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Marcas Grant: The first step is prayer. Or meditation. Or alcohol. Or whatever you need to do to calm your nerves. The next step is to hit the waiver wire hard. Hopefully you put in claims for DeAngelo Williams and/or Jeremy Langford because they're the next men up in their respective backfields. Williams is especially valuable because he's already proven that the dropoff from Le'Veon Bell to him isn't as steep. If there's any silver lining, it's that the receiver position is deep enough that you can find streaming options for the remainder of the season. But if you're looking for semi-permanent options, then you need to consider Steve Johnson or Kamar Aiken. The third and final step is to keep up with the great work being done by Alex Gelhar in his weekly waiver wire and deep dive waiver wire columns. The situation might look bleak, but there is hope with a little hard work and some good luck.
M.G.:Andy Dalton has been fantastic so far this season, but if there's reason to be concerned, it's with his schedule in the fantasy playoffs. While that matchup with the 49ers in Week 15 is tantalizing, it's sandwiched between games against the steadily improving Steelers (who slowed him down in Week 8) and the suffocating Broncos. That's after he deals with the Cardinals and Rams in Weeks 11 and 12. If you're not of a mind to challenge that slate, then it's worth trying to trade for Blake Bortles. The Jaguars quarterback has been a fantasy darling this season even if he hasn't been great in real life. Yet it's worth the chance just to have a strong-armed quarterback in a pass-heavy offense going against the Colts, Falcons and Saints to end the season.
M.G.: You should be scared of starting Andrew Luck. Andrew Luck has not been very good at football this year. Now he's facing the Denver Broncos defense. The Broncos defense has been very good at football this year. Plus you have the uncertainty of a coaching change in Indianapolis after the firing of Pep Hamilton. If I had a better option, I'd start him over Andrew Luck. But Kirk Cousins is not that option. It's totally fun to watch him do his Brick Tamland "loud noises" routine, but against the Patriots? Do not want. But guys like Eli Manning, Philip Rivers or even Jameis Winston (yeah, I said it)? I'd certainly consider those options.
M.G.: I've been on the Stevie Johnson bandwagon all season and with Keenan Allen now finished for the season, he should see a major increase in targets. But if you're considering a receiver versus a running back for a flex spot, you should almost always choose the running back. Without Matt Forte, Jeremy Langford stands to get a pretty hefty workload. He might not get the 23 touches per game that went Forte's way, but getting the ball around 15 times is very possible. Even with the Chargers throwing the ball 40-50 times per week, there's no guarantee that Johnson will see the same type of volume as Langford. Plus ... Chargers run defense.
M.G.:Brandon Marshall's value dips with Geno Smith under center for the Jets. That value takes a Greg Louganis-like dive if Bryce Petty takes over the job. The same goes for Eric Decker. This is all frustrating because both Marshall and Decker have been nice secondary fantasy options at the position this season. But it's hard to really trust any Jets quarterback not named Ryan Fitzpatrick. To make matters worse, this epidemic could spread to Chris Ivory if he ends up facing stacked boxes against defense daring Gang Green to win through the air.
M.G.: The key to this trade is whether you believe Eddie Lacy will finish the season better than he began it. Certainly his performance against the Broncos last week didn't inspire any confidence and this week's matchup with the Panthers is good but not great. What complicates matters is that James Starks is still hanging around ready to take carries. On the flipside, Amari Cooper has turned out to be as good as advertised and is a huge part of a resurgent Raiders passing game and Mark Ingram hasn't been spectacular, but he's nearly a lock for double-digits every single week. That kind of consistency is too good to give away. I'd suggest standing pat and not making the deal.
M.G.: Not unless you're scraping the bottom of the barrel for running back help. Thomas is a stopgap option for the 49ers while they wait for Carlos Hyde to get healthy. Once El Guapo returns, Thomas is going to be relegated to a third down role in the offense. And speaking of the 49ers offense ... it's terrible. You knew that already, but I just felt like it needed to be reiterated. The change to Blaine Gabbert as a starter isn't going to make anything better. Thomas could have a miniscule amount of value but it's hard to recommend chasing him unless you have no other real options.
M.G.: The idea of acquiring Julio Jones is certainly tantalizing, but let me advise against this trade. First, it means you're giving up a high-volume running back -- you've probably noticed how few of those are left. Murray might not be the same back he was last year but after this season's rash of injuries and underperformance, he's better than anything you'll find on the waiver wire. Second, Allen Robinson has been a top 10 receiver all season long and should continue on the same path. Jones might be the top-scoring wideout in fantasy right now, but two of his three fantasy playoff matchups are against Josh Norman and the Panthers. That's no bueno. You're better off with the two players you have.
M.G.: When it comes to tight ends that aren't Rob Gronkowski or Gary Barnidge, the answer is always Jordan Reed. The athletic tight end is the top option in Washington's passing game. Even after missing two games, Reed is still second on the team and 11th in the NFL among tight ends in targets (47). That's a long way of saying that he gets the ball a lot. That's going to continue regardless of who's on the field. I don't need to tell any of you that finding a consistent tight end to play every single week is like getting one of Willy Wonka's golden tickets. Reed could be that ticket.
M.G.: You could certainly cobble together a streaming campaign of Derek Carr and Jay Cutler for the remainder of the season. As I wrote earlier, the playoff schedule for Andy Dalton isn't the friendliest. Admittedly, there are some speed bumps in the schedule for both Cutler rand Carr. Yet between the two of them, you can find three (or at least 2.5) decent matchups to take advantage of in the fantasy postseason. Winning a championship often takes unconventional thinking. This would qualify as such.
Bonus question:
M.G.: Thanks. Does this mean I can get free beer now?
In the latest episode of the NFL Fantasy LIVE podcast the gang discusses injury fallout with Le'Veon Bell, Matt Forte and Keenan Allen, then looks ahead at Week 9 waiver wire targets. They also discuss the top RB handcuffs to add and some sell-high candidates before the trade deadline. Don't forget to subscribe and listen in HERE!
Marcas Grant is a fantasy editor for NFL.com and a man who believes that the best nation on Earth is donation. Tweet him with offers for free stuff or fantasy football questions @MarcasG.
