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Thursday Fantasy Fliers, Week 9: DeAngelo Williams, Kenny Stills (plus a Cam Newton pep talk)

Before we dive into Thursday's desperation plays, let's have a quick word about the quarterback who is, at the moment, the best buy-low in fantasy. Cam Newton owners are an angry, unsatisfied bunch right now — or at least they seem to be, based on various complaint-tweets.

They don't seem to care that Cam is running again — 12 rush attempts last week, 36 over his past three games — and they certainly don't care that Newton has never ranked outside the top-5 at his position in any season.

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Nope, Cam's owners are seeing those nine combined TDs in seven games, and they're displeased. Understandably so. But let's take a quick look at the series of favorable matchups in Carolina's second-half schedule, because it's kind of ridiculous:

Week 9 – vs. New Orleans
Week 10 – at Philadelphia
Week 11 – vs. Atlanta
Week 12 – bye
Week 13 – at Minnesota
Week 14 – at New Orleans
Week 15 – vs. Tampa Bay
Week 16 – vs. Cleveland
Week 17 – at Atlanta

New Orleans has allowed the sixth-most fantasy points to opposing QBs this season, Philly the third-most and Tampa Bay the fifth. Cam will see those defenses four times in his next six games. Seven of the eight matchups remaining on his schedule are against teams that currently rank 26th or worse in total yards-allowed.

So, again, if your league's Cam owner is motivated to sell, then you should get a price-check. Newton has a clear path to another stellar end-of-season fantasy rank.

And now for your fliers...

RB DeAngelo Williams, Carolina (22 percent owned, 8 percent started)

Williams has been sidelined for four games with an ankle malfunction (high ankle sprain), but he'll return for the home matchup with the Saints. His head coach seems bullish...

...so I'm buying. It seems clear enough that DeAngelo will split the backfield touches with Jonathan Stewart, who was quietly effective in Week 8 vs.Seattle. The Saints defense has allowed seven rushing touchdowns on the season and 4.0 YPC, so we're not talking about an impenetrable front. In a week where six teams are on bye and plenty of other backs have injury concerns, Williams is clearly in play for the deep league crowd.

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Kenny Stills, dangerous deep threat (AP Photo/Rick Osentoski)
Kenny Stills, dangerous deep threat (AP Photo/Rick Osentoski)

WR Kenny Stills, New Orleans (12 percent owned, 4 percent started)

OK, this is a flier. But in a brutal bye-week at the receiver position, I'm gonna guess that many of you are eying some sketchy replacement wideouts — dudes who don't offer a fraction of Stills' upside. There's no question he's a feast-or-famine receiver, but the feasts can be rich. Stills has hauled in all nine of his targets over the past two weeks, accounting for 160 yards and one touchdown (pictured above). He's had receptions of 40-plus yards in three of his last four games. Here's a 45-yarder against Green Bay, and here's the 46-yard TD against Detroit. Stills has 4.38-speed, he's tied to an all-time quarterback, and Carolina's secondary isn't a unit you need to fear. If you're looking for a Week 9 lottery ticket, this is your guy.