Fantasy Football Week 9 Waiver Wire Pickups: Antonio Brown and 5 Winning Pickups

The key to a great year in fantasy football is all about making adjustments, as well as adapting to whatever bad fortune may come your way. 

Injuries happen every year, and there is nothing fantasy players can do to avoid it, but they can overcome it. 

Some key players in fantasy football are on a bye this week, which means hitting the waiver wires is very important. The Jacksonville Jaguars, Carolina Panthers, Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings are all on a bye this week. 

Here are five guys to claim off waivers that will help your team, and as always, feel free to leave a comments with any fantasy football help you need. 

Antonio Brown, WR 

The Pittsburgh Steelers receiver is owned in 27 percent of ESPN leagues and 59 percent of Yahoo! leagues. 

He had the most targets of any receiver last week, and even though the Steelers have a number of options at the WR position, it's no secret that Ben Roethlisberger is always looking Brown's way. 

Teams scheme to stop Mike Wallace, which frees up space for Brown. In fact, Brown has more targets than Wallace, which is rare since Wallace is the Steelers No. 1 WR. 

Pittsburgh isn't going to throw the ball 50 times in Week 9 against the Baltimore Ravens, but they will still air it out, and Brown is a great guy to add to your team. 

Jonathan Baldwin, WR 

The Kansas City Chiefs receiver was owned in less than one percent of some leagues, but after a solid performance on Monday Night Football, Baldwin is now owned in five percent of ESPN leagues and nine percent of Yahoo! leagues. 

Baldwin was drafted in the first-round last year, and Kansas City had every intention of making him their next star receiver. He was injured during a training camp fight with teammate Thomas Jones, which is why he is just now producing for the Chiefs.

Steve Breaston was the clear-cut No. 2 receiver, but he saw half the targets of Baldwin on Monday, and that is a trend that is likely to continue. Matt Cassel is really starting to come into is own, which is great considering the Chiefs are lacking a run game. 

Baldwin is a solid add right now because the Chiefs continue to improve, and they will look the rookie's way since they drafted him to be their No. 2 guy behind Dwayne Bowe. 

Andy Dalton, QB 

If you have Cam Newton or Matthew Stafford, chances are you're in need of a QB this Sunday. Well, unless you drafted someone to be your backup, but a lot of fantasy players either drop that guy or just don't draft him to begin with. 

Dalton is owned in 19 percent of ESPN leagues and 36 percent on Yahoo! leagues. I've used him a couple of times for different leagues to be my bye week QB and he's come through. 

The Cincinnati Bengals have been a huge surprise this season and a lot of it is credited to the play of Dalton. It certainly helps having A.J. Green to help make plays, which is why Dalton is doing better than expected. 

He hits the road for the second straight week to take on the Tennessee Titans, which is a decent matchup for him. Dalton was mediocre last week, but he'll turn things around Week 9 to be a serviceable fill-in QB. 

Chris Ogbonnaya, RB

The Cleveland Browns continue to take hits at the running back position, as Peyton Hillis and Montario Hardesty are banged up. 

It's not certain Ogbonnaya will start, but the chances are very high. It's no secret the Browns love to run the ball, and Ogbonnaya will be their healthiest running back. 

Ogbonnaya is owned in one percent of ESPN leagues and four percent of Yahoo! leagues. Go ahead and pick him up if you need a running back because he will see action on Sunday. 

Toss in the fact that he's playing his former team, and there's great motivation for him to perform well. Ogbonnaya was on the Houston Texans practice squad before the Browns picked him up to add depth at the running back position. 

Jake Ballard, TE 

I've written about Ballard before, and he is currently my tight end in a couple of my deeper leagues. With some good tight ends on a bye this week, the New York Giants tight end serves as a solid addition for Week 9.

Before the season everybody wrote the Giants off because they lost Kevin Boss and Steve Smith, who happened to be two of Eli Manning's favorite targets. However, they've adjusted well and Ballard has slowly become one of Manning's go-to guys.

Ballard's targets continue to increase with each game, and he is a great red zone threat for New York.

He's only owned in 12 percent of ESPN leagues and 30 percent of Yahoo! leagues. 

Other players to consider adding would be T.J. Houshmandzadeh, who was just signed by the Oakland Raiders. I would wait to see how he does before you start him, but if you have room then pick him up before anyone else does. 

Javon Ringer, RB for the Tennessee Titans, the Cincinnati Bengals defense, Jackie Battle, RB for the Kansas City Chiefs and Michael Crabtree, WR of the San Francisco 49ers. Some of theses players are harder to find, but they're not owned by an overwhelming number of fantasy players so check your waiver wire to see if they're available.