IDP Waiver Wire Targets for Week 9 (2021)

November 1, 2021 Nate Marcum

I know it was just a week ago that we were walking out of the flames of the Bye-Pocalypse, but it feels like Week 9 was just as treacherous! While the IDP impact of Week 8 isn't as painful as the losses of Derrick Henry, Calvin Ridley, Jameis Winston, etc, there were plenty of key takeaways to focus on for Week 9 and beyond.

For starters, there were a number of starters who returned to provide immediate returns. Shaq Thompson, Stephon Gilmore, and CJ Mosley were the most notable. On the other hand, there are interesting storylines to monitor as we head into Week 9!

  1. Trade Deadline is 11/2/21. Who is on the move? Follow me @natemarcum for all the latest trades across the NFL landscape. (Update)--Von Miller has been traded to the Los Angeles Rams
  2. Injuries-Danielle Hunter, Trevon Diggs, Khari Willis, Eddie Jackson, etc.

With our attention turned to Week 9, let's see which waiver gems will strike gold! But before we do, let's see how my Week 8 suggestions fared!

Hits and Misses from Week 8

Sam Hubbard-Great matchup with great production. Finished as DL17. HIT

Azeez Ojulari-Terribly quiet. The future is bright, but not this week. Ouch. MISS

Elandon Roberts-Was going to be a miss, but then a FF saved the day. Did take the majority of snaps at MLB and created 3 hurries/pressures. MISS

Del'Shawn Phillips-With Mosley and Davis returning, Phillips is an afterthought. Only played 3 snaps. MISS

Zach Cunningham-As mentioned in the write-up, monitor Kirksey. He played, so Zach didn't. Only 5 points on 19 snaps. MISS

Honorable Mention (Ernest Jones)-While I didn't think it would be this soon, Jones led the Rams' LB in snaps and finished as the LB2 overall on the week. More on Jones below. HIT

Richie Grant-With the return of Avery Williams, Grant was relegated back to a backup role with the team. There is a bright future, just not a bright Week 8. MISS

Marcus Maye-With so many amazing DB performances, Maye's 5 tackles and 12 points was tragic, but there are brighter days ahead. Hold Maye for his TNF matchup against the Colts! But Week 8 was a MISS

Defensive Line

Randy Gregory-Dallas Cowboys

Randy Gregory has been a guest on this show before, but I had to bring him back since his roster% doesn't seem to be high enough, despite outrageous production. Over the past 4 weeks, Gregory has the 5th most QB pressures and has been graded out per PFF as the most dominant pass rusher.

While the pass-rushing is enough to support this endorsement, I can take it a step further. The Cowboys will host the Denver Broncos in Week 9. Left tackle, Garrett Bolles, suffered an ankle injury and is in jeopardy of missing their matchup. While Vic Fangio has confidence in backup, Calvin Anderson, I can't help but see this as a matchup worth exploiting.

Emmanuel Ogbah-Miami Dolphins

While Ogbah may have erroneously guaranteed a victory last week against the Bills, I won't go nearly as far. What I will guarantee is that the matchup is right for a good performance in Week 9.

Ogbah and the Dolphins will host the Houston Texans, who just allowed 5 sacks to the Rams, and 12 over the past month. Ogbah is disruptive and could be a major force this week, but on the other hand, is an impending Free Agent on a 1-7 team. It wouldn't shock me to see them get offers, but we will all know prior to Waiver Wire locks.

Linebacker

Ernest Jones-Los Angeles Rams

Yes, you did see Jones' name mentioned last week in this article! Yes, I did say that I would try to avoid redundant players week after week! But this is an exception since he was just an "honorable mention".

With Kenny Young out of town, it was assumed that Jones would eventually find his way into the lineup, but I don't think anybody actually thought it would be 88% of the snaps! While the 88% is amazing, it is the production that he tallied is that has my attention. Jones has 9 tackles, .5 sacks, and an INT. Jones is most likely the #1 waiver target on the week, and hopefully, some of you were able to grab him last week!

Davion Taylor-Philadelphia Eagles

The Alex Singleton show was already in the works of being recast, but it appears that after Week 8, it is being canceled. While the Singleton show on the field was hard to watch, his fantasy production was fantastic. I would say it equates to a cult classic, kind of like the Nate Gerry experience last year.

So what do we look forward to with Taylor? He is seeing increased snaps each week, including the ever necessary 3rd down (passing down) snaps. While not at a 3-down role yet, it does appear that Siriani and company want to get him on the field as much as possible. The Eagles will get the Chargers in Week 9 and should be on the field quite often. If you have deep enough benches, pick up Taylor, but expect some growing pains along the way, which seems to be the common theme with Philly LBs.

Baron Browning-Denver Broncos

Hopefully now healthy after the concussion, there appears to be a path for extensive snaps in Denver. In his first game back played in 98% of the snaps and tallied 8 tackles, while really making a strong impression. Browning possesses a good sideline to sideline speed and gets a good matchup against the Cowboys in Week 9.

With Browning wearing the green dot in his first taste of the action, and the LB corps being razor-thin, expect Browning to see a healthy % of snaps for the foreseeable future in Denver!

Defensive Back

Deandre Houston-Carson-Chicago Bears

Houston-Carson has filled in admirably over the past 2 weeks for the Bears. With injuries to Tashaun Gipson in Week 7, DHC totaled 11 tackles and a fumble recovery. Fast forward to Week 8 and Gipson is healthy, but now Eddie Jackson is injured and again it was DHC who filled in for his absence. DHC had 5 tackles, 1 assist, and a pass defended, and looks to keep the sneaky-IDP momentum up against the Steelers in Week 9.

Elijah Molden-Tennessee Titans

Since gaining a starting slot corner role for the Titans in Week 6, Molden has been piling up the big plays, and in turn, the fantasy points. Molden was the DB13 in Week 8 on the heels of 2 solo tackles, 2 passes defended, and an INT returned for a TD. Since Week 6, Molden is 8th among CB in targets, 6th in tackles, and has yet to finish with less than 14 fantasy points.

Molden and the Titans get a prime matchup in Week 9 against the Rams. Anytime you can plug in a slot corner against Cooper Kupp, it is safe to expect a heavy dose of targets. Add in the fact that Molden is also Top 8 in run-play tackles, and you have a good recipe for fantasy production against a multi-faceted Rams offense.

Thank you for reading, and always remember that if you have any questions or comments, you can find my work here or @natemarcum on Twitter. Also, check back on Wednesday when I have my updated IDP rankings!

About Nate Marcum 139 Articles
Director of IDP Content. 2021 Top 5 IDP Ranker per FantasyPros ECR. 20+ year Fantasy Baseball/Football addict. Addiction manifested into obsession, which drove me to writing/podcasting. Obsession is still present, but now it’s directed at helping others around me get better!
Website Twitter