Early Week 9 Fantasy Pickups: The Moore, the merrier

As the midpoint of the season has come and gone, perusing the waiver wire will become even more difficult. Most NFL teams have built an identity by this point, and with that identity comes established weapons. That said, new faces with a chance at continued productivity can still emerge. Savvy fantasy players keep an eye on these faces and pounce when the time is right.

With that said, Liz Loza has three players — three relatively new faces — that will popular adds on the waiver wire for Week 9:

D.J. Moore ready to meet expectations? (15% owned on Yahoo)

The Panthers selected Moore with their first round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. He was fashioned to be the heir-apparent to Steve Smith in Carolina. Seven weeks into the season though, Moore hadn’t done anything truly impactful in fantasy. On the contrary, he’d been plagued by fumbles and rookie mistakes. That said, his talent has flashed and it did so again in Week 8. With Torrey Smith out, the rookie impressed against the Ravens’ vaunted defense, rushing twice for 39 yards and catching five passed for another 90 yards. Perhaps most importantly though, he led the Panthers in targets (6) — huge, considering the faith Cam Newton has in Greg Olsen and Christian McCaffrey. He also has a nice matchup against the hapless Bucs defense in Week 9.

David Moore just keeps scoring (3% owned on Yahoo)

Tyler Lockett and Doug Baldwin may hold the name-value in Seattle, but Moore holds the love of the end zone. The second-year receiver has now scored touchdowns in three consecutive games. He caught four passes on four targets for 97 yards and a spike. He’s not a target monster (yet) but Russell Wilson obviously trusts Moore in the red zone.

Can Josh Adams be the runner Philly needs? (1% owned on Yahoo)

Injuries to Jay Ajayi and Darren Sproles pretty much forced the Eagles to go with a sprawling committee at running back. Each has their own specific talents, but neither Wendell Smallwood or Corey Clement have put a stranglehold on the starting RB job. A new face emerged in Week 8 against the Jaguars, though: Josh Adams. The powerful 6-foot-2, 225-pounder led the Eagles in carries, rush yards, and average yards per carry (6.8). Philly has shown a tendency to go with the hot hand at RB, so it will be interesting to see Adams’ usage when the Eagles return from a Week 9 bye. He’s a stash candidate.