Week 9 is here and NFL bye weeks are back to throw an added wrench into fantasy football strategizing. With this in mind, let’s address the elephant in the room. Yes, I know this is the intro so you’ve barely even entered the room. That said, you will not see Isaac Guerendo among these fantasy football waiver wire pickups. The San Francisco 49ers are on bye this coming week. This gives Jordan Mason an extra week to heal up, not to mention the loud rumblings that Christian McCaffrey will likely make his season debut on the other side of the bye in Week 10. Thus, blowing a priority waiver on Guerendo just doesn’t seem very practical.
Damn, we’re even using the opening on fantasy advice. There’s just so much to talk about coming out of a wild Week 8! As always, managers are advised to prioritize situations, snap counts, workload and target shares over a one-week scoring output when deciding on which players to claim. These are the stats and trends that will better predict sustainable success. Here are our top fantasy football waiver wire pickups for Week 9.
Note: Players must be owned in less than 50% of ESPN leagues to be included in the best fantasy football waiver wire pickups column. Ownership percentages will reflect their status on Tuesday mornings ahead of standard waiver processing.
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Best Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 9
QB Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups
Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins (47.8%)
It was hardly a spectacular performance by Tua Tagovailoa in his return to game action for the first time since Week 2, but it was a clean outing. Meanwhile, a Dolphins offense that failed to surpass 15 points in any of the games with Tagovailoa out of the lineup scored a season-high 27. His presence in the lineup is more valuable to this Miami team than many ever realized. If he can keep from having his bell rung, Tagovailoa could be one of the more impactful mid-season fantasy football waiver wire pickups.
Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams (18.5%)
Heading into last week’s Thursday night game, it was widely expected that Cooper Kupp would be taking his return from injury. What came as a bit more of a surprise is that Puka Nacua not only joined him but was ready and able to make a full impact. With his two star receivers back in action, Matthew Stafford had his best outing of the season thus far against a respected Minnesota defense. 279 yards and four touchdowns later, he finished as the QB5 in fantasy scoring for the week. The Rams have some promising matchups looming. Stafford’s uptick should continue provided his top weapons can stay healthy.
MORE: NFL Power Rankings Week 9 – More WR Trades
With trades continuing around the NFL in advance of the deadline, click through the latest update of our NFL Power Rankings to see where your team stands heading into Week 9!
RB Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups
Tyrone Tracy Jr., New York Giants (46.3%)
If there was any question as to the pecking order in the Giants’ backfield, it was seemingly answered on Monday night. Rookie Tyrone Tracy has surpassed veteran Devin Singletary for the lead role. In a tough matchup against Pittsburgh, Tracy carried the ball 20 times for 145 yards (7.25 yards per carry) and a score. Meanwhile, Singletary had only four total touches as a runner and pass-catcher combined. Although the touch disparity may not be this lopsided every week, Tracy is the RB1 on his team and is sitting readily available to claim in over half of ESPN leagues.
WR Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups
Josh Downs, Indianapolis Colts (48.6%)
Josh Downs has practically pitched a tent and made himself at home in our fantasy football waiver wire pickups column this season. The dynamic surrounding the Colts offense changed two weeks ago with Anthony Richardson reclaiming the starting quarterback job from Joe Flacco. Richardson may not be able to hit the broad side of a barn, but Downs proved in Week 8 that he can overcome that, catching four of nine targets for 109 yards and a score. All the former North Carolina standout does is run crisp routes and get open. QB accuracy be damned, he needs to be rostered going forward.
Cedric Tillman, Cleveland Browns (16.1%)
To all the Cedric Tillman dynasty truthers out there, this is your moment! In two games since the Browns traded away Amari Cooper, Tillman has played 82% and 90% of the team’s offensive snaps. While arguably being the WR3 on the team behind Jerry Jeudy and Elijah Moore, Tillman’s production has said otherwise. The second-year pro has seen 21 total targets spanning the last two weeks, catching 15 of them for 180 total yards and two touchdowns. Of course, it also helps that Cleveland has a functional QB now in Jameis Winston. Tillman looks to be far more than a dynasty stash heading into the back half of 2024.
Gabe Davis (28.4%) and/or Parker Washington (0.1%), Jacksonville Jaguars
It was a rough week to be a Jaguars wide receiver. Christian Kirk sustained a broken collarbone that will sideline him for the remainder of the season. Promising rookie Brian Thomas Jr. is day-to-day at best heading into Week 9 after suffering a chest contusion. Even third option Gabriel Davis was knocked out of Sunday’s game early on with a shoulder injury. Suddenly, a team whose biggest issue appeared to be poor coaching and quarterback play is desperate for healthy bodies at WR.
So, how should managers approach this when making fantasy football waiver wire pickups? Well, if Davis plays in Week 9 and Thomas doesn’t he could be in line for a healthy performance. Parker Washington will carry upside by default and be an attractive streamer should both Thomas and Davis be forced to miss this week.
TE Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups
Hunter Henry, New England Patriots (41.7%)
I honestly can’t recall a week in which tight ends around the NFL went off in the manner that they did this past Sunday. Happy National Tight End’s Day, indeed. Unfortunately, trying to find players that have. chance of sustaining those outputs who are also sparsely owned remains difficult. As a result, Hunter Henry remains a staple of this column. The Patriots still do not have any surefire weapons at wide receiver. With three straight games of 5+ targets, Henry is arguably the most coveted and reliable role player in the New England offense not named Rhamondre Stevenson.
Mike Gesicki, Cincinnati Bengals (10.4%)
Full transparency: I am not saying to rush out and blindly add Mike Gesicki to your roster. However, for those in need of alternative fantasy football waiver wire pickups at the TE position, there aren’t many other quality options out there. For what it’s worth, Gesicki did play a season-high 53% of the Bengals’ offensive snaps this past Sunday. He also matched his season-high with seven receptions. The problem is that the uptick was correlated to Tee Higgins missing the game with a hamstring injury. Thus, it would be a surprise to see these numbers sustained. On the positive side, Gesicki is capable of doing enough to get you through a bye week.
