2022 NFL fantasy football: Week 9 waiver wire

ROSTERED: 52%

It feels like an age and a half since I included Herbert in the Week 1 waiver column. If you recall, the reasoning back then was that Herbert was rumored to be a better fit for the Bears offense than incumbent starter David Montgomery. Eight games into the season ... that could not be more apparent. Herbert has 91 carries, Montgomery has 92. That’s a one-carry disparity. Herbert has 563 yards and four touchdowns on the ground ... Montgomery has 361 yards and two TDs. That’s a 202-yard (and two-TD) disparity. You following the math here? Here, I’ll simplify it. Herbert: 6.2 yards per carry (third-best among RBs). Montgomery: 3.9 yards per carry (bad). Now, I think it’s unlikely Herbert seizes the job entirely (which limits his upside a bit), but he’s proving to be startable regardless. And if he DOES get the job (whether by performance or injury), Herbert is a league-winner waiting to happen. He should be rostered in nearly every league.

ROSTERED: 31%

Lest Pacheco be forgotten over his Week 8 bye, here I am to remind you about the rise of the rookie runner. While it hasn’t been particularly lucrative for fantasy, Pacheco has been gaining steam in the Chiefs running back room, culminating in a start and a team-high eight carries and 43 rush yards in Week 7 (to Clyde Edwards-Helaire’s six for 32). Much like with Herbert above, it is unlikely Pacheco takes full control of the lead job without injury to CEH, so I would not recommend blowing a No. 1 claim or all your FAAB on the kid. But if he leads this offense in touches with any consistency moving forward, he will be fantasy-relevant more often than not. And, as with Herbert, the upside is there.

ROSTERED: 18%

I know, I know. The last few waiver wire columns have been a yo-yo of Ravens running backs. A roller coaster? A seesaw? It’s been a back and forth is what I’m trying to say. Kenyan Drake, Gus Edwards, Kenyan Drake ... which is it, Okada?! Honestly, the answer appears to be “whichever is healthiest.” And heading into Week 8, following Edwards’ hamstring injury on TNF, that guy is likely to be Drake (again). The real key here is that whoever gets the nod for Baltimore should get the nod in your fantasy lineup. Either Drake (Weeks 6 and 8) or Edwards (Week 7) has had 16+ fantasy points in each of the last three games. At least until J.K. Dobbins returns, it’s probably best to roster both and have all the bases covered (or at least roster whichever is cheaper to acquire).

ROSTERED: 50%

All the Toney trade hype went down after last week’s column published, so this is my first chance to edumacate y’all on the second-year former Giant. You may have seen some wild conjecture about Toney being “the next Tyreek Hill,” and plenty of adamant denial of said conjecture. Here’s the thing. Odds are, no one will be the next Tyreek Hill. Maybe ever. But ... Toney might be the best bet in the entire league to beat those odds. Yeah, I said it. There’s a pretty short reel of NFL tape on Toney thanks to injuries (and disappointing usage in New York) but spend a few minutes watching it and you’ll know what I mean. He’s lightning in human form. Add in the lack of a true No. 1 in Kansas City, the arm of Patrick Mahomes and the brain of Andy Reid ... and the ceiling is somewhere near the International Space Station. To be clear, the floor is also somewhere in the Mariana Trench (Google it), so adjust your expectations accordingly.

ROSTERED: 4%

After missing the first three weeks and having only three catches in his Week 4 return, Moore has averaged 12.9 fantasy points over the last four games with a seven-catch, 92-yard performance in Week 8 (including a 38-yard TD late in the game). With the loss of Marquise Brown and the return of DeAndre Hopkins, Moore might have found an ideal role as a highly-targetable, often-in-space WR2 for Arizona. He’s had 8+ targets and 6+ catches in three of the last four weeks, and the Cardinals continue to churn out high-scoring, pass-happy contests (Kyler Murray threw 44 times for 326 yards on Sunday). Moore could easily slide into weekly FLEX territory over the remainder of the fantasy season, making him a must-add in anything beyond eight-team leagues.

ROSTERED: 3%

You trust Austin Ekeler in fantasy, right? Well, Ekeler is picking up teammate Joshua Palmer ... so we should, too. And if you’re looking for more concrete reasoning, I’ve got you. Coming off L.A.’s Week 8 bye, Keenan Allen might -- MIGHT -- be fully healed from his nagging hamstring injury. I’m not confident. Meanwhile, Mike Williams is likely to miss multiple weeks with an ankle injury. That means Justin Herbert will have Palmer and DeAndre Carter to turn to on the outside. Palmer has had 13+ fantasy points in three games this season, Carter did it once (back in Week 1). And our inside man prefers Palmer. All the pieces are falling into place.

ROSTERED: 45%

No, you’re not re-reading the Week 8 article where Engram topped the list of tight ends to add. He’s just back for more because he’s still available in over half of NFL.com leagues and had 15.5 fantasy points in London on Sunday. That’s four straight games with 9+ fantasy points, which is literally as much as we can ask from a fantasy tight end not named Travis Kelce or Mark Andrews. At a position in which streaming is scarier than any of the Halloween parties or haunted houses you visited this year, I’ll take the high-floor and low-ceiling of this Jag (by which I totally mean Jaguar, and not Just A Guy ... totally).

ROSTERED: 6%

Dulcich has scored 11+ fantasy points in every single game of his career. As much as we praise Kelce and Andrews, even they can’t claim that! OK fine, it’s only been three games. But in all seriousness, Dulcich is (very) quickly cementing himself as one of the more exciting options at this (very) bare position. He’s increased his yardage in each game this season and might have sneakily become the No. 2 target on the Denver offense. Not only is the rookie a must-add in all leagues ... he might be a must-start. Just be aware, he’s on bye next week. So go add Evan Engram, too.

ROSTERED: 39%

See if this tickles your fancy: 17 fantasy points in Week 5 ... 18 in Week 6 ... 23 in Week 7 ... 26 in Week 8. That, my friends, is what we call a trend. Insert emoji of the red stocks line climbing upwards here (why on earth isn’t that line green?). Fields has had 40+ rushing yards in six straight games, scored on the ground in two straight and thrown five TDs in the last four games after throwing only two TDs in the first four. He also has an extremely juicy stretch of matchups on the horizon: his next three opponents are all bottom-four in the league against fantasy quarterbacks. Fields is a QB1 for the next month ... and possibly for the rest of the season.

ROSTERED: 35%

I am once again asking you to add Marcus Mariota in fantasy. Is he inconsistent? Yes. Is he a great NFL quarterback? Not really, no. Is he highly streamable anyway? Yes, yes he is. Like Fields, Mariota is riding a streak of 40-yard rushing games (four straight) and he exploded for a season-high 253 yards and three scores through the air on Sunday. You can’t rely on him as your every-week starter, but if you’re willing to carry two QBs, Mariota should absolutely be one of them.