Week 9 Waiver Wire: Denard Robinson, Brandon LaFell, Highlight Pickups to Know

The wars fought on the NFL waiver wire are only set to get bloodier with Week 9 on the horizon.

These week-to-week battles allow owners a way to counteract the ever-changing landscape that is the NFL and stay right in the thick of things as the playoff push begins to creep into the minds of most. 

A few new names seize the spotlight with Week 8 mostly out of the picture, although some are players owners clearly did not believe in, considering the ownership percentage on a few waiver-wire studs continues to be hover at unacceptable levels.

There are various wait times on the wire, but the top-five names to target in Week 9 are quite obvious. 

Denard Robinson, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars (16.4 percent owned)

Gary McCullough/Associated Press

Now would be the time for owners everywhere to take Jacksonville Jaguars back Denard Robinson seriously. 

It was a tad ridiculous to discredit an 18-point outburst last week in his first action as the starter, but the percentage clearly indicates most felt it wise to ignore things.

That is now impossible, as Robinson took 18 carries for 108 yards in Week 8 for 11 more points. As ESPN Stats & Info notes, the confident runner is doing great given his surroundings:

Robinson has a somewhat favorable schedule in the coming weeks thanks to encounters with the Cincinnati Bengals and Dallas Cowboys, although at this point it is quite apparent that he will continue to be the every-down back moving forward. 

There is a small sample size with Robinson, but no reason to believe he will not continue to see the same amount of opportunities. This makes him a solid RB2 option for owners in need. 

Brandon LaFell, WR, New England Patriots (8.8 percent owned)

New England Patriots wideout Brandon LaFell is another name owners have decided not to trust, although his outputs since Week 3 clearly show a scary pattern:

WK	OPP	REC	YDS	TD	PTS
3	Oak	4	46	0	4
4	@KC	6	119	1	17
5	Cin	1	20	0	2
6	@Buf	4	97	2	21
7	NYJ	4	55	0	5
8	Chi	11	124	1	18

Still, as Scott Pianowski of Yahoo! Sports muses, LaFell has been a great story and is certainly worthy of more fantasy attention:

LaFell slowly but surely continues to etch out more real estate in the New England offense. The only real drawback at this point is a brutal three-week stretch against strong defenses against wideouts such as an encounter with the Indianapolis Colts.

Still, a potential No. 1 receiver for Tom Brady is not one to ignore. LaFell will continue to flirt with WR2 upside based on the matchup and Brady's play. Again, for owners in need, he is a must-own commodity.

Andrew Hawkins, WR, Cleveland Browns (9.9 percent owned)

David Richard/Associated Press

After most recently being designated as a gadget player with the Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns wideout Andrew Hawkins is slowly creeping into the realm of fantasy relevancy.

Hawkins now has two straight games in double digits. He caught five passes for 112 yards and 11 points in Week 7, which he followed up in Week 8 with seven for 88 and a season-high of 14.

Those numbers are not alarming, and they did come against weak defenses. Still, Hawkins has value as a stash option in the hopes that he can continue to see his role increase in what is a run-first attack. 

For those who need strong matchups to seal the deal, two out of Hawkins' next three opponents rank in the bottom six against wideouts this year in terms of points allowed to the position on average, with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers coming in dead last.

Hawkins is slowly becoming a sure thing, so owners could do much worse.

Lorenzo Taliaferro, RB, Baltimore Ravens (4.3 percent owned)

USA TODAY Sports

Sunday's performance from Baltimore Ravens rookie back Lorenzo Taliaferro is one that inspires confidence from his coaching staff.

"We’re just doing what we try to do as far as our personnel and getting guys up that we felt gave us the best chance to win the game," Ravens coach John Harbaugh said, per Aaron Wilson of The Baltimore Sun. “We were jammed up. We did what we thought we had to do, and it worked out because our other backs stayed healthy."

It also happens to do the same for fantasy owners.

Taliaferro was the fifth-highest scorer on the week entering Monday thanks to his seven carries for 27 yards and two touchdowns.

Now, Taliaferro is a touchdown-based commodity for the time being, as all three of his trips into double digits this season have come with scores. But he is a stash based on the notion that the Ravens will begin to use him more and more as the season continues.

Besides, Bernard Pierce was a healthy scratch in a must-win game. Taliaferro currently complements Justin Forsett, but as a matchup-based play who gets the goal-line looks, there is no reason to not scoop up the rookie and put him on the shelf for a rainy day.

John Brown, WR, Arizona Cardinals (2.5 percent owned)

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The hype for any wideout is getting to be a fever pitch when comparisons to Marvin Harrison start to float around, as noted by ESPN's Ed Werder:

The Arizona Cardinals John Brown has been avoided by most because he does not see a healthy amount of targets on a week-to-week basis, although that seems to be slowly changing as he improves and forms a better rapport with Carson Palmer.

He tied his season high in Week 8 with 17 points as a byproduct of five receptions for 119 yards and a score. Many will point out that Brown is stuck with other targets such as Larry Fitzgerald and Michael Floyd, but his ability to take the top off defenses will continue to garner looks in Bruce Arians' vertical-oriented scheme.

Moving forward, Brown is a strong add in the sense that his big-play ability can swing the outcome of a fantasy matchup in an owner's favor rather quickly. That same ability will surely continue to get him more opportunities in the coming months.

Honorable Mentions

Player	Pos.	Team	Percent Owned
Kyle Orton	QB	BUF	1.7
Carson Palmer	QB	ARI	13.4
Juwan Thompson	RB	DEN	0.7
Theo Riddick	RB	DET	0.2
Jonathan Stewart	RB	CAR	24.2
Jonas Gray	RB	NE	0.1
Martavis Bryant	WR	PIT	0.5
Donte Moncrief	WR	IND	0.2
Allen Robinson	WR	JAC	3.8
Andre Holmes	WR	OAK	12.0
Tim Wright	TE	NE	3.3
Dwayne Allen	TE	IND	41.7
Vikings	D/ST	MIN	9.3
Shayne Graham	K	NO	13.4
Randy Bullock	K	HOU	2.3

All scoring info courtesy of ESPN standard leagues, as is points-against info and ownership stats as of 1 a.m. ET on Oct. 27. Statistics courtesy of ESPN.