My roster is super tight and I have 5 byes including D and K.
Sicarios stole my Cinci D day before waivers when I had no one to offer but, I got KC for $3, This is a high price for me on a D but they have two VG match ups at home vs Tenn and Jax and are better starts over Dallas, my main D.
I got Butker as my K for $3, another high price for a K but should be my K the rest of the year with a VG KC O.
Minny is also a good play on D.
In my home redraft league, I got the Seattle defense and Jason Myers.
In my main dynasty league, I got TE Brock Wright, the beneficiary of Hockenson’s departure.
In South Beach, I got Chase Claypool , which was a steal IMO.
In my NFL.com redraft league, I got Justin Fields and Jeff Wilson.
In my second dynasty league, I got WR Damiere Byrd. He impressed me with his speed last weekend, and the Falcons seem to be using him a little more. It was speculative, admittedly.
Ed, you do pretty well for a guy who is broke. JK/LOL
I’m only broke in a few leagues.
My home redraft league doesn’t use FAAB.
My main dynasty league, South Beach and NFL.com league, all use FAAB, and I am broke.
In my other dynasty league, I have $75 FAAB, but that waiver wire is a barren wasteland. To give you an example, if you are familiar with Sleeper’s “trend” feature, it shows the top 50 players most being picked up or dropped. There is nobody on my waiver wire on the list. The best players on waivers based on projections for this week? WR Cedrick Wilson (Miami) and TE Geoff Swaim (Tennessee). Watch the tumbleweeds blow by…
I commonly find those “players that aren’t rostered anywhere and that you should pick up immediately” rostered in most of the leagues I play. I take that as a good sign for those leagues.
However, in my main dynasty, I indeed overlooked a waiver opportunity. The one thing I did not look up after the deadline trades this week was what the TE depth chart in Detroit looked like after they traded T.J. Hockenson to the Vikings.
As a result, I saw James Mitchell being scooped up by another team. He may not be an exciting prospect, but as a matter of fact, he’s the only healthy TE the Lions have right now. And I have no TE depth behind Mark Andrews, who is nursing 2 injuries and has a BYE coming up.
A good reminder to always check the depth charts of both teams involved in a trade.
Brock Wright is the TE at the top of the Detroit depth chart. He is listed as questionable this week, but if he plays, he’s your man, not Mitchell, who’s at best a one week play.
Other than the bye week, his backup is Isaiah Likely, who I wholeheartedly recommend. If Andrews is out for any reason, Likely becomes a top 5 TE play instantly. Last week, when Andrews left early, Likely was 6 catches on 7 targets for 77 yards and a td. Other than Andrews and Kelce, who can get you that? Even Kyle Pitts, who has had over 7 targets 3 times this year, has yet to reach 6 catches in any game this season, and he’s only topped 77 yards twice.
See 
Sorry man. How about Brock Wright? He could still play this week?
Wright profiles more as a blocking TE. He caught 7 passes during his entire college career. He may sit atop of Mitchell on the depth chart, but for TEs, that does not guarantee any involvement in the passing game.
Wright already played 100 snaps this season. But other than some modest production in week 7, that hasn’t led to anything yet.
Mitchell looks more like a pass catcher. I still don’t think he’ll scoop up all of, or even most of Hockenson’s targets. The main beneficiary of Hockenson’s departure could easily be D’Andre Swift, who could see even more involvement in the passing game. At least as long as he’s healthy.
Still, Mitchell is worth a gamble. Especially in a deep league where I have a free bench spot, and up-and-coming superstars like Ronnie Rivers, Raheem Blackshear, Rashid Shaheed and Jake Ferguson on the TAXI squad. Kudos if you can name their teams and positions without looking them up. I couldn’t, before I scooped them up. 
I just saw Rivers name in researching another player today! Oh well…
I know Shaheed all too well, from New Orleans, since I have him in several leagues. Promising prospect. Had a few opportunities this year, and blew the doors off with them.
Since we’re talking taxi squads, I’ll toss mine at you. I only have one league with a taxi squad, and I love the concept of it. See if you can name the teams: Demetric Felton, Jaelon Darden, Jalen Wydermyer, Jeremy Ruckert, and Tyler Badie?
Oh absolutely (puts nerd hat on ):
Felton I had stashed myself last year, but have given up on him by now. The opportunity just isn’t there in Cleveland.
Darden was on my watch list during this offseason, but is also off it by now. The Bucs offense just doesn’t click, and I don’t think Darden will become interesting any time soon.
Wydermyer was firmly on my rookie watch list this year, as I really liked his college tape. Sadly, he went undrafted. He was then cycled through several practice squads. I will admit I had to look where he ended up right now. Doesn’t look like he’ll catch on in the NFL, though.
Jeremy Ruckert still is on my watch list. I doubt he will make a splash this year, as there are way too many pass catchers (including TEs) with the Jets. But I could see a potential future here, if the Jets move on from Uzomah and Conklin next year. But I still don’t know why Ruckert was that high on FantasyPro’s trade value chart. IIRC, his value was at 12 in August, and I never quite understood it.
And Badie was on my rookie review list, but never made my watch list. Yes, the Ravens cycle through their RBs like mad, but I just don’t see how Badie could ever develop even some fringe appeal in fantasy.
You’re good!
Most of my taxi squad guys are just young players I stash there, waiting to see if they turn into anything.
Same here. I’m rather quick to cycle them these days, though. If there is a player for whom a window of opportunity opens up (like Rivers) or who makes the most out of limited opportunities and may (or may not) qualify for bigger tasks (like Shaheed right now, or Nwangwu last year), I’ll stash them and see what happens next.
But if a player shows no signs of support from his team, I’m quick to cut him. My most prominent victim recently was Jalen Tolbert. I had drafted him at 2.12, expecting he’d see some usage early in the season, while Gallup and James Washington were out. He didn’t. In fact, he spent most of his NFL career in street clothes, while being perfectly healthy.
The coaching staff uses the typical coach talk on him, but it all translates into “we thought the guy was good, but as it turns out, he isn’t”. Mike McCarthy recently said that Tolbert was really doing well, and was just a tiny bit “behind Dennis”. I’ll admit, I had to look up who Dennis was. Dennis Houston, undrafted WR with no notable history whatsoever. Ouch.
Yes, young players need time to develop. But if a rookie with day 2 draft capital to his name isn’t even allowed to suit up while his team has a screaming need on his position, then he’s a bust. No need to waste a TAXI spot on him, even though I did spend some draft capital on him myself. I cut him and replaced him with Jake Ferguson 2 weeks ago, when Tolbert was allowed to suit up, but didn’t play a single snap.
I’m still holding Tolbert, but I’ll admit his days are numbered.