Welcome to the Fantasy Football Week 9 Waiver Wire pickups where we give you the players to start right away, stash at the end of your bench, or stream for a week or two.
Let’s look back at Week 8 and dissect the future prospects for the fantasy football Week 9 waiver wire.
Week 9 Bye Weeks: Browns, Cowboys, 49ers, Steelers, Giants, Broncos
Note: Roster % based on Yahoo leagues and should hover around 50% or less
WEEK 8 WAIVER WIRE PICKUPS
START
- Rondale Moore, WR Arizona Cardinals (35% rostered)
- Justin Fields, QB Chicago Bears (41%)
- Josh Palmer, WR LA Chargers (27%)
- Greg Dulcich, TE Denver Broncos (42%)
The Cardinals’ offense is up and down depending on what’s going on in the world of Call of Duty, but the return of De’Andre Hopkins has opened things up and given a boost to Kyler Murray. This past week, Rondale Moore played every snap but one and ran a route on every dropback but one, as well. He turned this into seven catches for 92 yards and a touchdown. Rondale is super shifty and does his best work with yards after the catch, so Arizona would be wise to get him touches in space more often.
After a very rocky start to begin the year, Justin Fields looks like he’s finally turning it on in 2022. Offensive coordinator Luke Getsy is dialing more designed runs, boosting Fields’ Konami upside. Despite throwing for more than 200 yards in only one game this year, his passing numbers are getting a recent bump and his rushing numbers are putting him in weekly QB1 territory.
Mike Williams is set to miss ‘weeks’ with an ankle injury and Keenan Allen did not practice on Monday, leaving Josh Palmer as the team’s lone dependable receiver. If both miss Week 9, then fire up Palmer as a top-20 wide receiver. But even if Allen plays, Palmer would still be a starter on most fantasy teams. He’s genuinely a top ‘WR handcuff’ with Williams and Allen’s injury histories.
The rookie tight end won’t help you this week because he’s on a bye, but he should be plugged into your starting lineup for the remainder of the season. Greg Dulcich saw elite tight end usage, playing 50 of 61 snaps and running a route on 32 of 35 dropbacks. He has a pretty high floor scoring at least eight points in his three games. Dulcich could help your likely pitiful tight end room.
STASH
- Alexander Mattison, RB Minnesota Vikings (45% rostered)
- Rachaad White, RB Tampa Bay Buccaneers (30%)
- Deon Jackson, RB Indianapolis Colts (8%)
- Darnell Mooney, WR Chicago Bears (51%)
- Evan Engram, TE Jacksonville Jaguars (43%)
- Darius Slayton, WR New York Giants (7%)
- Tyler Conklin, TE New York Jets (11%)
- Jaylen Warren, RB Pittsburgh Steelers (5%)
- Kyren Williams, RB LA Rams (45%)
- Chase Edmonds, RB Denver Broncos (55%)
- Latavius Murray, RB Denver Broncos (40%)
- Terrace Marshall, WR Carolina Panthers (1%)
- Demarcus Robinson, WR Baltimore Ravens (0%)
With the Vikings having a Week 7 bye week, fantasy’s top handcuff, Alexander Mattison, was dropped. If he’s available in your league, he’s always worth the stash due to his monster RB1 upside if anything were to happen to Dalvin Cook. Mattison rushed for 40 yards and a score on only five carries last week and is valuable in the receiving game.
Similarly to Mattison, Rachaad White has crazy handcuff upside. Leonard Fournette continues to look like an inefficient ball carrier, but Tom Brady is peppering him with targets. Thus, White has a three-down skill-set and would be a stretch-run hero if given the chance. Fournette only out-touched White by five last week, so the margin is clearly getting thinner down in Tampa.
Deon Jackson was one of the clear winners of the wild trade deadline with Nyheim Hines getting shipped to the Bills. Jackson has seen 14 targets this year and has caught all 14 for 108 yards. It also helps that Jonathan Taylor appeared to reaggravate his ankle injury and was seen with some heavy wrapping on that ankle. Taylor is a candidate to be shut down early with the Colts all but giving up on this season. Jackson’s potential is through the roof.
The Bears’ passing game is slowly coming along, and Darnell Mooney is Fields’ only talented perimeter option. With his big-play upside, he has a decently high ceiling thanks to the deep shots that they attempt. Chicago seems to be trending up, which would do wonders for all their offensive players. It also helps that Mooney is the one-skill position player playing nearly every snap and running a route on practically every dropback.
It wasn’t just Travis Etienne who saw elite usage in London last week, tight end Evan Engram played all but five snaps and ran a route on every dropback. He turned that into six targets and a 4-55-1 stat line, which isn’t blowing the roof off any buildings but he’s proven to be a reliable tight end option week in and week out. Plus, he’s seen 29 targets over his last four games.
Another pass catcher who’s had a limited ceiling but a high floor lately, Darius Slayton is one of the Giants’ pass catchers making a mark. He may not be as desired this week with the bye, but Slayton has been a WR3/flex play as of late for a surprising Giants offense.
Despite Zach Wilson’s struggles against the Patriots, tight end Tyler Conklin had himself a day with 6-79-2 on 10 targets. Corey Davis being hurt and Elijah Moore being invisible have opened up more opportunities for Jets pass catchers to make an impact which Conklin has surely done. Conklin and Garrett Wilson are the only two receivers making an impact for the offense so his volume should stay high.
We’ve all seen the clip of Najee Harris channeling his inner Trent Richardson on that screen pass. While he hasn’t been great, I can’t imagine him being benched due to his draft capital. However, should something happen to Harris where he isn’t the starter anymore, Jaylen Warren would get a shot at RB1 duties and he’s shown some flashes here and there. Pittsburgh lead backs have always had elite usage so consider Warren a quality handcuff for a struggling back.
The Rams’ backfield is a mess and after giving up on Cam Akers, it looks like time is also ticking on Darrell Henderson, meaning it could be Kyren Williams‘ turn to take over once he gets back on the field. The team designated the rookie to return off IR, signaling optimism about his health. Don’t forget that Sean McVay and Adam Schefter pumped this kid’s tires during the offseason.
Trade deadline update: Latavius Murray drops from the top three after the Broncos’ acquired Chase Edmonds from the Dolphins. This backfield is a mess and it would be best to avoid it at the moment while the team is on the bye. Edmonds is the obvious upside here, but Murray could own the goal line.
The Panthers’ offense is showing life with PJ Walker under center and second-year receiver Terrace Marshall has stepped into the WR2 role for Carolina. He’s playing nearly every snap and has run a route on all but two dropbacks this past week, resulting in a mediocre 4-87 line. But, he did have nine targets on the day which is encouraging.
Slightly behind Devin Duvernay on the receiver depth chart, Demarcus Robinson led the Ravens with seven targets this week, going for six catches and 64 yards. Mark Andrews is dealing with an injury and Rashod Bateman is slated to miss a few weeks with a foot injury, meaning he could be on the stash or stream list. The Ravens are run-heavy, but Robinson is one of the few remaining options in the passing game.
STREAM
- Isaiah Likely, TE Baltimore Ravens (5% rostered)
- Romeo Doubs, WR Green Bay Packers (47%)
- Kenyan Drake, RB Baltimore Ravens (32%)
- Taylor Heinicke, QB Washington Commanders (7%)
- Marcus Mariota, QB Atlanta Falcons (26%)
- Kansas City Chiefs DST (31%) (Week 9 DST Streamers)
- Marquez Valdes-Scantling, WR Kansas City Chiefs (35%)
Mark Andrews will have extra time to recover for Week 9, but knee and shoulder injuries could keep him out through the team’s Week 10 bye week. This would leave rookie Isaiah Likely to be the TE1 and arguably the top receiving option in Baltimore’s offense this week. He’s been nothing but productive when given the chance.
Allen Lazard missed last week’s action, leaving Romeo Doubs as the team’s top wideout. Doubs may not be out of the dog house quite yet, but he did have a team-high seven targets against the Bills. He could be the team’s top option yet again this week and he gets a juicy matchup against the Lions.
Gus Edwards left Week 8 with a hamstring injury, leaving Kenyan Drake as the team’s RB1 again. Drake could be in-line to start this week against the Saints if Edwards misses time. We know what Drake is at this point and he has enough upside where he could be a solid streamer if given the keys to the Ravens’ backfield.
All this kid does is make plays and win. Taylor Heinicke has that magic to him and showed off his running skills to the tune of 22 fantasy points against the Colts. You could do worse than him starting at home against an average Vikings defense.
He had his best game as a passer, but that won’t slow down Marcus Mariota moving forward. He’s finally using Kyle Pitts in the offense while still being a huge threat scrambling. With the Chargers up next, Mariota could be forced to pull another rabbit out of his hat in Week 9.
The Chiefs DST was dropped during its Week 7 bye week and now they’re coming off a game where they created three turnovers and five sacks. KC gets the boring Titans this week and the Jaguars in Week 10.
Our good friend Marquez Valdes-Scantling made some waves last week, catching three balls for 111 yards. MVS is one of fantasy’s most frustrating dice rolls, yet his upside is perfect if your team is in bye week hell. Maybe he can haul in a Patrick Mahomes deep ball or two against the Titans.
