There's no shortage of NFL teams that need playmaking in the passing game, and with the likes of Michael Thomas and Rashod Bateman suffering season-ending injuries, Keenan Allen and Mike Williams (among others) dealing with their own injuries, and Michael Pittman and Chris Godwin (again, among many others) disappointing, there's a decent chance your Fantasy team could use some wide receiver help. Can Odell Beckham still be that guy?
Some NFL team is likely going to convince themselves that – probably more than one – and a decision is likely to come soon after it was reported Sunday by Jay Glazer that Beckham is close to being cleared to return from his torn ACL. Per that report, Beckham "will be ready and cleared by the end of this week. Fully cleared, with no limitations at all."
Glazer went on to mention the Bills, 49ers, and Rams as potential landing spots for Beckham, while Ian Rapoport also reported Sunday that the Cowboys have Beckham on their radar as well. And each of those makes sense as a landing spot – maybe the 49ers less than the others, unless Deebo Samuel's hamstring injury is more serious than we currently expect. The Rams clearly miss Beckham's playmaking in what has been a very difficult season for their offense, while Beckham would give the Cowboys a viable third option alongside CeeDee Lamb and Michael Gallup. Beckham might seem like a luxury for the Bills, but with Gabe Davis putting up another subpar showing Sunday, they could probably use a more consistent secondary option alongside Stefon Diggs. The point is, there's no shortage of teams that could use a player like Beckham.
Or at least, a player like Beckham once was. At his best, Beckham was arguably the best wide receiver in football, but that was two torn ACLs ago at this point. Even including his very good playoff run last season, Beckham put up 825 yards and seven touchdowns in 18 games; take away his time with Cleveland before he was cut, and Beckham still only averaged 49.4 yards per game with the Rams.
Beckham is going to have to join a team – likely with a new playbook to learn – in the middle of the season, coming back from a second torn ACL in two years, so the degree of difficulty here is incredibly high. Which is to say, while he might have a lot of value as a tertiary player on some would-be contender's offense, it's pretty unlikely he's going to get up to speed quickly enough to make an impact for your Fantasy team.
If you have a roster spot to play with, hey, throw a waiver-wire claim out there for him. Drop a few bucks in FAB, sure – as you'll see, there aren't a ton of must-have players as we look ahead to the Week 10 wire. But you shouldn't get into a bidding war for Beckham's services. He isn't the same guy he was in his Giants days, and it might be asking a lot from him to even be the same guy he was last season.
Beckham could, of course, join the Rams or BIlls or whichever team and recapture his former form. It's certainly not impossible. There's a need for both, and if his recovery has gone smoothly, it's not totally unreasonable that he could be back to full speed relatively soon – he'll be nine months removed from the injury next Sunday, which is about how far removed from his injury Chris Godwin was when he made his debut in Week 1 this season. If Beckham can sign shortly, get into some practices, and get his feet wet in the next few weeks, maybe he can be an impact player for the Fantasy playoffs. There's enough theoretical upside here to be worth adding.
Just don't expect him to be an immediate superstar. There probably aren't any of those available on waivers right now. Here's who else we'll be looking at on waivers this week:
If Aaron Jones has to miss time with the ankle injury he suffered Sunday, AJ Dillon figures to be the lead back for the Packers, and would be in the top 15 at the position, more or less. But the Packers have never been a team to ride just one running back, and they probably wouldn't do that in this instance either. That means Hill figures to see a role now that he's back from IR. Hill had 23 catches in just three games during his senior season at Mississippi State, and could be the primary passing downs option alongside Dillon if Jones has to miss time. That could make Hill a low-end starting option in PPR formats in an offense without a lot of pass-catching talent.
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The Dolphins traded for Jeff Wilson this week and wasted no time at all getting him involved in the offense in his first game with the team Sunday. Wilson let the team with 51 rushing yards on nine carries, matching Raheem Mostert's total for carries. And Wilson was even more involved in the passing game, out-targeting Mostert three to two, catching all three passes for 21 yards and a touchdown. I thought Mostert was going to be a clear No. 2 behind Mostert – he typically was when they played together in San Francisco – but he actually played more snaps than Mostert Sunday as well. This might be a fairly even split moving forward, but with Mostert's injury history, you want to make sure Wilson isn't available on your waiver wire this week, because Wilson clearly could have a significant role.
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The backup RB spot for the Chargers has long been one of the most valued handcuffs in Fantasy because of how the Chargers use their running backs, and it looks like the rookie Spiller may have surpassed the veteran Sony Michel for that spot Sunday. Spiller was second on the team in carries and yards Sunday, and played more snaps than Michel overall. As long as Austin Ekeler is healthy, it doesn't matter much, but Spiller is worth adding if you've got a spare roster spot and want to take a chance on some upside.
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It took garbage time, but Marshall put up another solid Fantasy showing in Week 9, his second in a row. The 2021 second-round pick is healthy and playing a solid role for the Panthers, playing 44 of 48 offensive snaps Sunday. He scored on a 21-yard pass from Baker Mayfield Sunday, and it's not even clear if Mayfield or P.J. Walker is going to be the starter for the Panthers, who fell back on hard times after showing some life in recent weeks. Marshall has seven catches for 140 yards over the past two games, and the touchdown Sunday was an impressive one, winning a 50-50 ball with great coverage. He's got talent, he's healthy, and he deserves a chance to show what he can do.
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Kmet has been one of the bigger disappointments at the tight end position, but he finally had a big game Sunday, scoring his second and third touchdowns of the season – and his first came last week. Sunday was a season-high in yards and targets, though he had just two of each last week, so it's way too early to suggest there's some kind of trend here. Kmet could very well go back to being a minor part of one of the least pass-heavy offenses in the league, but if you're desperate, he's got a great matchup coming against the Lions in Week 10.
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