NFL Waiver Wire: Week 9 Pickups

Before I get to this week's  waiver-wire picks, I want to start off with an apology to anyone who followed my Ty Johnson advice last week. I could include Chase Edmonds as well, but he left the game injured, which is something no one can predict. Getting back to Johnson, my reasoning seemed logical to use him and blow most of a FAAB budget on him. He had the majority of touches after Kerryon Johnson left the game Week 7 and had some pedigree based on the numbers from his days at Maryland. 

There were analysts and experts who cautioned about Johnson and are now taking victory laps. However, ALMOST EVERY ONE OF THEM justified that position based on  J.D. McKissic having a larger role and probably being more valuable. Well, McKissic's most valuable play was throwing the ball back to Matthew Stafford on a flea-flicker and he finished with four touches for a yard. While Johnson didn't fare much better, he had more touches and yards than McKissic. No one saw Tra Carson, who just came to the team off the street a couple weeks ago, leading the team in touches. 

Sans a move at the deadline, this seems to be a situation in which any running back could seize the job and run with it. But I'll admit I was wrong about Johnson, though he could still pan out. Part of the allure to this column is I try to read the tea leaves as best as I can and try to connect the dots to come to an opinion. As always, I'll answer questions in the comments section personally and try to do the best job I can. 

Enough of this — let's get on with this week's adds (spoiler alert: it's pretty thin, again).

This column is geared toward "standard" 12-team leagues and based upon a $100 free-agent budget. Please, please adjust for your league based on both the number of teams (I'm in a 24-team league, for example) and budget.

QUARTERBACK

PRIMARY TARGET

Derek Carr, OAK - Carr has now put together back-to-back efforts of 22.7 and 26.3 fantasy points, both of which came on the road. He now has a home matchup against the Lions, who have allowed the ninth-most fantasy points to quarterbacks. Look for Carr to be the most sought after quarterback on the wire with Jared Goff, Drew Brees, Andy Dalton and Matt Ryan on bye. FAAB: $10-$20

HAIL MARY

Brandon Allen, DEN - Here's the timeline of events for Joe Flacco:

• Attempts 32 passes in the loss to the Colts, gets hit pretty bad on the last play and fumbles.
• Criticizes the coaching staff postgame for not being more aggressive.
• Said coaching staff announces Monday he has a neck strain that will sideline him this week and possibly longer.

Sounds a bit odd, right? Allen will get the starting nod for at least this week and has a good home matchup against the underachieving Browns. There's little chance of a Matt Schaub/Matt Moore type of performance given that Allen has never taken a professional snap in his short career. However, he'll have value in two-quarterback/super-flex leagues given the position's ability to score fantasy points. FAAB: $2-$4

RUNNING BACK

PRIMARY TARGET

Kenyan Drake, ARI - Many savvy owners scooped up Drake last week realizing there was a very good chance he was going to get dealt to a better situation than he had in Miami. That new situation materialized Monday when the Cardinals, with all their backfield injuries, traded for him. Chase Edmonds is the latest player to get hurt and it seems it will be a multi-week absence for the Fordham product. Drake isn't some phenomenal talent who just needed a change of scenery, but the opportunity to get plenty of touches seems immediate. Unlike a wide receiver who needs to learn routes and build chemistry with the quarterback, a running back just needs to know which way to run and what hole to hit. Sixty-one percent owned in Yahoo leagues, Drake should be the primary add off the waiver wire in most leagues if he's available. FAAB: $10-$20

Secondary Target

Mark Walton, MIA - Do I love him? No. However, Walton's going to be the lead guy out of the backfield after getting 14 and 15 touches the last two weeks. Kenyan Drake has left town and Walton would be higher but there's the fear Kalen Ballage gets the goal-line work. With the schedule getting into four-team bye weeks, Walton should have some value as a flex play. FAAB: %4-$8

WIDE RECEIVER

PRIMARY TARGET

Christian Kirk, ARI - The Cardinals have shown a penchant for giving up points, but they got back their receiver with the highest upside. With all due respect to Larry Fitzgerald, Kirk is the best fantasy wide receiver on Arizona and finished Sunday's game with a 11-8-79 stat line along with a 19-yard run. While the schedule doesn't look great, Kirk is easily a WR2/Flex start every week with Kyler Murray under center. FAAB: $10-$20

SECONDARY TARGETS

Darius Slayton, NYG - I'll pass on making a joke that a healthy Darius Slay might have slowed Darius Slayton. Slayton caught two contested touchdown passes and narrowly missed a third in the fourth quarter when the referees should have thrown a DPI flag. Slayton was discussed a few weeks ago and should be a staple wide receiver for the Giants in years to come. He runs a 4.39 40  and his broad and vertical jumps at the Combine were impressive. If nothing else, remember his name as a late-round flyer in season-long drafts next season. FAAB: $4-$8

Chris Conley, JAC - Dede Westbrook is slated to miss some time and it was Conley who took advantage Sunday, going 4-103-1 on seven targets. Gardner Minshew is showing that he's a competent quarterback, and it helps that defenses are zeroed in on stopping the running game, also known as Leonard Fournette. Conley has a role in this offense while Westbrook is out and his quarterback is legit. FAAB: $3-$6

HAIL MARY

Alex Erickson, CIN - He's on a bye and I still don't trust him week-to-week, but he scored 15.7 and 22.2 fantasy points in each of the Bengals' last two games. A.J. Green will be back at some point (provided he's not traded) and, truthfully, I'd rather have Auden Tate or Tyler Boyd. Still, Erickson is the small, shifty, slot player who'll catch a lot of short or intermediate passes every week, making him useful in deeper PPR formats. FAAB: $1-$2

TIGHT END

PRIMARY TARGETS

Chris Herndon, NYJ - Guess who was the top-scoring tight end of Week 8? If you stated Ryan Griffin before Sunday, you're a big liar. It appears Herndon should finally return this week from suspension/injury and be the top guy at the position for the Jets. This means the targets (especially in the red zone) will go to Herndon. If Herndon stays banged up, shift this love Griffin's way. FAAB: $8-$12 (Go higher if TE has killed you this season)

Jonnu Smith, TEN - It's unclear how much time Delanie Walker (ankle) will miss and that correlates as to how much money to spend. It seems like Walker might miss a few more weeks and Jonnu can be a beast if given the starting spot, even with Ryan Tannehill. FAAB: $7-$11 (Go bigger if Delanie is expected to miss more time)

DEFENSE

New York Jets, D/ST - This a short week for the Dolphins and they'll likely drop another game to the Jets. In full tank mode, Miami couldn't hang on to a 14-0 lead and gave up 27 unanswered points on Monday Night Football. Start looking ahead each week to see who Miami or Washington plays.