This has been an NFL season like no other. We can safely say it is the worst year for injuries in the history of the league. However, the show must go on. With some top quarterbacks underperforming, how should fantasy football managers handle the waiver wire, trades, and the decision to cut players from their rosters?
QB To Pick Up for Fantasy Football in Week 9
Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars
What we saw in Week 8 was what can happen when the Jacksonville Jaguars are chasing on the scoreboard. Trevor Lawrence threw for 308 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception.
Over the past month, Lawrence has been playing much better. We could be in the midst of one of his quality stretches. Next week, he gets a road matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles, which projects to be another game where he has to throw.
Be sure to monitor Brian Thomas Jr.’s status, though. Lawrence will be far less appealing if his WR1 is Parker Washington.
QBs You Should Cut in Fantasy Football
Anthony Richardson, Indianapolis Colts
The ability of Anthony Richardson to maintain his predraft value despite having virtually no sample size of high-end success is truly fascinating. Now more than halfway through the fantasy season, we’re past the point where “it’s coming” for Richardson. It’s not.
Richardson hasn’t given fantasy managers a startable outing since Week 1. He’s constantly banged up, he’s inaccurate, and the Indianapolis Colts have benched him in favor of Joe Flacco.
Prior to getting hurt, Deshaun Watson looked like the worst QB in football. Yet…
A-Rich, buddy pic.twitter.com/FqkfgvI6Xs
— Denny Carter (@CDCarter13) October 28, 2024
It’s difficult to truly contextualize how poorly Richardson has played. Now, that doesn’t necessarily mean he still can’t be a good fantasy asset. But through eight weeks, he hasn’t, and at this point, it’s hard to justify continuing to roster him.
Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears
Is this overreacting to one bad game? Maybe. But is it one bad game?
Caleb Williams played four bad games to start the season, followed that up with two great ones, and now posted another dud.
Lot of box score watchers are going to see Caleb Williams only completing 25% of his passes and averaging 2.3 yards per attempt and they will assume that he's played horribly and they will be correct
— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) October 27, 2024
Williams is probably startable this week against the Arizona Cardinals. His rest-of-season schedule is a bunch of average pass defenses, so he may emerge as a streamer at some point. He also could just figure it out and be an every-week QB1.
There are arguments on both sides here, but if you want to drop Williams after his 9.34-point outing against the Washington Commanders, I won’t stand in your way.
Top QB Trade Target To Buy in Your League
Sam Darnold, Minnesota Vikings
It’s tough to find quarterbacks to buy right now.
Sam Darnold seems to stand out as a weekly QB1 who won’t be overly expensive. He’s scored at least 15 fantasy points in all but one game this season and has three games with 20+.
Over the next two weeks, the Minnesota Vikings have two soft pass defenses in games that could be high scoring. Then, his stretch schedule is good but not great.
The Vikings have one of the better offenses in football. If you’ve been streaming quarterbacks, perhaps reach out to the Darnold manager if they have more than one and see if you can get the Vikings’ signal-caller for cheap.
Top QB To Sell in Your League
Jared Goff, Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are too good. I believe this to be the best team in football and the clear favorite to come out of the NFC. Normally, that would be great for fantasy, but the Lions never find themselves in situations where they need to throw.
Jared Goff just won a game with 15 pass attempts and 85 total passing yards. Sure, he threw three touchdowns, but that is a scarily low amount of volume.
The Lions have an absolutely brutal schedule of pass defenses from Weeks 13-17, which are the most important weeks of the fantasy season. If you can sell Goff based on his upcoming stretch of soft pass defenses over the next month, it’s a wise move to make.