Time is running out to add difference-makers to your fantasy football rosters. Week 9 of the fantasy football season brings up two teams on bye weeks and zero international games, meaning fantasy managers might take their eyes off the waiver wire slightly with all their first-choice options available. Not the smart people choosing to read this column, though.

Each week we talk through the best options currently available in no more than 50%(ish) of Yahoo leagues, with the idea we can get a jump on our league-mates and pick these players up now without costing ourselves any of our future waiver budgets.

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Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Stashes Ahead of Week 10

Trevor Lawrence (QB – JAX): 48% Rostered

It might not have shown up in the results column for the Jaguars but Trevor Lawrence has slowly turned his season around and is starting to look fairly good again. Lawrence ranks fifth in expected points added (EPA) over the last four games and has completed 71% of his passes in that period.

Lawrence has been a top-16 fantasy quarterback in his last five games. While the Christian Kirk injury hurts Lawrence slightly, Kirk had been up and down this year before the injury. Evan Engram being healthy will help fill the void. The Jaguars play a middle-of-the-pack Eagles defense before games against Minnesota and Detroit, who both hemorrhage wide receiver production and can force the Jaguars into pass-heavy scripts.

Trevor Lawrence on 20+ yards throws this season:

???? 20 completions (most in the NFL)

No other QB has more than 15 pic.twitter.com/W9TG80uvuS

— PFF JAX Jaguars (@PFF_Jaguars) October 31, 2024

Justin Herbert (QB – LAC): 44% Rostered

It was early August when Justin Herbert injured his plantar fascia. In hindsight, it seems clear that lingering injury contributed to the Chargers’ run-heavy start to the season. Since the Chargers’ bye week, they rank second in pass rate over expected (PROE). In Week 8, Herbert had a season-high 24 fantasy points, a sizable uptick from his previous season-high of 15. The Browns’ defense, the Chargers’ Week 9 opponents, ranks 21st against the pass in defense-adjusted value over average (DVOA) and are middle of the pack or worse in most metrics they excelled in when their defense was elite in 2023.

The Browns have allowed two top-eight fantasy finishes to opposing quarterbacks in the last three weeks. Herbert faces the Titans in Week 10. They aren’t great for fantasy football purposes but there are potential shootout games upcoming versus the Bengals, Ravens and Falcons that could propel you into the fantasy playoffs.

Tyler Allgeier (RB – ATL): 37% Rostered

If you’ve been reading this article all year then you’ll be very familiar with the Tyler Allgeier stance that we take in these parts. Simply put, he’s one of the best running back handcuffs in the league who should be rostered everywhere.

Allgeier has another matchup this week where he may well have standalone value against a Cowboys team ranked 30th in run defense DVOA and allows the second-most running back fantasy points. Allgeier has had three top-36 performances this year. As the season goes on we shouldn’t be surprised to see Atlanta try and keep him involved for a potential playoff run.

Roschon Johnson (RB – CHI): 13% Rostered

D’Andre Swift has run pure against some bad run defenses in recent weeks but the Bears’ schedule gets harder down the stretch. We can’t rule out a situation where the Bears again look to get Roschon Johnson more involved. The Bears seem content to lean on Johnson and Swift as their No. 1 RB and No. 2 RB, respectively. If Khalil Herbert is traded before the deadline that would further help Johnson’s case for meaningful touches.

Keaton Mitchell (RB – BAL): 9% Rostered

The rich get richer and the Ravens must be giddy at the idea of the thunder and lightning combo that Derrick Henry and Keaton Mitchell would give them. Mitchell has been recovering from an ACL injury suffered on the 17th of December last year but thankfully it was a clean ACL tear, similar to the one Breece Hall recovered from, instead of the more complicated ones that have hampered the careers of players like J.K. Dobbins and Javonte Williams.

Typically, younger players tend to recover well from these and the Ravens will hope that’s the case for Mitchell, who averaged 8.4 yards per attempt on 47 carries as well as averaging 10.3 yards per reception. With Henry and Mitchell, the Ravens would possess by far one of the most explosive backfields in the NFL. While Mitchell won’t have the entire job to himself, we want explosive players on offenses with the potential to score 30+ points in any game.

Keaton Mitchell’s reign of terror is about to commence once again. ???? pic.twitter.com/rgKv4WN9zS

— Ravens Nation ???????????????? (@LIVERavenNation) October 29, 2024

Cedric Tillman (WR – CLE): 57% Rostered

In many leagues, Cedric Tillman was the most in-demand waiver wire player this week. If he wasn’t picked up in your league now is the time to change that. Tillman has 15 receptions for 180 yards and two touchdowns over the last two games combined, finishing no worse than WR10 in PPR formats. With Amari Cooper no longer in Cleveland, there are opportunities to be had, particularly with Jameis Winston at quarterback, who roasted the Ravens’ secondary and should get better with more snaps.

Tillman faces a Chargers defense this week ranked seventh-best in pass DVOA and allowing the third-fewest fantasy points to the receiver position. Tillman is a better stash than start this week, but there will be plenty of weeks where we do want to start Tillman.

Jauan Jennings (WR – SF): 52% Rostered

It’s unlikely Jauan Jennings has any more weeks like Week 3 when he scored 46.5 PPR points and finished as the overall WR1, but that shouldn’t mean Jennings isn’t useful for fantasy purposes the rest of the way. With Brandon Aiyuk on injured reserve (IR) and Deebo Samuel consistently banged up this year, the 49ers need someone to stand up. Jennings has been that man before and can do so again.

Ricky Pearsall will grow into his role as the season goes on but trust is imperative in an offense where Kyle Shanahan leans on those he trusts the most. Jennings was trusted enough to throw a touchdown in the Super Bowl — he’ll have plenty of usable weeks going forward.

out here in these fantasy football streets going to battle down the stretch with WRs Cedric Tillman, Jauan Jennings and Jared Coker……..

Just how we all planned it back in June……????

— Leo P (@Ciga_FF) October 30, 2024

Brandin Cooks (WR – DAL): 11% Rostered

This one is for managers desperately looking for any help they can find or for teams with deeper benches who can afford to take a speculative shot on a player. Brandin Cooks was placed on IR after the Cowboys’ Week 4 matchup with the Giants. He needed minor surgery to deal with a small infection in his knee but the feeling seems to be he could return in the next couple of weeks.

The Cowboys could desperately use some help because the lack of production at wide receiver is startling with CeeDee Lamb contributing 146 yards in Week 8 but nobody else on the offense managing more than 44 yards. If the Cowboys are going to turn around their season and make a playoff run, they’ll need players like Cooks.

Taysom Hill (TE – NO): 33% Rostered

The Saints’ offense has been spluttering for weeks now and has scored the fourth-fewest points of any team over the past three games. The return of Derek Carr should help somewhat but the Saints need another threat to take some of the weight off Alvin Kamara and Chris Olave as they shoulder huge amounts of defensive attention in the wake of Rashid Shaheed‘s season-ending injury.

Taysom Hill was apparently in line for a big role in this offense during the offseason. So far he’s yet to finish higher than TE17. With so many avenues to being on the field, however, he’s worth rostering before the bye weeks get truly messy in the coming weeks.

It's Taysom Hill week isn't it… pic.twitter.com/zDWX60Um2P

— Derek Brown (@DBro_FFB) October 30, 2024

Mike Gesicki (TE – CIN): 8% Rostered

Tee Higgins is dealing with his second different injury of the NFL season, and we’re only entering Week 9. With the Bengals’ playoff hopes on life support and Higgins playing without a long-term contract, would it be surprising to see him make minimal appearances going forward? Jermaine Burton and Andrei Iosivas should see expanded roles but we can’t ignore how well Gesicki has played in games without Higgins.

Gesicki averages 3.02 PPR points per game when Higgins has played this year but 11.73 in those without him. Gesicki’s targets go from 1.8 per game to 7.0. If Higgins misses time, Gesicki is a fine streaming option against a Raiders defense that just allowed 10/90/1 to Travis Kelce and will be in play for every game Higgins misses.