Big Blue View
Wading into the free agent pool for roster help
Welcome to the Fantasy Football Waiver Wire for Week 9! We’re at the halfway point of the NFL regular season and have blown past that line for fantasy football. It’s time to start the playoff push, and fantasy managers face the challenge of the never-ending story of NFL injuries, plus more than half of NFL teams haven’t had their Bye week yet. The Waiver Wire can help, and if you’re in a league that uses a free agent acquisition budget (FAAB) system, (a) nice job, you’re doing things the right way, and (b) it’s time to think about spending some of what you have left.
As for this week’s crop of free agents, for the second straight week the most intriguing position is Wide Receiver. There’s also decent help available at the QB position.
The Process***:*** Each week, I try to identify the top Waiver Wire targets and evaluate the short- and long-term prospects of those players. I also do my best to reveal which players who are coming off a big week are fool’s gold. Finally, I look at streamers who might help you in a pinch (this is usually more important during Bye weeks). Note that I’m writing this column BEFORE the Week 8 Monday night game (NYG@PIT).
Some players discussed won’t be available in your league. I try to list players who are available in more than 50% of leagues. But what does that even mean? A 10-team league with six bench spots will have a much larger Free Agent pool than a 14-team league with eight. Most leagues fall somewhere in between. This isn’t “one size fits all.” By way of example, I won’t list Tua Tagovailoa, Trevor Lawrence, Sam Darnold, Bucky Irving, Tyrone Tracy, Jr., Alexander Mattison, Ladd McConkey, or Hunter Henry this week, among others who probably aren’t available in any of your leagues. Those guys all would be priority adds if available.
WEEK 9 BYES: PIT, SF
Week 9 Waiver Wire
Quarterback:
Need a second quarterback for a Superflex league, or another starting option in a 1-QB league? There are again some appealing choices this week.
Matthew Stafford. Stafford will be a hot add this week, after he lit up the Vikings for 279 yards and four TDs on Thursday night. He came into that game with just three TD passes on the season, but there are good reasons to believe that his performance this week wasn’t a fluke. He had both of his starting WRs on the field for the first time, and those guys are really good. In the weeks when Stafford had both Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua available last season, he was a borderline Top-10 QB. He also had a much better second half in 2023 than first half (in part because of Kupp’s return from injury), and second-half momentum again appears to be on his side, as the Rams are still in it in the NFC West. Buy now,...
