Week 9 Waiver Wire: Breakout Pickups, Targets and Tips for Fantasy Football

Near the end of an immensely high-scoring weekend of NFL action that saw a plethora of crushing injuries to key fantasy players, the waiver wire should be hotter than ever entering Week 9.

The list of injuries from Sunday's games reads more like the top of a preseason fantasy draft, with some of the league's most relevant stat-stuffers going down with serious injuries. On top of that, a few of the highest-scoring games in recent seasons will also have desperate owners flocking to the waivers.

Let's take a look at some of the hottest waiver options for the upcoming week.

Pos.	Player	Team	Week 9 Opp.	% Owned
QB	Jameis Winston	Buccaneers	NYG	17.3
QB	Alex Smith	Chiefs	Bye	40.8
RB	Jeremy Langford	Bears	SD	2.2
RB	DeAngelo Williams	Steelers	OAK	27.2
WR	Dwayne Harris	Giants	TB	3.1
WR	Marques Colston	Saints	TEN	29.2
WR	Brian Hartline	Browns	CIN	0.5
WR	Tavon Austin	Rams	MIN	44.8
TE	Heath Miller	Steelers	OAK	35.2

Must-Add Targets

Jameis Winston, QB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

John Bazemore/Associated Press

All he does is win-win-Winston. 

It hasn't been a pretty rookie season for Jameis Winston, but the Buccaneers signal-caller is coming into his own as a playmaker. He led Tampa Bay to another big early lead on Sunday, this time against the Atlanta Falcons—and this time, overcoming a late comeback from the opponent to make the winning plays in overtime.

Winston only threw for 177 yards and a score, but he avoided interceptions for a third straight week and is showing increasing success on the ground. He had 24 rushing yards and a touchdown in the 23-20 victory, giving him 19 ESPN points for the second straight week.

With bye weeks in full flux, Winston is a more than serviceable plug-and-play guy for Week 9 as his Bucs face a New York Giants defense fresh off allowing seven touchdowns to New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees.

Jeremy Langford, RB, Chicago Bears

Charles Rex Arbogast/Associated Press

Silver linings when it comes to potentially serious injuries are few and far between, but the chance for an afterthought player to emerge into fantasy relevance is one of them. Jeremy Langford looks to be a potential beneficiary of that.

Bears star rusher and do-it-all dynamo Matt Forte left Sunday's game with a right knee injury after "he appeared to land awkwardly," ESPN.com's Jeff Dickerson reported. Langford filled in pretty well with 46 yards on 12 carries, and his team remains confident he can fill the void, per Adam Jahns of the Chicago Sun-Times:

Langford may be in the doghouse of Bears fans this week after dropping a critical third-down pass in Chicago's 23-20 loss to the Minnesota Vikings. But the fact of the matter is he's the new No. 1 guy in Chicago's backfield—should Forte miss any time—and that alone makes the rookie out of Michigan State worthy of a pickup.

Malcom Floyd, WR, San Diego Chargers

Gregory Bull/Associated Press

Chargers wide receiver Malcom Floyd hasn't been much more than a deep-ball threat so far in 2015, but he proved he can be more than that Sunday—and catch a deep ball in the process.

Floyd caught a short-yardage touchdown early in San Diego's 29-26 loss to the Baltimore Ravens and then turned around after that for a huge 70-yard score. He finished with 92 yards and two touchdowns on four catches—and, most importantly, led the Chargers in targets with six.

The Chargers' passing attack still revolves around the spectacular Keenan Allen, but he left Sunday's game with an injury. Monitoring his status should be in order for anyone hoping to start Floyd, but pick up Floyd regardless, as he showed his potential Sunday.   

Heath Miller, TE, Pittsburgh Steelers

Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press

You just knew that once Ben Roethlisberger returned to the field, tight end Heath Miller would return to fantasy relevance. That's just what happened Sunday.

Miller caught only five passes in the four games that Roethlisberger missed but immediately returned to his dangerous self Sunday with his quarterback back in the fold. He caught a whopping 10 passes on 13 targets for 105 yards.

The veteran tight end dropped like a fly from fantasy rosters once Roethlisberger's injury rendered him irrelevant in fantasy football. But the Steelers offense showed Sunday that he's back to what he does best—catching passes from Big Ben.