Fantasy Football Waiver Wire: Chuba Hubbard Hanging On in Carolina

The fantasy football regular season is more than halfway done in most leagues, and the playoff races are heating up. Even teams with two or three wins can still finish strong and get into the fantasy postseason.

There aren’t many impact players available on the waiver wire in Week 9, but there are players who can fill gaps due to bye weeks and injuries (Detroit, Denver, Jacksonville and San Francisco are on bye this week). Here are some of the top players to pick up off the waiver wire…

Quarterbacks

Gardner Minshew, Indianapolis Colts
Minshew had an average game against a solid Saints defense with 213 passing yards, two touchdowns and one interception. He has a better matchup this week in Carolina.

Derek Carr, New Orleans Saints
Carr has passed for at least 301 yards in three consecutive games and four times this season. He passed for 310 yards with two touchdowns last week against the Colts. Carr has good skill players surrounding him and gets the Bears and Vikings the next two games. The Bears have allowed the fifth-most fantasy points to quarterbacks.

Will Levis, Tennessee Titans
Those who lost Kirk Cousins could be looking at a small list at quarterback in deeper formats. Levis was impressive in his debut with four touchdown passes against the Falcons, showing the ability to throw downfield. He has a short week with a Thursday night game against the Steelers, then Tampa Bay the following week, so the schedule isn’t easy.

Running Backs

Chuba Hubbard, Carolina Panthers
Hubbard could be available in some shallow leagues after the Panthers came off their bye and many assumed Miles Sanders would get most of the touches. Hubbard played 67% of the snaps and Sanders 18%. Hubbard had 15 carries for 28 yards and two catches for 26 yards. Sanders had two carries for no yards.

Emari Demercado, Arizona Cardinals
Demercado is still available in some shallow formats. He’s the main running back until James Conner returns from the injured reserve. Demercado had 20 carries for 78 yards and a one-yard catch in a tough matchup against the Ravens. He has 38 touches over the last two games.

Zach Charbonnet, Seattle Seahawks
After missing Week 7 due to injury, Charbonnet returned and played 59% of the snaps compared to 41% for Kenneth Walker. Charbonnet had five carries for 53 yards and caught two passes for 11 yards. He’s still the backup to Walker, but should be on rosters in case Walker gets injured. 

Royce Freeman, Los Angeles Rams
While Darrell Henderson is getting more touches, Freeman has a role in the backfield while Kyren Williams is out. Freeman played 53% of the snaps last week and had nine carries for 44 yards with a touchdown, but didn’t receive a target. The Rams could rely on the run more this week in a good matchup against Green Bay if Matthew Stafford can’t play.

Pierre Strong Jr., Cleveland Browns
Strong was more involved with Kareem Hunt and Jerome Ford dealing with injuries last week. He had 10 carries for 41 yards and a 41-yard catch. He will become a consideration if Hunt or Ford misses time.

Devin Singletary, Houston Texans
He’s not a great option, but with bye weeks there might not be many better options. Singletary had 10 carries for 30 yards and two catches for 13 yards against the Panthers last week. He has 25 touches over the last two games.

Leonard Fournette, Buffalo Bills
In deep formats, there are hardly any running backs available on the waiver wire. Fournette was signed to the Bills’ practice squad. Damien Harris is on injured reserve and Latavius Murray hasn’t looked good behind James Cook. The Bills have been reluctant to give Cook a full workload and often pull him near the goal line. Fournette could play the Murray role and he’s better.

Wide Receivers

DeMario Douglas, New England Patriots
Kendrick Bourne is out for the season with a torn ACL. and DeVante Parker is dealing with a concussion. Douglas had four catches for 54 yards on six targets and had a 20-yard run in Week 7 playing 62% of the snaps. In Week 8, Douglas played 77% of the snaps and had five catches for 25 yards on seven targets. 

Khalil Shakir, Buffalo Bills
After the injury to tight end Dawson Knox, the Bills used more 11-personnel and Shakir benefitted. Shakir played a season-high 65% of the snaps and he caught all six targets for 92 yards. He is an option in deep leagues. 

Quentin Johnston, Los Angeles Chargers
Johnston had one of his better games with Josh Palmer banged up on Sunday night. Palmer played 68% of the snaps, while Johnston played a season-high 70%. Johnston had six targets, catching five for 50 yards.

Michael Wilson, Arizona Cardinals
Wilson is a rookie receiver who could finish strong. He had six targets and caught four passes for 58 yards last week. Kyler Murray could be back as soon as this week and that will help Wilson, who is a full-time player. He has played at least 83% of the snaps the last three games.

Jonathan Mingo, Carolina Panthers
Mingo is another rookie receiver with a chance to have a good second half. He caught four of his five targets for 62 yards last week. Mingo has played at least 86% of the snaps the last three games, including 99% in Week 8. 

Tight Ends

Trey McBride, Arizona Cardinals
McBride has been mentioned here a few times and he will be one of the most popular adds this week. He was cheaper the last few weeks, but now will cost more. McBride had a 38.9% target share last week. He played 82% of the snaps with Zach Ertz on injured reserve. McBride caught 10 of his 14 targets for 95 yards with a touchdown.

Taysom Hill, New Orleans Saints
Hill continues to see more snaps and touches. He has at least four carries in five of eight games and led the Saints in rushing yards last week. He rushed nine times for 63 yards with two touchdowns, threw a 44-yard pass and caught a 14-yard pass. 

Cade Otton, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Otton is a decent stream this week for those in deeper leagues. Otton has played at least 96% of the snaps in every game this season. The Texans allow the ninth-most fantasy points to tight ends and have faced several teams that don’t throw to the tight end often. The Texans have allowed 49 receptions to tight ends in seven games.