Last week’s consensus top add was Lions RB Ty Johnson, and it wasn’t difficult to find him touted as a top sleeper this week against the Giants. Turns out, Detroit had other plans, starting recent pickup Tra Carson and giving him five more carries than Johnson. Arizona’s Chase Edmonds was also a popular pickup, but he had just eight yards rushing before leaving with an injury. So, are the top Week 9 fantasy waiver wire pickups just a big exercise in futility? Eh, jury’s out. This week they probably are because there really aren’t any guys worth waiver claims, at least after the Sunday afternoon games. We have a bunch of potential free agents and not much more, which is why we gave this article an NFL trade deadline theme.
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Even with some notable injuries (Edmonds, Brandin Cooks, Miles Sanders, Dede Westbrook), the fill-ins don’t exactly scream “must-have”. Their respective backups are on our full free agent list, along with a host of Week 9 matchup-based streamers at QB, WR, TE, and D/ST, but chances are you won’t really care if you get them. You can find the potential D/ST streamers — and there’s a lot of them — at the end of this list.
WEEK 9: Waiver wire | RB handcuff chart
About the only player who’s worth using a waiver claim on hasn’t even played yet this week, and that’s Miami’s Mark Walton. With Kenyan Drake as good as gone via trade, Walton should command the majority of RB touches for the Dolphins. That hasn’t been a fruitful position this season, but Walton is still worth adding with middle-to-low waiver claim. Seattle’s Rashaad Penny would command a high claim if he’s traded to an RB-needy team, but for now, that’s just speculation. You shouldn’t burn a claim on anyone else unless you’re really in a bind because of byes/injuries, and even then you shouldn’t use a high claim on them.
Top fantasy football waiver wire pickups for Week 9
Unless otherwise noted, only players owned in fewer than 50 percent of Yahoo leagues considered.
Mark Walton, RB, Dolphins. With Kenyan Drake reportedly on his way out of Miami via trade, Walton should take over as the Dolphins lead back. In reality, he already had, posting 14 carries last week and 11 total touches the week before. He’s mostly produced with that workload, too, racking up 133 total yards. Kalen Ballage has been vulturing the touchdowns, but with Drake gone, Walton could get more work inside the 10, especially on third downs. Either way, he’s a “starting” running back who should be good for a dozen-plus touches every week, and that gives him plenty of FLEX value, especially during the bye weeks.
Rashaad Penny, RB, Seahawks. Penny had a good Week 8, rushing for 55 yards on eight carries, but the reason he’s on this list is because his name has been mentioned in trade rumors. If Penny were to go somewhere where he’s the lead back, he’d have immediate RB2 — and possibly RB1 — value. Fantasy owners should invest ahead of Tuesday’s trade deadline if they can, be it via trade or as a pickup in leagues without waivers. If the trade deadlines comes and go with Penny still on the Seahawks, he only has value as a handcuff to Chris Carson.
WEEK 9: Waiver pickups
Auden Tate and Alex Erickson, WRs, Bengals. Erickson (97 yards in Week 8, 137 yards in Week 7) just had his second good game in a row, while Tate (12 targets in Week 8) has been a target monster all season. Even if A.J. Green is still on the Bengals past Tuesday, one or both of these receivers could have value. Erickson seems have filled the fole of slot PPR extraordinaire, so he might actually have more value if Green returns, but Tate is currently filling the role as de facto No. 1 receiver and TD threat. Because Cincinnati has a Week 9 bye, neither of these WRs will be priority adds, but they’re still worth free agent pickups.
Tra Carson, RB, Lions. After getting burned by Ty Johnson last week, we don’t blame you if you’re not interested in Carson. After all, he had just 12 carries for 34 yards (compared to 7-24 for Johnson and 3-4 for Paul Perkins). But as the starter who received the majority of the carries, Carson warrants attention. Carson has a mediocre-at-best matchup next week against Oakland, so given the crowded backfield, he might not be worth much, but with three of the four after that against questionable run defenses (Chicago twice and Washington), Carson could have some future value.
For more waiver/free agent suggestions, including WR fliers and D/ST streamers, check out our full Week 9 list.