Fantasy Football Week 9 Waiver Wire: Deeper League Pickups (QB, RB, WR, TE)

November 3, 2026

Dan's top fantasy football Week 9 waiver wire pickups, sleepers, stashes for deeper leagues for 2026. His waiver targets include Malik Willis, Dylan Sampson, Adonai Mitchell, and more

The fantasy season is officially halfway over. We are starting to see some players earn bigger roles, others get their workloads reduced, and teams across the league navigate injuries.

The fantasy playoffs are starting to come into focus. Regardless of how your team started, everybody still has a chance to find a way into their respective playoffs to push for a fantasy championship. Identifying players who are valued on the waiver wire is as important now as ever.

This article will focus on fantasy football players who are at or below a 30% roster rate on Yahoo -- and can be considered deeper-leagues waiver wire options. We'll cover a few players from QB, RB, WR, and TE. Let's get to it!

Quarterback Fantasy Football Waiver Wire

All QBs are rostered in 30% of leagues or less

Malik Willis, Miami Dolphins- 20% rostered

Malik Willis continued to show improvement as a passer after the Dolphins' Week 6 bye in Week 8’s loss to the New England Patriots. Willis had his second straight game with a completion percentage over 65%, 200+ passing yards, and two passing touchdowns.

From a fantasy perspective, Willis’s lack of rushing production (one carry for two yards) wasn’t enough to push him into the QB1 conversation, but he still produced a top-15 week with 15.2 fantasy points strictly as a passer. Willis is now up to four games with at least 15.0 fantasy points scored, including 20+ point efforts in Weeks 5 and 7.

The veteran quarterback has multiple matchups in the coming weeks against defenses that give up fantasy points, including Detroit (Week 9), Indianapolis (Week 10), Buffalo (Week 11), and Chicago (Week 14).

Michael Penix Jr., Atlanta Falcons- 20% rostered

It’s impossible to put into words how bad Michael Penix Jr. was against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 8. Penix completed just eight of 24 pass attempts for 125 yards, zero touchdowns, and four interceptions, scoring -1.9 points in a 16-0 loss.

However, a lot of those issues could be chalked up to the weather conditions. The Buccaneers beat the Falcons by completing zero passes.

Penix has shown growth since taking over for the Falcons in Week 3, completing 66.7% of his passes for 1,157 yards, nine touchdowns, and one interception in his five previous starts this season.

He should bounce back in Week 9, in an indoor matchup at home against a Cincinnati Bengals offense capable of pushing the game into a shootout.

Running Back Fantasy Football Waiver Wire

All RBs are rostered in 30% of leagues or less

Mike Washington Jr., Las Vegas Raiders- 27% rostered

The Las Vegas Raiders seemingly decided to adjust their backfield in Week 8, siphoning early down work away from Ashton Jeanty and giving it to rookie Mike Washington Jr.

Washington handled a 63.3% snap share against the New York Jets in Week 8 compared to a 36.7% snap share for Jeanty. He also led the backfield in carries (25), rushing yards (83), and handled 85.7% of the team’s carries inside the five-yard line (Jeanty had zero).

Jeanty continued to hold onto the passing-down work, catching all three of his targets for 64 yards with an 11.5% target share.

The Raiders have seemingly made the choice to get Washington more involved as a rusher since Jeanty has struggled to create anything positive on the ground this season. The lack of pass-catching work hurts Washington’s fantasy outlook, but his command of the early-down and short-yardage rushing attempts makes him a priority waiver add this week.

Emmett Johnson, Kansas City Chiefs- 19% rostered

Emmett Johnson had the best game of his rookie year against the Denver Broncos in Week 8, handling one carry for 15 yards while catching all five of his targets for 125 yards and a touchdown. Johnson showed impressive contact balance and burst, ripping off big plays in the open field.

THE ROOKIE EMMETT JOHNSON WITH A 73-YARD TD

KCvsDEN on CBS/Paramount+
Stream on @NFLPlus https://t.co/sGCPC0rJYU

— NFL (@NFL) November 1, 2026

There is a chance that Johnson’s performance leads to more work, but fantasy managers will want to be careful emptying their FAAB budget or waiver priority on Johnson. The rookie actually played his lowest snap share (18.8%) since Week 2.

Before Week 8, Johnson had never had more than three targets in a game and hadn’t had more than 20 receiving yards since Week 2. Even with the outstanding performance, Kenneth Walker paced the backfield with an 80.6% snap share with 26 total opportunities (21 carries and five targets).

Johnson is a priority handcuff, but his production on explosive plays is unsustainable until we see him consistently siphon more work from Walker.

Dylan Sampson, Cleveland Browns- 17% rostered

Dylan Sampson had his best game of the season in Week 8, playing a season-high 55.7% snap share with one carry for seven yards and eight targets, six receptions, and 62 receiving yards. The second-year running back has now recorded back-to-back games with at least a 45% snap share and nine opportunities.

Cleveland’s backfield runs through fellow second-year running back Quinshon Judkins, but the Browns have shown a willingness to incorporate Sampson’s explosiveness and playmaking ability as both a rusher and pass catcher in his two healthy games.

He is worth s a speculative add in all formats as a handcuff, but showed an ability to be a FLEX-level play through his pass-catching work in Week 8 when the Browns were forced into a negative game script.

Wide Receiver Fantasy Football Waiver Wire

All WRs are rostered in 30% of leagues or less

Caleb Douglas, Miami Dolphins- 28% rostered

It was always going to be difficult for Caleb Douglas to follow up his explosive Week 7 performance (three targets, two receptions, 70 yards, two touchdowns, and 21.0 PPR points), but his Week 8 output, while significantly lower, showed a path to consistent weekly production.

Douglas was targeted six times against the New England Patriots, catching four passes for 43 yards. The rookie was one of four players for the Dolphins with five or more targets and finished second on the team in receiving yards.

It was the second time in four games that Douglas was targeted at least six times and the third time this season he had at least 40 receiving yards.

The rookie wide receiver will have an opportunity to have another explosive week against a Lions secondary that has struggled this season in Week 9.

Antonio Williams, Washington Commanders- 26% rostered

Rookie wide receiver Antonio Williams wasted no time making an impact for the Washington Commanders with Terry McLaurin sidelined with a season-ending injury.

Williams led the Commanders in targets (7) and receptions (5) against the Eagles and finished second on the team in receiving yards (54). More importantly, the rookie played a season-high 83.3% of Washington’s offensive snaps and cut his percentage of snaps in the slot from 47.2% to 39.3%, a move that suggests he’s moving into a full time role.

The rookie showed an ability to generate big plays after the catch during his college career at Clemson. If his role in the offense continues to grow, he will have ample opportunities to have big weeks for a Commanders’ offense searching for a playmaker.

Adonai Mitchell, New York Jets- 11% rostered

Adonai Mitchell had a strong training camp and started off strong for the New York Jets, catching nine of 15 passes for 120  yards in his first two games. Mitchell then suffered a finger/hand injury in practice that sidelined him from Week 3 to 6.

His return in Week 7 was unremarkable (three targets with zero receptions), but in Week 8 he showed that he can be a playmaker for the Jets offense down the stretch.

Mitchell caught seven of nine targets for 142 yards and a touchdown against the Raiders in Week 8. The veteran wide receiver was second among all tight ends and wide receivers (minimum 10 routes run) in yards per route run (5.68) and air yards share (222).

What a throw from Geno Smith and what a catch by AD Mitchell 😱

LVvsNYJ on FOX/FOX One
Stream on @NFLPlus https://t.co/cxPa0KclpY

— NFL (@NFL) November 1, 2026

The Jets have plenty of pass catchers vying for targets right now, with Mitchell, Garrett Wilson, Omar Cooper Jr., Kenyon Sadiq, and Mason Taylor all flashing throughout the season. But it is telling that Mitchell is tied for second on the team in targets (27) and is second on the team in receiving yards (265) despite playing just four games.

Tight End Fantasy Football Waiver Wire

All TEs are rostered in 30 of leagues or less

Mike Gesicki, Cincinnati Bengals- 18% rostered

Mike Gesicki continues to be a touchdown machine at the tight end position. Gesicki has played in all seven games for the Bengals this season and found the end zone in six of them.

His general production (24 targets, 17 receptions, and 241 receiving yards) is unremarkable, but his ability to score points in an explosive Bengals passing attack cannot be ignored. Gesicki is currently the TE12 in PPR  points per game (11.0) with at least 7.0 points in six games and double-digit points in four games this season.

Cincinnati’s offense runs through Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, but in shootout conditions Gesicki can produce stat lines as he did in Week 8 (six targets, four receptions, 76 yards, and a touchdown) thanks to his role as the team’s primary slot receiver.

Gesicki’s fantasy production is extremely volatile given how reliant it is on touchdowns. But the Bengals are struggling to find consistency on the ground and are letting Joe Burrow throw to offset it. He’s worth rostering and streaming in fantasy, regardless of the matchup, until the Bengals find stability in the rushing attack.

Michael Mayer, Las Vegas Raiders- 13% rostered

Michael Mayer rebounded from an underwhelming fantasy performance in Week 7 (three receptions for 32 yards) with another high-floor performance against the Jets in Week 8 (five receptions for 53 yards). It was the fourth time this season Mayer had at least six targets and five receptions.

There is volatility in Mayer’s role as the inline tight end, but the lack of pass catchers in Las Vegas gives him a steady enough floor most weeks to make him a streaming option at tight end. He’s worth stashing on the bench as well if Brock Bowers is ever injured.

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