Hello and welcome to the Week 9 waiver wire watch!
Another weekend of NFL action is mostly in the books and congratulations, you’ve survived bye-mageddon…or so we hope. There were many impressive quarterback performances over the weekend with over 10 players generating at least 20 fantasy points. That included a few gunslingers flying under the radar and some of them are just waiting to be scooped up.
We’ll go over some performers that you should consider scooping off the waiver wire ahead of Week 9 and as always, we’ll classify a waiver add as someone who is rostered in 60% of leagues at the max.
Week 9 byes: Cleveland Browns, New York Jets, Philadelphia Eagles, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Joe Flacco, QB, Cincinnati Bengals (53.5%)
The Bengals blew a two-touchdown lead in the fourth quarter to hand the Jets their first win of the season on Sunday but hey, you can’t really put that meltdown on Flacco. The veteran threw for 223 yards and two touchdowns for the afternoon and he even showed off his wheels with a 1-yard touchdown. How’s that for a 40-year-old? The Super Bowl 47 MVP is also fully on board with the effective “Ja’Marr Chase down there somewhere” strategy as he targeted the All-Pro 17 times on Sunday.
Flacco’s rostership has rapidly jumped from roughly 10% to just over 50% in just the last seven days, so this will most likely be the last week you can find him on the waiver wire. Get a bid in immediately if you’re interested.
Week 9 matchup: vs. Chicago Bears, 1 p.m. ET
Tua Tagovailoa, QB, Miami Dolphins (21.3%)
From the looks of it, the Dolphins apparently hit up the Panthers about how a blowout win over the Falcons can temporarily boost morale. Tagovailoa was excellent in their 34-10 victory in Atlanta on Sunday, throwing for 205 yards and four touchdowns to earn a season-high 24.2 fantasy points for the week. No turnovers, no turmoil, things will at least be calm around the struggling franchise for the next few days.
If you take away the prior two weeks of disastrous turnovers, Tagovailoa has actually been a decent add in fantasy and can be a positive in your starting lineup as long as you have other strong pieces surrounding him. Perhaps he’s someone worth looking into this week as he’s facing a Ravens defense that has been torched for most of the season.
Week 9 matchup: vs. Baltimore Ravens, 8:15 p.m. ET (Thursday night)
Aaron Rodgers, QB, Pittsburgh Steelers (47.4%)
The Steelers dropped their second straight game in a 35-25 loss to the Packers and their once commanding lead atop the AFC North standings is starting to look shaky. Rodgers at least had himself another solid outing through the air with 219 yards and two touchdowns this season. We’ve mentioned this before, but he’s making up for his lack of explosive plays by connecting on short, easy throws and his 16 touchdowns through seven games has kept him relevant in fantasy.
As always, the four-time MVP is a nice add if you have a strong roster complementing him. Sunday’s battle against the AFC-leading Colts will be a tough matchup, but he should be able to scrape together another good effort.
Week 9 matchup: vs. Indianapolis Colts, 1 p.m. ET
Trevor Lawrence, QB, Jacksonville Jaguars (33.8%)
The Jags are coming off their bye and will have had two weeks to stew on their embarrassing 35-7 loss to the Rams in London. Lawrence wasn’t the most accurate in this contest, but he was still able to generate 17.6 fantasy points with 296 yards and a touchdown on the day. It’s been an up-and-down year for the former No. 1 overall pick and it’s been hard to make heads or tails of which Lawrence will show up.
Fortunately for him, he’ll get a crack at a Raiders team that has given up at least 25 points in four of their last five games. Given Geno Smith’s interception problem this season, Lawrence may be able to steal a few extra possessions in this one.
Week 9 matchup: @ Las Vegas Raiders, 4:05 p.m. ET
