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Week 8 was a welcomed reprieve from bye weeks with every NFL team in action. There were also some notable performances from Sam Howell (397 yards and four touchdowns), Jalen Hurts (319 yards and four touchdowns), and rookie Will Levis. Fantasy managers were also met with an unfortunate injury after Vikings’ quarterback Kirk Cousins suffered a season-ending Achilles injury.
In this article, I will be focusing on players under 65% rostered in fantasy leagues while adding a couple of deep sleepers for two-quarterback leagues (less than 25% rostered).
Let’s look at who you should consider picking up for Week 9 below.
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Single-QB Waiver Wire Pickups and Streamers
Derek Carr, New Orleans Saints
Yahoo: 36% rostered
Derek Carr didn’t have ridiculous passing volume against the Colts in Week 8, but he didn’t need it to put together one of his best fantasy performances of the season. Carr completed 19 of 27 passes for 310 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions.
The veteran quarterback now has three straight games with over 300 passing yards and four straight 15+ point fantasy performances. Carr is starting to find his stride with the Saints and should have strong fantasy value in the coming weeks with matchups against the Bears and Vikings on the horizon before the team’s Week 11 bye.
Sam Howell, Washington Commanders
Yahoo: 46% rostered
The Sam Howell rollercoaster ride continued in Week 8. Howell bounced back from an underwhelming Week 7 (9.46 fantasy points against the New York Giants) with arguably his best game against the Eagles. The second-year quarterback completed 39 of 52 pass attempts for 397 yards and four touchdowns with one interception in the game.
The Commanders remain committed to letting the young quarterback air it out, giving him great upside in fantasy. Howell now has six games with at least 30 passing attempts and two games with 50 passing attempts. The quarterback still takes too many sacks and is prone to turning the ball over, but he will have plenty of chances to rack up stats, especially with the Commanders shipping off their two best pass rushers on defense.
The next four weeks aren't great for the Commanders' offense (New England, Seattle, the Giants and Dallas), but given Howell's volume and the likelihood for negative game scripts, it is hard to avoid picking him up if he's available in your fantasy league.
Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Yahoo: 30% rostered
Baker Mayfield has been solid in his first year with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Mayfield has scored at least 16 fantasy points in five of his seven starts in Tampa Bay, including two games with over 20 fantasy points. While Mayfield isn’t putting up huge yardage, he’s been very efficient at getting the ball into the end zone.
The veteran quarterback completed 25 of 42 passes for 237 yards and two touchdowns with zero interceptions in Thursday night’s loss to the Buffalo Bills. Mayfield will continue to have a QB2 floor thanks to excellent wide receivers and consistent passing volume. The Buccaneers have attempted at least 32 passes in six of their seven games.
The veteran quarterback has a great matchup in Week 9 against the Texans before a tough matchup against the 49ers in Week 10. A stretch of good matchups from Weeks 12 to 14 (Indianapolis, Carolina, and Atlanta) gives Mayfield streaming upside as fantasy leagues move toward the fantasy playoffs.
Two-QB Waiver Wire Pickups and Stashes
Will Levis, Tennessee Titans
Yahoo: 3% rostered
You’ll struggle to find a better NFL debut than Will Levis’s first game against the Atlanta Falcons. The 2023 second-round pick completed 19 of 29 passes for 238 yards and four touchdowns with zero interceptions against the Falcons in a 28-23 victory. It took Levis just 29 pass attempts to double injured starter Ryan Tannehill’s touchdown total.
It is tough to trust Levis’ long-term in redraft fantasy this season because we have no assurances that the team won’t turn back to Ryan Tannehill once his ankle is fully healthy. Common sense says the Titans should be sellers (especially after trading veteran safety Kevin Byard before Week 8’s game), but the team may not see it that way and may continue to start Tannehill as the team pushes for a playoff spot.
At best, the Titans decide to give Levis an extended look to see if he can be the team’s quarterback of the future. At worst, he may have shown enough in one week to give the Titans the confidence to continue starting him until Tannehill is completely healthy. He’s worth rostering until we have more clarity about the team’s plans for the remainder of the season.
Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers
Yahoo: 12% rostered
Bryce Young continues to be a safe but productive quarterback play for the Carolina Panthers. Young completed 22 of 31 passes for 235 yards and a touchdown in his first career win against a solid Texans defense. It was Young’s fourth straight performance with 200 passing yards and the rookie now has five passing touchdowns in his last three games.
The rookie is far from a dual threat in the pocket, but he also has double-digit rushing yards in four of his five starts this season. The rookie should have plenty of opportunity to continue to build a solid stat line over the next two weeks with matchups against Indianapolis (16.0 fantasy points per game to quarterbacks) and Chicago (18.1 fantasy points per game to quarterbacks) on the horizon.
Young doesn’t provide much ceiling as a fantasy quarterback, but he is the perfect floor play for fantasy managers looking to navigate bye weeks in the next two weeks.
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