Waiver Wire Week 9: Stat Projections for Top Fantasy Pickups and Sleepers

The realm of the infamous fantasy football sleeper is an unpredictable place.

Time that player's awakening right, and you'll look like a genius for riding your hidden gem to a critical victory. Guess wrong, though, and you'll wonder why you ever trusted that unproven third option in a bad offense.

Good thing the 2019 NFL season affords you ample opportunities to guess right. With the New Orleans Saints, Los Angeles Rams, Atlanta Falcons and Cincinnati Bengals all on bye in Week 9, you might need to roll the dice on a few of these volatile fantasy options.

Luckily, you've come to the right place, as we've identified our top sleepers—available in 50-plus percent of Yahoo leagues, per FantasyPros—at the quarterback, running back and wide receiver spots, plus projected their Week 9 outputs.

You're welcome.

Top Sleeper Pickups

Quarterback: Ryan Tannehill, Tennessee Titans (30 Percent Owned)

Ryan Tannehill?! Surely, we can't be serious.

Well, folks, we are serious. And for the last time, stop calling us Shirley. (Sorry, couldn't help it.)

Maybe Tannehill burned you in the past. Maybe he'll do it again in the future. Neither of those is your primary concern. If you're solely focused on the present—as all non-dynasty leaguers should be—you have to appreciate the momentum he's generating in Tennessee.

In his first start, he put 312 passing yards and two touchdowns on the Los Angeles Chargers. In his second, he threw for three scores and zero interceptions against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Those are streamer-quality stat lines.

A Week 9 matchup with the Carolina Panthers isn't great on paper, but it's doable. Gardner Minshew II passed for 374 yards and two touchdowns against this defense. Kyler Murray and Jimmy Garoppolo also orchestrated multi-score performances against it. This recent wave of production suggests Tannehill can do the same, and our crystal ball agrees.

Projected stats: 237 passing yards, two touchdowns

Running Back: Raheem Mostert, San Francisco 49ers (Six Percent Owned)

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If this feels like we're throwing a dart here, that's because we are. Blindfolded. Using our off hand.

But yikes, the running back position is thin on the waiver wire. The Kenyan Drake trade made Mark Walton (32 percent owned) look interesting in theory, until he totaled just 54 yards on 14 touches Monday night. Drake (61 percent owned) is possibly intriguing in Arizona, but that backfield is packed like a Beyonce concert, and this team draws a feisty San Francisco 49ers defense on a short week, so...no thanks.

The position is so shallow—cue the studio audience's 'How shallow is it?'—the recommendation is almost to grab a healing Derrius Guice (29 percent owned), but he can't help you before Week 11.

So, we'll give a halfhearted endorsement of Raheem Mostert, who might be relevant after Matt Breida (ankle) and Jeff Wilson Jr. (stinger) were knocked out of Sunday's game. The Niners are run-heavy enough to support multiple backs in fantasy, meaning if Mostert is next-in-line behind Tevin Coleman, he could offer waiver-wire value.

Mostert has three games with 60-plus scrimmage yards, and his robust 5.7-yards-per-carry average indicates the chance for efficiency even on less-than-ideal volume. Stranger things have happened than a mini-Mostert breakout.

Projected stats: Seven carries, 48 yards, two receptions, 29 yards, one touchdown

Wide Receiver: Demaryius Thomas, New York Jets (Six Percent Owned)

Forget everything you've ever heard about the dangers of playing with fire. It's OK, in the fantasy football realm, at least.

When quarterback Sam Darnold isn't investigating the paranormal, he's often looking in the direction of Demaryius Thomas. The veteran wideout has been targeted 27 times over the past four weeks, and that volume could be helpful as New York's schedule softens, starting with Sunday's visit to South Florida.

"The Jets continue to find themselves in needing-to-pass situations, which should bode well for Thomas going forward," ESPN's Field Yates wrote. "He's a deeper league consideration and if—if—the Jets can take advantage of a favorable upcoming schedule, this passing offense should look far better."

While it's easy to forget in this what-have-you-done-for-me-lately hobby, but Darnold is only three weeks removed from tagging the Dallas Cowboys for 338 passing yards and two scores. Considering the Dolphins have allowed five 20-fantasy-point performances to quarterbacks through seven games, this is Darnold's best bet for a Jay-Z-like reintroduction.

So long as his quarterback is seeing straight, Thomas has the chance to make noise.

Projected stats: Seven receptions, 83 yards, one touchdown