Week 8 is upon us, and that means it’s now time to start thinking about Week 9. While your leaguemates concentrate on the immediate fixtures, you can gain an edge by looking to next week’s fixtures and seeing which fantasy football players might be worth picking up off the waiver wire ahead of time to gain an advantage. Instead of fighting things out on the waiver wire, these players could join your roster for free, now.
Instead of fighting things out on the waiver wire next week, these players could join your roster for free, now. We use rostership data from Yahoo, which provides a large sample size and tends to be fairly reliable. We understand you’ll be dying to say ‘he’s not available in my league’ to every suggestion, even regarding players available in fewer than 10% of leagues. However, by selecting players typically rostered in 50% or fewer of leagues, we should have a good range of players available in many leagues.
We’ve hit a really difficult part of the schedule for waivers and stashes, with the bye weeks coming thick and fast, it’s pretty bleak out there. This week, the column will aim to give you a few streamers for Week 9 but also some valuable stashes going forward.
Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Stashes Ahead of Week 9
Week 9 Bye Weeks
- Cleveland Browns
- New York Jets
- Philadelphia Eagles
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Joe Flacco (QB – CIN) | 51% Rostered
Through two games with the Bengals, Joe Flacco has looked far better than Jake Browning, and he has restored faith for those of us with Ja’Marr Chase or Tee Higgins on our rosters. The Bears have allowed the seventh-most adjusted fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks, and with both teams having poor defenses, it pushes both offenses into high-passing volume situations.
This week, against the Ravens, the Bears are missing three of their top options at cornerback, and it’s unclear how many will return in Week 9. Flacco is the QB9 in points per game since joining the Bengals, and there’s no reason to think that won’t continue to be the area he settles in with this incredible offense around him.
Sam Darnold (QB – NYJ) | 40% Rostered
Sam Darnold isn’t the most fantasy-friendly quarterback in the streets, but it’s pretty bleak out there, and there are reasons for hope. In Week 9, the Seahawks play the Commanders, who allow the fifth-most quarterback adjusted fantasy points and rank 24th in pass defense allowed in expected points added (EPA) per dropback.
Darnold also has shown he can go head-to-head with teams when pushed, and the Commanders should be at full strength for Week 9 with Deebo Samuel and Terry McLaurin back this week, and Jayden Daniels set to return in Week 9.
Kyle Monangai (RB – CHI) | 42% Rostered
In Week 7, we saw Kyle Monangai get double-digit touches for the first time in his rookie season, totaling 13 rushing attempts for 81 yards and a touchdown while also catching two passes for 13 yards. That was good for 17.4 fantasy points and an RB12 overall finish in Week 7.
Monangai should not be on waivers. In Week 9, the Bears take on the Bengals, who allow the most fantasy points to opposing running backs, as well as the third-highest yards before contact per attempt. Monangai has solidified the No. 2 RB role, and Ben Johnson has shown he can utilize two backs in the same scheme. Monangai is a must-roster.
Zonovan Knight (RB – NYJ) | 21% Rostered
Much as we always want to start players facing the Bengals’ woeful defense, we also want to start players facing the Cowboys’ defense, which the Cardinals face in Week 9. The Cowboys rank 28th in rushing EPA allowed on defense and give up the fourth-most fantasy points to the position.
Over the last two games the Cardinals played before their current bye week, Knight saw 25 carries for 91 yards and had six targets. Those came in games against the Colts and Packers, who rank in the top-12 of run defenses, a far cry from what Dallas will offer to stop Zonovan Knight.
Devin Neal (RB – NO) | 5% Rostered
Just as Kendre Miller had finally carved out a role for himself on this Saints offense, bad luck struck again, and he tore his ACL, ruling him out for the season. This has opened up an opportunity for Devin Neal, who the coaches confirmed this week would be the No. 2 RB going forward. Miller had seen 36 rush attempts over his last four fully healthy games and had been productive in this fast-paced Kellen Moore offense.
Alvin Kamara is rushing for a career-low 3.6 yards per carry and is seeing his fewest attempts per game since 2020 (13.6). The team is either working around his age or trying not to overload him. Neal didn’t perform well at the NFL Scouting Combine, but when you watched his game tape, he had true speed and agility. It was surprising seeing him fall to the sixth round in this loaded class, but he’ll now get the chance to showcase his ability and is worth stashing in deeper leagues.
Tre Tucker (WR – LV) | 42% Rostered/Jack Bech (WR – LV) | 1% Rostered
The wide receiver room has never looked as thin and grim as it does this week, and when we’re talking about Raiders wide receivers, it can’t be much fun, but stick with me. Jakobi Meyers reiterated his desire to be traded this week, and with the Raiders seemingly in a lost season, it would make sense for them to start turning their attention to 2026 and recouping some draft capital.
Tre Tucker has already flashed this season and has had four games with double-digit PPR scores, while Jack Bech has seen his snap shares go from sitting below 25% in the first four games to over 52% in each of the last three. The Raiders have been horrible on offense and rank 29th in EPA per dropback, but against the Jaguars’ defense, who allow the 13th-most wide receiver fantasy points, desperate times call for desperate measures.
Jalen Coker (WR – CAR) | 8% Rostered
Jalen Coker only played 47% of the snaps last week as he ramps up in his return from injury, but it shouldn’t be surprising to see him play more in the immediate future, as the Panthers had big plans for him coming into this season.
Coker had four games in 2024 with a target share above 17%, the 12th-highest catch rate on passes 15+ yards downfield among wideouts with 10+ targets and a better yards per route run rate than Xavier Legette, separating better and turning targets into production at a better rate. Legette did well in Week 7, but over a larger sample, we’ve seen Coker be the more productive No. 2 WR on this offense.
Mason Taylor (TE – NYJ) | 32% Rostered
With the Jets headed into a much-needed bye week, Mason Taylor might drop even below these numbers if he doesn’t have a blow-up game against the Bengals in Week 8. The Bengals had allowed the most fantasy points to the tight end position even before they got mauled by Steelers tight ends in Week 7, giving up four combined receiving touchdowns to Pat Freiermuth, Jonnu Smith and Darnell Washington.
Taylor may have a strong game this week without Garrett Wilson. Either way, Taylor has earned his targets, and the passing game could improve around him if Tyrod Taylor is the starter going forward. With the Jets’ defense regressing heavily this year, they frequently find themselves in pass-heavy scripts that benefit pass-catchers.
Colston Loveland (TE – CHI) | 20% Rostered
Speaking of that woeful Bengals defense, who get destroyed by tight ends, it could be Colston Loveland’s turn in Week 9, who has started to separate from Cole Kmet. Loveland has seen target shares above 10% in each of his last three games and hasn’t been out-targeted by Kmet since Week 2.
This week, Kmet has been ruled out against the Ravens, giving Loveland a prime spot to have a breakout game ahead of another peach matchup.
Isaiah Likely (TE – BAL) | 6% Rostered
If you’re scraping the barrel, Isaiah Likely missed the first few weeks of the season and did very little in his return to action, but coming off the Ravens’ bye week, he should be healthier and also have a healthy Lamar Jackson for a run of must-win games.
The Ravens play the Bears and the Dolphins in the space of a few days, with them both ranked inside the top 15 for fantasy points allowed to tight ends. Likely is in a contract year and looks like the future of the Ravens’ tight end room. Now would be a good time for him to prove it.
