Waiver Wednesday: The Hot 8
The waiver wires are a barren place these days, at least in my leagues that is. With all of the specialization going on in the NFL, nearly all usable players are already on the majority of fantasy rosters. But I have uncovered another batch of under the radar hopefuls who are solid pickups at this point in the season. Notice, you will not find Austin Miles on The Hot 8 this week. Why? Because he was on LAST WEEK and the whole purpose of The Hot 8 is to notify you of great waiver wonders BEFORE they truly breakout. You can go to about 2177 other fantasy sites that will tell you to go out and pickup Miles Austin now. While they are all out doing that, I'll keep my eye on your prize...a fantasy football championship in 2009.
THE MUST'S
1) Sammy Morris -- RB -- Patriots -- With Fred Taylor having surgery to repair tendons in his ankle last week, Sammy Morris leaped to the top of the Patriots RB hill and looks poised to stay there awhile. Morris is a hard runner, good pass blocker and decent pass catcher and best of all is he has the trust of Bill Bellichick. Morris will get all goal line carries for the Pats and is sure to see close to 20 carries in most weeks as well. He is a must own RB for depth purposes right now and could come in real handy during the bye weeks.
2) Hakeem Nicks -- WR -- Giants -- Nicks is the most talented WR you will find on the waiver wire at any point this season. He has size, speed, strength and the desire to be a great WR in this league. Forget about Mario Manningham's early season successes because they are about to be past by what Hakeem Nicks will do if healthy the rest of this season. I consider him the Giants top WR and am confident he will lead the team in TD's and big plays this season.
THE SHOULD'S
3) Jeremy Maclin -- WR -- Eagles -- If you were listening to the Sunday edition of Fantasy Football Tonight you would have heard me tell everybody to start Austin Miles this week and also that I had an overwhelming feeling about Jeremy Maclin against the Buccaneers. Sure enough, both WR's exploded last week and are now the hottest names in free agency. Maclin is a shorter, speed WR who can outrun the deepest of coverage. He doesn't possess great leaping ability and can be slowed at the line by a jam. But when left alone, Maclin can get behind a defense and make some big plays for this Eagles offense.
4) Vince Young -- QB -- Titans -- Young will be the Titans starting QB as of week 8. The Titans have nothing to play for this year and will need to see what exactly they have in Young before heading into the offseason. I am of the belief that Vince Young will be a pretty good fantasy QB. His rushing skills are enough to make up for his short comings in the accuracy department. Also, he has many more weapons in this Titans offense than he had when he was the starter in 2007 and early 2008. Chris Johnson wasn't developed yet, Justin Gage wasn't a starting WR and Kenny Britt was still in school. That is not to forget untapped resources such as Jared Cook and Nate Washington. Young will be good enough to warrant a backup QB role on any fantasy team once he is implemented as the starter which will happen in week 8, mark my words.
THE COULD'S
5) Bryant Johnson -- WR -- Lions -- I am the last true believer on Bryant Johnson. This is true. But, for a one week starter he may not be that bad of an idea considering the Lions could be without star WR Calvin Johnson and are playing a banged up Packers defense. Daunte Culpepper showed confidence in Johnson in the preseason and a full week of practice in the WR1 role will benefit him a great deal. The Lions will get Johnson the ball against the Packers and I believe with his size and strength he could have himself a pretty good game and be a decent flex option this week.
6) Chaz Schilens -- WR -- Raiders -- I know...a RAIDER WR? How in the world are we supposed to trust a Raiders WR when their QB is one of the biggest busts of all time in JaMarcus Russell? Great questions but I got several reasons why you should consider adding Schilens to your roster soon. 6'4" 225 lbs. 4.38 - 40 yard dash time and a 43" vertical leap. This guy is an absolute beast and he's developed into a pretty good football player as well. He is one of the only Raiders young players who wants to hone his craft and become a great NFL player. Before breaking his foot in late August, Schilens was dazzling everybody with his highlight reel catches and great blocking skills downfield. He was making JaMarcus Russell look pretty good in fact coming into the season. Personally, I don't care if it is Russell, Bruce Gradkowski or Charlie Brown throwing him the ball. A guy this talented must have a spot on fantasy rosters because he could very easily becoming a dominant player once healthy.
THE LONG-SHOTS
7) Ryan Moats -- RB -- Texans -- Steve Slaton just isn't getting the job done, plain and simple. He is running hesitantly and without great burst or vision. Backup RB Chris Brown has single handily lost 2 games now for the Texans by first fumbling on a goal line attempt in week 3 and then failing to get in from the 1 yard line in week 5. Ryan Moats has seen an increase in carries and head coach Gary Kubiak has publicly spoken about the need for his team to find a solution to running the football. I like Moats in this one cut zone blocking running scheme. Moats is also very good at catching the ball out of the backfield which makes him an every down type player. I think we are going to see more and more of Moats in the next few weeks and if he continues to run the way he has and the way I think he can, he'll be this years version of Steve Slaton.
8) Marcus Mason -- RB -- Redskins -- Those who read my daily blogs, training camp blogs or even The Hot 8 every week are well aware of my love for Marcus Mason. The kid is a player. He is stuck behind Clinton Portis and LaDell Betts in Washington right now but he's a guy who the entire NFL knows about and has on their radar. With Jim Zorn about to be fired any week now, who knows the direction the Washington offense will go. But if speculation is correct, then offensive coordinator Sherman Smith will be calling the plays for the Redskins offense and that means a lot of running the football. Mason has been so good in practices that the team simply cannot keep him in-active on gamedays. They have been giving him a few carries each week as well and every time he touches the ball he just looks like a star RB in waiting. Keep Mason on your radar. Don't pick him up yet because until there are some changes made in Washington, he'll be regulated to mop up duty.
That is the Hot 8 for this week. What do you guys think?
Post your comments below or email me at thefantasyscout@gmail.com
THE MUST'S
1) Sammy Morris -- RB -- Patriots -- With Fred Taylor having surgery to repair tendons in his ankle last week, Sammy Morris leaped to the top of the Patriots RB hill and looks poised to stay there awhile. Morris is a hard runner, good pass blocker and decent pass catcher and best of all is he has the trust of Bill Bellichick. Morris will get all goal line carries for the Pats and is sure to see close to 20 carries in most weeks as well. He is a must own RB for depth purposes right now and could come in real handy during the bye weeks.
2) Hakeem Nicks -- WR -- Giants -- Nicks is the most talented WR you will find on the waiver wire at any point this season. He has size, speed, strength and the desire to be a great WR in this league. Forget about Mario Manningham's early season successes because they are about to be past by what Hakeem Nicks will do if healthy the rest of this season. I consider him the Giants top WR and am confident he will lead the team in TD's and big plays this season.
THE SHOULD'S
3) Jeremy Maclin -- WR -- Eagles -- If you were listening to the Sunday edition of Fantasy Football Tonight you would have heard me tell everybody to start Austin Miles this week and also that I had an overwhelming feeling about Jeremy Maclin against the Buccaneers. Sure enough, both WR's exploded last week and are now the hottest names in free agency. Maclin is a shorter, speed WR who can outrun the deepest of coverage. He doesn't possess great leaping ability and can be slowed at the line by a jam. But when left alone, Maclin can get behind a defense and make some big plays for this Eagles offense.
4) Vince Young -- QB -- Titans -- Young will be the Titans starting QB as of week 8. The Titans have nothing to play for this year and will need to see what exactly they have in Young before heading into the offseason. I am of the belief that Vince Young will be a pretty good fantasy QB. His rushing skills are enough to make up for his short comings in the accuracy department. Also, he has many more weapons in this Titans offense than he had when he was the starter in 2007 and early 2008. Chris Johnson wasn't developed yet, Justin Gage wasn't a starting WR and Kenny Britt was still in school. That is not to forget untapped resources such as Jared Cook and Nate Washington. Young will be good enough to warrant a backup QB role on any fantasy team once he is implemented as the starter which will happen in week 8, mark my words.
THE COULD'S
5) Bryant Johnson -- WR -- Lions -- I am the last true believer on Bryant Johnson. This is true. But, for a one week starter he may not be that bad of an idea considering the Lions could be without star WR Calvin Johnson and are playing a banged up Packers defense. Daunte Culpepper showed confidence in Johnson in the preseason and a full week of practice in the WR1 role will benefit him a great deal. The Lions will get Johnson the ball against the Packers and I believe with his size and strength he could have himself a pretty good game and be a decent flex option this week.
6) Chaz Schilens -- WR -- Raiders -- I know...a RAIDER WR? How in the world are we supposed to trust a Raiders WR when their QB is one of the biggest busts of all time in JaMarcus Russell? Great questions but I got several reasons why you should consider adding Schilens to your roster soon. 6'4" 225 lbs. 4.38 - 40 yard dash time and a 43" vertical leap. This guy is an absolute beast and he's developed into a pretty good football player as well. He is one of the only Raiders young players who wants to hone his craft and become a great NFL player. Before breaking his foot in late August, Schilens was dazzling everybody with his highlight reel catches and great blocking skills downfield. He was making JaMarcus Russell look pretty good in fact coming into the season. Personally, I don't care if it is Russell, Bruce Gradkowski or Charlie Brown throwing him the ball. A guy this talented must have a spot on fantasy rosters because he could very easily becoming a dominant player once healthy.
THE LONG-SHOTS
7) Ryan Moats -- RB -- Texans -- Steve Slaton just isn't getting the job done, plain and simple. He is running hesitantly and without great burst or vision. Backup RB Chris Brown has single handily lost 2 games now for the Texans by first fumbling on a goal line attempt in week 3 and then failing to get in from the 1 yard line in week 5. Ryan Moats has seen an increase in carries and head coach Gary Kubiak has publicly spoken about the need for his team to find a solution to running the football. I like Moats in this one cut zone blocking running scheme. Moats is also very good at catching the ball out of the backfield which makes him an every down type player. I think we are going to see more and more of Moats in the next few weeks and if he continues to run the way he has and the way I think he can, he'll be this years version of Steve Slaton.
8) Marcus Mason -- RB -- Redskins -- Those who read my daily blogs, training camp blogs or even The Hot 8 every week are well aware of my love for Marcus Mason. The kid is a player. He is stuck behind Clinton Portis and LaDell Betts in Washington right now but he's a guy who the entire NFL knows about and has on their radar. With Jim Zorn about to be fired any week now, who knows the direction the Washington offense will go. But if speculation is correct, then offensive coordinator Sherman Smith will be calling the plays for the Redskins offense and that means a lot of running the football. Mason has been so good in practices that the team simply cannot keep him in-active on gamedays. They have been giving him a few carries each week as well and every time he touches the ball he just looks like a star RB in waiting. Keep Mason on your radar. Don't pick him up yet because until there are some changes made in Washington, he'll be regulated to mop up duty.
That is the Hot 8 for this week. What do you guys think?
Post your comments below or email me at thefantasyscout@gmail.com
posted by Jeff Mans at
6:33 PM
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