With NFL week 8 officially in the books, the fantasy world can breathe a sigh of relief that most players made it out relatively unscathed on the injury front. Don’t get too excited, because it doesn’t mean that you’re in the clear just yet as far as your lineup is concerned. Week 9 brings a heavy dose of NFL bye weeks, and with 6 teams on bye (GB,Chi,Buf,Ten,Atl,Det) the losses will be felt across most lineups. Hopefully your team has the proper depth and you can take some of the knowledge you receive here to manage your team. Now let’s get right to it, here are the waiver wire additions for week 4 according to position priority:
Quarterbacks to Add
1. Michael Vick, Eagles: Vick is a long ways away from the fantasy football darling that he used to be in his Atlanta Falcons days or even his first year as a starter in Philadelphia, but this older and hopefully wiser Michael Vick still has fantasy relevance. Although Vick had 3 turnovers in Sunday’s game against the Bills, he also had 68 rushing yards, which is of great value to the QB position. Vick’s rushing numbers alone will make him worth a start in deep leagues and especially 2 QB leagues. It will make a world of a difference for Vick to be able to take all of the first team reps in practice for this week and with 6 teams on bye, he could be a quality fill-in at QB against the Chiefs.
2. Ryan Tannehill, Dolphins: Tannehill is coming off of 3 straight games where he has rushed for at least 40 yards, and his consistency level is reaching a point where he might actually be trustworthy to play in your fantasy lineup. What was once considered a tough matchup against the San Diego Chargers, is now looking like a very favorable one considering the way that the Chargers defense has looked the last few weeks. Tannehill is still only owned in 34.5% of fantasy leagues, so he should be available in your league, pick him up and hold on to him for the rest of the season. Tannehill is on a pace to finish as a top 12 fantasy QB for the year.
Running Backs to Add
1. Lorenzo Taliaferro, Ravens: Taliaferro is making the Ravens coaching staff have to make very difficult lineup decision on a weekly basis. For last week’s big division rivalry game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Taliaferro was active, whole veteran Bernard Pierce was a healthy scratch. That decision paid dividends for the Ravens, as Taliaferro delivered 18 fantasy points on 60 yards from scrimmage and 2 rushing TDs. Taliaferro will more than likely be the goal line and short-yardage back in Baltimore, and serve as a perfect complement to the shift Justin Forsett. Add Taliaferro and play him on if you’re desperate, but if Forsett were to go down, Taliaferro could be a potential top 20 RB.
2. Jonathan Stewart, Panthers: Stewart has burned many fantasy owners in the past and is probably trolling us all with the perfect set up for another let down, but with the running back landscape as dire as it is, Stewart is worth a flyer. As a starting RB for an NFL team, Stewart has fantasy value, and if you didn’t know any better you’d think from watching his game against Seattle that he was a good football player. Stewart is only owned in 23.8% of ESPN fantasy leagues, so pick him up and play him on Thursday Night Football versus the Saints.
3. Jonas Gray, Patriots: You can almost never trust Bill Belichick to consistently use just one RB, but Gray could emerge as the running downs back in the Patriots offense. Gray is coming off of a very promising performance against the Chicago Bears with 17 carries for 86 yards. The Patriots will still use Shane Vereen in the passing game, but Gray appears ready to shoulder the load for the in-between the tackles carries. Gray is 0.1% owned in ESPN leagues, so is widely available.
4. Charles Sims, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Sims is the ultimate flyer option, as he has never taken an NFL snap, but with Doug Martin looking as awful as he has this year, the Bucs could use a jolt in their offense. Sims is coming off a serious ankle injury that had him put on the injured reserve with a designation to return. With Sims only being owned in 0.2% of leagues you can put in a later waiver claim on him this week and stach him on your bench until this Tampa Bay RB situation shakes itself out.
Wide Receivers to Add
1. Brandon LaFell, Patriots: LaFell is looking like the outside WR that the Patriots offense has been looking for the last 2 seasons. LaFell is only owned in 8.8% of leagues but could be a quality addition to many fantasy teams who are in need of WR help. LeFell is gaining the trust of the NE coaching staff, and will continue to see his snap counts rising based on his non-pass catching attributes. LaFell is one of the best run blocking WR’s in the NFL, and as long as he continues to succeed at that, he will be on the field to present a bigger pass catching option for Tom Brady on the outside.
2. Donte Moncrief, Colts: Moncrief is the latest rookie breakout WR to have fantasy relevance for the 2014 season. Moncrief has already supplanted Hakeem Nicks on the depth chart, and with Reggie Wayne dealing with an elbow injury, Moncrief could be primed for a bigger breakout for the second half of the season. Moncrief finished last week’s game against the Steelers with 7 catches for 117 yards, and with only being owned in 0.2% of leagues, he should be added in all deep league and dynasty league formats.
3. John Brown, Cardinals: The speedster from Pittsburg St is making a name for himself this season and might be the perfect complimentary player to the bigger Larry Fitzgerald and Michael Floyd combo for Carson Palmer. Brown finished last week’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles with 5 catches for 199 yards including the game winning 77 yard TD catch. John Brown is only owned in 2.5% of leagues and can be added as potential lottery ticket candidate for the rest of the season.
Bonus additions who I’ve previously written about: (Martvis Bryant, Steelers and Allen Robinson, Jaguars) both are tall rookie wide receivers who are climbing up the depth charts of their respective teams. Bryant is more boom or bust with his production and Robinson will be more consistent as a PPR play.
Tight Ends to Add
1. Austin Seferian-Jenkins, Bucs: The Bucs season is slipping away from them very quickly, but Seferian-Jenkins has served as one of few bright spots for the season thus far. The Bucs will continue to showcase their younger talent for the rest of the season so that they can better evaluate what they have at these critical positions going forward. Seferian-Jenkins will continue to receive a lot of targets from QB Mike Glennon and hopefully he can regain his confidence after catching the game tying TD to force OT but then subsequently cost the Bucs game by fumbling in OT.
2. Jace Amaro, Jets: Amaro continues to receive targets from the Jets QBs because he’s actually open unlike their outside WR’s. Amaro has had problems with drops for the season, but continues to be fantasy relevant because of his the volume of his workload. Amaro had 5 more catches to bring his total to 32 for the season. With Michael Vick officially taking over in NY, I would expect Amaro to continue his rise in the fantasy world.