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Below, I will highlight some fantasy football waiver wire sleepers for Week 9 of the NFL season. In most fantasy football leagues, waivers run on Tuesday nights. But there's still plenty of time to make waiver wire pickups, and as injury reports get released throughout the week new players should be targeted off your fantasy football waiver wires. The players listed below may have slipped through the cracks, or are just being overlooked for different reasons. Let's get to it!
Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Sleepers for Week 9
Ben Tate - RB, Houston Texans - 50% owned in Yahoo leagues
Baller Move: Add in All Leagues Immediately
Analysis: For the past few years, Tate has been widely regarded as one of the top running back handcuffs in all of fantasy football. This year he came in with even more sleeper appeal, as Arian Foster started the season off with some injuries. But this Houston running back situation is becoming more interesting by the day. Foster is once again dealing with a hamstring injury, something that has nagged him from time to time over the past few seasons. Tate is also dealing with an injury of his own (cracked ribs), but was able to put in a limited practice today. Foster on the other hand, did not practice at all. Coach Kubiak said that both running backs will be a game-time decisions in week 9, but Tate needs to be picked up in all leagues now. If Foster can't go, and Tate is active, he will immediately be in line for a big workload and have RB2/Flex appeal in all leagues. If you have room to spare on your roster, target Tate as a sleeper off your week 9 waiver wire immediately.
Shonn Greene - RB, Tennessee Titans - 8% owned in Yahoo leagues
Analysis: Greene may seem like an odd person to see here on the waiver wire sleepers list, as he hasn't really done much for fantasy football owners in 2013. But that may all be changing soon. Coach Munchak announced today that he plans to give Greene "15 carries per game" moving forward, as long as he remains healthy. This is a bit surprising, given that Greene hasn't had many carries this year, but at the same time Chris Johnson has been mostly ineffective. The plan was always to get Greene involved in the running game this year, and now that he's healthy it looks like he will get his chance. Any running back getting 15+ touches per game becomes immediately viable for fantasy football. It may be best to see what truly transpires in week 9, but regardless the Titans have a juicy matchup versus the Jaguars in week 10. Running backs with this type of volume are rarely available off the waiver wire, especially later in the week after waivers run. So if you have room on your roster, are a Johnson owner, or are looking for a RB flyer - Greene should be targeted as a week 9 sleeper off the waiver wire.
Daryl Richardson - RB, St. Louis Rams - 41% owned in Yahoo leagues
Baller Move: Add in Deeper Leagues
Analysis: Anyone who watched last week's game against Seattle, saw that Zac Stacy is an impressive young running back for the Rams. But towards the end of the game, Stacy had to exit with an ankle sprain. The good news is he avoided a high-ankle sprain, which could take several weeks to recover from. But the bad news is Stacy still sprained his ankle, and is on a short week for recovering. Stacy was very limited in practice today, so it's tough to say whether he'll be able to play in week 9. If he isn't able to go, Richardson would most likely assume the lead running back role for the Rams and get plenty of volume. With Kellen Clemens getting another start this week, the Rams will desperately need to lean on their running game again. Those in deeper leagues, or those who own Stacy, should be targeting D-Rich as a week 9 sleeper off the waiver wire.
Shane Vereen - RB, New England Patriots - 42% owned in Yahoo leagues
Baller Move: Stash in All Leagues
Analysis: Vereen was able to practice today, for the first time since injuring his wrist in week 1. I'm sure Tom Brady, Belichick, and every Patriots fan is ecstatic to hear this. Vereen was a huge fantasy football sleeper coming into the 2013 season, and exceeded expectations in week 1 before going down with an injury. The Patriots have been struggling more and more each week to generate offense, and will be looking to get Vereen heavily involved in the game plan immediately. Although Vereen isn't a week 9 start for fantasy owners, he is eligible to return in week 11 and that is only a couple of short weeks away. This is the time to pounce on Vereen and stash him in your fantasy leagues if he's still available. Vereen will be a focal point of the New England offense starting in week 11, and could be a dynamic fantasy asset down the stretch run for owners. Only owned in 42% of Yahoo leagues, Vereen is one of the biggest sleepers on the week 9 waiver wire based on the talent and upside that he will for fantasy owners upon his return.
Jake Locker - QB, Tennessee Titans - 31% owned in Yahoo leagues
Baller Move: Add in Deeper Leagues, All 2QB Leagues
Analysis: Locker was always considered a talented Quarterback, with running ability and a big arm, but struggled to put all the pieces together. But that all seems to have changed this year. In the five weeks that Locker has been healthy and active, he has put up 18.90 points or more in every game but one. In his last 3 games started Locker has put up: 27.44 points in week 7, 25.66 points in week 4, and 30.76 points in week 3. Those are without a doubt QB1 numbers. He also has some favorable matchups coming up including St. Louis, Jacksonville and Oakland in 3 of the 4 next weeks. If you're struggling at the QB position, are in a 2QB league, or have a bye-week crunch - then target Locker as a big-time week 9 sleeper off the waiver wire. He seems to finally be putting all the pieces together, and has big-time upside for the rest of the fantasy football season.
Drew Davis - WR, Atlanta Falcons - 5% owned in Yahoo leagues
Baller Move: Add in Deeper PPR Leagues
Analysis: With Roddy White still nursing an injury, and Julio Jones out for the year, Davis has been given an opportunity to play the past couple of weeks. Last week, he received 71 out of 83 snaps, which is always a great sign when analyzing players off the waiver wire. More importantly he was targeted 7 times, and hauled in 5 catches for 77 yards and a touchdown. That's good for 18.70 points in PPR leagues. White still isn't practicing, and it looks like Davis is going to get another start in week 9, lining up as a wide receiver across from Harry Douglas. Although he has a tough matchup with Carolina, the Falcons may be playing from behind and will most likely need to throw the ball a lot. Those in deeper leagues, PPR leagues, or those struggling at the wide receiver position should be looking at Davis as a week 9 sleeper off their waiver wire.
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In case you missed them, here are some other RotoBaller Week 9 articles. Let’s win some leagues!
- Week 9 Waiver Wire Pickups – Running Backs (RB)
- Week 9 Waiver Wire Running Backs (RB) – Deep Leagues
- Week 9 Waiver Wire – Wide Receivers (WR) & Defenses (DEF)
- Week 9 Waiver Wire Pickups – Tight Ends (TE)
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