Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Advice: Who to Pick Up in Week 9

The first weekend of November brings the second straight week in which the NFL schedule features six teams on a bye. Many fantasy football owners may find themselves in need of a couple “plug-in and play” type players again this week.

If that is the case, take a look at our Week 9 Waiver Wire “Pick Them Ups” list for recommendations at each position.

Matthew Stafford (Detroit Lions)

Stafford returned to action in Week 8, and went 26-for-40 for 212 yards with four touchdowns and one interception against the Washington Redskins.

We recommended you pick up Stafford a few weeks back in anticipation of his return from his Week 1 shoulder injury, and if you had a need this week and plugged him in to your lineup you reaped the rewards. 

He has a reasonably tough matchup next week against the New York Jets, however, if you are in a league that starts two quarterbacks go ahead and roll with Stafford. The second-year signal-caller out of Georgia is available in over half of Yahoo! leagues right now, and should be picked up immediately.

Grab Stafford and pair him with a comparable player; from there you can play matchups on a weekly basis.

Kevin Smith (Detroit Lions)

With Lions running back Jahvid Best still battling a turf toe issue, Smith had 12 carries for 51 yards and two receptions for 16 yards in Week 9. Since returning to action after suffering a torn ACL last season, Smith had been slowing trending upward and in Week 8, coming off the bye, he had his most productive game to date.

There is no word yet as to what the ball carry distribution will be moving forward, however, don’t be surprised if the Lions use a some type of RBBC approach moving forward.

With Best lacking consistency, we project Smith to stay in the mix as long as he himself stays healthy. He should be available in most, if not all, fantasy leagues and if you need depth at running back feel free to gamble on Smith, who is just one year removed from a 1,000-yard, eight-touchdown campaign.

Keiland Williams (Washington Redskins)

Williams had six carries for 25 yards and a touchdown along with three catches for 28 yards last week after Ryan Torain (hamstring) left the game. Torain has had a significant injury history during his career, and Williams would be in line to be the Redskins’ primary ball carrier if he is not ready after the team’s Week 9 bye. 

Needless to say, being the main running back in a Mike Shanahan offense is usually a good thing. Shanahan has an extensive history of getting superb play out of mediocre players and if Torain were to miss time, could Williams be the next in line?

At this point, if you are a Torain owner, Williams is a virtual must-add until more is known about his injury status. Even if you’re not a Torain owner, Williams is well worth consideration if you need running back depth.

To see who else you should target this week go here...Who To Pick Up in Week 9