Fantasy Football ‘24: Waiver Wire, Week 9 edition

Welcome to the Fantasy Football Waiver Wire for Week 9! We’re at the halfway point of the NFL regular season and have blown past that line for fantasy football. It’s time to start the playoff push, and fantasy managers face the challenge of the never-ending story of NFL injuries, plus more than half of NFL teams haven’t had their Bye week yet. The Waiver Wire can help, and if you’re in a league that uses a free agent acquisition budget (FAAB) system, (a) nice job, you’re doing things the right way, and (b) it’s time to think about spending some of what you have left.

As for this week’s crop of free agents, for the second straight week the most intriguing position is Wide Receiver. There’s also decent help available at the QB position.

The Process: Each week, I try to identify the top Waiver Wire targets and evaluate the short- and long-term prospects of those players. I also do my best to reveal which players who are coming off a big week are fool’s gold. Finally, I look at streamers who might help you in a pinch (this is usually more important during Bye weeks). Note that I’m writing this column BEFORE the Week 8 Monday night game (NYG@PIT).

Some players discussed won’t be available in your league. I try to list players who are available in more than 50% of leagues. But what does that even mean? A 10-team league with six bench spots will have a much larger Free Agent pool than a 14-team league with eight. Most leagues fall somewhere in between. This isn’t “one size fits all.” By way of example, I won’t list Tua Tagovailoa, Trevor Lawrence, Sam Darnold, Bucky Irving, Tyrone Tracy, Jr., Alexander Mattison, Ladd McConkey, or Hunter Henry this week, among others who probably aren’t available in any of your leagues. Those guys all would be priority adds if available.

WEEK 9 BYES: PIT, SF

Photo by C. Morgan Engel/Getty Images

Week 9 Waiver Wire

Quarterback:

Need a second quarterback for a Superflex league, or another starting option in a 1-QB league? There are again some appealing choices this week.

Matthew Stafford. Stafford will be a hot add this week, after he lit up the Vikings for 279 yards and four TDs on Thursday night. He came into that game with just three TD passes on the season, but there are good reasons to believe that his performance this week wasn’t a fluke. He had both of his starting WRs on the field for the first time, and those guys are really good. In the weeks when Stafford had both Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua available last season, he was a borderline Top-10 QB. He also had a much better second half in 2023 than first half (in part because of Kupp’s return from injury), and second-half momentum again appears to be on his side, as the Rams are still in it in the NFC West. Buy now, while you still can. Stafford won’t give you any points with his legs but could be among the league’s passing leaders the rest of the way.

Bo Nix. Nix continues to defy expectations with very good play, and even better fantasy output. Maybe Sean Payton is some kind of QB whisperer after all. I’m not sure how lasting it will be, but Nix is the QB3 over the last four weeks. That is not a misprint. QB3, for a month! He has benefitted from some very good matchups, and Denver’s schedule stays pretty favorable over the rest of the season. I think Nix is a pretty good choice if you need a QB2, but I’ll admit to not being totally sold on this.

Jameis Winston. I’ve been listing Winston as a stash for weeks, and he finally got his chance to start in Week 8. He made the most of it, with more than 300 yards passing, three TDs, and 23.6 fantasy points. While he’s now in the QB2 conversation, don’t expect that kind of production every week. The Ravens have allowed the most fantasy points to opposing QBs, and an astonishing 21 pass plays of 25+ yards already this season. They were also without their best corner (Marlon Humphrey), and Kyle Hamilton dropped an easy INT. Still, the NFL’s only member of the 30/30 club can and will sling it, the weapons are young and potentially pretty good, and the Browns are feisty. He might revive a little of the “Joe Flacco out of the bullpen” magic that we saw in the Dawg Pound in 2023.

Joe Flacco. Speak of the devil! Halloween is almost here, so I’ll give you two scary stats: Anthony Richardson has completed 10 or fewer passes in all but one of his five starts, and his completion percentage on the season is 44.4%. Really. Right now, Flacco might give this team a better chance to win, and given that they’re definitely in playoff contention, it’s possible that Flacco gets the call at some point. He’s a decent stash if you have the space.

Russell Wilson. I’ll list Wilson again, and obviously I don’t know how the Monday night game will go. You could do worse with your second quarterback in a Superflex. The Main risk is whether he can hold on to the job, plus the schedule is about to get a lot harder.

Derek Carr. If he got dropped in your Superflex league and you need depth, think about it. The Saints’ defense is allowing tons of points, and Carr does have a history of some big games.

Finally, I’ll continue to list Drake Maye as a decent add in a Superflex. However, Maye got hurt this week and couldn’t finish his game, so monitor his situation.

Running Back

Once again there isn’t a lot to add at running back if what you need is an immediate streamer/starter. Jaylen Warren and Tyler Allgeier are rostered at right around 50% on some of the major platforms and I’d grab either one if available. Both have some stand-alone value beyond their potentially massive handcuff value, in offenses that run a lot.

Beyond that, no, don’t add Dalvin Cook. I’m begging you, don’t. He’s totally washed, like some jeans I’ve still got from 1993. My advice continues to be to stash RB2s that are available, for depth. Some names that I’d continue to look at are: Ray Davis, Braelon Allen, Kimani Vidal, Ty Chandler, Roschon Johnson, Justice Hill, and Blake Corum. All are one injury away from what could be a significant role. I’ve said it multiple times in this space: You want a few of these guys on your roster at all times.

Isaac Guerendo ran really well and looked pretty explosive on Sunday night. Meanwhile, Jordan Mason again couldn’t finish the game due to injury. Guerendo is worth an add, with Mason hurt, Deebo Samuel hurt, and Christian McCaffrey supposedly returning in Week 10, after San Francisco’s Bye. Any RB that has a potential path to meaningful reps in this offense is worth rostering.

A few additional depth/stash plays to consider if you’re looking to speculate are Trey Benson, Jaylen Wright, Tyjae Spears, Keaton Mitchell, Gus Edwards (who could be back in a few weeks), and Kendre Miller.

Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images

Wide Receiver

It’s once again a decent week to go shopping for a wide receiver, and to use some FAAB to get the one you want. Let’s hit the receiver store.

Cedric Tillman and Elijah Moore. I listed both of these players last week, and I’ll run it back in case they’re still available in your league. Tillman would be the priority here, as he’s gone off the last two weeks (15-180-2), including the game-winning TD (his second of the game) and 99 yards on Sunday against the Ravens. He’s clearly developing some chemistry with Jameis Winston. Moore is more of a stash and see, but he led all Cleveland WRs with a 32% target share on Sunday, and hauled in 8-for-85. Not bad. As I said when discussing Winston, the Browns don’t get to play the Ravens and their awful pass defense every week. Still, the results from the switch to Winston are very encouraging, so far. You know, like pretty much everyone said they’d be…

Keon Coleman. Here’s another repeat listing. I’ve been high on him since Buffalo drafted him, and he’s coming into his own. While there’s a lot of competition for targets, he’s seeing the most downfield looks in the Bills offense and got a goal-line pass on Sunday, which he secured for a TD. Coleman is only 21 and is still learning, but has the look of a rookie who will be a big contributor down the stretch. He’s averaging 18.9 yards per reception, and has seven targets and 70+ receiving yards in two straight. The arrow is pointing up.

Ricky Pearsall. The 49ers are having the “season from Hell” with injuries, and out of their Top-4 WRs, Pearsall (who got shot in the preseason) is somehow the only fully healthy one at the moment, as the team heads into its much-needed Bye. Pearsall has now played two games and has looked good. He had almost 75 total yards from scrimmage on Sunday night against the Cowboys, and his role should continue to grow. This offense will eventually start smoking again, and Pearsall is positioned to be part of that. You want that on your roster.

Parker Washington. Who? He’s on the Jaguars, and was a thing for about a second last season when Christian Kirk missed games in December. He’s again going to get an opportunity due to injuries. The Jaguars’ Top-3 WRs ALL gut hurt on Sunday, with varying degrees of severity. Kirk is done for the season, and Washington figures to see a lot of the slot-share, where Kirk lives. Evan Engram is likely to be the biggest beneficiary of the injuries to the WR corps, but Washington could have some upside in a high-volume passing offense, with a QB who is heating up.

Others to consider for wide receiver depth: Jalen McMillan, Jauan Jennings, Tre Tucker, Xavier Legette (and if Diontae Johnson gets traded, he’s even more attractive), Bub Means, Troy Franklin, and Rashod Bateman. All of these players have upside and potential Flex appeal when you’re short on options.

Tight End

Taysom Hill. Why not? The problem with Hill is you never know when the big game is coming. But with Derek Carr potentially coming back as soon as this week and Rashid Shaheed done for the season, Hill has some upside in an offense people have forgotten about for the last month (and with good reason).

Dalton Schultz. Schultz hasn’t gotten it going yet this year, but with injuries decimating the Texans’ receivers, he’s got an opportunity to get more involved. Stefon Diggs is done for the season and Nico Collins is still out for a couple more weeks. Schultz should see an uptick in targets.

Others to consider if you’re stuck: Tyler Conklin, Zach Ertz, Noah Fant, Ja’Tavion Sanders,Jonnu Smith.

PK and D/ST Streamers, Week 9 (ranked outside the Top-12 for the season):

PK: T. Bass (vs. MIA), E. McPherson (vs. LV), C. Santos (@ARI), W. Reichard (vs. IND)

D/ST: PHI (vs. JAC), TEN (vs. NE), WAS (@NYG)

That’s all I’ve got. Good luck with your waiver claims!

***This column appears each Monday right here at Big Blue View. Each Thursday, my weekly fantasy preview with my rides, fades and sleepers (start/sit) appears here, and on Fridays you can find my weekly Giants Props of the week, also right here. ***