Fantasy Football Sleepers, Week 9: Beware The Light?

These fantasy football sleepers for Week 9 are players to keep an eye on and maybe even add to your list of waiver wire pickups this week. Follow Matthew J. Jillson on Twitter at @eatcookcryptos. 

There is a light far off in the distance that is beginning to twinkle, and you have noticed it. While still too far away to radiate any real brightness it’s serving as a beacon to direct your efforts. Something warm and good, you figure, that can be a protective woobie in this dark upside down known as fantasy football.  Welcome to the halfway point of the 2018 NFL season; we are starting to see what the end looks like.

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The end game might not be looking good for a lot of you. Injuries, hubris, bad luck – you name it – has befallen you thus far. I’m here to tell you that it’s ok, erectile dysfunction affects a lot of men – I’m just not one of them. Focusing on the peak of Mount Doom and how the heck you’ll make it through volcanic Mordor will just get you to throw in the towel. You need digestible bits to make this vision quest to a championship mentally viable.

Do not focus on Week 16, focus on making it to the playoffs. It’s a whole new ballgame when that starts. It doesn’t matter if you squeaked in; doesn’t matter if your roster deserves it or not – you’re there. There are 4+ people watching from outside the bubble that can second guess how this happened. I swear to Satoshi, they’ll have the rest of the offseason they’re currently enjoying to think about it.

Now is a good time to hit reset. Just hold the power button down and do a reboot, you need to look hard at your roster. Analyzing who has the best chance at success and being honest with yourself sans emotions will play a big part in making it to playoffs base camp.

Warning: At this point in the season, the Browns have great matchups here and there. On paper they look great. Sounds like a recipe to get your heart broken, again (they always let you down when you need them). Once bitten, twice shy.

Darren Sproles, RB, Philadelphia Eagles, 8% owned

Maybe Darren Sproles is still in the league this long because he only plays half a season at best. Unknown, but it’s always good to have a fresh running back down the stretch. Sproles, it seems, will be ready to go after this bye week and you most likely won’t even have to burn a waiver priority to snag him. Seems like a lot of value for low to nonexistent risk.

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D.J. Moore, WR, Carolina Panthers, 16% owned

This is a little of a longer shot. The schedule just looks too good to ignore. D.J. Moore is poised to potentially have some breakout weeks ahead. Devin Funchess has been doing better but the door is wide open in Carolina for some explosive points. This is a great bench stash.

Ed Dickerson, TE, Seattle Seahawks 1% owned

You had me at tight end. No, seriously, I’m in.

Cortland Sutton, WR, Denver Broncos 10% owned

Trade deadline buzzer beater, bye-bye Demaryius, hello Cortland Sutton. This has been talked about for a bit now, so not much of a shocker. However, make no mistake you’ve got equity in a potential late 90’s Amazon stock here if you manage to snag him. San Francisco, Cleveland and Oakland, that’s what you are looking at for the playoffs. Cashing checks.

Theo Riddick, RB, Detroit Lions ,9% owned

This is a PPR play in a deep league. Theo Riddick has been known down the back half of a season to go off in the pass catching category. Golden Tate taking flight might be exactly what the usage doctor ordered. There are a few signals of upward momentum on this one that shouldn’t be ignored.

Chris Herndon, TE, New York Jets 6% owned

Anyone that has scored a touchdown in three consecutive weeks should be monitored. Clip the tight end designation on them and it’s a must buy. The Jets aren’t sexy but Chris Herndon’s performance these past few weeks is. Sure, he’s on the Jets but the matchups down through the playoffs are great. Don’t sleep.

Crypto Corner (NOT financial advice)

1. Janet Yellen, the former US Federal Reserve Chair while speaking in Canada this last week, railed against Bitcoin ($BTC). While not wanting to bore you with details, I suggest you read up what @ampompliano has to say about it HERE. Pomperoni, bro seriously, if you’re reading this I deserve a newsletter! The main crux of her argument against Bitcoin is not a store of value because it’s current slow transaction speed. Believe me when I tell you that this argument is EXACTLY like saying the internet won’t catch on because dial up modem speeds.
2. IBM went ahead with one of the largest tech purchases of all time this week when they acquired open source services provider Red Hat. Without delving into the wild thirty-four billion dollar deal, this will have an as yet to be determined impact on blockchain which is based on open source software.
3. In the wacky World of Chinese law, Bitcoin ($BTC) this past week was ruled property and should gain the same protections by a Chinese court. This is coming off a government directive the week prior that all services utilizing a blockchain will need to register users via governmental identification and be able to turn over all user data to officials at any time. Two steps forward one step back is still a step forward, such is China.