Fantasy Football Week 9 Waiver Wire: Claims to Make for Each Offensive Position

Here's a quick look at waiver wire fantasy options at each position.

QB: Carson Palmer (19.3 Percent Owned)

Forget about last week's stinker against the Chiefs. It was Palmer's first game in over a year.

Of course there's going to be rust. 

Now he has a bye week under his belt and is going to be much more acclimated to this offense. The Raiders have the deep options on the outside with Darrius Heyward-Bey, Jacoby Ford and Denarius Moore.

Don't underestimate the addition of T.J Housmandzadeh. The only thing the Raiders ever really lacked was a slot receiver, and that's the role Housh will play going forward.

He's comfortable with Palmer from his days in Cincy, the Raiders obviously liked what they saw during his workout and he's always been great out of the slot. 

Having a good option in the slot can really help out a QB and now Carson Palmer has that. The former USC quarterback will only get better as he gets more comfortable.

Snatch him up if he's available.

RB: Jackie Battle (58 Percent Owned)

Fifty-eight percent is pretty high to be on this list, but this is a starting running back we're talking about. He should be owned in all leagues.

Battle has somehow worked his way to the top of what used to be a running back by committee in Kansas City. In his last three games, Battle has gotten 19, 16 and 19 carries.

The powerful, straight-ahead runner has turned those into 119, 76 and 70 yards respectively. He also scored Monday night.

Battle is clearly the No. 1 option in Kansas City, and they love to run the ball. I was a little hesitant on Battle at first, but he's getting the workload to be a fantasy starter. 

WR: Eddie Royal (0.7 Percent Owned)

It's an absolute toss-up when guessing where Tim Tebow will throw the ball. I suggested Demaryius Thomas as a pickup last week and I'm in over my head when predicting this pathetic pass offense. 

Thomas still has the most skills of any of the Denver receivers, but you can't rely on Tim Tebow throwing the deep ball. You'd be better relying on Tim Keeney (me) throwing the deep ball. 

Royal, however, is a slot guy and runs more short routes which suit Tebow better. That proved to be true on Sunday as Royal was targeted 13 times and pulled in six passes for 41 yards.

Remember Royal had an extremely productive rookie season out of the slot his rookie year. If Tebow continues to start, he may turn into the quarterback's favorite option.

Grab Royal and stash him on your bench. He's not start-able quite yet. 

TE: Jake Ballard (9.2 Percent Owned)

Ballard had his worst fantasy performance in four weeks on Sunday, but he still pulled in four catches for 55 yards.

He's become fairly reliable for three or four catches and 50 to 60 yards. He's also scored in two of the last four games.

He's not fantasy gold quite yet, but if you are in need of a tight end you could do a lot worse.