As we head into Week 9, there is still plenty of time to tweak your roster for the final playoff push. With two more teams on a bye in Week 9 and injuries continuing to mount, it’s time to check out the waiver wire to find some solid options who can help your team in the next few weeks. Coming out of a thrilling Week 8, let’s look at some of the early names emerging as top Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 9.
Be sure to stay locked in to DK Network throughout the week and the rest of the season for all the latest news and fantasy impact. We’ll run down a few of the top potential waiver wire pickups for Week 9 in this post, but be sure to watch how the week unfolds and how players recover. Two more teams are on a bye in Week 9, so be sure to have replacements ready if you are counting on the Steelers and Titans, since they’ll be taking the week off.
This post is designed to be an early look at some of the names to keep an eye on coming into your preparation for Week 9 and the rest of your fantasy football season.
Top Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 9
| Player | Position | Team | Week 8 | Why Consider Them? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adonai Mitchell | WR | New York Jets | 30.2 FPTS | Mitchell went off for 142 yards and a touchdown on seven catches against the Raiders. After recovering from a finger injury, he’ll look to build on his strong start to his first full season with the Jets. |
| Dylan Sampson | RB | Cleveland Browns | 12.9 FPTS | Sampson remained in a receiving role, catching six passes for 62 yards, making him a strong PPR option in the Browns’ timeshare. |
| Gardner Minshew II | QB | Arizona Cardinals | 19.52 FPTS | Minshew stepped up in relief of Jacoby Brissett and led the Cardinals to a comeback win over the Cowboys. He has a solid offense around him if he gets the starting job going forward. |
| Mike Gesicki | TE | Cincinnati Bengals | 17.6 FPTS | Gesicki has scored five touchdowns in his last five games after four catches for 76 yards in Week 8. He also has great matchups in the next few weeks. |
| Bills DST | DST | Buffalo Bills | 14 FPTS | Coming off their bye week, the Bills had four sacks and three takeaways in a strong showing against the Ravens. The next few weeks are favorable matchups for Buffalo. |
Best Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups and Adds for Week 9
One key factor to keep a close eye on every week is new injuries. Here are some new situations to monitor moving forward:
Players with new injuries from Week 8 to watch:
- QB Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens
- QB Tyler Huntley, Baltimore Ravens
- QB Deshaun Watson, Cleveland Browns
- RB James Cook III, Buffalo Bills
- RB Jeremiyah Love, Arizona Cardinals
- RB Bam Knight, Arizona Cardinals
- WR Amon-Ra St. Brown, Detroit Lions
- WR Drake London, Atlanta Falcons
- WR DJ Moore, Buffalo Bills
- WR Michael Wilson, Arizona Cardinals
- WR Kendrick Bourne, Arizona Cardinals
- WR Joshua Palmer, Buffalo Bills
- TE Hunter Henry, New England Patriots
- TE Jake Ferguson, Dallas Cowboys
With those injuries in mind, here are some of my early names to watch if you’re shopping on the Week 9 waiver wire.
WR Adonai Mitchell, New York Jets
The Jets acquired Adonai Mitchell (30.2 FPTS) last year at the trade deadline in the trade that sent Sauce Gardner to the Colts. After flashing some upside at the end of last year, Mitchell looked poised to make a leap in his first full season with the Jets. He has good chemistry with Geno Smith and started strong with a couple of good games with 60 and 63 receiving yards in the first two weeks of the season.
In Week 2, he sustained a finger injury that cost him four games, sidelining him from Week 3 through Week 6. In Week 7, he returned to action, but he didn’t have a catch on three targets.
After that disappointing return, though, he got back into the flow of the offense with a monster game. He caught seven of his nine targets against the Raiders, racking up 142 yards and a touchdown.
Other top performances at receiver to consider as you check out the Waiver Wire Week 9 include Chimere Dike (18.1 FPTS), Jalen Nailor (13.8 FPTS) and Ryan Flournoy (13.1 FPTS).
RB Dylan Sampson, Cleveland Browns
The Browns lost to their rivals from Pittsburgh in Week 8, but Dylan Sampson (12.9 FPTS) had another big week while sharing time with Quinshon Judkins (6.9 FPTS). Judkins usually takes care of most of the early-down work, while Sampson was very involved as a receiver out of the backfield. Sampson played 56% of snaps, including eight of the 13 third-down snaps.
Sampson only had one carry for seven yards, but he caught six of his eight targets for 62 yards. Especially in PPR leagues, he is a solid option even though he remains in a timeshare.
Elsewhere in the league, Tyler Allgeier (39.1 FPTS) is a great pickup if available in your league. Emmett Johnson (26.9 FPTS) also had a massive game against the Broncos and should be stashed in all formats, even though his workload is uncertain. Kenneth Gainwell (17 FPTS) and Blake Corum (13.3 FPTS) also had big games, and they’re great additions if they’re available as well.
QB Gardner Minshew II, Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals replaced Jacoby Brissett (4.45 FPTS) with Gardner Minshew II (19.52 FPTS) at the end of the third quarter. Brissett completed only 10 of 23 attempts for 119 yards, no touchdowns and an interception, but Minshew replaced him and completed 17 of his 23 pass attempts for 188 yards and three touchdowns.
Minshew led the Cardinals back from a 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter. He threw what could have been the game-winning touchdown, but kicker Chad Ryland missed a potential game-winning extra point, forcing overtime instead. The Cardinals kicked a field goal in overtime, improving to a 3-5 record, the same record as the Cowboys.
Other available QB options to help you fill in your bye week or injuries include J.J. McCarthy, who is coming back from his bye week, Kirk Cousins (28.18 FPTS) and Cam Ward (30.26 FPTS), who is on a bye week next week.
TE Mike Gesicki, Cincinnati Bengals
The Bengals rallied to a 43-36 win over the Titans, with Joe Burrow (45.58 FPTS) throwing for 462 passing yards and five touchdowns. One of those touchdowns went to Mike Gesicki (17.6 FPTS), who finished with four catches on six targets for 76 receiving yards.
Gesicki has scored six touchdowns this season, including one in each of his last five games. He has only played around 30% to 50% of snaps in most games, and he typically doesn’t get a high volume of targets, but he has been very involved in the red zone. Even without getting all the work in the offense, he has been productive enough to be a one-week fill-in or depth option from the waiver wire.
Other tight ends who may be on the waiver wire and had big Week 8 performances include Gunnar Helm (14.6 FPTS), Darnell Washington (12.4 FPTS) and Oronde Gadsden II (10.2 FPTS).
Bills DST
The Bills DST (14 FPTS) had four sacks against the Ravens and ended the return of Lamar Jackson (0.0 FPTS) after just one pass attempt. Tyler Huntley (0.0 FPTS) left the game with a toe injury as well, leaving Joe Fagnano (1.49 FPTS) as the only QB available.
They forced two fumbles and also had an interception.
The Bills looked very solid in their return from the bye week, and this week, they’ll take on the Vikings on Monday Night Football. After that, the Bills face the Jets and Dolphins in favorable matchups.
Other streaming plays to consider that are widely available include the Buccaneers DST (20 FPTS), Lions (6 FPTS) and the Raiders DST (9 FPTS).
