Read Jake Ciely’s latest fantasy football waiver wire advice.
We’re back to dealing with byes and numerous injuries. Matthew Stafford, Kirk Cousins, Kendrick Bourne and more went down in Week 8. The Week 9 fantasy football waivers have plenty of pickups to help, including some streaming quarterback options if you’re needy.
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HEADS UP
- Players must be under 60% rostered on Yahoo
- Listed in order of preference — I’ll often prioritize potential upside over immediate middling production
- No FAB suggestions: It varies wildly by league tendencies and always relative (ex: if you lost your RB1 to injury and there is a clear backup, you’re going to be more aggressive)
- Streaming QB and TE are grouped together— weekly ranking can change once projections/ranks run — DST could shift a bit too
** BYES: DEN, DET, JAX, SF **
WORRY REPORT
More Ducks (and Eggs) = More Concern
- Texans — The matchup couldn’t have been any better out of the bye, and the entire offense — C.J. Stroud, Dameon Pierce, Nico Collins and Tank Dell — came up like rotten pumpkins. Stroud tied his season-best 66.7 Comp% but registered a lowly 24 attempts with a negative EPA per dropback — his first since Week 1. Pierce and Devin Singletary had an even split of 41.4 RBTouch%, and Collins and Dell were ruined by Stroud’s day. The offense was as out of sync as it has been since that first week. I’m not overly concerned, and I’d give everyone in the passing game one duck — rookies will have hiccups — but as mentioned before their bye, Singletary is a problem for Pierce, who gets four ducks.
- Miles Sanders, CAR ♾🦆 — Unless we get word otherwise, Sanders didn’t look to be dealing with his shoulder injury, but he does look to be buried on the depth chart. Not only has Chuba Hubbard usurped him, but Sanders was behind Raheem Blackshear, and even if that doesn’t continue, Sanders is now just a backup.
- Alexander Mattison, MIN 🦆🦆🦆🦆 — Mattison was still the lead, but with 60.7 RBTouch% to Cam Akers’ 35.7%, that might not continue. Akers didn’t have a better day overall outside of finding the end zone, but Mattison has one game in his past four of averaging over 3.3 YPC and is just 3.7 for the season. Even if Akers doesn’t take the lead, this timeshare, especially without Kirk Cousins, is making both unstartable.
- Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua, LAR 🦆🥚 — This is all about Matthew Stafford’s injury. I was ready to put one duck for Kupp, as while he wasn’t No. 1 fantasy receiver Kupp, he was still a top-two Rams option and was worthy of WR2 status. However, if Stafford misses time, Kupp and Nacua would push 3-4 ducks, as Brett Rypien would be a major concern to their values.
- Chris Olave, NO 🦆🦆🦆 — You likely saw the stats from the Week 8 game preview, but Olave doesn’t have a target share concern. He has a reception concern. Olave was one of three receivers inside the Top 20 for TmTGT% failing to score double-digits, and DK Metcalf barely missed. This was Olave’s fifth game failing to reach a 60.0 Catch%, and he’s at 57.1% for the year. Olave only has one drop on the year, so it’s more about the fit and connection with Derek Carr… which isn’t going anywhere, just like our worries.
STREAMING QUARTERBACKS
- Sam Howell, WSH
- Daniel Jones, NYG
- Will Levis, TEN
Box score and big plays will overshadow draft concerns (we knew). Terrific release and easy deep ball. Still questionable placement and throws, especially short-to-mid. Could have had an INT, and even 2-3 more completions. Great debut but still concerns https://t.co/w9mfaARmg6
— Jake Ciely (@allinkid) October 30, 2023
Levis has Howell-like potential, but a Gardner Minshew-like risk… though, Howell has plenty of risk too.
- Derek Carr, NO
- Baker Mayfield, TB
- Gardner Minshew, IND
- Bryce Young, CAR
Emojis
- 😤 = I Tried to Tell Ya — players included for several weeks (not much more to add if you don’t want them)
- 🔍 = Check if Dropped — players whose managers might have cut for other needs or impatient
- 🎯 = Long-Term Target — players with starter+ upside who require patience (stash picks)
- 🫡 = Backup/Next Man Up — players who have almost no value but starter+ upside if injury ahead of them
WAIVER WIRE RUNNING BACK RANKS
MEH 😒
- Darrynton Evans, CHI — See above. Garbage time, third in line, Herbert returning would make Evans inactive.
WAIVER WIRE WIDE RECEIVER RANKS
MEH 😒
- Tyler Boyd, CIN — Just three targets. Without the touchdown, Boyd wouldn’t have registered.
- Jamison Crowder, WSH — Would step in for Samuel (if he’s out) and be a desperation, volume-reliant WR4/5.
- Jake Bobo, SEA — Designed plays and rooting for him is fun, but that’s about it.
- Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, TEN — The 13 routes were the lowest among pass-catchers.
UNBREAK MY HEART
- Jahan Dotson, WSH — 🔍❤️❤️❤️ Over the past three games, Dotson has a 21.3 TmTGT% when Curtis Samuel hasn’t been on the field versus 12.8% when Samuel is out there. It’s turned into 21.0 TGT% on his routes (vs 10.9%) and 13-8-97-1 compared to 6-5-54-0. If Samuel is less than 100%, Dotson is back in play, and I’d put him right behind Osborn.
STREAMING TIGHT ENDS
STREAMING DST
Week 9
- TEN at PIT
- PIT vs TEN
- NE vs WSH
- HOU vs TB
- LV vs NYG
- IND at CAR
- ATL vs MIN
- WSH at NE
- NYG at LV
Week 10
- CIN vs HOU
- PIT vs GB
- NE vs IND
- TB vs TEN
- LV vs NYJ
- IND at NE
(Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images)
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