With a pivotal slate ahead, let's look into some potential moves to make:
Players to add:
Ryan Fitzpatrick, QB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (88 percent available)
After Jameis Winston's four-interception and five-sack meltdown in Cincinnati, the Bucs' are moving forward with Ryan Fitzpatrick in Week 9 against Carolina. Purely offensively speaking, the Bucs' are making the right call by rolling with Fitzpatrick. Granted, Winston is in the final year of his rookie deal and Tampa has a tough organizational decision to make regarding Winston's future. Fitzpatrick is about to be 36-years-old and is a career journeyman. Still, for fantasy, we have to re-insert Fitzpatrick as a low-end QB1 as the signal-caller in offensive coordinator Todd Monken's high-flying attack. The "Tampa Bay QB" is averaging 26.3 fantasy points per game, trailing only Patrick Mahomes for the top spot (27.1). Unless you have a stud quarterback, make Fitzpatrick a priority in Week 9.
Courtland Sutton, WR, Denver Broncos (98 percent available)
Since Demaryius Thomas is reportedly on the trading block, it's time to stash Courtland Sutton in all fantasy formats. Thomas turns 31-years-old later this year and Denver likely knows they are drawing dead towards the playoffs already. Regardless of whether or not Thomas gets dealt or not, Sutton has undoubtedly flashed immense upside in his limited sample of 37 targets this season. In fact, Sutton's 19.1 yards per reception trails only DeSean Jackson (22.8) and Tyrell Williams (21.4) for the league lead. The Broncos going into full-on evaluation mode bodes well for the rookie Sutton.
Elijah McGuire, RB, New York Jets (99 percent available)
McGuire is now eligible to return off of injured reserve after a foot fracture claimed Weeks 1-8. He returned to practice last week and is in line to return in Week 9 for the Jets date with the Dolphins in Miami. Granted, trusting any Jet in fantasy this year has been a fruitless proposition, but McGuire could slide in behind Isaiah Crowell as New York's primary passing-down back since Bilal Powell was sent to I.R. after a scary neck injury.
Players to drop:
Carlos Hyde, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars
Carlos Hyde played on 44 percent of Jags' snaps in their Week 8 loss in London, now has an off date in Week 9, and Leonard Fournette (hamstring) is "on track" to return in Week 10. Jacksonville's backfield was as straight-forward as possible in the preseason but has quickly devolved into a nightmare for fantasy managers. Hyde saw just six carries in Week 8 while T.J. Yeldon handled most of the passing down work when the Jags fell behind. Per PFF's charts, Hyde ran just ten routes (two targets) against the Eagles while Yeldon ran 25 (nine targets). It's unfortunate after a great start to the year in Cleveland, but Hyde no longer needs to be on rosters in 10-team leagues.
Corey Clement, RB, Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles backfield has been split three ways over the last two weeks, and Corey Clement has been the least effective player of the trio. In Weeks 7-8, Wendell Smallwood (66 snaps) has led the way while Clement (38 snaps) and Josh Adams (26) are No. 2 and No. 3. Over the full year, Clement is behind Adams, Smallwood, and Ajayi in yards after contact, missed tackles forced (PFF), and yards gained after a defender closes (Next Gen Stats).
Nelson Agholor, WR, Philadelphia Eagles
After failing in a supreme Week 8 spot against Jacksonville, it's more than safe to can Nelson Agholor in shallow 10- or 12-team leagues. While Agholor is averaging 9.7 yards per target and gaining a gargantuan 4.9 yards of separation (per Next Gen Stats) over the last month, Alshon Jeffery's presence in the Eagles attack has neutralized Agholor's volume. In this span, Agholor (22 targets) has played a distant third fiddle to Zach Ertz (37) and Jeffery (35). There presently isn't enough volume in Philadelphia's attack to support three pass catchers.
Derrick Henry, RB, Tennessee Titans
After seeing 46 carries in Weeks 1-3 combined, Henry has just 38 carries over his last four games. The struggling bruising back has eclipsed 3.2 YPC in a single-game just once all year and he's been out-snapped by the far more diverse Dion Lewis in 6-of-7 contests. In fact, Lewis leads Henry in rushing yards gained after a defender closes (Next Gen Stats) and missed tackles forced per carry (PFF) this season. Henry's schedule does ease now that Tennessee is out of their Week 8 bye, but fantasy managers should no longer feel beholden to him.
Royce Freeman, RB, Denver Broncos
Philip Lindsay's emergence in the Broncos offense has rendered much-hyped Broncos' rookie back, Royce Freeman, a touchdown-dependent play at best. Before getting injured (ankle) and missing Week 8, Freeman was out-snapped by Lindsay in each game for a month straight while the shiftier Lindsay has nine red-zone touches to Freeman's five in this span. The only tangible value Freeman possesses in fantasy is attached to touchdowns and his red-zone equity has fallen off of the face of the earth. With little red-zone and receiving juice, Freeman is only an RB4 stash at this point.
-- Graham Barfield is the managing editor of fantasy football content at NFL.com. Follow him on Twitter @GrahamBarfield.
