The Washington Commanders may have fallen to the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 8, but ironically it marked a career-best day for quarterback Sam Howell. The Commanders’ second-year quarterback has flashed his upside on multiple occasions this season, but a breakout game may have finally put him on the fantasy football radar moving forward.
We break down Howell’s upside moving forward and determine whether he’s worth picking up off the waiver wire in Week 9.
Commanders QB Sam Howell: Week 9 waiver wire
Howell is rostered in 30.3 percent of ESPN fantasy leagues and 45 percent of Yahoo fantasy leagues heading into Week 9. After being humbled in Week 7 with a single-digit fantasy performance, Washington’s second-year signal caller exploded for 30.98 fantasy points in Week 8, courtesy of throwing for 397 yards and four touchdowns with an interception.
After his strong performance against the Eagles, Howell has hit double-digit fantasy scoring in six of his eight games this season, including five games of 15 or more fantasy points. His matchup with the New England Patriots next week isn’t the best matchup, as they are allowing the eight-fewest fantasy points per game to quarterbacks (14.4).
However, Howell’s upside may be too intriguing to ignore, especially for fantasy managers in deeper leagues.
With Kirk Cousins suffering a season-ending Achilles injury, and with the likes of Trevor Lawrence and Jared Goff off the schedule in Week 9 due to the bye, Howell is an excellent addition off the waiver wire. He may not be a QB1 in smaller leagues, but he boasts the upside in deeper leagues of 14 teams, and he holds starting value in 2-QB leagues.