Week 9 Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Debates | Should You Add Saints’ Rashid Shaheed or Commanders’ Jamison Crowder? Saints' Taysom Hill or Cardinals' Trey McBride?
There have been a handful of breakout fantasy performances during the eighth week of the NFL season so far. A few of the breakouts came from some familiar names, while some new names also delivered.
Let’s take a look at four players - two wide receivers and two tight ends - that are owned in less than 50% of leagues and then help you determine which players you should be targeting on the waiver wire. We’ll talk about New Orleans Saints’ Taysom Hill and Rashid Shaheed, Washington Commanders’ Jamison Crowder and Arizona Cardinals’ Trey McBride.
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Taysom Hill Shines Again
The Saints’ do-it-all player continues to make plays. The quarterback is now listed as a tight end, but continues to make plays as a passer, runner and receiver.
Hill did his most damage in week 8 as a ball carrier. He got nine carries, turning those into 63 yards and two touchdowns. Hill is now up to 203 yards and three touchdowns on 38 attempts this season
Hill caught his only target for 14 yards and is now up to 129 yards on 16 grabs for the year. Hill attempted two passes, completing one for 44 yards. He’s got 69 passing yards and has completed 4-of-5 passes for the season.
He’s not putting up monster numbers in any one area, but the combined effort is helping him to respectable fantasy outings. Add in that he’s scoring touchdowns now and he’s now going to be one of the hottest names on the waiver wire.
New Orleans’ offense has struggled to finish off drives this season, and the team’s remedy appears to be getting Hill more involved. He’s gotten eight or more touches the past three weeks, and his scrimmage yards and touchdowns have increased as his touches have gone up.
The thing that gives fantasy owners pause is that he isn’t playing that many snaps. He was only on the field for 29 offensive snaps in week 8.
The thing is though, when he’s on the field, the play usually has Hill involved in some fashion, whether that’s with the ball being in his hands or him serving as a decoy. So really, the concerns you might have about his playing time should be alleviated. I also think his usage will continue to increase, as this is when the team’s offense finds the most success.
Rashid Shaheed Posts Another Big Game
Shaheed is a classic boom-or-bust fantasy player, but he’s also a guy the Saints continue to look to more and more each week.
Shaheed had his most receiving yards this season after pulling down all three of his targets for 153 yards and a touchdown in week 8. It’s the third time he’s topped 100 scrimmage yards this season, and second time in the past three weeks.
If your league rewards players for kickoff and punt returns, Shaheed also does that for the Saints. He had 46 yards on four punt returns in week 8.
What’s crazy about Shaheed’s big showing this week is he only played 18 offensive snaps. He’d been at 62 and 63 snaps the last two weeks, so fantasy owners are probably wondering what kind of numbers he’d have been able to reach with a similar snap count.
As the Saints continue to try to fix some of their offensive issues, getting the ball to Shaheed seems like a wise move to make. He got seven touches in week 1 before getting the ball just 10 times over the next four weeks. The past three games, Shaheed had at least three touches a game, and he’s turned those into 288 scrimmage yards and two touchdowns.
I’m really not sure why he isn’t even more involved on offense, but if New Orleans wants to find more offensive consistency, getting the ball to Shaheed seems like a likely possibility.
Jamison Crowder Turns Back Clock
Crowder has turned in several solid fantasy seasons during his nine-year NFL career, but it’s been four years since he topped 500 receiving yards. Many people probably didn’t even realize Crowder was still in the league.
Coming into week 8, Crowder had played just nine offensive snaps. He played 23 offensive snaps this weekend, and delivered a huge performance.
Crowder caught all seven of his targets, after being targeted just twice all season. He turned his seven grabs into 95 yards, after just 21 receiving yards for the year. His 26-yard touchdown reception late in the fourth quarter turned his good fantasy showing into a great one for the owners who started him - if there were any.
The breakout game really came out of nowhere, as most of Crowder’s impact this season came as a punt returner. He’s got 158 yards on 15 returns this season.
Crowder’s statline looks great, but broken down, it loses some value. Curtis Samuel left the game with a toe injury, which gave Crowder some more playing time. Three of Crowder's catches - going for 54 yards and the touchdown - came on the team’s last drive when the Philadelphia Eagles were up 14 points.
Trey McBride Excels in Lead Role
We wrote about McBride last week when teammate Zach Ertz was placed on injured reserve. We told you that the Cardinals like to utilize their tight ends and to take a chance on McBride. He made us look great after what he produced in week 8.
McBride finished with 10 catches on 14 targets, going for 95 yards and a touchdown. It was the best showing in the career of the second-year player.
Unsurprisingly, he played a season-high 63 offensive snaps, which was 82% of the team’s total. What we didn’t expect was for McBride to finish as the team’s leader in targets, and yards. Michael Wilson and Marquise Brown were the only other pass catchers on the team that really made a difference, and McBride’s numbers far exceeded theirs.
It’s hard not to overreact to a statline like that. Some might argue that the numbers aren’t sustainable, and you are probably right, but the Cardinals are likely going to play from behind a lot this season, so these kinds of games are more realistic than you might think. You might also wonder about how McBride might play when quarterback Kyler Murray returns, but with not many other playmakers to pass to, McBride should remain a big part of the offense.
Who to Prioritize on the Waiver Wire
All four of Hill, Shaheed, Crowder and McBride had great fantasy showings in week 8, but there’s still players I like a lot more of this group.
Unless you are set at tight end with a guy like Travis Kelce or Mark Andrews, I believe McBride should be your top priority. He’s going to have a big role until Ertz returns, and in an offense lacking playmakers, McBride should be involved heavily every week. He could see his role decrease if Ertz returns, but strong play these next couple weeks could keep him on the field consistently for the remainder of the season.
I’d take my chances on Hill next of the group. He’s likely got tight end eligibility in your league, so again that could complicate things if you got a top-end talent at the position. He’s really a flex player in real life and would be the perfect player to slide into that fantasy spot going forward. He should remain involved and productive as a fantasy player, even if he isn’t scoring at his recent pace or on the field a whole bunch.
Give me Shaheed next. I’d love to take him higher on this list, but his lack of playing time gives me doubt. His big games are tough to project, but he’s still a solid guy to roster and plug into your lineup for the weeks where you got wideouts on byes or an open flex spot. He makes a lot more sense as a starter in deeper leagues.
That leaves Crowder as the last player standing. I would not even consider him as a waiver wire possibility this week, unless Samuel or another big part of the team’s offense is placed on IR, or you are in a deeper league. He’ll likely earn a few more snaps after his week 8 showing, but I’d need to see another week or two of production before feeling comfortable adding him and starting him in standard leagues. He’s one to keep an eye on, but the likelihood of him consistently producing seems low at this point.
