It’s a tricky weekend in fantasy football with six teams on a bye week, but this leaves us opportunities to hoover up good players that managers have left on waivers. If you have room on your roster, get ahead of the waiver rush by grabbing these guys now.
Quarterbacks
Marcus Mariota (QB – ATL) – 32% Rostered
Perhaps the greater population is unaware, but Marcus Mariota is the QB8 in most quarterback scoring, and Mariota has provided top-twelve performances in four of his eight games this season. The Falcons aren’t an easy team to trust, and Mariota’s passing numbers do little to inspire, but he delivers and, amongst quarterbacks, has the fourth most rushing yards in the last four weeks (185). Mariota’s next five games are all against defenses that rank bottom 16 in surrendering points to quarterbacks.
Andy Dalton (QB – NO) – 14% Rostered
The Ginger Prince has quietly taken the Saints’ starting job away from Jameis Winston without things ever even descending into a quarterback battle. Dalton’s next two games are against the Ravens and Steelers, who rank bottom twelve in points allowed to quarterbacks, and Dalton has an excellent opportunity against those teams to make the job his own for the rest of the season. Over the last five weeks, Dalton has averaged two passing touchdowns per game and is the QB10. Nobody wants to start Dalton… but it might not be as bad as you think.
Wide Receivers
Jahan Dotson (WR – WAS) – 19% Rostered
It seems likely that Dotson will miss his fifth game in a row due to a hamstring injury. Still, when Dotson gets back on the field sooner or later, he’ll have a chance to continue the impressive form he displayed in the first few games of the season when he scored four touchdowns and had three double-digit PPR performances.
Donovan Peoples-Jones (WR – CLE) – 22% Rostered
Much of the focus in Cleveland tends to be on what Nick Chubb is doing weekly, but Donovan Peoples-Jones deserves a little praise for quietly seeing his way to becoming the WR28 on the season. In five of eight games, Peoples-Jones has seen double-digit PPR returns, and as a WR3 or deep flex play, that kind of consistency shouldn’t be sniffed at. Of course, in the near future, Peoples-Jones will have Deshaun Watson throwing him the ball instead of Jacoby Brissett, and it’s likely that only bolsters Peoples-Jones’s production down the stretch.
Donovan Peoples Jones continues to prove himself this year. So far DPJ has 1 drop on 23 targets while catching 8 of his 13 contested catch opportunities (PFF). He is cementing himself as the number 2 WR behind Amari Cooper and helping the offense to thrive #Browns pic.twitter.com/5YxG2EzzBB
— Jacob Roach (@roachizm13) November 3, 2022
Treylon Burks (WR – TEN) – 17% Rostered
Another rookie who could return from injury soon is Treylon Burks. The Titans were a team that took their time to get going in the early games of the season. Burks never really lit things up after a tumultuous training camp, but there should be no doubting his talent, and if he can make it onto the field, then he could have a good role to play with no other Titans pass-catchers standing out of late.
Running Backs
Deon Jackson (RB – IND) – 45% Rostered
The Colts traded away Nyheim Hines to the Buffalo Bills this week at the request of Hines. With Jonathan Taylor reaggravating an ankle injury he’s struggled with all season and vastly underperforming, the Colts have opened a role for Jackson, and he’s been performing above expectations. Taylor has averaged -3.2 fantasy points over expectation this season, whilst Jackson has averaged 1.0. Jackson has also been excellent in the receiving game, securing all 14 of his targets at a rate of 7.7 yards per reception. Even if Jonathan Taylor regains his health, Jackson can probably spell him at times and be useful in PPR formats.
Rachaad White (RB – TB) – 31% Rostered
Tampa hasn’t been doing an awful lot right. Still, the running backs in this offense remain strongly utilized, and White has established a consistent role with 7.4 touches per game in his last five, including reliable work in the passing game. White has been in this column for a few weeks now, and I’ll maintain that he’s one of the most valuable handcuffs in fantasy.
Jaylen Warren (RB – PIT) 6% Rostered
Another handcuff who could see even more work is Jaylen Warren, who has been more efficient with his touches than former 24th-overall pick Najee Harris. Warren averages 5.3 yards per carry compared to Harris’s 3.3 and has picked up a first down on 34% of his rushing attempts compared to Harris’s 13.8%. With the Steelers’ season all but over, it doesn’t make much sense for them to give Harris a heavy workload, particularly given that Harris still seems to have lingering issues with the foot injury he picked up in camp. Should Harris be sat, Warren would have a near three-down workload in what is admittedly a poor offense.
Steelers backup RB Jaylen Warren on why he was able to have some success on the ground today: “I’m not a big east-to-west guy. I’ve always been taught to run downhill. So when I get the ball I just take whatever is in front of me, kind of. I’m not a big dance guy.”
— Brian Batko (@BrianBatko) October 30, 2022
Tight Ends
Greg Dulcich (TE – DEN) – 35% Rostered
Greg Dulcich has been fantastic since he made his debut in Week 6 and now has scored 36.2 PPR points in those three games, making him the TE3 in that period. Often we see tight ends take time to make a fantasy impact, but Dulcich has been comfortable in his role and a reliable pass-catcher and earning 17 targets in three games. The Broncos have a bye week this weekend but expect his name to be popular in waiver columns mid-week.
Since Week 6 when Greg Dulcich made his debut he has 36.2 PPR points.
He is the TE3 in that period.
This week might be your last chance to grab him off waivers before it's too late.#BroncosCountry #letsride
— Tom Strachan (@NFL_TStrack) October 31, 2022
Juwan Johnson (TE – NO) – 9% Rostered
The Saints sent Michael Thomas back to his regular spot on I.R on Thursday, and the once great wide receiver will now miss the rest of the season with a dislocated toe. This Saints team isn’t blessed with pass-catchers outside of Alvin Kamara and Chris Olave, but Juwan Johnson has quietly made the tight-end role his own, averaging 74% of snaps over the last three weeks. Johnson has averaged five targets per game in his last three games, and whilst his scoring will be reliant on touchdowns if you’re in a real pinch, Johnson will be on the field a lot, and that counts for something when you’re scraping this low.
Defense
Seattle Seahawks – 27% Rostered
The Seahawks defense has quietly improved over the last four weeks, and the performances have translated over to fantasy points as well, with Seattle averaging 14.3 fantasy points in their last three games. The Seahawks managed that without any defensive touchdowns, which makes the scoring more impressive and more likely to be sustainable.
New York Jets – 23% Rostered
Robert Saleh’s defensive vision seems to have finally come to life with the addition of Sauce Gardner and the Jets finally getting C.J Mosely healthy, and for the first time in a long time, the Jets are also generating a pass rush. Since Week 4, the Jets have scored at least seven fantasy points on defense and have had three double-digit performances. Those scores could have been bolstered even further if it wasn’t for an iffy roughing the passer call against the Patriots, which ruled out a pick-six. The Jets face Buffalo this weekend before a bye week but then have easier games against the Patriots, Bears, and Vikings.
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