Each week I’ll list the best widely available free agents for fantasy football — I define “widely available” as being owned in around half of all ESPN or Yahoo leagues — and some guys who are probably better off in the free agent pool than collecting dust on your roster.
Follow me on X (formerly known as Twitter) @UTEddieBrown if you have questions throughout the week.
Here’s my NFL Week 9 waiver wire cheat sheet for all league sizes and formats, with players you need to add, drop and stream in your fantasy football league:
ADD
QB Kyler Murray, Cardinals (ESPN: 32%; Yahoo: 55%): Murray will either be traded or return at some point in the next two weeks to be the starting quarterback for Arizona. The dynamic signal-caller has finished as fantasy’s QB7, QB2 and QB10 in his three healthy seasons. He was the overall QB8 before he got hurt in 2022, and if you just lost Kirk Cousins, Murray has the highest upside of all available replacements.
RB Chuba Hubbard, Panthers (ESPN: 43%; Yahoo: 59%): Hubbard had already started to play an increased role for Carolina before Miles Sanders missed Week 6 against the Dolphins with a shoulder injury. Hubbard produced 88 yards on 19 carries and a touchdown at Miami, the best performance by a Panthers running back this season. Against the Texans on Sunday, he played more snaps, ran more routes and had 15 more touches than Sanders, who had practiced fully during the week.
WR Rashid Shaheed, Saints (ESPN: 18%; Yahoo: 36%): I wrote last week Shaheed was capable of a boom week anytime New Orleans faces a team who primarily plays zone coverage. He produced three receptions for 153 yards and a TD against the Colts, who were the first of three upcoming games against defenses who utilize zone coverage on at least 70 percent of their coverage snaps.
QB Sam Howell, Commanders (ESPN: 30%; Yahoo: 45%): Howell has appeared in this space a few times this season, but it likely won’t happen again as I anticipate his roster percentage surpassing 50 percent going forward. He’s the overall QB8 through eight games — only Josh Allen and Jalen Hurts have produced more fantasy points since Week 4.
TE Trey McBride, Cardinals (ESPN: 8%; Yahoo: 21%): Zach Ertz landed on IR last week, creating an opportunity for McBride. Frankly, it probably shouldn’t have taken an injury for the former second-rounder to see more targets. He produced 10 receptions (14 targets) for 95 yards and a TD. He can be plugged into lineups going forward, especially with Murray’s return on the horizon.
BONUS: TE Taysom Hill, Saints (ESPN: 15%; Yahoo: 35%): Hill’s usage is unpredictable, but he’s the overall TE6 in standard formats (TE11 in PPR) this season with only Travis Kelce outscoring him the last three weeks. New Orleans has struggled in the red zone all season and Hill appears to be the cure for those ills.
BONUS: QB Gardner Minshew, Colts (ESPN: 8%; Yahoo: 17%): Only Josh Allen, Jalen Hurts and Lamar Jackson have produced more fantasy points than Minshew at the quarterback position the last two weeks, despite him matching up against two of the better defenses (Browns and Saints) in the NFL. The schedule is much lighter going forward.
BONUS: RB Zach Charbonnet, Seahawks (ESPN: 30%; Yahoo: 42%): Kenneth Walker missed practices because of a calf injury last week, which resulted in fewer snaps against the Browns. Charbonnet produced 64 total yards on seven touches in a supporting role. I don’t expect the rookie to take Walker’s job at any point, but he remains one of the more valuable handcuffs headed into the second half of this season.
BONUS: WR Demario Douglas, Patriots (ESPN: 1%; Yahoo: 3%): Kendrick Bourne suffered a torn ACL against the Dolphins. Douglas has produced the second-most targets (30), receptions (19) and receiving yards (222) for New England, all behind Bourne.
BONUS: RB Leonard Fournette, Bills (ESPN: 1%; Yahoo: 4%): Fournette has passed a physical and signed to Buffalo’s practice squad. I’m thinking “Lombardi Lenny” will earn a complimentary role behind James Cook over the next few weeks, likely at the expense of Latavius Murray. He’s worthy of a stash.
BONUS: WR Marvin Mims Jr., Broncos (ESPN: 7%; Yahoo: 16%): The dynamic Mims’ value will skyrocket if Jerry Jeudy or Courtland Sutton (or both) get traded.
BONUS: RB Tyjae Spears, Titans (ESPN: 36%; Yahoo: 49%): Spears has carved out a solid role, and deserves weekly flex consideration in deeper leagues, but his value could soar if Tennessee starts to look more toward the future and/or ends up trading Derrick Henry.
BONUS: WR Michael Wilson, Cardinals (ESPN: 9%; Yahoo: 15%): Wilson has gained at least 56 receiving yards in five of his past seven games. The rookie’s 15.2-yard average depth of target is the third highest among receivers with at least 25 targets and he’s about to have a Pro Bowl QB throwing him the football.
BONUS: D/ST Falcons (ESPN: 29%; Yahoo: 32%): If you streamed Atlanta’s defense against the Titans with Will Levis making his NFL debut, you may not want to run it back after Levis torched the Falcons for four TDs. Atlanta has a chance to atone with a home game against the Vikings, who will be trying to pick up the pieces after losing Kirk Cousins for the season. Minnesota will likely make a trade for a quarterback, but it’s likely rookie fifth-rounder Jaren Hall will be Cousins’ replacement this week.
BONUS: D/ST Patriots (ESPN: 31%; Yahoo: 28%): Uncharacteristically, New England’s defense hasn’t had much impact in fantasy this season, but a premium matchup awaits them at Foxborough this Sunday. Commanders QB Sam Howell has been sacked an NFL-high 41 times and has thrown an NFL-high eight interceptions in eight games.
DROP
QB Kirk Cousins, Vikings: Cousins suffered a torn Achilles tendon and will miss the rest of this season.
RB Miles Sanders, Panthers: Sanders practiced fully last week and only had two touches against the Texans. It appears Hubbard has surpassed him on the depth chart.
WR KJ Osborn, Vikings: Osborn’s value takes a significant dip with Cousins done for the season and Justin Jefferson potentially returning in a few weeks.
QB Joshua Dobbs, Cardinals: Arizona benched Dobbs in favor of fifth-round rookie Clayton Tune this week against the Browns with Murray likely to play in Week 10.
TE Jonnu Smith, Falcons: Smith’s targets, receptions and yards have shrunk in four straight games.
