully, this has allowed a lot of his offensive weapons to get involved week-in and week-out.

Since week three against the Arizona Cardinals, Trubisky has started targeting Miller with considerably higher frequency and since that time he has averaged 34 receiving yards off of 2.5 receptions out of 5.75 targets per contest. Most importantly, it appears that Trubisky has carved out a connection with Miller as a sneaky end-zone threat. Since his start against the Cardinals in week three Miller has grabbed two more touchdowns, and this season he has seen five red-zone targets with three coming within the opponent's ten-yard line (the range in which two of his TD were caught).

There are still several other Bears with a more firm grasp of Trubisky's on-field attention. Miller currently ranks fifth on the team in targets, receptions, and receiving yards behind Trey Burton, Tarik Cohen, Allen Robinson, and Taylor Gabriel. Still on the encouraging side, his play has been trending upward in both volume of targets and total receiving yards, and his three scores (tied with Cohen for second on the squad) give Anthony Miller considerable value in deeper leagues as one of the growing go-to options in the end-zone for Mitch Trubisky and the rising Chicago offense.