Stay ahead of bye weeks with the right fantasy football calls

Though the official fantasy football Byemageddon of Week 8 might be in our rearview mirror, we are not finished with this dreaded gauntlet of midseason byes and idle teams. 

Each of the next two weeks features four teams on a bye, Week 11 has two, then Week 12 has another four teams sitting out. If you thought your waiver wire was picked clean this past week, just wait until you see how people start hoarding wide receivers from now through Thanksgiving.

Typically, you want to try and stay ahead of the curve with your waiver claims, but with six teams out this past week, many were forced into making more immediate moves. That means you could be bidding against more people than expected as everyone looks to beef up their rosters for the next three weeks. Selecting the right players is important.

Many could look to add one of the three young receivers from Houston. Slot receiver Jaylin Noel has had two good weeks in a row, Jayden Higgins found the end zone while replacing Nico Collins, and Xavier Hutchinson saw his target share jump to a career-high six. 

But before you start investing, understand that once Collins and Christian Kirk return from injuries, Higgins and Noel will see their roles diminish, and Hutchinson’s targets will go back to the two or three he usually gets. If you’re looking for good fill-in wideouts, you should probably look elsewhere.

Though locking Titans players into your starting lineups doesn’t sound like a winning strategy, rookie Chimere Dike needs to be added. We spent so much of the early weeks waiting for Elic Ayomanor to blow up, many missed Dike’s current rise. 

Since coach Brian Callahan was let go, Dike’s route tree has expanded, and his role in the offense is much bigger. Not only has his target share increased, but his average depth of target has spiked into double digits.

He has 11 catches on 12 targets for 163 yards and a touchdown over his past two games, and he seems to be a first look for QB Cam Ward nowadays. With roster rates across ESPN and Yahoo hovering at around 6 percent, he should be available immediately.

If investing in Titans makes you queasy, then check out the emergence of Troy Franklin in Denver. We’ve seen flashes from him before, but his 18 targets, nine catches, 108 yards and three touchdowns over the past two games have him front-and-center on people’s waiver wires. Sean Payton and Joe Lombardi have gradually expanded his role, and with Marvin Mims Jr. sidelined, Franklin was also used in the slot and not just as an outside field-stretcher. 

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He plays the second-most snaps behind Courtland Sutton and is usually the one on the field in two-receiver sets. As this Broncos offense continues its ascent, Franklin becomes a better fantasy asset, and with roster rates below 45 percent, he too could be yours this week.

It always is important to find the right guys for your bye-week fill-ins. Don’t just chase last week’s points. Find the guys in the right situation. Study the snap-counts, the routes-run and the overall role in the offense. There is plenty of help out there if you know where to look.

Howard Bender is the head of content at FantasyAlarm.com. Follow him on X @rotobuzzguy and catch him on the award-winning “Fantasy Alarm Radio Show” on the SiriusXM fantasy sports channel weekdays from 6-8 p.m. Go to FantasyAlarm.com for all your fantasy football news and advice.