Early Fantasy Football Week 9 Waiver Wire Stashes: Add Seth McGowan, Makai Lemon Before Rosters Lock

Welcome to the Early Fantasy Football Week 9 Waiver Wire, where we get a head start on the pickups everyone will be chasing next week. With rosters about to lock, this is your window to stash upside on the cheap, while these players are still sitting on your waiver wire. Injuries, trades, and shifting depth charts are creating openings across the league, and managers who act now benefit when those players break out.

This week’s stash list covers a little bit of everything: a quarterback with streaming upside, a rookie running back who could inherit a lead role if a trade goes down, and a pass-catching back with a safe PPR floor. We also have a tight end whose route volume makes him a sneaky TE1, plus two receivers who could become their team’s top option with injuries thinning the depth chart. Whether you’re protecting against injuries, chasing upside, or just trying to get ahead of your league mates, here are the best fantasy football waiver wire pickups to stash before rosters lock.

Note: These players are rostered in roughly 50% or fewer Yahoo! leagues.

FANTASY FOOTBALL WEEK 9 WAIVER WIRE STASHES

Quarterback Waiver Wire Pickups

GENO SMITH (NYJ, 21%)

Geno Smith is also featured in our Week 9 streamer piece, but he’s worth a stash too. He went 23-of-30 for 287 yards, three touchdowns, and an interception in the Jets’ 28-25 loss to the Dolphins. It was a nearly perfect box score, but his few mistakes came at costly moments. That could put his job at risk if the Jets fade from contention, though he isn’t in danger anytime soon.

He faces the Raiders next, then the Chiefs and Bills. He’s a streamer this week and a few more times before the Week 13 bye, with leaky Bills, Chargers, and Dolphins secondaries on the schedule. If you want some upside at quarterback, Geno is a fun stash.

Other QB Targets: Aaron Rodgers (PIT, 44%); Jacoby Brissett (ARI, 33%); Baker Mayfield (TB, 23%); Malik Willis (MIA, 20%); Deshaun Watson (CLE, 12%); JJ McCarthy (NYG, 9%)

Running Back Waiver Wire Pickups

SETH MCGOWAN (IND, 24%)

The Colts are in the middle of a fire sale, and Jonathan Taylor could be the next to go. If that happens, rookie Seth McGowan is best positioned to take over. He got a head start in the Week 7 loss to the Vikings, playing a season-high 31 percent of the offensive snaps. He turned 11 carries into 46 yards, caught his only target for two yards, and added 140 yards on kick returns. For the season, he has 34 carries for 134 yards, four catches on five targets for 12 yards, and 566 kickoff-return yards through seven games. McGowan is a speculative stash for now, but if Taylor is traded, he could become Indianapolis’s lead back overnight.

A true product of the NIL era, McGowan bounced around five schools in five years, including a three-month prison stint after an armed robbery incident as a freshman at Oklahoma. He wrapped up his college career at Kentucky, where he led the team in rushing yards (725) and rushing touchdowns (12).

DYLAN SAMPSON (CLE, 14%)

Dylan Sampson made his season debut in Week 7 after a knee injury kept him out early on, and he looked right at home. He ran six times for 45 yards (7.5 yards per carry) and caught all three of his targets for 32 yards in the Browns’ 27-24 win over the Titans.

He immediately moved ahead of Jaleel McLaughlin and Audric Estime and settled in behind Quinshon Judkins as Cleveland’s passing-down back. That pass-catching role gives him a sneaky high floor, with eight to ten fantasy points a realistic PPR baseline. He’s a flex option this week against the Steelers, and the schedule gets friendlier after that with the Saints, Texans, and Raiders. If you need a safe depth piece, he’s a good one to stash with weekly streamer appeal

Other RB Targets: Jonathon Brooks (CAR, 39%); Kaelon Black (SF, 31%); Mike Washington Jr. (LV, 27%); Brian Robinson Jr. (ATL, 26%); Chris Rodriguez Jr. (JAX, 24%); Emmett Johnson (KC, 23%); Jaydon Blue (PHI, 7%); Devin Singletary (NYG, 4%); Elijah Mitchell (PHI, 3%); Corey Kiner (NE, 1%)

Wide Receiver Waiver Wire Pickups

MAKAI LEMON (PHI, 48%)

Makai Lemon will be the Eagles’ top wideout for the second straight game Sunday at Washington. DeVonta Smith (hamstring) and Dontayvion Wicks (ankle) have both missed practice for two weeks and are sitting out Sunday night’s NFC East matchup. The offense has sputtered with Tanner McKee under center while Jalen Hurts is sidelined, but Lemon still had his best game of the season Monday against the Cowboys: seven catches on eight targets for 67 yards and a touchdown.

He, Darius Cooper, and Hollywood Brown will lead the receiver room against a Commanders defense that ranks near the bottom against the pass in nearly every category. The rest-of-season schedule is friendly too, and if Philadelphia decides to shut down Smith in what’s turning into a lost year, Lemon could be the team’s WR1 the rest of the way. How the hell is the first-rounder still available in over 50% of leagues?

DEMARIO DOUGLAS (NE, 31%)

The Patriots’ receiver room is thin right now. Romeo Doubs and Mack Hollins are on IR, and rumors suggest AJ Brown could miss extended time due to a recurring knee issue. That opens the door for Demario Douglas, Kyle Williams, and Efton Chism, but only Douglas has a locked-in target share, along with a knack for finding the end zone.

He’s seen 17 targets over his last three games and has had two big ones, finishing with 22 and 19 half-PPR points. If Brown sits, Douglas should be Drake Maye’s top target outside of the tight ends. Williams and Chism are more boom-or-bust, so if you want a streamer or stash from this group while it heals, I’d take Douglas and his safer floor.

Other WR Targets: Jakobi Meyers (JAX, 48%); Brian Thomas Jr. (JAX, 44%); Quentin Johnston (LAC, 32%); Caleb Douglas (MIA, 26%); Antonio Williams (WAS, 22%); Dontayvion Wicks (PHI, 17%); JaKobi Lane (BAL, 16%); Tyreek Hill (FA, 13%); Christian Kirk (SF, 6%); Treylon Burks (WAS, 2%); Cyrus Allen (KC, 1%); Kyle Williams (NE, 1%)

Tight End Waiver Wire Pickups

CHIG OKONKWO (WAS, 29%)

Chig Okonkwo runs a ton of routes, is dangerous with the ball in his hands, and is climbing Jayden Daniels’ target totem pole with Terry McLaurin on the shelf. In the Commanders’ Week 6 loss to the 49ers, he led all Washington pass catchers with 40 routes, seven targets, seven catches, and 69 yards, making him Daniels’ top target that day, ahead of Stefon Diggs.

Washington is a disaster, especially on defense, so the game scripts should keep favoring the passing game. If he repeats that production, plenty of other managers will be chasing him.

Other TE Targets: Pat Freiermuth (PIT, 40%); Tyler Higbee (LAR, 26%); Mike Gesicki (CIN, 18%)