Fantasy Football Week 9 Waiver Wire Targets feat. Cedric Tillman, Cade Otton, and more
The waiver wire can be an excellent tool for optimizing your weekly fantasy football lineups. The primary goal is to utilize your bench spots to put your team in the best possible position to maximize each week's point total.
This week, we have a top-10 target list full of wide receivers, as nine of ten players are all wideouts. Veteran fantasy players should still be proactive and add the highest implied value running backs available on the wire, which we highlight below. At Sportskeeda, we'll preview the best options in each position to assist you with your waiver priority and FAAB allocation for Week 9.
We cast a wide net of potential targets as we consider all players under a 70% ownership threshold on popular platforms like ESPN and Yahoo! Sports.
Week 9 Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Priority Adds Ranked
Top Fantasy Football Week 9 Waiver Wire Pickups
Waiver Wire RB adds for Week 9
1] Raheem Mostert, Miami Dolphins
ESPN 60 | Yahoo! 81% | FAAB Range 3-5%
Is Miami back? Maybe. But at least quarterback Tua Tagovailoa makes this offensive unit viable in fantasy football in future weeks of the fantasy season. You couldn't be so confident with Skylar Thompson, Tyler Huntley, or Tim Boyle running the show. Tagovailoa's return to the Dolphins gave the offense the spark it needed and gave fantasy managers more options for the critical weeks ahead.
More production leads to more scoring opportunities, and Raheem Mostert has a nose for the end zone. The veteran back had 18 touchdowns last season, and Sunday capitalized on two goal-line attempts against the Cardinals for scores from one and six yards out.
Teammate De'Von Achane should be viewed as the team's most desired running back to manage in Miami. The second-year back turned 16 touches into 147 total yards and a receiving touchdown on Sunday. However, Mostert still should find some fantasy rosters in case he plays himself into flex territory as long as Tagovailoa avoids unnecessary hits.
Since returning in Week 5, Mostert has had 42 touches for 179 total yards and his two touchdowns last Sunday. Rookie Jaylen Wright can be dropped in regular-sized leagues and will only find value if Achane and Mostert miss time.
2] Zach Charbonnet, Seattle Seahawks
ESPN 62% | Yahoo! 51% | FAAB Range 3-5%
You won't find a starting running back on the waiver wire. Not if you play your cards right for the next couple of weeks. This is the time to add high-implied handcuffs, and there's none better than Seattle's Zach Charbonnet.
The second-year back has appeared here in the waiver wire article this season when starter Kenneth Walker III missed time due to injury. Walker missed Weeks 2 and 3, and we saw what Charbonnet could provide to our fantasy lineups with 40 touches in two games. He finished with three touchdowns and 176 total yards and looked like a fantasy difference-maker.
Since Walker returned in Week 4, Charbonnet has returned to being the passing down back and the occasional short-yardage situation. The 23-year-old running back has only received 33 touches in five games after Week 3 and just 151 yards during that span.
If you have Charbonnet already on your roster, there's no reason why you should let him go. He's one tweak away from Walker from being an every-week RB2 down the stretch. We want those players stashed on our bench rather than an extra quarterback, tight end, or defense.
3] Braelon Allen, New York Jets
ESPN 25% | Yahoo! 37% | FAAB Range 1-3%
These are dark times for the New York Jets, as described by quarterback Aaron Rodgers. But Braelon Allen continues to be a bright spot behind one of the best fantasy running backs in Breece Hall. Anytime a rookie is given 12 touches and a goal-line opportunity by this time of the season should be on the radar for all fantasy managers.
Hall turned 17 touches into 89 scoreless yards, but Allen eventually pushed in the score in the upset loss to the Patriots on Sunday. Much like the running backs listed above, Allen will need Hall to miss time to be considered in fantasy lineups, but it's a long season, and anything can happen week-to-week. The Jets seem to be heading to another non-playoff season, and Allen could receive more work to preserve Hall's durability, health, and value for New York's future. He's worth a spot if you can afford it.
Waiver Wire WR adds for Week 9
1] Cedric Tillman, Cleveland Browns
ESPN 16% | Yahoo! 19% | FAAB Range 10-20%
One thing we learned last weekend is that the Browns had a Deshaun Watson problem, not a Kevin Stefanski problem. Stefanski stuck with Watson for the first seven games of the season despite only having one win on its record, but the highly-paid quarterback suffered a season-ending injury last week in the 21-14 loss to the Bengals. Stefanski would insert veteran Jameis Winston into the lineup in Week 8, and he delivered the best performance of the season with 27 completions for 334 yards and three touchdowns.
Winston instantly gives this offensive unit some viable options for fantasy football. After trading All-Pro wide receiver Amari Cooper to Buffalo, there was plenty of opportunity to divvy up the team target share. Some fantasy managers speculated Jerry Jeudy would be the primary benefactor, but Cedric Tillman turned nine targets into 99 yards and two touchdowns.
Tillman leads our waiver wire top-10 list, as he can potentially play himself into a starting role in Cleveland. That is the kind of player we're looking for at this time of year and is worth a roster spot in all formats. Tillman didn't lead the team in targets, so he's far from a slam dunk.
Veteran Elijah Moore led all pass catchers with 12 on the day, followed by Tillman's nine. But Winston will push the ball down the field — something Watson couldn't do with his 5.5 yards per attempt average in seven games. Consider Tillman a WR3 going forward, and he can be helpful as a flex option for the rest of the fantasy season.
2] Josh Downs, Indianapolis Colts
ESPN 49% | Yahoo! 47% | FAAB Range 5-10%
We were worried about what would happen to Josh Downs when Anthony Richardson started. We learned Sunday that it didn't matter. Richardson or veteran Joe Flacco — Downs is a stud. The 23-year-old receiver turned a team-high nine targets into 109 yards and a touchdown in the Colts' 23-20 loss to the Texans on Sunday. Still, there are concerns about Richardson's ability to complete passes at the NFL level.
The second-year quarterback was the worst in terms of completion percentage, with a meager 44.4% after six games. Tennessee's Mason Rudolph, at 58.9% this season, is the next worst mark for quarterbacks. Woof.
Yes, we would like to see Flacco get some burn for fantasy purposes, as Downs seems to be a favorite target of the big veteran quarterback. In both games Flacco started this season in Weeks 5 and 6, Downs received 21 targets and turned that into 17 catches for 135 yards and a score. Still, it was encouraging Downs is not quarterback-dependent and could put up fantasy numbers no matter who is throwing him the ball. With that information, he should find plenty of fantasy rosters before next week.
3] Jauan Jennings, San Francisco 49ers
ESPN 67% | Yahoo! 59% | FAAB Range 5-10%
It's difficult to add a player entering his bye week, but if Jauan Jennings is still floating around in your fantasy community — fix that. The 49ers offense has been a fantasy-friendly unit when healthy but will need stability with this receiving corp. Brandon Aiyuk is lost for the season, and Deebo Samuel is dealing with pneumonia and an oblique and rib strain last week. Veteran Chris Conley is considered week-to-week with a hamstring issue that popped up last week against the Cowboys.
Quarterback Brock Purdy has turned in at least a QB8 performance in his previous three performances and is trending to get back fantasy star Christian McCaffrey after the bye. The 49ers expect Jennings to return from his hip issue that has kept him out of action in Week 7 and 8. But he should have a significant role in this San Francisco offense when he returns. Those are the kind of players we should be stashing right now.
Waiver Wire TE adds for Week 9
1] Cade Otton, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
ESPN 59% | Yahoo! 63% | FAAB Range 7-15%
I know. You're sick of hearing about National Tight Ends Day. So are we. But last weekend was historic, and Cade Otton was a big part of it. On Sunday, Otton turned 10 targets into nine catches for 81 yards and two touchdowns in the thrilling 31-26 loss to the Falcons. The third-year tight end led the Buccaneers in targets (10), receptions (9), and receiving yards (81).
Fantasy managers rushed to the waiver wire to add rookie wideout Jalen McMillan with Mike Evans and Chris Godwin out of this contest. But it was the 25-year-old tight end that veteran quarterback Baker Mayfield favored. Mayfield has been balling this year, and it was understandable to downgrade him without his two fantasy stars in Week 8.
But he was still viable with a QB8 finish on Sunday. Mayfield was still slinging it with 50 attempts — 24 of those targets went to running backs and tight ends. It remains to be seen whether that is a sustainable strategy in real football, but it is very appetizing in fantasy football.
2] Hunter Henry, New England Patriots
ESPN 42% | Yahoo! 39% | FAAB Range 4-7%
Hunter Henry was a holding penalty away from a great fantasy day. But unfortunately, his 39-yard touchdown, as was his fantasy performance, was nullified. Still, Henry turned six targets into five catches for 45 yards in the 25-22 upset victory over the Jets on Sunday. Henry will come into next week as the overall TE10 in half-PPR leagues while finding some success with rookie quarterback Drake Maye.
With Maye as the starter, Henry finished as the TE7 and TE6 in Weeks 6 and 7. The potential is there. We just have to hope Maye is healthy after leaving last week with a concussion after a long scramble. Pay attention to the injury report this week. Henry should be considered a startable option when Maye is active.
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