Buckle up. Starting in Week 9, 22 NFL teams will have their respective byes across five of the next six weeks. This requires fantasy football managers to, well…manage. The Week 9 waiver wire is your next opportunity to prepare for a playoff push. Unfortunately, if you need running back depth, the Week 9 waiver wire is extremely scarce. Depending on your league and bench sizes, there should be plenty of worthwhile wide receivers available as well as strong quarterback and tight end streamers.
You may be dealing with injuries or just need to cycle out players from your bench. Whatever the case may be, the waiver wire is there to help. There’s not always a need to put in a claim for players each week, but if you do, make it count. Below, we’ll look at players at each position, who are on 50% or less of most fantasy football rosters, that could be considered on the Week 9 waiver wire.
Teams with a Week 9 Bye: Pittsburgh Steelers, San Francisco 49ers
Week 9 Fantasy Football Waiver Wire By Position
Running Backs
Tyrone Tracy Jr., New York Giants
If you need a reliable running back down the stretch, and Tyrone Tracy Jr. is still available, then look no further. The rookie running back now has over 100 yards rushing in two of his last four games. He also has a rushing touchdown in two of his last four games, as well. More importantly, Tracy has handled 75% of the running back opportunities (carries + targets) over the Giants’ last four games.
Unfortunately, Tracy exited at the end of Week 8 with a concussion. Considering he’s in the concussion protocol following a Monday night game, his status for Week 9 is severely in doubt. If he is available on the Week 9 waiver wire, this could deter some managers from picking him up. Don’t let it deter you. Tracy is a weekly starter when available. The Week 9 waiver wire is the last time you should have a legitimate chance to pick him up.
Jaylen Warren, Pittsburgh Steelers
After a slow start to the season due to injuries, Jaylen Warren is getting more involved. Bittersweetly, he has a Week 9 bye to get healthy but is unavailable for our lineups. Warren has exactly three targets in each of his last three games. He’s also averaging nine carries per game over this span, as well.
Unfortunately for Warren, Najee Harris is absolutely dominating as the leadback for the Steelers. He has three straight games over 100 or more yards rushing. On 54 carries since Week 6, Harris is averaging 5.7 yards per carry.
As mentioned at the beginning of the Week 9 waiver wire column, the running back options don’t offer a ton of upside. There aren’t any clear-cut players you should pick up and start immediately. Warren and plenty of others mentioned are an injury away from being weekly winners when we need them most.
Other Running Backs to Consider
Isaac Guerendo has a Week 9 bye but could be in line for more work when the 49ers return. It sounds like Christian McCaffrey could make his 2024 debut in Week 10. It’s hard to believe it until we see it. Otherwise, Jordan Mason continues to deal with a shoulder injury. He hasn’t scored more than 9.2 fantasy points since Week 4. In games where Guerendo logs 10 or more carries, he’s averaging 7.6 yards per carry with no less than 85 rushing yards in each.
Handcuff Running Backs that are an injury away from plugging into fantasy lineups. Some of these top players include Tyler Allgeier, Braelon Allen, Justice Hill, Zach Charbonnet, Kimani Vidal, and Blake Corum. With just six weeks left in the fantasy football regular season, get ahead of any future waiver wire battles now if you have room on your bench. Failing to prepare is preparing to fail!
Khalil Herbert isn’t a top priority on the Week 9 waiver wire. In fact, I doubt you’ll see his name suggested anywhere else. However, with just one week until the NFL trade deadline, Herbert could be running elsewhere as soon as Week 10. He’s on an expiring contract with the Chicago Bears. Herbert was also a healthy scratch in Week 8. In deeper leagues, Herbert is a completely speculative add in case he ends up in a better situation by next week.
Wide Receiver
Keon Coleman, Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills’ rookie receiver is starting to get comfortable. He has exactly seven targets in each of the Bills’ last two games. Only Khalil Shakir (17) has more in that span. However, Coleman’s nine total catches have yielded 125 and 70 receiving yards respectively, including a touchdown in Week 8.
Though Coleman is starting to rise in the rankings, Shakir and Dalton Kincaid are still very much involved. Amari Cooper is still getting acclimated, as well. Above all else, the Buffalo Bills are one of the league’s run-heaviest teams. They rank inside the bottom five in pass attempts per game.
Coleman has the best quarterback among wide receiver suggestions on the Week 9 waiver wire. While we wait to see if his last two games are a sign of things to come, he needs to be added everywhere.
Jalen McMillan, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Week 8 box score doesn’t tell the entire story for Jalen McMillan. His four receptions for 35 yards are an overall disappointment in Tampa’s first game without both Mike Evans and Chris Godwin this season. However, McMillan logged seven targets. That’s the same as Sterling Shepard (5) and Trey Palmer (2) combined in a game where Baker Mayfield attempts 50 passes.
McMillan has eight and seven targets respectively in the Buccaneers’ last two games. Only Cade Otton (20) has more. Two of McMillan’s targets also had chances to be big play touchdowns. Without Evans and Godwin, McMillan played 59 offensive snaps (81%). That’s a new career-high for the rookie and led all Buccaneers receivers. If he’s still available, or if whichever manager picked him up last week drops him, McMillan is a top receiver to grab on the Week 9 waiver wire for the rest of the season.
Cedric Tillman, Cleveland Browns
Every week, I make a few bold predictions for lesser-known or started players that I think could swing your matchup. In Week 8, Cedric Tillman was the wide receiver I made a bold prediction of 20.0 points for. He scored 28.9 including the game-winning touchdown for the Cleveland Browns.
Tillman has a team-high 23.5% target share in two games since trading away Amari Cooper. He caught seven of his nine targets from Jameis Winston for 99 yards and two touchdowns in Week 8. Elijah Moore did lead the team with 12 targets in Winston’s first start. He caught eight of them for 85 yards and is worth considering on the Week 9 waiver wire, as well.
Tillman and the Browns receivers have a tough Week 9 matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers who’ve allowed a league-low 60 total receptions to the position in seven games. The Browns are then on bye in Week 10. Still, after his last two performances, especially his most recent one, Tillman is a must-add on the Week 9 waiver wire.
Other Wide Receivers to Consider
Josh Downs has played three complete games with Anthony Richardson as his quarterback this season. In his first two, Downs caught just four of his eight targets for 25 total scoreless yards. In his most recent, Week 8, Downs caught four of his nine targets for 109 yards and a touchdown. I don’t know how much longer Richardson will remain the starter. He has just a 44.4% completion percentage. Downs needs to be on rosters in the event Joe Flacco takes over or his connection with Richardson improves.
Xavier Legette has a receiving touchdown in three of his last six games. He only has 22 receptions for 211 yards this season but would be in line for much more in the event Diontae Johnson ends up getting traded. Adding Legette on the Week 9 waiver wire is getting ahead of such news.
Parker Washington may be the healthiest Jacksonville Jaguar wide receiver in Week 9. As of now, we know Christian Kirk’s season is over due to a broken collarbone. Brian Thomas Jr. is listed as “day-to-day” dealing with a chest injury. Gabe Davis played nine snaps in Week 8 before exiting with a shoulder injury. If we get more unfavorable information on Thomas and/or Davis, Parker becomes more of a priority for Week 9 on the Week 9 waiver wire. Long-term, Brian Thomas Jr. and tight end Evan Engram are the pass catchers you want in an underwhelming passing offense as is.
Rashod Bateman remains a boom-or-bust pickup on the waiver wire who happens to have the 2024 MVP frontrunner as his quarterback. The boom is catching 12 of 16 targets for 250 yards and two touchdowns from Weeks 5 through 7. The bust is catching just one of his five targets in Week 8 for 28 yards. Depending on the matchup, Bateman is a plug-and-play receiver that should be on most benches.
Xavier Hutchinson and/or John Metchie could emerge from the Houston Texans’ offense over the next week or so. We could be talking about one or both of them on next week’s waiver wire. This is all because Stefon Diggs looks like he will miss the remainder of the season with a torn ACL. As we wait for Nico Collins (hamstring) to return from Injured Reserve, C.J. Stroud will be looking for pass catchers to fill the 23.8% target share void left behind by Diggs.
Ricky Pearsall finished third in targets (4) behind George Kittle (7) and Deebo Samuel (7) in Week 8. In just his second game, though, Pearsall caught all four for 35 yards adding one carry for 39 yards, as well. Pearsall isn’t a must-add on the Week 9 waiver wire, but a solid stash in deeper leagues. After the 49ers’ Week 9 bye, he could be competing with Kittle, Deebo, Jauan Jennings, and Christian McCaffrey for targets.
Tight End
Cade Otton, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Week 9 waiver wire is the last call for Cade Otton, if he’s still out there. You can trust Otton in your starting lineup in Week 9 and moving forward until further notice. In the Buccaneers’ first game without both star receivers, Chris Godwin and Mike Evans, it’s Cade Otton who led Tampa Bay with 10 targets. He caught nine of them for 81 yards and two touchdowns. Otton now has four games this season with eight or more targets. That includes his last two games with 10 apiece.
Zach Ertz, Washington Commanders
Lost in the absolutely WILD ending to the Commanders’ Week 8 win were Zach Ertz and his team-high 11 targets. His 32% target share in Week 8 is his highest of the season. Ertz is firmly second in team targets (45) behind only Terry McLaurin (57) on the Washington Commanders this season. Ertz doesn’t have a high ceiling, but is averaging a solid 9.3 fantasy points per game. He has at least 10.0 points in each of his last three games. If you just need steady production at tight end off of the Week 9 waiver wire, Ertz is one of the best options out there.
Other Tight Ends to Consider
Mike Gesicki is averaging seven targets per game when Tee Higgins isn’t active. He’s averaging less than two targets per game when Higgins is active. We don’t know the extent of Higgins’ quad injury. He suffered it in practice on Friday and was ultimately ruled out of Week 8. If Higgins continues to miss time, Gesicki becomes a much stronger streamer off of the Week 9 waiver wire.
Will Dissly is averaging 7.6 targets per game over the last three weeks since the Chargers’ Week 5 bye. The once run-heavy Chargers team ranks inside the top-10 in pass attempts over the last three weeks, as well. Los Angeles’ upcoming schedule isn’t very favorable to the run game. This could make Dissly a fantasy friendly tight end streamer who’s already had his bye week.
Quarterback
Bo Nix, Denver Broncos
Bo Nix is another one of my Week 8 bold prediction players. Selecting him to have a big game had a lot to do with his matchup against the awful Carolina Panthers. However, Nix now has 21.0 fantasy points or more in three of his last four matchups. He has 19.0 or more points in four of his last six.
A big reason for the rookie’s success is his rushing upside. Nix is one of six quarterbacks with 50 or more rush attempts this season. His 52 attempts have yielded 259 yards and four touchdowns. In eight games, Nix is averaging 6.23 fantasy points from rushing alone. Compare that to Jalen Hurts, who has seven rushing touchdowns and is averaging 9.64 points per game on the ground; or Lamar Jackson who leads the position with 501 rush yards and 7.76 points per game as a ball carrier.
Up next for Nix are the Baltimore Ravens. They’re allowing the third-most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks. That includes 23.56 points to Jameis Winston in Week 8, his first start with the Cleveland Browns. From Week 9 until the Broncos’ Week 14 bye, four of Nix’s matchups are against defenses that rank inside the top half of the league in fantasy points allowed to quarterbacks. If you need someone for a playoff push, Nix can be that guy. The Week 9 waiver wire may be your last chance to get him.
Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers
Unlike many quarterbacks on the Week 9 waiver wire, Justin Herbert’s bye week is already behind him. Ahead of him is a fantasy-friendly schedule. Herbert and the Chargers have home matchups against the Cincinnati Bengals (Week 11), the Baltimore Ravens (Week 12), and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Week 15). All three of these teams rank inside the top four in fantasy points allowed to quarterbacks. Their other matchups interspersed among these aren’t enough to shy away from Herbert completely, either.
In addition to his schedule, Justin Herbert is lighting it up through the air. Herbert is averaging 288 passing yards over his last three games with no less than 237 in either. Prior to the team’s Week 5 bye, Herbert hadn’t eclipsed 179 passing yards in any of his first four games. He also has just two turnovers this season. The Chargers are one of just nine teams averaging 35 pass attempts or more per game. Herbert’s volume, improving connection with receivers, and schedule make him a high-upside target on the Week 9 waiver wire that I don’t expect much competition for in most leagues.
Other Quarterbacks to Consider
Matthew Stafford and the Los Angeles Rams are 3-4, but just one game back from the NFC West divisional lead. With just one week until the NFL trade deadline, it’s hard to imagine them moving Cooper Kupp, especially if they beat the Seattle Seahawks in Week 9. In both Kupp and Puka Nacua’s returns from injury, Stafford threw for 279 yards and four touchdowns. Assuming both of Stafford’s top targets stick around, he’s worth a look as a weekly streamer.
Derek Carr is gearing up for a Week 9 return against the Panthers in Carolina. That’s a Panthers defense that just allowed 29.8 points to rookie Bo Nix in Week 8. They’re one of five teams allowing an average of more than 20.0 fantasy points per game to quarterbacks. Carr is only a risky Week 9 start because he’s returning from injury. If he does well, he will probably be back on the Week 10 waiver wire.
Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets need to pretty much win out to make the playoffs. Before their Week 12 bye, they have three straight matchups against defenses that rank inside the top 12 in fantasy points allowed to quarterbacks. Two of these matchups are in primetime and at home. The vibes around Rodgers and the Jets are absolutely atrocious, but there’s an opportunity to turn things around over the next three weeks.
Make sure to check out all of our Week 9 Fantasy Football Rankings and Analysis!