Fantasy Football Week 9 Waiver Wire: Tyrone Tracy Jr., Dylan Sampson among top pickups to target

https://sports.yahoo.com/fantasy/article/fantasy-football-week-9-waiver-wire-tyrone-tracy-jr-dylan-sampson-among-top-pickups-to-target-171134316.html

Every Monday during the season, Justin Boone breaks down the recommended waiver-wire pickups.

Roster percentages are generated from Yahoo leagues. Free-Agent Budget (FAB) amounts are based on a $100 salary cap. Only players rostered in less than 50% of leagues are considered.

Key injuries to monitor

Quinshon Judkins (shoulder)
Saquon Barkley (groin)
Alvin Kamara (ankle/knee)
Rashid Shaheed (hip)
Luther Burden III (concussion)
Marvin Mims Jr. (concussion)
Harold Fannin Jr. (undisclosed)

Bye weeks

Cleveland Browns
New York Jets
Philadelphia
Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Pickups by position

Week 9’s top-10 overall pickups

1. Tyrone Tracy Jr., Giants
2. Harold Fannin Jr., Browns (bye)
3. Dylan Sampson, Browns (bye)
4. Tyjae Spears, Titans
5. Kyle Monangai, Bears
6. Kayshon Boutte, Patriots
7. Tre Tucker, Raiders
8. Troy Franklin, Broncos
9. Chimere Dike, Titans
10. Isaiah Davis, Jets (bye)

Quarterbacks

Sam Darnold, Seahawks

Next Up	Rostered	FAB
at WAS	36%	$1

Darnold had one of his worst games of the season prior to the Seahawks’ Week 8 bye, but it came against the Texans, which is arguably the toughest pass defense in the league.

Prior to that game, Darnold had finished as top-10 fantasy quarterback in three of his previous four outings.

Overall on the season, he’s playing very well in Klint Kubiak’s system and has more than enough weapons behind emerging superstar Jaxon Smith-Njigba to be considered a borderline low-end QB1/high-end QB2 in most contests moving forward.

Streaming options

Trevor Lawrence at LV (42% rostered)

Risky streaming options

Aaron Rodgers vs. IND (47% rostered)

Risky streaming options (if starter is out)

Marcus Mariota vs. SEA (12% rostered)
Mac Jones at NYG (11% rostered)
Tyler Huntley at MIA (4% rostered)

Desperation streaming options

Geno Smith vs. JAC (15% rostered)
Tua Tagovailoa vs. BAL (19% rostered)

Desperation streaming options (if healthy)

J.J. McCarthy at DET (23% rostered)
Michael Penix Jr. at NE (22% rostered)
Bryce Young at GB (14% rostered)

Desperation streaming options (if starter is out)

Kirk Cousins at NE (11% rostered)
Andy Dalton at GB (5% rostered)

Running Backs

Tyrone Tracy Jr, Giants

Next Up	Rostered	FAB
vs. SF	49%	$75

Cam Skattebo’s season-ending ankle injury is a terrible outcome for one of the most exciting young players we’ve seen break out this season. We’re wishing him all the best en route to a full recovery for the 2026 campaign.

While Tracy can’t match Skattebo’s style of play, the 25-year-old is more than capable of handling the lead-back role like he did last year.

Tracy had a minor breakout of his own with 839 rushing yards and 284 receiving yards in 2024. The vast majority of that production came after he moved into a more prominent role in Week 5. From that point on, Tracy played the majority of the Giants’ snaps and was the RB21 in fantasy points per game.

Devin Singletary will be involved and can be stashed, but Tracy has a chance to return fantasy RB2 value thanks to his expected volume and excellent pass-catching skills.

Dylan Sampson, Browns

Next Up	Rostered	FAB
Bye week	13%	$4

Sampson is more of a speculative pickup, since he’s on bye this week. But Browns starting running back Quinshon Judkins injured his shoulder against the Patriots and was forced to leave the game.

Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski called Judkins day-to-day on Monday, but there’s also no reason to be more specific since the team is off until Week 10.

The odds are Judkins will be fine by then, but if the injury costs him time after the bye, Sampson would be next in line to take over as the Browns’ lead back. In that scenario, Sampson would be an RB3 with some upside given the soft schedule Cleveland has coming up.

This could also complicate any potential moves with Jerome Ford, who was rumored to be on the trade block.

Trey Benson is just above the 50% rostered mark, but would be the No. 2 RB add if available.

Isaiah Davis (9% rostered) is on bye this week, but should be stashed in most leagues in case Breece Hall is traded before the deadline.

Flex options

Tyjae Spears vs. LAC (31% rostered)
Kyle Monangai at CIN (38% rostered)
Bam Knight at DAL (18% rostered)
Michael Carter at DAL (20% rostered)

Risky flex options

Bhayshul Tuten at LV (32% rostered)
Brashard Smith at BUF (18% rostered)
Blake Corum vs. NO (8% rostered)

Dart-throw flex options

Tyler Allgeier at NE (43% rostered)
Kenneth Gainwell vs. IND (40% rostered)
Ollie Gordon II vs. BAL (11% rostered)
Samaje Perine vs. CHI (3% rostered)
Devin Neal at LAR (4% rostered)
Jeremy McNichols vs. SEA (3% rostered)

Upside stashes to roster

Tank Bigsby (17% rostered)
Ray Davis (9% rostered)
Brian Robinson Jr. (27% rostered)
Devin Singletary (1% rostered)
Jaydon Blue (10% rostered)
Emanuel Wilson (5% rostered)
Kareem Hunt (35% rostered)
Justice Hill (15% rostered)

Deep stashes

Keaton Mitchell (1% rostered)
Ameer Abdullah (0% rostered)
Chris Rodriguez Jr. (4% rostered)
Kaleb Johnson (20% rostered)
Emari Demercado (6% rostered)

Trade-deadline stashes

Jerome Ford (14% rostered)

Bye-week stashes

Sean Tucker (9% rostered)

Injured-reserve stashes

MarShawn Lloyd (2% rostered)

Wide Receivers

Kayshon Boutte, Patriots

Next Up	Rostered	FAB
vs. ATL	40%	$4

Boutte has become a regular in this column thanks to an extremely hot streak the last three weeks, including stat lines of 5-93-2, 2-55-1 and 3-75-1.

He’s not cleared 100 yards or a touchdown in five of his eight appearances this season.

Drake Maye is playing at an extremely high level and Boutte is along for the ride as the Patriots’ receiver who’s consistently running the most routes.

He warrants consideration as a fantasy WR3/flex.

Tre Tucker, Raiders

Next Up	Rostered	FAB
vs. JAX	38%	$3

Tucker has been a true boom-or-bust fantasy receiver with at least 70 scrimmage yards in four of his seven games, but 33 yards or less in the other three.

Coming off his bye, he gets favorable matchups against the Jaguars (Week 9) and Cowboys (Week 11) in two of his next three contests.

There’s also the looming possibility that Jakobi Meyers could get traded before the deadline. The Raiders are signing veteran Tyler Lockett, but he’s not a threat to Tucker’s fantasy outlook.

Tucker will be a startable fantasy WR3/flex asset if Meyers is moved and a WR4/flex if he stays in Las Vegas.

Troy Franklin, Broncos

Next Up	Rostered	FAB
at HOU	37%	$3

Franklin popped up for another big game this week with six catches for 89 yards and two scores vs. the Cowboys.

It’s worth noting that his playing time has only seen a slight uptick in recent weeks, but he’s garnered 18 targets over the last two outings and found the end zone three times during that span. He’s also benefited from an incredibly easy schedule over those games and now has to face a much stiffer challenge in the Texans for Week 9.

You can expect Franklin to continue being a boom-or-bust WR4/flex, who’s the second receiver in a strong Broncos’ offense and a quality fantasy option in good matchups.

Chimere Dike/Elic Ayomanor, Titans

Next Up	Rostered	FAB
vs. LAC	8%/32%	$3/$1

The Titans rookies have both been productive this season, especially when factoring in their Day 3 draft capital.

While Ayomanor earned a role earlier in the year, his numbers have remained fairly level over the course of the season and he’s yet to top 60 yards in a game.

Dike has shown a higher ceiling in recent weeks with Calvin Ridley missing time. The rookie posted four catches for 70 yards and a touchdown in Week 7, as well as seven grabs for 93 yards over the weekend.

We won’t know for sure who will see more snaps once Ridley is healthy, but Dike is displaying more fantasy upside at the moment. If you’re looking to invest in the Titans’ passing attack, which isn’t the best offense to have pieces of, Dike would be my choice over Ayomanor.

However, both should only be viewed as risky WR4/flex types until we see how Ridley changes their usage.

Flex options

Darnell Mooney at NE (47% rostered)
Alec Pierce at PIT (29% rostered)
Darius Slayton vs. SF (18% rostered)

Risky flex options

Malik Washington vs. BAL (15% rostered)
Christian Watson vs. CAR (16% rostered)
Hollywood Brown at BUF (41% rostered)
Jalen Coker at GB (7% rostered)

Risky flex options (if starter is out)

Kendrick Bourne at NYG (28% rostered)

Dart-throw flex options

Pat Bryant at HOU (1% rostered)
Rashod Bateman at MIA (21% rostered)
Calvin Austin III vs. IND (10% rostered)
Parker Washington at LV (1% rostered)
Roman Wilson vs. IND (0% rostered)

Dart-throw flex options (if healthy)

Christian Kirk vs. DEN (17% rostered)

Dart-throw flex options (if starter is out)

Jayden Higgins vs. DEN (27% rostered)
Jaylin Noel vs. DEN (9% rostered)
Tutu Atwell vs. NO (1% rostered)
Xavier Hutchinson vs. DEN (1% rostered)

Upside stashes to roster

Tory Horton (3% rostered)
Jack Bech (1% rostered)
Tre’ Harris (2% rostered)
Isaac TeSlaa (2% rostered)
Luther Burden III (10% rostered)
Jaylin Lane (1% rostered)

Injured-reserve stashes

Brandon Aiyuk (41% rostered)

Tight Ends

Juwan Johnson, Saints

Next Up	Rostered	FAB
at LAR	32%	$4

Johnson got off to a hot start with 28 targets, 19 catches, 176 yards and a touchdown over the first three games. He was the fourth-highest scoring fantasy tight end during that span.

However, injuries limited his effectiveness and he was held under 30 yards in three straight games.

Fortunately, he appears to be healthy now and is getting back to his early-season production with 10 receptions and 132 yards over his past two outings.

With Rashid Shaheed dealing with a hip injury and trade speculation swirling around the Saints receivers in general, Johnson is poised to push for low-end fantasy TE1 numbers the rest of the way. At worst, he’s a strong TE2/streaming option.

Harold Fannin Jr. is on bye this week and near the 50% rostered mark but would be the No. 1 TE add if available.

Mason Taylor (29% rostered) is on bye this week, but would be the No. 2 TE add if available.

Risky streaming options