Fantasy Football Week 9: Waiver Wire Pickups

After the NFL gave us a one-week reprieve from byes, they have unfortunately returned in Week 9, with the Steelers and Niners unavailable to us. If you suddenly find yourself with urgent roster needs, we’re here to help. Each week, we highlight the top potential waiver pickups who remain unattached in at least 50% of Yahoo fantasy football leagues. Add as needed.

Quarterbacks

Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams (39% rostered)

With Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp returning to action, Stafford was back in business on Thursday night:

Stafford completed 25 of his 34 throws against the Vikings for 279 yards, four touchdowns (and his usual pick), regularly flashing his weapons-grade arm strength. He obviously doesn’t have the perfect dual-threat fantasy profile — the man has rushed for -7 yards through seven games — but there’s still a place in most leagues for an elite passer with spectacular receiving options.

If you have a need at QB, Stafford likely has a few 20-point weeks ahead of him.

Recommended FAB offer (assuming $100 budget): $7

Jameis Winston, Cleveland Browns (6%)

Winston passed for 334 yards and three touchdowns in Sunday’s win over the Ravens, a level of production that Deshaun Watson hadn’t approached in any game since 2020. Cleveland’s offense was kind of a party in the first full game of the non-Watson portion of their season, delivering 401 total yards and 29 points.

We should note that Winston’s performance wasn’t quite as clean as the final box-score numbers would suggest, but Baltimore never made him pay for the passes he put at risk. It won’t be a clinic at all times with Jameis, but he’s guaranteed to take shots and push the ball downfield aggressively (sometimes recklessly so). He’ll deserve streaming consideration throughout the season’s second half. Winston gets a home matchup against a frisky Chargers defense ahead of his Week 10 bye.

FAB: $4

Additional QB options:

• Bo Nix just produced the best passing performance of his rookie season (284-3-0) in the most favorable matchup he’s ever gonna see (Carolina), plus he ran for a touchdown for the fourth time this year. He’s put together a streak of four straight useful fantasy efforts, which has him on the fantasy radar ahead of a Week 9 trip to Baltimore.

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Running backs

Braelon Allen, New York Jets (37%)

If you aren’t looking for additional ways to invest in New York’s joyless offense, we get it. Completely understandable. But it’s our duty to inform you that Allen delivered a short-yardage TD in Sunday’s loss to New England, finishing with 12 carries for 32 tough yards. Allen is a 235-pound rookie bulldozer from Wisconsin, built for goal-line work. He’s no great threat to Breece Hall, but he’s the clear understudy.

FAB: $7

Tyler Allgeier, Atlanta Falcons (37%)

As we do every week, we are once again imploring the Bijan Robinson manager in every league to add Allgeier. He’s the unchallenged No. 2 RB in Atlanta and he happens to have a significant weekly role. Allgeier has handled 37 touches over the past three weeks and he’s facing a user-friendly Dallas defense next Sunday. Obviously if Robinson was to miss time for any reason, Allgeier would be a no-doubt fantasy starter in leagues of any size. Stash him wherever you can.

FAB: $5

Various other RB adds:

• Jaleel McLaughlin delivered a season-high 56 scrimmage yards on Sunday against the Panthers, with a 9-yard TD reception included. He remains a purely supporting member of the Broncos backfield, but his receiving services should be needed in the upcoming matchup with the Ravens.

• Isaac Guerendo does not have the power, stylistic flair or tackle-breaking ability of Jordan Mason, and he obviously does not possess the full Christian McCaffrey skill set. But as the Niners head into their Week 9 bye, the rookie is currently the healthiest player on the backfield depth chart. He’s also coming off an 85-yard rushing performance on Sunday night against Dallas. With an off-week ahead and San Francisco eyeing a Week 10 return for CMC, Guerendo’s fantasy appeal is limited.

• Jaylen Warren and the Steelers are headed into their bye, so he can’t be of immediate assistance in fantasy. Let’s simply note that he handled 14 touches in Week 7 against the Jets, converting them into 59 total yards. When fully healthy, he definitely belongs in the flex discussion.

Wide receivers and tight ends

Cedric Tillman, Cleveland Browns (19%)

One week after catching eight passes for 81 yards on a dozen targets, Tillman delivered seven receptions for 99 yards with a pair of long second-half scores against Baltimore, including the game-winner:

It should be perfectly clear at this point that the 6-foot-3 Tillman is the Cleveland receiver who got the biggest boost in fantasy value (by far) following the Amari Cooper trade. Tillman hadn’t played more than 26 snaps in any game prior to Week 7, but he certainly won’t lack opportunities moving forward. We have an undeniable breakout on our hands. Tillman has the Reception Perception seal of approval and he’s absolutely feasting with Winston at the controls for the Browns.

If you left him on the wire last week, you’re gonna have to pay a premium to add him ahead of the upcoming matchup with the Chargers. Yesterday’s price is definitely not today’s price. Tillman is the clear priority this week among all flex-eligible players. Go get him.

FAB: Officially $36, but it’s OK to empty the wallet if you have a glaring need.

Keon Coleman, Buffalo Bills (41%)

Coleman was mass-dropped in fantasy immediately after Buffalo dealt for Amari Cooper, even though the rookie was never the Bills receiver most likely to lose opportunities. He has of course delivered the two most impressive games of his season over the past two weeks, with Cooper in the mix.

On Sunday, Coleman snagged five receptions for 70 yards and one touchdown, drawing seven targets. If you had any doubts about Josh Allen’s level of trust in the first-year receiver, here you go:

Buffalo has matchups on deck with a pair of vulnerable defenses (Miami, at Indy), so Coleman is a playable fantasy option in the weeks ahead. He should be scooped back up wherever he was discarded.

FAB: $11

Taysom Hill, New Orleans Saints (30%)

Hill returned from injury in Sunday’s loss to the Chargers and he immediately reclaimed his role as the weirdest chess piece on the board. He ran the ball four times for 20 yards, caught two passes for 21 and completed his lone throw for another three yards. He didn’t find the end zone on National Tight End Day, but that’s probably appropriate, since he’s basically an imposter tight end.

We should regard Hill as a high-ceiling, high-variance TE option moving forward, entirely playable at a messy position. He gets a date with the Panthers’ league-worst run defense this Sunday, so he belongs in our fantasy plans.

FAB: $9

Josh Downs, Indianapolis Colts (47%)

It’s hardly realistic to think any Colts receiver can be a consistent fantasy contributor while the quarterback is completing only 44.4% of his pass attempts, so let’s not get too aggressive in pursuit of Downs. But we also can’t ignore this man’s ability to make the occasional wild play:

That catch should not be possible. Downs finished his day with four receptions for 109 yards on nine targets, with a long busted-coverage score accounting for most of his fantasy production. He’s made three house calls in his last five games (two of which were via passes thrown by Joe Flacco).

Again, it’s awfully tough to trust any receiver tied to Indy’s offense these days, but Downs is too good a player to simply disregard.

FAB: $7

Additional WRs and TEs to consider:

• Ricky Pearsall (bye) can’t help you in the week ahead, but he should certainly have your attention after delivering 77 total yards on Sunday night.

• Elijah Moore drew a team-high 12 targets in Sunday’s win over the Ravens, hauling in eight for 85 yards. He’s thriving with Winston behind center for the Browns, having delivered 126 receiving yards over the past two weeks.

• Parker Washington may reenter the fantasy equation, since every Jacksonville receiver is currently dealing with injury and Christian Kirk (collarbone) is unfortunately done for the season. Washington caught three of his four targets against Green Bay on Sunday, finishing with 46 receiving yards.

• Michael Wilson is only a supporting player in Arizona’s passing game, not a featured performer, but he’s snagged touchdown receptions in two of his last three games and he saw six targets on Sunday.

• JuJu Smith-Schuster was sidelined by a hamstring issue in Week 8 and his status for the upcoming matchup with Tampa Bay is very much in doubt. But if you have an IR spot available in your league, he’s a reasonable stash. He’s clearly going to have a fantasy-relevant role in KC’s passing game when healthy.

• Xavier Hutchinson played the second-most snaps of any Texans receiver on Sunday, behind only Tank Dell. Stefon Diggs suffered a knee injury against the Colts and Nico Collins remains sidelined, so Houston has a desperate need for someone in the receiving corps to step up. Hutchinson is just two years removed from leading the Big-12 in receptions (107) and receiving yards (1,171) while at Iowa State.

• Zach Ertz set season highs across the board in Sunday’s improbable win over Chicago, catching seven balls for 77 yards on 11 chances. He’s been a reliable chain-mover for Jayden Daniels, even if he lacks after-the-catch juice at this stage of his career.

• Grant Calcaterra has hauled in 12 of his 13 targets this season and he’s gone 8-for-8 while gaining 130 yards over the past three weeks, with Dallas Goedert (hamstring) sidelined. If Goedert remains on the shelf against Jacksonville this week, Calcaterra will be a reasonable deep -league flier.

Defense

Washington Commanders (12%)

Dan Quinn’s defense had a mostly excellent day against Caleb Williams and the Bears in Week 8, holding Chicago to 15 points and harassing the QB all afternoon. This D has produced useful fantasy totals throughout the season when the matchup is right, and they have a friendly date ahead with the Giants, a flawed team on a short week. It would be a mild surprise if Washington can’t deliver multiple sacks and takeaways, along with a top-10-ish weekly finish.

FAB: $1

Cincinnati Bengals (31%)

Cincinnati certainly isn’t an every-week fantasy defense, but this group has at least demonstrated that it can deliver a useful performance when the matchup is right. Trey Hendrickson and friends gave us six sacks and three takeaways in Weeks 6-7 against the Giants and Browns. We can (reluctantly) trust this squad as a single-use D/ST in Sunday’s home matchup with the Raiders.

FAB: $1

Kicker

Will Reichard, Minnesota Vikings (16%)

We’re just gonna leave Reichard parked down here at the bottom of the waiver wire feature until his roster percentage reaches a reasonable level. At the moment, it isn’t close.

Reichard does his kicking for one of the NFL’s best offenses, he’s clear of his bye week and he has not yet missed a kick this season — he’s a perfect 34-for-34 on field goal and extra-point attempts. He did his collegiate kicking at Alabama, where he became the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer, so it’s not as if the rookie was a completely off-the-radar name when he entered the league. Add him wherever you don’t already have Brandon Aubrey.

FAB: $2