Winners Club: Fantasy Football Free Agents You Need to Add
The Rams’ uninspiring Monday night loss to the 49ers closed the book on another week of NFL action.
There have been plenty of surprises through the early part of the season from the undefeated Eagles to the 3-1 Giants to the underwhelming AFC West. And don’t even get me started on the wacky fantasy football results that have haunted managers.
Hopefully some of that can be fixed on the waiver wire, which is where we begin today.
In today’s Winners Club you’ll find:
- Waiver wire players to pick up
- NFL injury news
- Shifts in division odds
- MLB playoff field is set
Running Back Injuries Send Managers Running to the Waiver Wire, Again
A few more lead backs went down with injuries this week, which opens the door for more second- and third-string options to become relevant fantasy options.
Javonte Williams tore his ACL in the Broncos’ loss to the Raiders and is out for the season. And Cordarrelle Patterson was added to the injured reserve with a knee injury that will keep him off the field for at least four weeks.
Williams led Denver in rushing through four games and plenty of fantasy managers had high hopes for the second-year pro. Patterson had the fourth-most rushing yards in the league and led Atlanta’s deadly ground game.
Now, Melvin Gordon, Mike Boone and Latavius Murray, who was signed off the Saints’ practice squad, become potential adds. And rookie Tyler Allgeier, who topped 100 total yards Sunday, and Damien Williams, who’s eligible to come off injured reserve after Week 5, are the pickups for the Falcons.
Jen Piacenti wrote about the top waiver wire adds of the week in greater detail. Among her list of quarterback pickups is new Steelers starting quarterback Kenny Pickett, who relieved Mitch Trubisky in a loss to the Jets and will reportedly get his first start against the Bills. Matt De Lima does the same each week for IDP leagues.
Philip G. Pavely/USA TODAY Sports
For more on what happened around fantasy football in Week 4, read Michael Fabiano’s 10 takeaways. He touches on Alvin Kamara’s late scratch (or early, depending how you look at it), Jonathan Taylor’s continued disappointing play and the fireworks of the Seahawks-Lions game.
More news of note: Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (concussion) was ruled out for the Week 5 game against the Jets, free agent and formers Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. was at the team facility to check on Sterling Shepard rather than to rejoin the franchise, Commanders running back Brian Robinson (leg) was medically cleared after he was shot twice in a robbery attempt in late August and Taylor (ankle) would not have practiced Tuesday ahead of Thursday night’s game based on the team’s estimation report.
Cowboys Odds Improve With Dak Prescott’s Return Imminent
In the old days, when the NFL season was 16 games long, the season would’ve been a quarter of the way through. But with the extra game tacked on, we are officially 23.5% of the way through the regular season! It doesn’t have the same ring to it, but it is a big enough sample to check in where the Super Bowl and division odds stand.
Jen Piacenti laid out the championship odds for each team in the league, Matt Ehalt recapped all of the big payouts and bad beats from last week and the MMQB crew released a new set of power rankings with the Eagles on top.
I broke down a few teams whose division odds rose and fell at SI Sportsbook after the weekend, but first I need to give a shout out to the Falcons, the only team in the NFL that’s undefeated against the spread!
Risers
NFC West: +175 → +120
San Francisco’s season has been a roller coaster. The 49ers lose to the Bears, then lose their starting quarterback but two weeks later they whack the Rams and get back to 2-2 in a strong showing on prime-time.
NFC East: +500 → +350
It was thought Dallas’ season was lost when Dak Prescott injured his thumb in the opener. Three weeks later and that’s still the Cowboys’ only loss. Cooper Rush has stood in well and Prescott is reportedly nearing a return, but the star of the show is the Dallas defense, led by Micah Parsons.
Jerome Miron/USA TODAY Sports
AFC South: +250 → +163
Despite five Trevor Lawrence turnovers in the rain, Jacksonville hung with the undefeated Eagles and led 14-0 at one point.
Fallers
NFC West: -137 → +120
A 2-2 start isn’t necessarily anything to panic about, but L.A. has lost by two or more scores to two of the three playoff teams (Bills and 49ers) it has gone up against so far. Add in the fact that the entire division is .500 and the Rams' division—and title—defense might be in serious trouble.
AFC East: +225 → +333
Miami lost its first game of the year against Cincinnati and may have lost Tagovailoa for at least a few weeks. The Dolphins have a capable backup in place with Teddy Bridgewater, but the Bengals got the best of them Thursday night, while the Bills scored a comeback win against the Ravens.
AFC North: +300 → +350
Cleveland got beat at its own game in Atlanta. The Falcons outrushed the Browns, 202-177, and came alive in the fourth quarter to steal a win. Now, Cleveland is in a three-way tie for the best record in the AFC North at 2-2.
Playoff Picture is Set Ahead of MLB Regular-Season Finale
The expanded 12-team playoff field has already been decided ahead of Game 162 on Wednesday, the regular-season finale.
Welcome back to the postseason, Philadelphia! The Phillies beat the Astros, 3-0, on Monday night to lock up the final playoff spot and end their 11-year playoff drought. That left the Brewers, who rallied in the ninth to beat the Diamondbacks, 6-5, on the outside looking in.
The 12 playoff teams are the Yankees, Guardians, Astros, Mariners, Blue Jays, Rays, Braves, Mets, Phillies, Cardinals, Dodgers and Padres.
Five division winners have been decided with the NL East, where Atlanta leads the Mets by 1.5 games, still up for grabs. The final two days of the regular season will decide the Wild Card order for Friday’s matchups.
Thursday’s Winners Club will preview the MLB postseason in greater depth ahead of the wild-card round, but you can consult the latest power rankings here in the meantime and find World Series odds at SI Sportsbook.
(AP Photo/Hakim Wright Sr.)
So, the only real drama remaining is the will-he-won’t-he of Aaron Judge’s home run chase.
The Yankees slugger is sitting at 61 home runs, tied for the AL record, and hasn’t homered in four games. New York has a doubleheader Tuesday against the Rangers and the regular-season finale Wednesday afternoon in Arlington, Texas.
In Other News
SI’s NBA Top 100 Launch Underway: Find out who the top 100 players in the league are before the season tips off in a few weeks. So far, the snubs, 100-51 and 50-31 are out.
Ben Simmons Makes Nets Debut: Of course, Simmons’ return to action came against his former team, the 76ers, in a preseason spot. He missed the entire 2021-22 season and was traded to Brooklyn from Philadelphia midway through the year.
Nick Saban Addresses Bryce Young Injury: Alabama’s coach said that the shoulder injury to his Heisman-winning quarterback is not expected to keep Young out long term. Young left the game against Arkansas last week and did not return. The Crimson Tide face Texas A&M this week.
Thanks for reading Winners Club! I’ll be back in your inbox Thursday morning. Until then.
