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With the potential season-ending injuries popping up, Week 8 provided a lot of unneeded players going down, ultimately setting your fantasy football rosters back. But the week can still be salvaged, provided your waiver wire pickups are timely and help fill any gaps vacated by injured players.
Perusing your waiver wire certainly can be a difficult activity to partake in, especially this late in the season, but there are always going to be some sort of important additions that you can make to help shore up your bench in a pinch – or your starting lineup to help cover some bye week issues.
For our conversation about Week 9 Waiver Wire Pickups on the Establish the Pass podcast, click below:
The 10 players below are all around 50 percent rostership in all ESPN fantasy football leagues, meaning that the odds are in your favor to integrate these into your waiver wire pickups this week.
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Week 9 Waiver Wire Pickups
10. Michael Gallup – WR
51.6% Rostered
Dallas Cowboys
Even without Dak Prescott on Sunday Night Football, the Dallas Cowboys kept on keeping on, this time on the back of Cooper Rush during his first career start. All Rush did was throw for over 300 yards and find Amari Cooper for both the game-winning score and the first scoring in NFL history that included two players that had the same first name as the other player’s last name.
With Prescott figuring to return to the lineup next week, the Cowboys will look to continue their strong start to the year, something that Michael Gallup can help contribute to. With his return from his calf injury acting as a trade deadline addition for the team, look for Gallup to resume WR3 activities on a team with many mouths to feed in the passing attack.
9. Van Jefferson – WR
8.5% Rostered
Los Angeles Rams
DeSean Jackson and the Los Angeles Rams have agreed to go their separate ways, as the team looks to ship him out of town so he can earn more snaps elsewhere. With the speedster on his way out, this opens up WR3 snaps for Van Jefferson, who has already earned his fair share of increased work this year.
In all but the first two games this season, Jefferson has recorded at least four targets, so Matthew Stafford already is targeting him at a healthy rate in this high-powered offense. As the Rams continue to take it to their opponents, Jefferson’s looks will go up, as will his value into the FLEX category for fantasy football purposes.
8. Jamison Crowder – WR
18.7% Rostered
New York Jets
The other-worldly Mike White has taken over the New York Jets in the absence of Zach Wilson, and while he somehow managed to torch the Bengals for over 400 total yards, his receiving crew deserves love as well, namely Jamison Crowder.
The biggest name on the WR group outside of Corey Davis is Crowder, who has quietly produced on a semi-consistent basis for the Jets this season. Having only played in four games this year, he has commanded six targets and nine targets twice, respectively, with game script benefiting his work.
A potential option to be shipped out at the deadline, Crowder holds enough value for the Jets to become a solid fantasy option.
7. Carlos Hyde – RB
6.7% Rostered
Jacksonville Jaguars
James Robinson looks to have escaped major injury in the team’s loss to Seattle, but Urban Meyer has a history with Carlos Hyde, and his 15 touches Sunday shows that he could be worked in more with Robinson not at 100 percent.
Even if Robinson ends up starting for JAX in Week 9, it is a fair guess that he will concede more work than normal to Hyde, which can boost the backup’s value if your bench needs a one-week addition in a pinch. Not a sexy pick by any means, but Hyde knows the offense and could be a vulture against the Bills.
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6. Logan Thomas – TE
50.2% Rostered
Washington Football Team
With no definitive timeline provided on his return from a hamstring injury, tight end Logan Thomas would fill in a lot of fantasy football rosters’ TE roles when healthy. With Washington on heading into a bye Week 9, adding a player of his target share to your bench for a week, with the hope he returns Week 10, is a calculated risk you’d be smart to take.
As Washington continues to struggle with Taylor Heinicke stepping in, Thomas had been one of the stronger offensive players before his injury, and with his return likely coming soon, adding him for a late-season fantasy playoff run can be key.
5. Justin Fields – QB
17.7% Rostered
Chicago Bears
The good news is that Justin Fields put together the best game of his young career.
The bad news is that the Chicago Bears get the Steelers and the Ravens in consecutive upcoming weeks.
The worst news is that, barring a setback, Matt Nagy will likely return to overseeing this team in Week 9.
Having put together a thorough offensive performance on Sunday, Fields finally showed what he can be in this maligned CHI offense, which just happened to be when Nagy was not a part of the game’s coaching staff due to being in COVID protocol. His dual-threat abilities make him a hot option for your waiver wire pickups, but be wary of his next two opponents.
4. Darnell Mooney – WR
48.1% Rostered
Chicago Bears
Another member of the Bears on this list is the team’s best WR this year, Darnell Mooney, who has developed a relationship with Fields to the point where Allen Robinson is an after-thought.
As Mooney continues to make himself known in the weekly offensive plan, he continues to stretch the field and become Fields’ top target on many passing plays. As he continues to ascend to lead this team, grab him as the best WR option of our waiver wire pickups this week.
3. Taysom Hill – QB
0.9% Rostered
New Orleans Saints
With Jameis Winston having suffered a season-ending injury against Tampa Bay, it was Trevor Siemian who stepped in and somehow took the Saints to a home win. Taysom Hill has been working his way back after suffering a concussion and could return in Week 9 – if so, he should be your top QB target for this week’s waiver wire pickups.
Yes, Siemian performed admirably against a really good TB defense, but he is more of a game manager at this point. With Hill bringing that dual-threat ability to the offense, it is likely Sean Payton would prefer to go to him, seeing as how the offense wouldn’t need to change much.
2. Jeremy McNichols & Adrian Peterson – RB
1.9% & 0.1% Rostered
Tennessee Titans
The NFL will be without Derrick Henry for the next two-plus months after he needs foot surgery, something that certainly will turn the Tennessee Titans and many fantasy football rosters on their heads.
In the meantime, incumbent option Jeremy McNichols will likely take over starting duties, while Adrian Peterson gets up to speed after being signed by the team on Monday. Once in the playbook, Peterson likely will take over the carries while McNichols returns to the receiving role he previously had, meaning both players have value moving forward.
1. Boston Scott & Jordan Howard – RB
4.9% & 0.9% Rostered
Philadelphia Eagles
Second week in a row having a running back from the Philadelphia Eagles be in this list’s top spot – but Kenneth Gainwell is not going to be walking through that door for your fantasy football squad this week.
After producing a dud that left many rosters up a creek without a paddle, Gainwell’s spot on the depth chart was quickly understood to be misunderstood, as he ended up being the third option behind castaways like Boston Scott and Jordan Howard. As both journeymen scored two TDs on the ground, it showed that the Eagles prefer a low floor than a high ceiling alongside Jalen Hurts in the backfield.
The Eagles are a tough offense to crack, but one thing is known for sure – you can’t really forecast who should headline the top of our waiver wire pickups. The only reason they take the top spot this week is that there is evidence known about what to expect – Tennessee has the better in-house options but no knowledge of how the game plan will play out.
