After another wild week in fantasy football, it’s time to turn to Week 9.
We’re entering that crucial point of the season where fantasy managers are fighting for playoff position and trying to strengthen rosters in hopes of a deep run. Making shrewd moves on the waiver wire can be the difference in reaching those goals, especially as injuries pile up and bye weeks remove top players from lineups.
Here are some Week 9 pickups to consider on the waiver wire:
Quarterback
Matthew Stafford
Rostered: 18.5% on ESPN, 39% on Yahoo
Week 8 was an enormous one for at least the short-term state of the Los Angeles Rams.
As home underdogs, they took down the Minnesota Vikings 30-20 on Thursday Night Football to improve to 3-4. Had they fallen to 2-5, there’s a good chance they would look to trade Cooper Kupp ahead of the Nov. 5 trade deadline.
Additionally, the health status of Puka Nacua was in question due to a knee injury he suffered in Week 1. Well, not only did Nacua play; he had seven catches for 105 yards.
Stafford threw for 279 yards and threw for four touchdowns (with one interception) vs a strong Vikings defense led by defensive coordinator Brian Flores. In Week 1 (when he last had both Kupp and Nacua), he threw for 317 yards vs the Detroit Lions.
With Kupp and Nacua healthy (or even just one of them), Stafford is likely to mix in some huge weeks.
Jameis Winston
Rostered: 3.3% on ESPN, 6% on Yahoo
Hey, the Cleveland Browns now have fantasy football use with Deshaun Watson not at quarterback.
Jameis Winston averaged 0.29 EPA per dropback today, more than double any Deshaun Watson start with the Browns.
— Austin Gayle (@austingayle_) October 27, 2024
In Winston’s first start of the season, he completed 27-of-41 passes for 334 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions in a 29-24 upset victory over the Baltimore Ravens.
While that kind of efficiency is unlikely to continue, we do have evidence of Winston — a former No. 1 overall pick — throwing for high volume. In 2019, for example, he led the NFL in passing yards (5,109) and passing yards per game (319.3). Even if he starts mixing in some interceptions, we don’t care as much about that for fantasy football (standard leagues take away two points for interceptions); the volume usually outweighs the interceptions.
Derek Carr
Rostered: 11.6% on ESPN, 12% on Yahoo
Carr is expected to return this week from an oblique injury that sidelined him for the last three Saints games. And he’ll immediately get a tasty matchup vs a dreadful Carolina Panthers defense.
Carolina just allowed rookie Broncos quarterback Bo Nix to set career-highs in completions (28), completion percentage (75.7), passing yards (284), touchdowns (3), and passing yards (124.2) in a 28-14 Denver win. The Panthers are allowing an NFL-worst 114.0 passer rating, including 17 touchdown passes and just three interceptions. They have sacked the quarterback just nine times.
In Week 1 vs Carolina, Carr completed 19-of-23 passes for 200 yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions, and a 142.5 passer rating.
Monitor his health status throughout the week, but if he’s deemed healthy, he’s a solid streaming option for Week 9.
Joe Flacco
Rostered: 2.1% on ESPN, 2% on Yahoo
Two things to keep in mind here before adding Flacco to try to solve your problems:
1. It’s unclear if he will unseat Anthony Richardson as the Indianapolis Colts’ starting quarterback, but comments from head coach Shane Steichen on Monday would certainly suggest that it’s under serious consideration.
I asked #Colts HC Shane Steichen if QB Anthony Richardson is the team’s starting QB:
“Today he is, yes.”
Is he the starting QB for Sunday’s game against the #Vikings:
“We’re evaluating.” | @TheAthleticNFL
— James Boyd (@RomeovilleKid) October 28, 2024
2. The Week 9 game will be a very tough road matchup vs the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday Night Football. Defensive coordinator Brian Flores will bring the heat on a quarterback who turns 40 in January.
But when Flacco plays, he usually throws for a lot of yards (359 vs the Jaguars in Week 5), and he’s thrown for multiple touchdowns in all three of his starts this season. Last year with the Browns, he averaged 323 passing yards per game and threw 13 touchdown passes over his five starts.
And even if you’re hesitant on starting Flacco in Week 9, he could at least be a useful stash for future weeks.
Update: The Colts are officially benching Richardson and starting Flacco in Week 9.
Running Back
Braelon Allen
Rostered: 24.7% on ESPN, 37% on Yahoo
This shapes up to be a weak week at running back on the waiver wire. If you’re looking for immediate starting options, well, that could be trouble unless there are some injury developments as the week goes on.
But one handcuff and upside option that’s worth rostering is Allen, a rookie running back for the New York Jets.
Allen is a fourth-round pick out of Wisconsin, and he flashed in training camp and the early portion of the regular season. In his last four games, he’s struggled to be efficient (averaging under 3 yards per carry in each game), but he saw a season-high in carries (12) for the Jets in Sunday’s 25-22 loss to the New England Patriots.
If Breece Hall were to miss time, Allen would be perceived as an immediate RB1. And on a Jets team going nowhere fast, they may look to see what they have in their rookie and get him more touches (while keeping Hall’s legs fresher).
In dynasty leagues, Allen is a must-stash.
Wide Receiver
Cedric Tillman
Rostered: 16.0% on ESPN, 19% on Yahoo
With Winston replacing Watson, Cleveland wide receivers all of a sudden have value.
Tillman went off for seven receptions, 99 yards, and two touchdowns on Sunday. He was the third-highest scorer at the wide receiver position in fantasy football for Week 8 (ahead of Monday Night Football).
The second-year wide receiver is likely to be the top overall waiver priority in most fantasy leagues entering Week 9.
Jerry Jeudy
Rostered: 49.9% on ESPN, 45% on Yahoo
The Browns had hopes that they were acquiring a potential No. 1 wide receiver when they traded for Jeudy in March. And with Winston, he looked more like that, catching five passes for a season-best 79 yards. Not quite Tillman levels of production, but not far off.
Jeudy was the No. 15 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft by the Denver Broncos. In 2022, he had 67 receptions for 972 yards and six touchdowns.
Prioritize Tillman until we see more evidence that it should be Jeudy instead, but Jeudy is a worthwhile pickup as well.
Josh Downs
Rostered: 48.6% on ESPN, 47% on Yahoo
Downs had his biggest fantasy week of the season, with four receptions for 109 yards and one touchdown. And he’d benefit from a quarterback switch to Joe Flacco, as would every Colts receiver.
He’s quietly been a solid fantasy option for over a month now, with four double-digit fantasy scoring performances over his last five games.
Xavier Legette
Rostered: 24.0% on ESPN, 15% on Yahoo
This is one for deeper leagues and dynasty leagues, while potentially emerging as a more attractive option in any format as the season goes on.
Carolina’s top wide receiver, Diontae Johnson, is on the trade market. There’s a strong chance he’s no longer on the team sometime between now and Nov. 5. This is a lost season (again) for the Panthers, and it would make sense that they’d try to get young talent more involved the rest of the way.
Legette was selected with the 32nd overall pick in April’s draft. The 6-foot-2, 227-pounder had four receptions for 34 yards and a touchdown in Sunday’s loss to the Broncos. On the season, he has 22 receptions for 211 yards and three touchdowns.
Tight End
Zach Ertz
Rostered: 52.8% on ESPN, 28% on Yahoo
Ertz had seven receptions for 77 yards on Sunday vs an excellent Chicago Bears defense. He totaled eight catches for 108 yards and a touchdown over Weeks 6 and 7, and he has at least three receptions in seven of his eight games this season.
At the very thin tight end position, Ertz offers playable production, particularly in PPR leagues. And he’ll mix in some really solid weeks.
