Fantasy Football Waiver Wire: Early Must-Adds for Week 9

Here's your Sunday night jump-start to the fantasy football waiver wire for Week 9.

Week 8 on the NFL schedule is almost over, with Sunday night and Monday night games to be completed. After a week off, for some reason, byes are back on the docket for Week 9 with two teams (Pittsburgh Steelers, San Francisco 49ers) idle.

Here are your early must-adds off the fantasy football waiver wire for Week 9.

Cedric Tillman, WR, Cleveland Browns

Tillman had seven receptions for 99 yards and two touchdowns on Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens. Over the last two games, since Amari Cooper was traded, he has 15 catches for 180 yards on 21 targets.

The Browns now have a functioning pass offense with Jameis Winston under center, with he and Tillman displaying obvious rapport.

Upcoming matchups aren’t overly favorable, and a Week 10 bye should be noted. But Tillman is absolutely worth adding as a WR3/WR4 with upside in leagues with 12 or more teams.

ESPN Ownership: 16%
Yahoo! Ownership: 19%

Bo Nix, QB, Denver Broncos

Nix went 28-for-37 for 284 yards with four total touchdowns (three passing, one rushing) against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday. He has multiple passing touchdowns in three of his last four games, with over 60 rushing yards or a touchdown on the ground in all four. He has topped 20 fantasy points (Yahoo! scoring) in three of his last four games and he has topped 19 fantasy points in four of his last six.

In Week 9 Nix gets a favorable matchup against the Baltimore Ravens, who entered Week 8 allowing the third-most fantasy points per game to quarterbacks (Yahoo! scoring). The Ravens have allowed multiple passing touchdowns in four straight games (counting Sunday), and over 330 passing yards in three of those.

After that and before a Week 14 bye, Nix gets solid matchups against the Kansas City Chiefs (Week 10), Atlanta Falcons (Week 11) and Las Vegas Raiders (Week 12). Week 13 against the Cleveland Browns is better than it looks. Cleveland entered Week 8 in the top half of the league in fantasy points allowed to quarterbacks, but three of the last four signal callers they’ve faced have topped 20 fantasy points (Yahoo! scoring) and five of eight quarterbacks they’ve faced this season have at least 20 rushing yards.

Nix has improved a lot in recent weeks, pushing himself to the level of a QB1 in fantasy. With that in mind, and the latest possible bye week to further his appeal, the rookie is a must-add heading into Week 9.

ESPN Ownership: 36.7%
Yahoo! Ownership: 25%

Tyrone Tracy, RB, New York Giants

As of this writing, Tracy and the Giants don’t play until Monday night and it’s a tough matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers. But that matchup, and an ugly showing in Week 7, kept the rookie from being added like he should have been last week.

Devin Singletary returned to action in Week 7, and the playing time gap that existed in that game (39 snaps for Tracy, 12 for Singletary) seems likely to even out going forward. But if snaps are doled out based on production and talent, and not head coach Brian Daboll leaning into his history with/affinity for Singletary, Tracy could maintain the lead role.

After Monday night’s game, around a Week 11 bye, matchups get far easier for Tracy and the Giants’ running backs (Washington Commanders-Week 9, Carolina Panthers-Week 10, Tampa Bay Buccaneers-Week 12, Dallas Cowboys-Week 13, New Orleans Saints-Week 14).

Tracy should be rostered in all 12-team leagues, plain and simple. So even without playing a game since last week’s must-adds were written, he makes it here again heading into Week 9.

ESPN Ownership: 46.3%
Yahoo! Ownership: 52%

Keon Coleman, WR, Buffalo Bills

Coleman had five catches for 70 yards and a touchdown (on seven targets) against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday. After a slow start to his rookie season, he has nine catches for 195 yards on 14 targets over the last two games, in line with Amari Cooper’s arrival. Going back a little further he has scored or topped 50 yards in five of his last six games, but the last two games have been his matching season-high in targets.

Coleman is more along the line of a WR3 in 12-team leagues as bye weeks get going again, with matchups coming against the Miami Dolphins (Week 9), Indianapolis Colts (Week 10), Kansas City Chiefs (Week 11) before a Week 12 bye. But as the boom-or-bust element he has is met by an uptick in targets, he should be added in any league he’s available in.

ESPN Ownership: 57.8%
Yahoo! Ownership: 41%

Matthew Stafford, QB, Los Angeles Rams

Stafford went 25-for-34 for 279 yard with four touchdown and an interception in Week 8 against the Minnesota Vikings, topping the number of passing touchdowns he had over his six games this season combined (three). He also had both of his top two wide receivers (Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua) available for the first time since Week 1. Nacua was injured in the season opener, and Kupp went down in Week 2. No coincidentally, Kupp and Nacua combined for a 50 percent target share and 12 catches for 157 yards against Minnesota.

In Week 9, Stafford gets a solid matchup against the Seattle Seahawks. Then comes a stretch of tougher-looking matchups (Miami Dolphins-Week 10, New England Patriots-Week 11, Philadelphia Eagles-Week 12, New Orleans Saints-Week 13, Buffalo Bills-Week 14). All five of those opponents from Week 10-14 entered Week 8 allowing 1.3 passing touchdowns per game or less, but three of them (Bills, Saints and Patriots) also entered Week 8 in the top half of the league in most pass attempts against and gross passing yards allowed.

As long as his top two receivers are available, Stafford has a solid fantasy floor with some natural weekly upside. He has also already had his bye, which bolsters his value as a waiver wire add in all 12-team leagues.

ESPN Ownership: 18.5%
Yahoo! Ownership: 39%

Trevor Lawrence, QB, Jacksonville Jaguars

Lawrence went 21-for-32 for 308 yards with two touchdowns and an interception on Sunday against the Green Bay Packers, along with 10 rushing yards and a score on the ground. He has multiple passing touchdowns in four of his last five games, with over 300 yards through the air twice.

Week 9 brings a fairly tough matchup for Lawrence against the Philadelphia Eagles, though the game script could bring high passing volume. Then comes easier matchups in Week 10 (Minnesota Vikings) and Week 11 (Detroit Lions) before a Week 12 bye. After that bye, the only tough-looking matchup comes in Week 15 against the New York Jets.

His overall upside can be questioned, but Lawrence has been sneaky productive lately and a bad Jaguars’ defense is sure to give him volume-based opportunity in certain matchups-like each of the next three weeks. The former No. 1 overall pick is a must-add in superflex leagues, and he’s a solid one-quarterback league streaming option in each week before his bye.

ESPN Ownership: 33.6%
Yahoo! Ownership: 49%

Michael Wilson, WR, Arizona Cardinals

Wilson had five receptions for 31 yards and a touchdown against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, as he finished third on the Cardinals with six targets. He has scored in two of his last three games, with at least six targets and double full PPR points in four of his last six.

There is significant weekly boom-or-bust with Wilson, as there will be games where he doesn’t see a lot of targets. But the recent trend is good enough to put him on the waiver wire radar in leagues with 12 or more teams as a WR3/WR4/flex option to help navigate the remainder of bye weeks (Cardinals have a Week 11 bye).

ESPN Ownership: 12.5%
Yahoo! Ownership: 16%

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