Perhaps surprisingly, it's a big week on the waivers. Notice, we didn't say a "good" week -- just a big week. The top Week 9 fantasy waiver wire pickups include Adrian Peterson (seriously), Boston Scott, Jordan Howard, and Carlos Hyde -- all of whom were much more popular two or three years ago. But playing time is playing time, and those players, along with Taysom Hill, Pat Freiermuth, DeVante Parker, and more, will command various-sized FAAB bids. It's unlikely you want to break your budget or spend a high claim on any of these players, but depending on your record and bye-week/injury situation, you might have to.
As we'll do every week this season with the help of our friends at Fantasy Alarm, let's break down the top pickups and project how much of your FAAB budget you should bid on them.
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Week 9 Fantasy Football FAAB Advice: Waiver wire QB pickups, streamers
Carson Wentz (IND). Wentz has been a QB1 the past few games, throwing for multiple touchdowns five straight weeks and has a pair of friendly home matchups on the horizon against the Jets and Jaguars. He’s only thrown for over 270 yards once this season, so the passing volume isn’t necessarily there in terms of yardage, but he’s finding the end zone and developing great chemistry with Michael Pittman and has a nice floor going forward. He's unowned in 44 percent of Yahoo leagues, so grab him if you can. Projected FAAB Bid: 6-8% of total budget
Taysom Hill (NO). Jameis Winston (knee) is done for the year, so naturally we look to the replacement. Hill won’t throw it 30 times every week, but he’ll run the ball a good amount and vulture some touchdowns. We know he’s not afraid to call his own number when the Saints gets inside the five-yard line. It looks like Hill will be cleared from the concussion protocol in time to play this week, and you have to assume he gets the start. Proj. FAAB Bid: 5-7%
Justin Fields (CHI). Without Matt Nagy running the show this past week, the training wheels seemingly came off for Fields. The passing volume still wasn’t there for him (and he threw an interception), but he rushed for over 100 yards and found the end zone. Could this have just been lightning in a bottle? Sure. Week 9 will be a good test for Fields and this offense. They go on the road to Pittsburgh on Monday night, but there’s a decent floor in fantasy for Fields if Chicago continues to let him run. Proj. FAAB Bid: 5%
WEEK 9 STANDARD RANKINGS:
Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker
Week 9 Fantasy Football FAAB Advice: Waiver wire RB pickups, streamers
Adrian Peterson (TEN). It's never spending money on a 36-year-old running back, but Peterson could potentially find himself getting 12-15 touches/game as long as he stays healthy. We don’t know the shape or condition he’s in, but the Titans signed him immediately after his workout, so that's a good sign. Last year with the Lions, Peterson managed to score seven touchdowns, and he has 19 scores in the past three seasons. Once he’s up to speed with the offense he’ll likely get the early-down and goal-line work. Projected FAAB Bid: 15-20% of total budget
Mark Ingram (NO). In his first game back with the Saints, Ingram wasted no time re-introducing himself to New Orleans. Four days after being acquired by the Saints, Ingram played 22-of-76 snaps and commanded a decent portion of the running back workload. His presence is a bit of a hit to Alvin Kamara, but with Taysom Hill under center, that’s a knock to just about everyone’s value. You have to assume Ingram’s role only increases from here, so he’s worth adding. Proj. FAAB Bid: 10-13%
Boston Scott (PHI). It’s important to remember that the Eagles are still a bad team that simply beat a worse team on Sunday. Boston Scott and Jordan Howard both scored twice, and both played well ahead of Kenneth Gainwell. This situation could change on a weekly basis, but Scott looks like the running back to grab for now. He was used early on in the running and passing game and should be a flex-worthy play in PPR formats. Howard can be considered in deeper leagues, but his usage/involvement going forward is less reliable. Proj. FAAB Bid: 10-12%
Jaret Patterson (WFT). It’s been a concern for a few weeks now, but Antonio Gibson’ shin injury has become too much to handle it would appear. Washington seemed content to let him play on it, but this week Patterson handled a good chunk of the workload. It could be a trend we see moving forward, though with Washington on bye this week, it's tough to really know. J.D. McKissic will always have a role in the passing game, but it wouldn't be a shock if Patterson’s role also slowly grows going forward. Proj. FAAB Bid: 10%
Jeremy McNichols (TEN). If the Titans didn’t sign Adrian Peterson, McNichols would have been the running back to grab. He could very well get more early-down work, but, at the very least, he figures to be the primary pass-catching back. McNichols leads all Tennessee running backs in receptions, targets, and receiving yards, and Ryan Tannehill could be called upon to check down to his running back a little more. We’ll get some clarity later this week, but McNichols' value has certainly gone up. Proj. FAAB Bid: 6-8%
Carlos Hyde (JAC). This probably feels like a waiver wire article from yesteryear, as some of these names -- including Hyde's -- were more notable several seasons ago. But with injury comes opportunity, and after James Robinson (heel) exited Sunday's game early, Hyde took over. If Robinson has to miss any time, then Hyde’s in line for a decent workload. This offense isn’t very good, but a lot of success for running backs is simply predicated on opportunity. The schedule is difficult against the Bills next week. Proj. FAAB Bid: 3-4%
Derrick Gore (KC). The fantasy community did a collective double take when they saw Gore scoring a touchdown last night. Prior to Monday, Gore had zero carries in his career, but he managed seven carries for 41 yards and the score on the Chiefs' second TD drive, much to the chagrin of Darrel Williams’ managers. Gore’s been in the league a couple years now and has been on the practice squad with four different teams. He’s 26, and we need to be a little objective with acquiring him. In a deeper league he warrants a look, but don't prioritize him just yet, especially with Clyde Edwards-Helaire (knee) eligible to return any time. Proj. FAAB Bid: 1%
WEEK 9 PPR RANKINGS:
Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker
Week 9 Fantasy Football FAAB Advice: Waiver wire WR pickups, streamers
DeVante Parker (MIA). The concern isn’t necessarily with Parker or his talent, but it's fair to question Tua Tagovailoa and the Dolphins' offense. That said, in Parker’s first game back following a three-game absence, he caught eight-of-11 targets for 85 yards. He now has 43 targets in five games has had at least seven targets in every game. So, the workload/involvement is at least consistent enough for us to trust him as an option off the waiver wire. He’s available in slightly less than half of all leagues on ESPN, CBS Sports, and Yahoo, but he’s too good and too involved to be floating around on waivers. Projected FAAB Bid: 10-15% of total budget
Jamison Crowder (NYJ). Crowder could be a nice flex option in PPR formats regardless of who is under center for the Jets. So far in four games he has 23 receptions on 30 targets, and you have to assume he’s in line for seven or eight targets Thursday night against the Colts. The Colts secondary is very friendly to wide receivers, allowing 13 touchdowns to the position on the season. Crowder will be the top option Thursday night if Corey Davis (hip) misses more time, but also keep an eye on Elijah Moore, as well. He looked to come on pretty strong in Sunday’s contest and could be worth a look with back-to-back games seeing six targets. Proj. FAAB Bid: 7-8%
Darius Slayton (NYG). With the Giants once again being dealt injuries on Monday night, we might be turning to Slayton in Week 9 in deeper leagues. This isn’t anything new for the Giants, as they haven’t been at full health all year. Slayton looked absolutely lost Monday night. He had just two targets and put up a goose egg in fantasy. However, in Week 7 he had five catches for 63 yards on nine targets. If the Giants are once again missing some weapons due to injuries, then Slayton is a borderline flex play. Proj. FAAB Bid: 6%
Brandon Aiyuk (SF). Do you like gambling on 2021 fantasy football busts? Then Aiyuk is your guy! It’s actually stunning how bad he’s been this year, whether it's because he’s in Kyle Shanahan’s doghouse or something else. He did show some signs of life last week, though, catching four-of-seven targets for 45 yards and a two-point conversion. That’s not all that great, but he led the team in snaps and routes run on Sunday. That could be a sign that he’s progressed back into Shanahan’s good graces. Proj. FAAB Bid: 5-6%
Jamal Agnew (JAC). It’s incredibly impressive what Agnew has been able to do since DJ Chark (ankle) went down for the season. It’s even more impressive when you consider he’s a former defensive back, but the Jaguars have made him a featured part of the passing attack. It does help that Jacksonville tends to play from behind, but over his past three games, he has 25 targets and found the end zone once. His volume of potential receptions bumps his value in PPR formats. Proj. FAAB Bid: 2-3%
MORE WEEK 9: Top waiver pickups | Buy-Low, Sell-High
Week 9 Fantasy Football FAAB Advice: Waiver wire TE pickups, streamers
Pat Freiermuth (PIT). For the third straight week, Freiermuth makes the waiver wire article. We liked Freiermuth as an option once JuJu Smith-Schuster (shoulder) went down for the year, and the fact that Eric Ebron (hamstring) was out on Sunday only helped Freiermuth's involvement. Freiermuth was on the field for 72 percent of the team’s offensive snaps and caught four passes on seven targets while finding the end zone. He’s not a top-12 tight end yet, but as his role in the offense grows, then we can have more confidence in him. Projected FAAB Bid: 8-10% of total budget
Evan Engram/Kyle Rudolph (NYG). Stop me if you heard this one before, but the Giants were bit by the injury bug Monday night. Sterling Shepard and Kadarius Toney were "questionable" coming into Monday’s game and both -- along with Dante Pettis -- left with new injuries (Toney came back, though). Both Engram and Rudolph found the end zone Monday night, but the Chiefs have been allowing plenty of tight ends to score of late. Truthfully, neither of these options are great as streamers because they’re so touchdown dependent. If the Giants are once again without an abundance of offensive weapons, they’ll have to throw to someone even if we’re looking to go incredibly cheap with Engram or Rudolph. Proj. FAAB Bid: 2%
Week 9 Fantasy Football FAAB Advice: Waiver wire Defense pickups, streamers
As we always caution, you shouldn't spend more than one percent of your FAAB budget on a D/ST. Here are this week's potential streaming pickups:
- Carolina Panthers (vs. Patriots in in Week 9)
- New Orleans Saints (vs. Falcons)
- Dallas Cowboys (vs. Broncos)
- Las Vegas Raiders (@ Giants)
- Green Bay Packers (@ Chiefs)
- Miami Dolphins (vs. Texans)