The fantasy football season has passed the halfway mark and it’s time to get serious about the playoff race. We’ve only got about a month of the regular season left, so playing the matchups and getting smart about waiver wire pickups will be more important than ever.
Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports
The good news for owners is that Week 8 came and went with no serious injuries at quarterback. That’s a relief after seeing Aaron Rodgers and Carson Palmer go down in recent weeks, although Jameis Winston is clearly still bothered by his shoulder injury, resulting in probably his worst game of the season. He’s no longer an every-week starter in 12-team leagues.
Besides the injury news, fantasy owners once again have to deal with six bye teams — the Chicago Bears, Cleveland Browns, Los Angeles Chargers, Minnesota Vikings, New England Patriots, and Pittsburgh Steelers. That means Tom Brady, Ben Roethlisberger, Philip Rivers, and even Case Keenum (who would’ve been on this list otherwise) aren’t available in Week 9.
In other words, it’s slim pickings on the waiver wire this week, but let’s look at some of the top quarterback options available in less than 50 percent of Yahoo! leagues.
Jared Goff, Los Angeles Rams (46 percent)
Goff has significantly cooled off from his fast start to the season, throwing just two touchdowns to three interceptions over his last three games. He’s also creeping back into some bad old habits from his rookie season, missing throws from a clean pocket and committing unforced mistakes. He also has a tough matchup with the New York Giants this week, putting him on the QB2 borderline. Goff will be a risky streamer, but he’s on the list with all the bye week absences.
Blake Bortles, Jacksonville Jaguars (15 percent)
You know it’s a thin week on the waiver wire when Bortles makes this list. The Jaguars have done everything in their power to take the ball out of his hands, and it wasn’t until Leonard Fournette missed Week 7 that Bortles finally hit the 300-yard mark, which happened to be against the Indianapolis Colts’ defense. Fournette will be back with the Jags coming off their bye, and Bortles should settle back into his usual caretaker role against the Cincinnati Bengals, who nearly let the Colts steal one last Sunday. Bortles is only useful in deeper leagues at the moment.
Joe Flacco, Baltimore Ravens (13 percent)
This solely depends on whether Flacco can get cleared from concussion protocol. If he does, he’ll have a decent matchup with the Tennessee Titans’ average defense. Flacco has been pretty bad most of the season, but he was having one of his better games last Thursday before Kiko Alonso knocked him out, completing 10 of 15 passes for 101 yards and a touchdown against the Miami Dolphins. Jeremy Maclin coming back from injury is a boost to the Ravens’ passing offense, which has been sluggish all year. Flacco still can’t be trusted in standard leagues, though.
Jay Cutler, Miami Dolphins (10 percent)
Speaking of the Dolphins, Cutler’s job is nice and secure after Matt Moore faceplanted. The bad news is that Cutler has been really bad himself, averaging just 5.5 yards per carry and not reaching 200 passing yards since Week 3. The Dolphins’ entire offense is in the tank right now and should really be avoided for fantasy purposes. There are two silver linings right now — the impending return of DeVante Parker, and the Oakland Raiders’ 25th-ranked pass defense. Cutler is a “break glass in case of emergency” streaming option this week.
