Tell your friends (just not your leaguemates until next week)
by Nate Polvogt
The fantasy football playoffs are mere weeks away, and squaring away your rosters is becoming more critical. Here are the top Week 9 Waiver Wire RBs and how to approach them before locking in your claims ahead of Wednesday morning.
Week 9 Waiver Wire RBs
*Rostership percentages courtesy of FantasyPros waiver wire rankings
Braelon Allen (NYJ) | 35.5%
The New York Jets are a dumpster fire right now. QB Aaron Rodgers looks like a shell of himself, and even the addition of former teammate and old friend Davante Adams hasn’t helped. However, the rushing attack has been a bright spot for the Jets, and rookie Braelon Allen has been a welcome surprise alongside Breece Hall.
While Hall is the undisputed RB1 in the Big Apple, Allen has managed to carve out a role for himself. The 20-year-old from Wisconsin has three TDs this season and has logged 187 yards on 49 carries. Last week against New England, Allen handled a career-high 12 carries, totaling 32 yards and netting a TD.
Unless Hall gets hurt, it’s unlikely Allen will be more than a flier option in your Flex spot. However, with Rodgers and the offense as inconsistent as they have been, interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich could pivot to a more run-heavy approach, giving Allen more consistent opportunities to contribute.
Allen is a stash right now, so if you don’t have the room on your bench to hold him for a few weeks, don’t bother. However, if you do, Allen should be free on the waiver wire and could get you out of some tough spots as bye weeks roll on.
Kimani Vidal (LAC) | 12%
Much like Allen, rookie RB Kimani Vidal will need many things to happen to be a weekly start for the rest of this season in fantasy football. Veteran RB J.K. Dobbins has been solid through the Chargers’ first seven games and is currently RB18 in PPR formats.
Vidal hasn’t been impressive in his limited work as a rusher, averaging 2.85 yards per carry on 13 attempts. However, while it’s a small sample size, Vidal has caught all three receiving targets for 49 yards and a TD. Why does that matter?
This Chargers offense started the season as the third-most run-heavy in the league, only throwing the ball on 47 percent of plays. However, after a Week 5 bye, QB Justin Herbert is now tossing the ball on 56 percent of offensive snaps—the 14th-highest rate in the league in that span.
Dobbins is a talented RB, but he’s never been a highly-targeted asset in a passing attack. Conversely, Vidal might not be as strong as Dobbins on the rushing side, but his acumen in the passing game surpasses the fifth-year veteran.
Vidal is a rookie, and head coach Jim Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Greg Roman are taking time to ease him in. For now, Vidal is a wait-and-see Week 9 waiver wire addition. If the trend toward Herbert using his arm more frequently continues, Vidal could be a sneaky asset in PPR formats that will be essentially free on the waiver wire this week.
~ Week 9 Waiver Wire Look-Ahead targets ~
Week 9 Waiver Wire Pickups at RB | The Rest
Blake Corum (LAR) | 18%
Isaac Guerendo (SF) | 6.6%
Dalvin Cook (DAL) | 21.6%
Ty Chandler (MIN) | 31.6%
Tyler Allgeier (ATL) | 40.5%
Nate Polvogt is a Co-Founder and the Lead Senior Analyst for Optimus Fantasy Football. Find more from Nate on X (formerly Twitter) @NatePolvogt and on Optimus Fantasy
The fantasy football playoffs are mere weeks away, and squaring away your rosters is becoming more critical. Here are the top Week 9 Waiver Wire RBs and how to approach them before locking in your claims ahead of Wednesday morning.
Week 9 Waiver Wire RBs
*Rostership percentages courtesy of FantasyPros waiver wire rankings
Braelon Allen (NYJ) | 35.5%
The New York Jets are a dumpster fire right now. QB Aaron Rodgers looks like a shell of himself, and even the addition of former teammate and old friend Davante Adams hasn’t helped. However, the rushing attack has been a bright spot for the Jets, and rookie Braelon Allen has been a welcome surprise alongside Breece Hall.
While Hall is the undisputed RB1 in the Big Apple, Allen has managed to carve out a role for himself. The 20-year-old from Wisconsin has three TDs this season and has logged 187 yards on 49 carries. Last week against New England, Allen handled a career-high 12 carries, totaling 32 yards and netting a TD.
Unless Hall gets hurt, it’s unlikely Allen will be more than a flier option in your Flex spot. However, with Rodgers and the offense as inconsistent as they have been, interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich could pivot to a more run-heavy approach, giving Allen more consistent opportunities to contribute.
Allen is a stash right now, so if you don’t have the room on your bench to hold him for a few weeks, don’t bother. However, if you do, Allen should be free on the waiver wire and could get you out of some tough spots as bye weeks roll on.
Kimani Vidal (LAC) | 12%
Much like Allen, rookie RB Kimani Vidal will need many things to happen to be a weekly start for the rest of this season in fantasy football. Veteran RB J.K. Dobbins has been solid through the Chargers’ first seven games and is currently RB18 in PPR formats.
Vidal hasn’t been impressive in his limited work as a rusher, averaging 2.85 yards per carry on 13 attempts. However, while it’s a small sample size, Vidal has caught all three receiving targets for 49 yards and a TD. Why does that matter?
This Chargers offense started the season as the third-most run-heavy in the league, only throwing the ball on 47 percent of plays. However, after a Week 5 bye, QB Justin Herbert is now tossing the ball on 56 percent of offensive snaps—the 14th-highest rate in the league in that span.
Dobbins is a talented RB, but he’s never been a highly-targeted asset in a passing attack. Conversely, Vidal might not be as strong as Dobbins on the rushing side, but his acumen in the passing game surpasses the fifth-year veteran.
Vidal is a rookie, and head coach Jim Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Greg Roman are taking time to ease him in. For now, Vidal is a wait-and-see Week 9 waiver wire addition. If the trend toward Herbert using his arm more frequently continues, Vidal could be a sneaky asset in PPR formats that will be essentially free on the waiver wire this week.
~ Week 9 Waiver Wire Look-Ahead targets ~
Week 9 Waiver Wire Pickups at RB | The Rest
Blake Corum (LAR) | 18%
Isaac Guerendo (SF) | 6.6%
Dalvin Cook (DAL) | 21.6%
Ty Chandler (MIN) | 31.6%
Tyler Allgeier (ATL) | 40.5%
Nate Polvogt is a Co-Founder and the Lead Senior Analyst for Optimus Fantasy Football. Find more from Nate on X (formerly Twitter) @NatePolvogt and on Optimus Fantasy
The fantasy football playoffs are mere weeks away, and squaring away your rosters is becoming more critical. Here are the top Week 9 Waiver Wire RBs and how to approach them before locking in your claims ahead of Wednesday morning.
Week 9 Waiver Wire RBs
*Rostership percentages courtesy of FantasyPros waiver wire rankings
Braelon Allen (NYJ) | 35.5%
The New York Jets are a dumpster fire right now. QB Aaron Rodgers looks like a shell of himself, and even the addition of former teammate and old friend Davante Adams hasn’t helped. However, the rushing attack has been a bright spot for the Jets, and rookie Braelon Allen has been a welcome surprise alongside Breece Hall.
While Hall is the undisputed RB1 in the Big Apple, Allen has managed to carve out a role for himself. The 20-year-old from Wisconsin has three TDs this season and has logged 187 yards on 49 carries. Last week against New England, Allen handled a career-high 12 carries, totaling 32 yards and netting a TD.
Unless Hall gets hurt, it’s unlikely Allen will be more than a flier option in your Flex spot. However, with Rodgers and the offense as inconsistent as they have been, interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich could pivot to a more run-heavy approach, giving Allen more consistent opportunities to contribute.
Allen is a stash right now, so if you don’t have the room on your bench to hold him for a few weeks, don’t bother. However, if you do, Allen should be free on the waiver wire and could get you out of some tough spots as bye weeks roll on.
Kimani Vidal (LAC) | 12%
Much like Allen, rookie RB Kimani Vidal will need many things to happen to be a weekly start for the rest of this season in fantasy football. Veteran RB J.K. Dobbins has been solid through the Chargers’ first seven games and is currently RB18 in PPR formats.
Vidal hasn’t been impressive in his limited work as a rusher, averaging 2.85 yards per carry on 13 attempts. However, while it’s a small sample size, Vidal has caught all three receiving targets for 49 yards and a TD. Why does that matter?
This Chargers offense started the season as the third-most run-heavy in the league, only throwing the ball on 47 percent of plays. However, after a Week 5 bye, QB Justin Herbert is now tossing the ball on 56 percent of offensive snaps—the 14th-highest rate in the league in that span.
Dobbins is a talented RB, but he’s never been a highly-targeted asset in a passing attack. Conversely, Vidal might not be as strong as Dobbins on the rushing side, but his acumen in the passing game surpasses the fifth-year veteran.
Vidal is a rookie, and head coach Jim Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Greg Roman are taking time to ease him in. For now, Vidal is a wait-and-see Week 9 waiver wire addition. If the trend toward Herbert using his arm more frequently continues, Vidal could be a sneaky asset in PPR formats that will be essentially free on the waiver wire this week.
~ Week 9 Waiver Wire Look-Ahead targets ~
Week 9 Waiver Wire Pickups at RB | The Rest
Blake Corum (LAR) | 18%
Isaac Guerendo (SF) | 6.6%
Dalvin Cook (DAL) | 21.6%
Ty Chandler (MIN) | 31.6%
Tyler Allgeier (ATL) | 40.5%
Nate Polvogt is a Co-Founder and the Lead Senior Analyst for Optimus Fantasy Football. Find more from Nate on X (formerly Twitter) @NatePolvogt and on Optimus Fantasy
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