Doing your weekly waivers in fantasy football can be more stressful than performing life-saving surgery on a loved one without any professional tools or medical knowledge. While that might be a slight exaggeration, deciding which players to add off the waiver wire each week can be stressful.
Finding and adding the right guys in shallow leagues is simple, as there are plenty of appealing options, and the waiver wire is full of talent. Unfortunately, making your waiver wire claims in deeper leagues can be a massive pain in the neck.
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However, I’m here to help by giving fantasy players eight waiver wire targets they should add in deeper leagues in Week 9.
Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups: Week 9
All the players in this article are rostered in fewer than 20% of ESPN leagues.
Matthew Stafford (QB – LAR): 18.5% Rostered
The former No. 1 overall draft pick struggled over the first seven weeks, averaging 9.2 fantasy points per game, totaling 6.6 or fewer in half of those contests. Matthew Stafford had only three passing touchdowns, throwing his last in Week 5. Fantasy players had low expectations for the veteran quarterback with Puka Nacua (knee) and Cooper Kupp (ankle) out of the lineup. Thankfully, the two superstar receivers returned to the lineup in Week 8.
Los Angeles scored a season-high 30 points in the win over the Minnesota Vikings. Stafford had 24.8 fantasy points in the victory, the most he’s had this year. Furthermore, his four passing touchdowns were one more than his season total entering the game. The veteran quarterback has been outstanding with Nacua and Kupp healthy. Stafford was the QB2, averaging 22 fantasy points per game from Week 12 through Week 16 last year.
Jameis Winston (QB – CLE): 3.3% Rostered
Jameis Winston had 8.7 fantasy points in limited duty in Week 7 against the Cincinnati Bengals. He had 67 passing yards and a touchdown on 11 attempts, averaging 0.79 fantasy points per pass. More importantly, the former Florida State star was outstanding in his first start since the 2022 season on Sunday. The veteran completed 65.9% of his pass attempts for 334 yards, three touchdowns, zero interceptions and 23.6 fantasy points against the Baltimore Ravens.
Furthermore, Winston averaged 0.57 fantasy points per pass attempt against a talented Baltimore defense. He successfully pushed the ball downfield, throwing all three touchdown passes from over 20 yards out. The Browns’ passing attack struggled with Deshaun Watson the past two years. However, it was fantasy-friendly once Joe Flacco took over under center. The veteran was a top-five quarterback on a points-per-game basis in 2023. Don’t be surprised if Winston has similar success as the team’s starter.
Miles Sanders (RB – CAR): 8.1% Rostered
Fantasy players have had little reason to add Miles Sanders off the waiver wire this season, even in deeper leagues. Chuba Hubbard has been outstanding with Andy Dalton under center. Meanwhile, Jonathon Brooks (knee) should make his career debut in the next week or two. However, Sanders has averaged 10.3 yards per rushing attempt over the past two weeks, totaling 11.3 half-PPR fantasy points. Last week, he had a season-high seven receptions for 38 receiving yards.
Why should fantasy players add him off the waiver wire? Sanders could get dealt at the trade deadline. The Panthers aren’t contenders and have no reason to keep him on the roster. The veteran will see his limited role completely disappear once Brooks is healthy. Meanwhile, a team acquiring him would likely only have to part with a late-round draft pick. Sanders’ fantasy value could significantly improve if he gets traded over the next nine days.
Cedric Tillman (WR – CLE): 15.9% Rostered
Last week, I told fantasy players to add Tillman off the waiver wire. Hopefully, you listened because getting him off the waiver wire this week will be significantly more challenging. The second-year wide receiver had only five targets and 1.9 half-PPR fantasy points over the first six weeks. By comparison, he had eight receptions on 12 targets for 81 receiving yards and 14.1 fantasy points in Week 7, leading Browns wide receivers in targets.
Tillman built on his success on Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens, totaling seven receptions on nine targets for 99 receiving yards, two touchdowns and 25.4 fantasy points. He led Cleveland in receiving yards, touchdowns and fantasy points. More importantly, the second-year pro has 21 targets over the past two weeks, the most on the team. Tillman is the No. 1 wide receiver on a passing attack with significant upside with Jameis Winston under center.
Michael Wilson (WR – ARI): 12.5% Rostered
One of my takeaways from Sunday’s action was the Cardinals’ offense. Arizona’s passing attack has significant firepower but had struggled to put it together over the first seven weeks. Thankfully, the Cardinals’ offense was firing on all cylinders in Week 8, scoring 28 points in the win over the Miami Dolphins. Marvin Harrison Jr. and Trey McBride each scored over 16.5 half-PPR fantasy points. Meanwhile, Wilson had a season-high 11.6 fantasy points in the win.
The former Stanford star has averaged 5.8 targets per game over the past six weeks, totaling six or more in 66.7% of the games, including Week 8. Furthermore, Wilson has averaged 8.3 fantasy points per game over the past month, scoring 9.1+ points in all but one contest. While he has a challenging schedule over the next few weeks, Wilson can become a solid WR3 option for fantasy players in deeper leagues after the team’s bye.
Elijah Moore (WR – CLE): 1.3% Rostered
While Cedric Tillman is my favorite Browns wide receiver to roster, Elijah Moore is also worth adding in deeper leagues. The former Ole Miss star struggled like every other Cleveland wide receiver with Deshaun Watson, averaging 3.8 targets and 2.9 half-PPR fantasy points per game over the first six weeks, scoring 2.7 or fewer in all but one contest. However, he has played well lately, totaling 18 targets, the third-most on the team over the past two weeks.
Moore’s 18 targets are six more than Jerry Jeudy and only three fewer than Tillman and David Njoku‘s for the team lead. Furthermore, his 12 targets in Week 8 led the team. More importantly, he had 12.5 fantasy points, totaling eight receptions for 85 receiving yards on Sunday after scoring 7.1 fantasy points on six catches for 41 yards the week before. If you missed out on Tillman last week, Moore is a solid consolation prize.
Nick Westbrook-Ikhine (WR – TEN): 0.1% Rostered
Raise your hand if you dropped Calvin Ridley over the past two weeks only to see him drop 10 receptions on 15 targets for 143 receiving yards and 17.6 half-PPR fantasy points in Week 8. While fantasy players shouldn’t expect production to continue, they can anticipate Nick Westbrook-Ikhine to continue earning more work on offense. Tennessee traded away DeAndre Hopkins and placed Treylon Burks on injured reserve (IR) last week, creating more opportunities for the veteran.
The fifth-year wide receiver didn’t see a target before the Titans’ Week 5 bye. However, Westbrook-Ikhine has earned 10 targets over the past three weeks, averaging 8.8 half-PPR fantasy points per game. Furthermore, the veteran wide receiver has had a touchdown in three consecutive contests after totaling three scores in 2023. If Tennessee trades Ridley or Tyler Boyd before the deadline, Westbrook-Ikhine could quickly become a WR3 option for fantasy players in deeper leagues.
Mike Gesicki (TE – CIN): 10.4% Rostered
Unfortunately, Tee Higgins didn’t play on Sunday because of a quad injury he suffered in practice late last week. Ja’Marr Chase was productive, totaling 15.9 half-PPR fantasy points and a touchdown for the second consecutive contest. However, the rest of the Bengals’ wide receiver core struggled, totaling 5.5 half-PPR fantasy points. Yet, Gesicki stepped up for Joe Burrow, catching seven of his eight targets for 73 receiving yards, scoring 8.8 fantasy points against the Philadelphia Eagles.
By comparison, the Eagles surrendered only 4.1 fantasy points per game to tight ends over the first seven weeks, the fewest in the NFL. More importantly, Gesicki has played well with Higgins out of the lineup. The veteran has averaged seven targets and 8.2 fantasy points per game in the three contests without Higgins. Gesicki is an excellent Week 9 bye-week replacement for George Kittle if Higgins misses his second consecutive game.
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Mike Fanelli is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him @Mike_NFL2.