Welcome back to another weekly edition of “The Wire”. In this series, I review three players each week that you should target on the waiver wire for your Dynasty teams. To keep the information in this series consistent, I will only refer to players with an ownership percentage of less than 50%, according to Sleeper Dynasty leagues. I’ll do my best to provide you with players that have a more long-term upside rather than a one-week ceiling, seeing that this is a Dynasty series and not Redraft. So, sit back, relax, and let me find you some diamonds in the rough!
Khalil Shakir | WR | Buffalo Bills
49% Rostered
I’d venture to say Shakir was owned in well over 49% of Sleeper Dynasty leagues this offseason, but after a slow start to his sophomore campaign, fantasy owners had all but written him off. After showing some promise during the Bills’ playoff run last year, many had high hopes for the Boise State prospect heading into 2023. With teammate Gabriel Davis failing to meet expectations again in Year 3, the WR2 spot in Buffalo appeared to be open for the taking, and Shakir was beginning to look like someone who could step up and excel in a larger role.
However, that didn’t materialize in the early part of this season. Six weeks into the year, Shakir had only managed to grab four receptions on five targets. He wasn’t seeing consistent work in the passing game, never even playing 40% of the snaps in any of those six contests. Weeks 7 and 8 have been a different story, though. In the past two weeks, Shakir has combined for 22.7 PPR points, ten receptions on as many targets, and 127 receiving yards. He saw his role expand this past Sunday, playing 65% of the snaps.
For now, Gabriel Davis is still safely the WR2 in this offense. He’s had a productive start to the year, scoring double-digit fantasy points in five of eight contests in PPR formats and finding the endzone five times. He’s still a boom/bust option you can’t trust in managed leagues but is a key asset in Best Ball formats. In addition, rookie TE Dalton Kincaid has taken advantage of the opportunity with Dawson Knox out, is a borderline Top-5 Dynasty TE now, and is clearly ahead of Shakir on the receiving totem pole in Buffalo. But Khalil is only 23, continues to produce when he sees the field, and has shown enough to warrant added playing time, in my opinion. There’s a good chance one of your league mates dropped Shakir after getting nothing from him in the first six weeks; check your waiver wire and pick up this young, promising receiver playing in an elite offense.
Andrei Iosivas | WR | Cincinnati Bengals
18% Rostered
Let me preface this by saying I’m well aware the fantasy production in these past two weeks has come solely from the touchdown ball for Iosivas. On the year, the rookie from Princeton has just three receptions for 14 yards. However, two of those he happened to find pay dirt, giving him a combined 15.5 fantasy points in PPR formats. He’s still buried on this depth chart behind Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, Tyler Boyd, and even Trenton Irwin. So, picking up Iosivas may only be viable in those deeper Dynasty leagues at this time. But if you have room to stash a young WR at the end of your bench, this guy has the potential to pay dividends in the long run. Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd are free agents after this year, and Burrow just signed a 5-year extension with Cincinnati, so Andrei is tied to one of the premier quarterback talents in the NFL for the foreseeable future.
According to Chris Museezer’s WR1 Analytical Model (check out the article here), Iosivas was the WR15 of this rookie class, with a 28.4% chance of having a top-24 fantasy season at the NFL level. Bit of a long shot, but I’m fine with those odds if he’s literally free and I have room on my roster. Andrei has the measurables and athleticism to be an effective NFL wide receiver. It may take him some time to develop, as the competition is a big jump up from the teams he played against at Princeton, but he’s in a great situation, is young, and has potential.
Jaren Hall | QB | Minnesota Vikings
16% Rostered
2023 has been an unfortunate season for QB injuries, without a doubt. Kirk Cousins was the newest addition to this list, suffering what appears to be a torn Achilles, meaning he’ll be out for the remainder of this season.
Jaren Hall took over mid-game after Kirk left the game, and outside of the lost fumble on the sack (which was hardly his fault), he looked fine out there. He completed three of four passes for 23 yards, so we didn’t get a massive sample size from the rookie, but we likely will next week in Atlanta.
Minnesota is in a peculiar situation with Cousins out. The Vikings have won their past three games, putting them at 4-4 on the year and second in the NFC North. So, realistically, they’re doing too well to tank, but their only real option under center now is Jaren Hall since Nick Mullens is still on the IR. Mullens will be sidelined at least one more week but may be back by Week 10 against New Orleans. Seeing that the Vikings’ playoff hopes are still very much alive, I wouldn’t be surprised if they traded for a veteran QB like Andy Dalton or even signed someone like Carson Wentz. That said, as of today, Jaren appears to be the guy starting for Minnesota next Sunday. And any rookie quarterback expected to start should be rostered in Superflex leagues, at the very least. Who knows, Hall could surprise us all as Will Levis did this past Sunday. Stash Jaren on your bench if possible and continue to monitor the Minnesota QB situation in the meantime.
Thank you for taking the time to read this article, and I hope you got some valuable information you can use for your fantasy team! If you’d like additional insight into Dynasty Football news and analysis, please follow me on Twitter at @jim_DFF. Until next time, keep grinding out there, DFF family! #DFFArmy #AlwaysBeBuilding
