If you thought Week 8 was a bye-filled doozy, with six teams taking a break, Week 9 is even doozier. The same number of teams are off, but instead of such fantasy relevance-deficient squads such as the 49ers and Rams, we’ll have to make do without anyone from the Patriots, Cardinals, Bengals, Texans, Redskins and Bears. Oof.
Of course, that also opens the door to all sorts of buy-low possibilities, as owners desperate for wins could feel compelled to accept less than face value for the likes of Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, David Johnson, Larry Fitzgerald, A.J. Green, Jeremy Hill, Giovani Bernard, Tyler Eifert, Lamar Miller, DeAndre Hopkins, Jordan Reed and Alshon Jeffery.
Miller is particularly intriguing, as he has failed to live up to his first-round billing and now is dealing with a shoulder injury. That means that the bye is coming at a perfect time for the Houston RB, and his second-half slate, with the Jaguars, Raiders, Chargers and Colts, looks less difficult than the first-half minefield he was forced to navigate.
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Speaking of the Raiders, an opposite dynamic is set to unfold, at least in the short term. Oakland gets the Broncos in Week 9, then has a bye, then plays the Texans, all of which is bad news for owners of Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree. Those fairly confident of reaching the playoffs can certainly try to ride out that stretch, but it doesn’t get much easier after that. From Week 12 through Week 16, Oakland plays the Panthers, Bills, Chiefs, Chargers and Colts, only one of which (Kansas City) is in the top 10 in terms of fantasy points allowed to WRs.
In the meantime, Cooper is coming off a monster game (12-173-1) and three big outings in his past four. He could well fetch another WR1-type in return (Odell Beckham Jr. comes to mind), or a WR2/RB2 package that could help owners in need of quick help. For his part, Crabtree has had just one dud performance all season and should also garner a handsome return. I wouldn’t exactly call either of these must-make moves, but they are prime examples of selling high before the road gets rocky.
Other players to trade away
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Christine Michael, RB, Seahawks
It’s officially time to get a bit worried about C-Mike. He could hardly have asked for a better spot — at New Orleans (!), in a game his team led into the fourth quarter — but failed to deliver the goods, getting just 42 yards on 11 touches, while Seattle heavily mixed in rookie C.J. Prosise. Michael’s 4.0 yards-per-carry average actually marked the first time he reached that pedestrian number since September.
It’s not all Michael’s fault, as the Seahawks’ offensive line play has been poor and Russell Wilson isn’t his usual, nimble self, but those don’t look like problems that are going away anytime soon. Meanwhile, Thomas Rawls (remember him?) is expected back at some point in the coming weeks, and with the way Michael has performed in his absence, there’s little reason to think this won’t wind up as possibly a three-way timeshare. Michael did score a touchdown Sunday, and he has propped up his value with six in his past five games, so now could be the right time to deal him for a safer RB2.
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Frank Gore, RB, Colts
It pains me to list him here, because I just like Gore and admire the fact that he’s still getting it done as a 33-year-old RB. In other words, he’s a fun own, particularly as he was a bit of a draft-day bargain. But the immediate future brings dates with RB-ornery defenses in the Packers and Titans, with a bye sandwiched between them, and further down the road loom the Jets, Texans and Vikings. Then there’s the distinct, if depressing, possibility that Gore will start acting his age as the season wears on.
Blake Bortles, QB, Jaguars
This is almost a matter of principle, as Bortles has been awful when games have mattered but has been the Genghis Khan of garbage time, savagely pillaging points in fourth quarters of blowouts. He’s already cost offensive coordinator Greg Olson his job, and the head of Coach Gus Bradley appears awfully close to the chopping block (not the most pleasant metaphor, but Genghis Khan would approve).
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There’s also a pragmatic side to dealing away Bortles to owners who may not realize how misleading his 337-yard, three-touchdown, zero-interception performance against the Titans was on Thursday. The Jags could decide to bench the third-year QB, if only to let him clear his head for a game or two, and apart from a Week 11 matchup with the Lions, their schedule looks tough the rest of the way (Chiefs, Texans, Bills, Broncos, Vikings).
Players to trade for
Emmanuel Sanders, WR, Broncos
Sanders has just 12 catches for 194 yards and no touchdowns over his past three games, but he remains not only the most targeted player on the Broncos but one of the league-leaders in that category. Next up for Denver is Oakland and New Orleans, so Sanders stands a very good chance of finding the end zone before his team hits its Week 11 bye.
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Tyrell Williams, WR, Chargers
Keep an eye out for his progress back from a knee injury, but that could also keep Williams’s price in the bargain-bin range. Before getting hurt this week and posting just one catch for six yards on Sunday, the Western Oregon product was looking a lot like San Diego’s top WR. This is an offense that can be expected to throw a ton, and in terms of pass defenses, the worst is behind it, having played the Broncos in Weeks 6 and 8.
Paul Perkins, RB, Giants
This is strictly a cheap, speculative play, based on the supposition that the Giants have had a bye to dissect their worst-in-the-league rushing attack and might just want to roll with the one RB who has shown some spring in his step. Heaven knows that the incumbent starter, 31-year-old Rashad Jennings, has been awful, averaging 2.7 yards per carry. Orleans Darkwa (3.7) and Bobby Rainey (3.6) haven’t quite lit it up, either, albeit in limited duty and with Perkins himself not being much better in that category (3.9). However, the latter is the only one who is a rookie, and thus can be expected to improve, and he has flashed game-breaking speed for an offense that in too many games has looked simply broken.
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